St. Thomas Aquinas said that friends share three things: time, possessions, and secrets. For example, how do I know if you’re my friend? Well, let’s say we’ve been to Mexico together, you’ve tried my shaky attempts at pasta carbonara, and you know what ridiculous costume I wore in a music video I filmed in my early twenties. We, dear reader, are definitely friends. We’ve shared time, possessions, and secrets.

Happy Lent!

It has only been a few days of Lent and I am sure you have already been tempted. Throughout our history of salvation, the Lord used 40 days to prepare for something great. Each year we are challenged to invite the Lord to stay close to us during our penitential season of Lent. We cry out like the psalmist: “Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.” When we do find ourselves in trouble our hope comes from the Lord.

Happy Sunday!

Our long anticipated season of Lent is upon us. Thousands of people rush to be reminded “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” These ashes and words equip us to be challenged for the next forty days as we enter our Easter pilgrimage. As Lent begins and with any pilgrimage, that means we are going somewhere.

One of my favorite new singers/songwriters is Noah Kahan. I’m a little biased because, like me, he is originally from Vermont. In a fine song entitled “Stick Season,” he sings of his hope to “cancel out the darkness I inherited from dad.” This lyric articulates his painful recognition of a dark spiritual “inheritance” from his father, and his hope to be free of it. We all inherit some degree of evil from our earthly forebears. It’s easy to feel doomed to repeat their darknesses.

Happy Sunday!

This Tuesday we celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes. Saint Bernadette was the chosen visionary at Lourdes, France. Since then, millions of pilgrims flocked to the apparition site in search of healing and an encounter with our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ.

Happy Feast of the Presentation!

Today is a wonderful time of the year as it has been forty days since we celebrated the joyful feast of the Nativity of the Lord. This day is special because it is when our Blessed Lord Jesus was presented in the Temple by Mary and Joseph. So many lights are being illuminated this Sunday to reflect the beautiful antiphon: “A light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel. Lord, now you let your servant go in peace, in accordance with your word.”

Happy Sunday!

This third Sunday in ordinary time has been declared by a motu propio by Pope Francis in 2019 to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God. Many opportunities are made available in podcasts and books to take a deeper understanding into the Word of God. We rely on our Blessed Lord to open our eyes and hearts to understand and ponder the inspired Word of God.

A friend invited me to an invitation-only wine-tasting event. There were over two hundred varieties of wine. Having no idea how to approach such a massive selection, I wandered aimlessly among the tables, sipping this and that. At the end of the evening, my friend asked if I had tried some of the exceptionally expensive wines. I hadn’t. “The really good stuff disappears first,” he said.

Happy New Year!

Our solemn and joyful celebrations of the Christmas season have left an impact on our hearts that must continue. From the vespers canticle of the Epiphany we reflect and move forward in our joyful hope: “Three mysteries mark this holy day: today the star leads the Magi to the Infant Christ; today water is changed into wine for the wedding feast; today Christ wills to be baptized by John in the river Jordan to bring us salvation.”

Happy Epiphany!

As our Christmas season continues into the Epiphany, we thank God for the beautiful celebrations thus far. I am so grateful for the many volunteers and staff that have been hospitable during our very busy time. A tradition I am encouraging you all to partake in this New Year 2025 is the Chalking of the Doors. On Sunday, January 5th at 2:00pm, our water will be Epiphany Water in our baptismal font.