Trust Jesus

Brothers and Sisters,

Have we ever found ourselves questioning whether our faith in Jesus is sufficient or “big enough?” The Apostles must have been struggling with that same question at times. In this week’s Gospel from Luke, they ask Jesus to increase their faith. He responds that if you only have a small faith the size of mustard seed, you can do unbelievable works. Do we believe this or are we stuck in our doubt and uncertainty when Jesus speaks these words to us?

Jesus follows the statement about the mustard seed with a rather strange story involving a slave doing what is commanded. What’s the point of that story? I think that it is simply to remind us that we’re not in charge. So, we don’t have to have it all figured out. We don’t need certainty. We don’t need to see the whole picture. God is in charge. And God knows what he is doing. There is more going on than any one of us knows or understands. So, we are asked to trust him and follow his commands. Don’t wait until we have it all figured out before following him. Part of figuring it out comes by trusting the master and following anyway. Or, as St. Augustine put it, “We do not understand in order to believe. We believe in order to understand.” Trust Jesus. Do what he says. And in time we will understand his purpose and his plan.

Your faith, however small it may seem, is plenty big enough. Because it isn’t about how big your faith is. It never was. It was always about who you put that faith in. No matter how little our faith, when we put it in Jesus there is no end to what he can accomplish through us. We just need to be open and trust him.

God Bless,
Deacon Howard

Forgiveness

Dear Friends in Christ,

When the Risen Jesus appeared to and forgave His disciples, their lives were never the same. It made all things new. What a story they would have to share for the rest of their days! And what a love they would be required to imitate.

A saint who imitated Jesus is St. Maria Goretti who died a young martyr in 1902. During her final moments, Maria forgave her attacker, Alessandro Serenelli. After her death, Maria appeared to Alessandro, imprisoned and desperate, and she gave him 14 flowers—one for each of her wounds. In this miraculous encounter, Maria expressed again her forgiveness. Alessandro underwent a profound conversion.

Alessandro was reconciled to God in confession, and then Maria’s mother, Assunta, as well! She adopted Alessandro into the Goretti family. Their lives were never the same. Assunta, Maria’s siblings, and their brother, Alessandro, were all present for Maria’s canonization in Rome in 1950. Thank God for this triumph of love.

Very recently, the world witnessed Erika Kirk extend her forgiveness. “It is what Christ did, and it is what Charlie would do,” Erika said. We thank God for her witness and courage.

Such examples of love and forgiveness are luminous, humbling, and challenging. It is worth reflecting on and talking to God about our own attitudes and readiness in this essential part of our lives as close friends of Jesus. How well do we live the new commandment of Jesus “that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another”? Where am I doing well? Where can I stand to grow?

The Catechism (par. 2842) teaches us: “It is impossible to keep the Lord's commandment by imitating the divine model (Jesus) from outside; there has to be a vital participation, coming from the depths of the heart, in the holiness and the mercy and the love of our God. Only the Spirit by whom we live can make ‘ours’ the same mind that was in Christ Jesus. Then the unity of forgiveness becomes possible, and we find ourselves ‘forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave us.’”

The Catechism wisely goes on to note that this is something delicate (par. 2843): “It is not in our power not to feel or to forget an offense; but the heart that offers itself to the Holy Spirit turns injury into compassion and purifies the memory in transforming the hurt into intercession.”

God’s merciful love rescues us. It changes everything—how we live and approach our relationships and situations and our call to be saints! There are many daily opportunities to be led by the Holy Spirit to be patient, to be forgiven, to forgive, to reconcile, to serve—to love! How will we respond? Who knows how our courageous choices of love for God and others will bear fruit in our daily lives and the lives of others.

Lord, help all of us to love you and one another as you love us. Teach us and help us to forgive as you have forgiven us. We are ready to trust in the Holy Spirit who makes all things new.

Let us pray for and encourage one another!
Fr. John

Solemnity of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Dear Friends of our Pastorate of the Visitation,

This weekend, we are celebrating the Solemnity of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. This feast day, which celebrates Jesus’ triumph over the cross, takes precedence over the Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Our readings for this weekend raise up for us the power of the Cross of Jesus Christ over sin and death. Although the cross was seen as a sign of cruelty and torture in the days of Jesus, his victory over sin and death transforms the cross into a sign of hope and expectation. Catholics use the sign of the cross in many ways including when we bless ourselves with Holy Water, begin Mass, at the reading of the Gospel, and through the blessings we receive from the clergy. The sign of the cross is also traced upon the foreheads of those being baptized and those receiving the Sacrament of the Sick. Plus there are numerous other ways we may use the sign of the cross in our daily devotional practices. The Cross of Jesus Christ is our sign of our faith and hope in the Lord. “We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you, because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world!”

