Thank you all for your prayerful well-wishes, support, and encouragement for the 25th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. Our liturgy of Pentecost on 18 May was a beautiful celebration of the advocacy of the Holy Spirit. Thank you to our deacons, lectors, music ministry, servers, sextons, church decorators, and rectory staff who made the occasion so special and… Read More »MDW ’24!
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.” The previous quote appears in the Shakesperean play As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII. I was on a bus trip to the Catholic Shrines… Read More »All the reasons to celebrate Father Joe!!
Blessings on this Mother’s Day weekend. May Our Lady intercede on behalf of all our mothers, grandmothers, godmothers, and all who play a maternal role in our lives. Enjoy this most special time with your family. The following was written by Pope Leo XIII (13th) on the Feast Day of the Birth of the Blessed Mother, 8 September 1892. The… Read More »Mothers!
Congratulations to our First Holy Communion Class, and welcome to the Table of Plenty as you receive the Bread of Life. These young parishioners have been diligently preparing for their first reception of the Most Blessed Sacrament and their reverent approach to the altar showcases their love and respect for Jesus, the Church, and the Most Holy Eucharist. Thank you… Read More »The Solemnity of the Ascension
Our First Communion Class will celebrate their retreat today, in a final preparation for their reception of their First Holy Communion on Saturday. They have already received the Sacrament of Penance as they have been preparing for this reception of the Bread of Life. Blessings upon them and their families as well as their catechists and teachers who have assisted… Read More »Our First
The Fourth Week of Easter is traditionally Vocation Awareness Sunday since the gospel reading for this Sunday carries the theme of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Shepherding is a call to leadership. It recognizes the responsibility of the shepherd for the welfare of others. For a religious vocation the shepherd focuses upon the spiritual welfare of those in his care.… Read More »Jesus as the Good Shepard
I hope that you safely enjoyed the eclipse this past Monday. It was an exciting time for our nation to witness the power and the beauty of our solar system at work. Often God gives us the opportunity to enjoy the immense beauty of his grandeur. What a lovely treat. On the flip side was the earthquake from three days… Read More »“You are witnesses of these things”
Recently I was watching a book discussion about eighteenth century America. The author spoke about the misperception of the geo-politics of the age. Our nation, rather than being separated by an east/west division of euro-centric to the east and indigenous to the west, was more like a series of wagon-wheels. The hubs of the wheel could either be the cities,… Read More »You radiate goodness, you radiate hope, you radiate the Resurrection
“This is the night, that with a pillar of fire banished the darkness of sin. This is the night that sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices and from the gloom of sin, leading them to grace and joining them to his holy ones. This is the night, when Christ broke the prison-bars of death and rose victorious from the… Read More »Easter Blessings!
Confirmation was celebrated, by Bishop Fitzgerald, at Our Lady of Peace Parish on Tuesday. Congratulations to the Confirmation class, to their sponsors, and families. Thank you to our teachers, and catechists and for all who helped to prepare our students to receive this Sacrament of Christian Initiation. Thank you to our Drama students, their parents, and to all who worked… Read More »Palm Sunday