Pastoral Message

Hey Y'all! I had some surgery the week after Easter. The procedure corrected a hernia. The hernia started with a hard cough and then for years I nursed it, watching my belly button grow out instead of in. Post-surgery, I have a normal belly again – well, big but normal. I'm healing well, back to work and full of gratitude that it’s fixed. In the last couple of weeks of recuperation, some of y’all had heard of my woeful state. So

“I am the gate for the sheep…Whoever enters through me will be saved.” In John’s Gospel, Jesus proclaims seven “I Am” statements that point to His unique, divine identity and purpose: I am the Bread of Life (John 6:35) I am the Light of the World (John 8:12) I am the Door (Gate) (John 10:9) I am the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14) I am the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25) I am the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) I am the Vine

On behalf of our Mission Trip Team, THANK YOU SO MUCH! A few weeks ago we returned from our week-long Mission Trip to Poland with full hearts, open minds, and mixed emotions. Our experience, as Fr Reynold mentioned in his recent pastoral message, was “heavy.” Heavy with stories of war, suffering, and loss. But it was also a trip loaded with faith, hope, and love. And we want to tell you all about it! Our trip would not have been possible

In 2000, Saint John Paul II designated the second Sunday of Easter, which is the eighth and final day of the Easter Octave, as Divine Mercy Sunday. He believed that the Divine Mercy of God was the key to understanding the joy of Easter. Today’s gospel scene provides insight into this great mystery of the Divine Mercy. On the first Easter Sunday evening, Jesus comes in the midst of His disciples, whom he finds frightened and ashamed behind a locked door.

Hey Y’all! “Victimae paschali laudes immolent Christiani.” The Latin phrase above is an excerpt taken from one of our liturgical songs today. While a poetic command, it implies a lot of backstory, making the phrase pretty theological but even more deeply foundational to Christian faith. Now I know just enough Latin to be a wee bit dangerous, still I might translate the excerpt like this: “Christians, offer praises of sacrifice to the Passover Victim.” The hymn in the bulletin translates the phrase as

Today, the Church to celebrates the final journey of our Lord as He completes His earthly ministry. The joy that we feel in remembering His triumphant entry into Jerusalem will quickly turn to the extreme sorrow of commemorating His arrest, beating, crucifixion and death. Of course, we also have the benefit of knowing that His story does indeed end well. But, that is the subject of next week’s bulletin article. This week, we need to focus on the end of

Hey Y'all, I'm writing this week's bulletin message from Poland. The pictures look like many you'd see from any Church group on a mission trip- we're enjoying local hospitality, getting to visit cool places, and meeting interesting people.  All afternoon and evening today we heard stories of war crimes witnessed by people who had just feed us sumptuously. We took on the emotions - rage, fear, anxiety, frustration and darkness- that were expressed by these refugees as they told their stories. But

You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light… In our country today, nearly every event (whether tragic, joyful, natural or manmade), is seized upon as a political event. Folks from “both sides of the aisle” quickly line up to blindly express extreme views in an attempt to capitalize on the event to support their agendas. Often, their blindness prevents them from truly seeing the circumstances or the impact on the people that

You might have heard it said that a picture is worth a 1000 words. Well, here are a lot fewer words from me and some pictures from the Confirmation Year 2 retreat! The Sacrament of Confirmation will be conferred on these young folks just a few weeks after Easter. Take it from me, these young men and women are fine! We need to encourage them with our words and prayers. Pray that as they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit

It is good that we are here! One of my favorite people in the New Testament is Peter. He reminds me so much of the people that I grew up with in New York. They were always ready with a comment, or an observation, or a complaint, or an opinion. Being quiet simply was not an option. Occasionally they might say something brilliant. Often, they said things that were offensive or just plain stupid. Peter fits that pattern perfectly. In Matthew’s Gospel,