Prayer Ribbon Wall

Blessings and peace to you! I hope that everyone had a great time at our parish festival last weekend. It was special meeting so many of you at this annual event that supports so much of the ministry and service of our parish. Have you ever had a strange dream and then upon waking up, gave thanks to God because it was not the reality? In his weirdest dream, Fr. John bought a lottery ticket and said to himself: “If I win

Happy Festival Weekend to All Y’all! Ever since this batch of priests showed up here at Saints Simon & Jude we have heard of the glories of the Fall Festival. Literally, the first question we asked of the Pastoral Council, the MEC board, the Finance Committee and just parishioners at large was “What’s the most vibrant ministry in the parish?” The answer, without exception, was “The Festival”. And then just roaming around town, and stating I was the new Pastor of

When I was a kid, I remember a family gathering where some of the adults around me were speaking in whispers and seemingly using code words. Of course, that only made me listen more intently. I remember they referred to something- a “green eyed monster”. Wow, a green eyed monster!?! What could be uglier than a green eyed monster? It scared me just thinking that there could be such a creature. I thought I’d better be on the look-out for

Many of us want to be rich and famous. Why is this? There is something very deep in our human nature that strives for winning, succeeding and conquering. We want to be first, and to be the best. We want all this because the world tells us that greatness is measured by how many people serve us and how many people we control. Christ teaches us a different measure and criterion when he says, “If anyone wishes to be first,

My father was a New York City Firefighter for 33 years. He loved being a fireman, but he also understood that each time he arrived at the firehouse for a tour of duty he might not come home. Fortunately, he was never seriously injured and he always came home. Other firemen were not so blessed. My brother was a New York City Police Officer for more than 20 years. Again, all who serve as police officers recognize that they may

Blessings and peace to you. I hope you have been able to have some wonderful summer time with family and friends. As I read the Gospel passage for this Sunday, especially where Jesus said: “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile” Mark 7: 14-15. It reminds me of a Zen story that I heard when I was a child. A senior monk

All words are said, and should be understood, in context. The same words may have very different meanings depending on whether they are said in anger or in jest. Similarly, the reactions to those words might vary from outrage or insult to a hearty laugh. The point is that, without context, it is often impossible to truly understand why specific words are being communicated. Context can be determined by the tone of the speaker, her demeanor, the circumstances of a