Once I went to a hospice facility to celebrate Last Rites for an elderly dying man. His family had told me that he had been uncommunicative for days. At the conclusion of the ritual, we began to recite the Our Father prayer. To everyone’s surprise, his lips moved, clearly mouthing the words to the Lord’s prayer. Stripped of most of his faculties, the man could still pray those precious God-given petitions. A lifetime of prayer had planted the words even deeper than his failing consciousness.

Happy Sunday!

Our Blessed Lord visits the home of Martha and Mary in our gospel. Having mothers and grandmothers, we can picture them in this passage. Mary sits at Jesus’ feet listening to Him, while Martha is busy with the duties of hospitality. Martha has enough and complains to our Blessed Lord, asking Him to tell Mary to help her, but He replies that “Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken from her.” Both actions are very good from Martha and Mary.

Happy Sunday!

Who is my neighbor? Can we honestly say we know our neighbor? Recently I was brave enough to introduce myself to my new neighbors across the street. I was opportunistic in the introduction because the family was outside unpacking and moving into their new home. It was a cordial encounter and now every time we leave the house we have a wave and I pray for them. If only this came easy for many people, then life would be a community of believers that know each other.

Happy Sunday!

Today you may have noticed the red priest and deacon vestments at Mass. This is because we are offering a Votive Mass dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. The feast was established while Pope Pius IX was in exile during the Italian War in 1849. This particular devotion was suggested to invoke the heavenly aid of God to end the war and bring peace in Rome. Shortly after declaring the feast, the war ended.