May 19, 2008

Friends,

Some good news: Sr. Denise Desil is here for a summer visit, and we welcome her with open arms. She will bring us up to date on what is happening in Haiti and how our Sister Parish is doing. We read in the newspapers about the severe food shortage in the larger cities of Haiti and we need a report about the 40 teachers that we are supporting in our Sister Parish of Ste. Elisabeth. Our Haiti Sister Parish Committee is planning several events with Sr. Denise, so everyone will get a chance to see her and talk to her.

May 12, 2008

We have a double feast this weekend. We celebrate Pentecost as the birthday of the Church when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples and the Church actually began spreading the Good News of Jesus. So “Happy Birthday to all baptized Christians.”

In the United States, we take time to remember those special women who nurture and mother us. This includes not only those women who are biological mothers but also those many women who provide love and nurture for people who are not their biological offspring. I have been blessed with a mother who raised our family single-handedly and was the spiritual and material matriarch of a large family. I have also been very blessed by some remarkable women in my life who have encouraged me and prayed me through some very difficult times. … I believe that you could say the very same thing about the women in your life. Today is a deeply spiritual celebration in which we thank God for our biological mothers and for those other women who have brought us up to be adult Christians. We can never thank them enough.

May 5, 2008

Dear Friends,

In the first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles is a marvelous line. The two angels chided the disciples who had watched Jesus ascend into heaven. The angels said: "Men of Galilee, why are you standing looking up into the sky ... ?" Think about that line. Imagine that the angels are speaking to you. Jesus has just left us. He ascended to heaven, and we are gazing up at the sky.

April 28, 2008

Dear Friends,

Our 81-year-old pope made a very busy visit to our country with a message of hope, love and reconciliation. It was a grueling schedule for an old man, but Pope Benedict seemed to rise to each public occasion and was a humble presence as the successor of St. Peter. I am sure you saw some or all of the events of the papal visit. I encourage you to pray for the Pope. He has an awesome job in representing Jesus Christ to our modern world and to be a father-figure to all of the diverse people who make up our Catholic Church. The Pope mentioned several times our need for healing the terrible sins of child abuse. I am glad that he clearly acknowledged this huge problem. I am glad that Pope Benedict reached out to the young, the future of our church. I am especially happy that he clearly focused on hope for the future. His visit was an uplifting experience for all of us.

April 21, 2008

Dear Friends,

As you have been hearing in the news, the Pope is in the U. S. and has planned various meetings and events. Fr. Hugo Franca is representing us in New York and he will be attending the Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City for bishops, priests and religious. Fr. Hugo will also attend the "Ground Zero" ecumenical celebration. We will join in prayer that this visit of Pope Benedict will be a source of hope and faith for everyone.

April 13, 2008

Dear Friends,

I have a few disparate points to make:

1. This Sunday has been designated as a Day of Prayer for Vocations. Our church is founded upon designated leaders, some of whom are deacons, priests and bishops; some are religious women and men; some of whom are lay people who dedicate significant time to the various ministries of the church. We always have needed ordained leaders, and today we pray for more vocations to the priesthood and religious life. However, I am very proud of our parish in terms of Christian leadership. Last Saturday we had a "little" thank-you dinner, sponsored by our Stewardship Committee, for some of our parish volunteers.

April 6, 2008

Dear Friends,

Today we listen to the wonderful story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.  They were discouraged because they thought that Jesus had been destroyed and their dreams were also destroyed with his death.  They were lost and depressed and very troubled.  Then Jesus came along, but they did not recognize him.  He talked to them, soothing their fears by quoting the sacred scriptures.  Still, they did not recognize the Lord.  Finally, they stopped for dinner and Jesus took bread and broke it, just as He had done at the Last Supper.  Suddenly their eyes were opened and they recognized the Lord.  What a great story and what a great lesson for us.

March 30, 2008

Dear Friends,

After the Resurrection of the Lord, Jesus appeared to his followers and very frequently used the greeting: "Peace be with you."  He wanted to stress the necessity for PEACE, and Jesus began to help those early followers to form a community of Faith.  This was the beginning of the church, and those men and women worked to become a community that recognized Jesus as Lord.  This was the beginning of a long process that is still going on.  We are still learning how to follow Jesus in this year of grace 2008.  We hear the voice of Jesus saying: "PEACE," and we ask ourselves what would Jesus do in our present situation?  What would Jesus do if He were in my shoes???  In the Easter story, Jesus conquered sin and death.  He told us that when He ascended into heaven, He would send the Holy Spirit to teach us all things. 

March 23, 2008

Dear Friends,

One of my favorite images or symbols of Easter is the Easter Candle and the contrast of light and dark. At the Easter Vigil, we turn out all of the lights in church and only have the light of the Easter or Paschal Candle. It is amazing how that one candle can light up the whole church. To me, this is a wonderful symbol of the Risen Jesus. He lights up the darkness of our soul and shines a strong and lasting light into the darkness of our world. We all have areas of darkness in our lives. We all have secrets that we do not want to be brought into the light. We all have sins that do not see the light of day. The Light of Christ conquers all of these areas of darkness. Easter is a perfect time to turn to our loving Savior and ask Jesus to blot out the darkness in our lives. Easter is a perfect time to ask the risen Lord to bring His light into the shadowy spots of our world where brothers are fighting against brothers and fruitless wars are killing innocent people.

March 16, 2008

Dear Friends,

On Monday, March 17 - St. Patrick's Day - we are having our Lenten Penance Service.  I encourage you to attend.  Jesus wants to forgive you because he loves you unconditionally.  The Sacrament of Penance is an outward sign that our sins have been forgiven.  We all need tangible signs.  Confessing our sins is an experience and a sign that a) we are aware of our sinfulness; b) we need to do better.  Our loving God forgives us the moment we ask, but our physical and psychological humanness needs outward reassurance.  Because of this, the Church advises us to confess our sins at least once a year.  This Sacrament leads us to a reconciliation with God and repairs the harm done by our sins.  The forgiven penitent is reconciled with himself in his inmost being, where he regains his innermost truth.  The penitent is reconciled with his neighbors and friends whom he has somehow wounded by his sins.  The penitent is reconciled with his Church and also with all of creation.  It's a full circle: God loves us, forgives us and reconciles us.  We are made whole and holy again. ...  All this through the sacrament of Penance.  Come and be forgiven.