Happy Sunday!

Last weekend we were able to have the dedication of our new altar! It was an excellent celebration and I am grateful to all of our staff and volunteers who helped make it go so smoothly! This weekend you will likely see scaffolding in the Church (if not this weekend, then certainly next weekend).

Hello,

There is often some confusion about the sacrament of Anointing. While I can’t answer every question here, I can give some basic information that may be helpful to you. In the first place, this sacrament is the same thing as what used to be called the last rites. In other words, Anointing is the last rites of the Church.

Happy Sunday!

This Monday the office will be closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. There will be morning confessions and Mass but no evening confessions or Mass. This is a big week for the parish. This week begins the painting of the church.

A friend of mine is a young priest who teaches high school physics at a Catholic boys’ prep school. Like many today, the boys often think science and religion are enemies. So, he delights in their raised eyebrows when he reminds them his first full-time job as a priest was to be an astrophysicist.

We hide ourselves and our secrets from God because we are afraid. Even Mary can seem too perfect to approach. The shepherds find the strength to speak to Mary and Joseph at the moment they see the child in the manger. They open their hearts and share what they’ve experienced.

Merry Christmas!

What a great gift to celebrate the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ this Sunday! I would like to share with you something that is not very well known, but read or chanted at Mass during the Night each Christmas. It is simply titled, “The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and it recounts the historical setting in which the Nativity occurs.

Happy Sunday!

Gaudete! Rejoice! This Sunday the universal Church celebrates Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent. This name comes from the entrance antiphon for the Mass in which we hear, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.”

Happy Sunday!

It is great to be in the season of Advent! Last Sunday began the new liturgical year as we anticipate the coming of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. The prayers of the Mass, the antiphons, and readings are full of joyful expectation.

Happy Sunday!

Next weekend we are excited to have our annual Eucharistic Procession on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe. We will be adding a bilingual Mass at 2:30pm next Sunday in the main Church. The Mass will process out into the Procession.

Hello,

Now is the time to mark your calendars for the Eucharistic Procession on November 20. There will be Mass at 2:30P (which counts for the Sunday Mass obligation) followed by the procession through the neighborhood. That will be the last Sunday in Ordinary Time, otherwise known as the celebration of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

Hello,

There definitely has been a noticeable change in the weather. I think we are safe to believe that Fall is really here. Of course, there will still be some hot days, but the evenings and mornings are just great. So the seasons change once more.

Happy Sunday!

Today I am leaving for my annual silent retreat and will be gone until the middle of next week. Every priest is asked to take a retreat each year. A retreat is a time for us to heed the Lord’s invitation to, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31).

Happy Sunday!

Thank you to all those who helped put on the Women’s Day of Recollection yesterday! We had a great group of women organizing the day and making it a wonderful experience for all. Our goal will be to put on a Men’s and Women’s Day of Recollection every fall. Please keep this in your prayers for the spiritual growth of our parish.

Happy Sunday!

Next weekend we are very excited to host our Women’s Day of Recollection on Saturday. We will be welcoming Carol Restaine and Leila Miller to lead our women. Carol has been a missionary in Honduras for the past 20 years, offering her life in service to the Gospel by serving the poor and vulnerable in Comayagua, Honduras.

Happy Sunday!

Typically, October 2nd is the day when the Church celebrates the Guardian Angels. Since it falls on a Sunday this year, 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time takes its place. However, I would like to offer a few thoughts on the Guardian Angels. Angels are always one of those mystical aspects of our Faith that can be tricky to nail down and understand clearly. The words of St. Bernard are very helpful in this regard, he writes, “‘He has given his angels charge over you to guard you in all your ways.’(Ps. 91:11)