Be Great!

Dear Parishioners,

We overlook the extraordinary in the ordinary people and the ordinary places around us. Great things are done on our behalf by people who go unnoticed and unthanked. Public acclaim is never a test of greatness. There are people who are never noticed who accomplish great things among their fellow human beings. Greatness is a matter of doing the best we can with what we’ve got in the place that we are. So don’t count on recognition as the measure of your contribution to life.

- Deacon Robert

“We ought, in the morning on awaking, to offer to God our heart,
our mind, our thoughts, our words, our actions, our whole selves, to
serve for his glory alone.”
- The Cure D’Ars

Fortnight of Freedom Mass this Tuesday

Dear Parishioners,

As part of the “Fortnight of Freedom” prayer effort on behalf of the preservation of religious liberty, St. John the Evangelist Church in Severna Park will be hosting an area Mass celebrated by Bishop Mitch Rozanski on Tuesday, July 3 at 7 PM. All are welcome, and I encourage parishioners to attend!

- Fr. Carl

“As a good gardener works from
morning till night to destroy the
weeds in his garden and fill it with
flowers, so let us work every day to
destroy the blemishes of our soul
and adorn it with virtues.
- The Cure D’Ars

Finding Your Voice

Dear Parishioners,

John the Baptist was born into the world with a mission. He would be the one who would use his voice to prepare the way of the Lord (Luke 1:57-66, 80). He would teach the people that they were not to be submissive servants to those who would tell them what to think or that they didn’t know what they wanted for themselves. In John’s time, there were those who believed they were in charge and would dictate to the people what was best for them.

Here we are on this first Sunday of summer, remembering the birth of John the Baptist, wanting to believe we all have a voice worth finding, and then believing God can use our voice to tell the good news that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. You can find your voice, and we as God’s people can find our voice, and in the finding, in being who God created us to be, find that God has a purpose for us that just might make this world more like what God created it to be. Together, let’s find our voice to God’s greater glory.

- Deacon Robert

“We should daily renew our
baptismal vows.”
- The Cure D’Ars

Fathers

Dear Parishioners,

A mighty oak begins its life as a small acorn in the ground. It takes many years to fully develop. The kingdom of God began the same way. A simple carpenter gathered disciples, preached and taught and healed. Today that kingdom of believers on earth consists of more than a billion men, women, and children, not to mention the billions in heaven and purgatory. For many years, Jesus was guarded, protected, and cared for not only by Mary, but also by Joseph the foster father of Jesus. Today we celebrate Father’s Day and remember those men who are, or were, our fathers or father figures in our growth to maturity. Today, our families need good fathers more than ever. Let us pray to our heavenly Father in thanks for the blessings received from our earthly fathers. Let us also pray for new fathers that they may imitate the virtues of St. Joseph and become strong, loving, and wise.

- Fr. Carl

“You do not know the resources of
God’s providence for those who put
their trust in him.”
- The Cure D’Ars

Corpus Christi (Body of Christ)

A Message from Our Deacon

If we would, perhaps we could genuinely hear what Jesus is saying about his life and our life together with him (Mark 14:12-16, 22-26). We could hear that the breaking of bread and the drinking of wine convey a mystery so profound that all history hangs on its meaning. We could, maybe for the first time or at least for the first time in a long time, hear deeply that God loves us so much, God gave all of who God is to us in Jesus Christ… nothing held back!

What would worship become for you and me if we tried to understand God’s gift to us? Worship would be transformed by wonder and grace that break through the mundane moments of our weary lives with life-changing power. Turn on your gift of imagination.

Today we honor the body and blood of Christ, remembering he gave himself for us. Come to this table and give yourself to him whom to know is the gift of life eternal.

- Deacon Robert

“When we receive Holy Communion,
  we receive our joy and our happiness.”
  - The Cure D’Ars

The Holy Trinity

Dear Parishioners,

Several years ago a priest thought he would be creative during a baptismal ceremony. So he baptized each child, “In the name of the Creator, and of the Redeemer, and of the Sanctifier.” Of course, he should have said, “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” When his bishop found out, he was not amused, for the babies were not validly baptized and had to be returned to church and receive real authentic baptism. Why the priest did what he did, I don’t know. Perhaps he wanted to be more inclusive, but he had reduced the Trinity to three functions – creation, redemption, and sanctification. However, the Trinity is much more than that. The Trinity is three divine persons living in perfect harmony and loving relationship with one another so as to be united into one God. The Trinity is a model of who and what we should be. Let us pray for the grace to form more harmonious, loving relationships with one another so as to better reflect the Trinity in our lives.

- Fr. Carl

We should say every morning:
“My God, send me thy Holy Spirit
to teach me what I am and what thou art!”
- The Cure D’Ars

What are you waiting for?

Dear Parishioners,

The Spirit’s coming (Acts 2:1-11) blew the Apostles minds to new insights, their horizons to include a wider geographic scope, and their souls open to a bolder witness to the living Christ than they had ever imagined. All the barriers of language tumbled before them, as the curse of Babel was lifted in a miracle of understanding. The barriers of racial prejudice, gender bias, age discrimination and national pride fell before the rushing wind of the Holy Spirit.

So here is the question for us this Pentecost Sunday. Will we allow the rushing mighty wind of God to blow freely through us, to blow away any hindrance to God’s reign on earth? Will we celebrate and yield to the rushing wind of God rearranging our lives, our plans and our orderly ideas?

There is still too much injustice waiting to be made right. There is too much emptiness waiting to be filled. Isn’t this the moment, isn’t this the power we have been waiting for?

- Deacon Robert

“The Holy Spirit wants to take us to
Heaven; we have only to say ‘Yes,’
and to let him take us there.”
- The Cure D’Ars