Good Morning,

One of my most loved quotations is from Saint Augustine’s Commentary on the Psalms. He is speaking about Psalm 65 and says, “He begins to leave who begins to love.” The people of Israel are leaving Babylon and heading back home to Jerusalem. Saint Augustine takes these places to mean the world and heaven, so that the people’s journey is emblematic of the journey we all must make. We begin to leave the world and to head to heaven.

Happy Sunday!

This weekend we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. In the first reading from Isaiah we read, “I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.” As the prophet points us to Jesus we hear for ourselves as well, the deep care that the Lord God has for us as well. God indeed grasps us by the hand and forms us for His mission.

Happy Sunday!

I pray everyone had a very blessed Christmas week! Thank you all for making it such a special time. I am very grateful to all who dropped off gifts for our staff and for myself, especially for those anonymous gifts. It is a great blessing for me to be the pastor of such a wonderful and vibrant community.

I pray everyone’s Christmas celebrations have begun well! The Church continues to celebrate with great solemnity the Octave of Christmas. Among other things that this means, is that each Mass from December 25th to January 1st includes the Gloria. It’s one way that the Church teaches us that Christmas is not a single day, but we celebrate with great joy for eight entire days. During these days, I hope you find ways to enjoy the good things of life, but also to deepen your relationship with the Lord, immersing yourselves in the fount of His love as you reflect on the Christmas mysteries.

Good Morning to All,

Now as we come to the final Sunday of Advent, we know that we are close to the great celebration of the coming of our Lord. This is the whole theme of Advent, His coming, and so we watch and wait and prepare. Now He is almost here. If there is anything left to do, now is the time to get it done quickly. But then we simply remain in watching and waiting and great expectation.

Happy Sunday!

Here we are at the Second Week of Advent and the parish only seems to gain speed! This week on Monday, December 6, we are glad to welcome Mr. Nik Nikas from the Bioethics Defense Fund. Nik has practiced law for a number of years and has engaged in the fight for life at all stages. This past week he listened to the oral arguments presented to the Supreme Court regarding the forthcoming Dobbs case. This case has the possibility of overturning Roe v. Wade. It is a monumental time in our country and the fight for defending human life. He will be speaking about the arguments and pro-life jurisprudence from 7:00-8:00pm in Weidner Hall on Monday December 6th. I hope you are all able to make it!

Happy Sunday!

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe. If you are reading this before Sunday afternoon I invite you and your family to join us for our Eucharistic Procession through the neighborhood. Our adoration team has done a great job of preparing these past few months. I’d also like to acknowledge our altar servers and sacristans who have generously offered their time to serve in the Mass and procession.

Happy Sunday!

This weekend is the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. It’s always this time of year when our readings point us towards the end times. Jesus speaks of the sun being darkened, the moon losing light, stars falling, and the powers in the heavens being shaken. His description is very visceral! It invites us to consider our own preparedness for eternal life. If we knew these things were coming before the end of the year would we change certain aspects of our life? Jesus reminds us the time is now!

Happy Sunday!

This Thursday we celebrate the Feast of St. Martin of Tours. I’d like to share with you the beautiful reading from the Office of Readings for his feast day.

Martin knew long in advance the time of his death and he told his brethren that it was near. Meanwhile, he found himself obliged to make a visitation of the parish of Candes. The clergy of that church were quarreling, and he wished to reconcile them. Although he knew that his days on earth were few, he did not refuse to undertake the journey for such a purpose, for he believed that he would bring his virtuous life to a good end if by his efforts peace was restored in the church.