Our parishes’ financial statements are included in this weekend’s bulletin and will be posted on our websites. We accomplished quite a bit over the past fiscal year (which ran from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025). St. Jane Frances completed the replacement of the St. Jane School roof which hadn’t been replaced since the mid-1980s. OLC replaced the church’s roof as well as the clerestory windows and church siding. Thank you all for your generosity to our parishes, which made these projects possible. I would also like to thank the members of each parish’s finance committees and their chairs—Mary Jo Barranco (OLC) and Gail Krondon (SJF)—for their continued assistance and due diligence in helping me to oversee the finances.

We will be launching our Fall Stewardship program in a couple of weeks entitled “Called to Serve: Sharing our Blessings, Strengthening our Church.” Over the next couple of weeks, I ask each of you to reflect upon your weekly offertory commitment to your parish and prayerfully consider increasing your giving. As we all know, expenses keep rising—at home as well as at the parish—so any increase in your giving will be appreciated. Stay tuned for more information during Announcement Weekend on Sept. 27–28.

We are celebrating Catechetical Sunday this weekend as we call forth and bless our parishioners who have volunteered their time to serve as teachers and catechists at our pastorate. Is the Holy Spirit calling you to assist us? I believe some of you are being asked to help, so please consider signing up and becoming a teacher of our faith!

Thank you for keeping our Pastorate of the Visitation—St. Jane Frances and Our Lady of the Chesapeake—in your daily prayers!

God Bless,
Father Steve

Priorities

Brothers and Sisters,

The first words we hear from Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel reading (Luke 14:25-33) might shock us or at least make us scratch our head. Why does Jesus say we must “hate” our loved ones and even ourselves? The strong language used by the Lord originates from His setting and times, what we would now call a Semitic worldview, where very strong language was used to convey a teaching clearly. So, without a doubt, we can say the term “hate,” as we normally understand the word, is not to be taken literally here. It is a Hebrew idiom or form of speech which was used to express preference or allegiance. The expression “to hate” often meant to “prefer less.” So, what is the underlying message Jesus wants to convey?

Jesus turns to the crowds and speaks to them about discipleship. Jesus explains that, when it comes to making a choice for the Kingdom of God and following Him, nothing can get in the way, even those closest to us. He was saying “don’t prefer them to me.” Jesus is telling us not to prefer anything over being a disciple of His, not to take anything more seriously than going to God and making Him the center of your life. When Jesus describes “hating” one’s father and mother, He is not talking about feelings. Rather, He is emphasizing very strongly that choosing to be a disciple means that everything else—family, money, your own life—must come second. “Hate” in this context is not a call to develop an intense dislike for family members, but is rather a call to love them less than Christ. Jesus wanted to make clear the critical point that for those who wish to follow Him, that nothing and no one other than God should take priority or first place in our heart. That place is reserved for God alone. What is first in our heart?

God Bless,
Deacon Howard

My Favorite Thing About Being A Catholic

Dear Parishioners,

There is a spectacular and mysterious image we contemplate in the second reading from Hebrews this weekend: “you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering, and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect, and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel” (Heb 12:22-24).

All of this is what we approach in the celebration of every Mass! At Mass, all of heaven is present; it is our primary contact with God—where He speaks to us and we to Him; where God reaches out to touch us and we Him.

The Mass is my favorite thing about being a Catholic—my favorite thing about being a priest. It is the primary draw for many inquirers and converts to the Catholic faith in our Pastorate; and, it is my favorite place to see you!

This upcoming Sunday, September 7, we will be blessed with newly canonized saints Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati. The two of them are inspiring patrons for young people—Carlo died at age 15 and Pier at age 24. They are also saints whom we know to have been driven by their Eucharistic faith. Hear what they had to say about the Eucharist:

“If Jesus stays with us wherever there is a consecrated Host, what need is there to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem to visit places he lived two thousand years ago? If only people visited tabernacles with the same devotion!” – Blessed Carlo Acutis

While I sincerely pray everyone can make a pilgrimage to our Faith’s holy shrines, Blessed Carlo’s words ring true. 

“I urge you with all the strength of my soul to approach the Eucharistic Table as often as possible. Feed on this Bread of the Angels from which you will draw the strength to fight inner struggles, the struggles against passions and against all adversities, because Jesus Christ has promised to those who feed themselves with the most Holy Eucharist, eternal life and the necessary graces to obtain it.” – Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

Blessed Pier reminds us of the tremendous power of our Daily Bread.

Please join us for daily Mass this week if you are able. There will also be Eucharistic adoration on Friday September 5 at St. Jane Frances from 9am–3pm and Our Lady of the Chesapeake from 9am–10am.

As we take tomorrow as a nation to celebrate Labor Day, let us give thanks to God for the dignity of our labors. We pray for and open our hearts to those who are not accorded fair wages and how we might serve and advocate for them.

You may find the following reflections and resources formative: https://www.usccb.org/committees/domestic-justice-and-human-development/labor-day-resources

God bless you and thank you for keeping the Pastorate of the Visitation in your daily prayers!

Father John

The Narrow Gate

Happy Sunday, dear Friends!

We are given yet another challenging Gospel passage today. Gospels like last weekend and this weekend are good reminders that it is not easy or comfortable to be a Christian! But God has our happiness in mind. “I have come that you may have joy and your joy may be full!” (John 15:11).

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is asked, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough,” our Lord answers. A challenging aspect of our life of faith is evident here: we are powerless to pass through the narrow gate without God’s lavish mercies. No worldly wisdom, material successes, or novelties can give us the strength we need to pass through. Daily friendship with God and having the heart and mind of Jesus is what makes us strong and able to pass through the narrow gate.

God is drawn to the weak to help them. This is a profound paradox that saints like Paul and Therese of Lisieux understood well. “In my weakness, I am strong,” St. Paul says. St. Therese once wrote to her sister, “What pleases (God) is that He sees me loving my littleness and my poverty, the blind hope that I have in His mercy… This is my only treasure… Oh dear Sister, I beg you, understand your little girl, understand that to love Jesus, to be His victim of love, the weaker one is… the more suited one is for the workings of this consuming and transforming love.”

Let yourself be loved, forgiven, healed, and lifted up by God. He is drawn to the powerless and the needy. He is delighted to walk with us hand in hand, even to carry us, through the narrow gate of His Pierced Heart.

Alas, it is back to school time. The end of summer blues is understandable! May the Lord bless all of our teachers, students and parents in the new school year. May friendships, planning and studies, and sacrifices be blessed. As schedules get busy, may we keep Christ at the center through Sunday Mass and daily prayer.

If you find yourself with a few extra minutes in the car or on the bus with the onset of morning (and afternoon) traffic, this bonus time can be a nice opportunity to invite God into the day ahead, to pray the Rosary, or to listen to a podcast like The Bible in a Year by Ascension Presents.

If you or someone you know is interested in becoming Catholic or learning more about the Catholic faith, please email me about registering for our Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA) program! Participants in OCIA must be 18 or older. Other arrangements can be made for any inquirers under 18.

God bless you abundantly and thank you for keeping the Pastorate of the Visitation in your daily prayers!!

Father John

Defending The Truth

Brothers and Sisters,

We should understand and embrace the fact that as you grow in your faith, it isn’t necessarily going to be accepted or comfortable to everyone. This is a big theme in this week’s readings. In the Gospel, Jesus says that he didn’t come to bring peace, but division. When we grow in our love of our faith, we also grow in our love of what God has revealed to us both in His Word and what is written on our hearts and in our very nature as human beings. The more we love God, the more we love the truth. The more we love the truth, the more we realize the importance of defending it. When we defend the truth revealed by God, a truth that can be inconvenient at times, and goes against what our culture believes at times, people aren’t going to like what you have to say or how you live. They are going to feel uncomfortable and opposed to our beliefs. It happened to Jeremiah, as he was thrown into a mud pit. It happened to the Apostles as they were martyred. It also happened to Jesus himself! We’re starting to hear more and more these days about people who sincerely desire to live their faith and defend the truth being called intolerant or hateful, simply because they don’t agree with the popular stances on the issues of our society. We need to stand on the truth, and embrace it as an opportunity to grow closer to Christ. Christ has come to set our hearts on fire. Let Him fan the flames of faith alive in our own hearts, so that we might have a light to guide ourselves and others to the glory of God’s Kingdom.

God Bless,
Deacon Howard