Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

Dear Parishioners,

Saints Peter and Paul are both interred in [St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome] and forever linked to each other: Peter who holds the keys to the Kingdom, and Paul, the missionary apostle who wrote half the New Testament. But they are an odd couple. At times, they saw the faith differently and advocated for differing approaches to fulfilling our Lord’s commands. Peter, who would forever feel the weight of those Kingdom keys in his hand, felt a pastoral, protective calling to lead the Church to be Christ’s presence in the world. Paul, on the other hand, was more adventuresome, continually following the vision he saw on the road to Damascus, calling him to be the apostle to the Gentiles. (Acts 12:1-11; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18; Matthew 16:13-19)

Peter and Paul found their strength in God’s love in Christ. Paul said it best to the Corinthians, “Now faith, hope and love abide. But the greatest of these is love.” Today we honor the odd couple of the early Church who led and served, preached and died fully aware that God’s love was the ultimate power in the world. May we go and do likewise.

- Deacon Robert

One Bread, One Cup, One Lord of All

Dear Parishioners,

Our Lord Jesus Christ, The Bread of Life, tells and shows us through one bread and one cup, that we are included in the one body that is the Church (Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; John 6:51-58). There are no strangers here, no outcasts, no one excluded, because the One who calls us to share in this meal sees us all as God’s children, God’s family. Imagine what could happen among us and through us as God’s people when we begin to live fully this great truth… one bread, one cup, one body. We might just change our corner of the world and live in the fullness of life that is eternal. Why not?

- Deacon Robert

“Human life must be respected and
protected absolutely from the moment of
conception. From the first moment of his
existence, a human being must be recognized
as having the rights of a person - among
which is the inviolable right of every innocent
being to life.”
~ Catechism of the Catholic Church 2270

Motherhood

[Due to Fr. Carl’s trip, there was not a “Word's From Our Pastor” in the 6/13/2014 bulletin.]

“That special power of loving that belongs to a woman is seen most clearly when she becomes a mother. Motherhood is the gift of God to women. How grateful we must be to God for this wonderful gift that brings such joy to the whole world, women and men alike! Yet we can destroy this gift of motherhood, especially by the evil of abortion, but also by thinking that other things like jobs or positions are more important than loving, than giving oneself to others. No job, no plans, no possessions, no idea of ‘freedom’ can take the place of love. So anything that destroys God’s gift of motherhood destroys His most precious gift to women – the ability to love as a woman.”

~ Blessed Mother Theresa
  Letter to the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 1995

Pentecost - Our Birthday

Dear Parishioners,

Is there anyone among us who doesn't enjoy a well-planned, festive birthday party? And similarly, is there anything worse than a poorly planned birthday party? Unfortunately, some birthday parties do not go as we would like.

But not today! Today is the birthday of the Church. We call it “Pentecost,” a Jewish festival 50 days following Passover that we Christians have made into this birthday party for the Body of Christ (Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23).

If God has blessed your family with children, you know how each child has his or her unique strengths, personality, interests, and giftedness. Not every child will express athleticism, or the talent for music. One child will excel in math and another in literature. So it is in our Christian family. We are all gifted by God with gifts that allow us to bless and strengthen God’s family. We are at our best as God’s family when we share the gifts God has given to each of us.

Here at Pentecost, this birthday of the Church, we remember that we are God’s people at our very best when we manifest the person of Jesus Christ by our very lives. Living in this community of faith aware of Christ’s presence among us is the Pentecost gift for us all.

- Deacon Robert

Evangelize!

Dear Parishioners,

As we approach the end of the Easter season (next Sunday—Pentecost), today we hear the end of Matthew’s gospel and our Lord’s last words before he ascends into heaven (Matthew 28:16-20). Since he will no longer be with his disciples, he commissions them to teach and baptize delegating his divine authority to do so. In short, he is telling them and us to evangelize. This is part of our Lord’s mission along with redemption, and is our mission in life as all our recent popes from Paul VI up to Francis have been telling us. Our Lord didn’t just live for himself; he lived and died for all of us. We, too, are called in a less dramatic way to do the same. May we respond to God’s grace and do what we can for others. Who knows what effects our Christian living will have in this world? But we will surely find out in the next world.

- Fr. Carl

“I would like to say, humbly, to those who suffer
and to those who struggle and are tempted to turn their
backs on life: turn towards Mary! Within the smile of the
Virgin lies mysteriously hidden the strength to fight against
sickness, in support of life. With her, equally, is found the
grace to accept without fear or bitterness to leave this
world at the hour chosen by God .”
~ Pope Benedict XVI

Aware of God’s Presence Through Prayer

Dear Parishioners,

The awareness of God’s presence, every day and throughout the day, may be the very “thing” most needed in our lives. Prayer offers an oasis in the desert of a crowded calendar. Prayer can intentionally shut out the other voices as we open our hearts to hear the voice of the One who loves us most. Prayer can become God’s punctuation marks in the writing of our life story, pausing for a comma, taking a deep breath with a semicolon, celebrating with an exclamation point, or just coming to a full stop before a tiny dot at the end of the day. Such is the gift and blessing of prayer.

- Deacon Robert

“What does freedom mean? It is certainly not doing whatever you want, allowing yourself to be dominated by the passions, to pass from one experience to another without discernment, to follow the fashions of the day; freedom does not mean, so to speak, throwing everything that you don’t like out the window… Let us not be afraid of life commitments, commitments that take up and concern our entire life! In this way, our life will be fruitful! And this is freedom: to have the courage to make these decisions with generosity.”
~ Pope Francis

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

Dear Parishioners,

There’s a big difference between giving directions and following directions. I’m not just talking about parents and children. As a parent, you know what you want your child to do, but he/she may not want to do it or not understand how to do it. Between two adults, it is not easy, even when one wants to follow the directions of another. It’s very easy to get confused or lost. The best directions I ever received were when I arrived in Munich, Germany. I was looking for a famous restaurant and asked two men for directions. They replied that they had just come from there and then said they would lead me there. That’s what Jesus does when he says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:1-12) He literally leads us to the truth and life (eternal life), because he is also the way. When we get confused or lost in life, we have no one to blame but ourselves, because we have turned away from Jesus, the way. It’s very simple, but it’s difficult because all too often, we want to have it “our way.”

- Fr. Carl

“A humble person, if his opinion is asked, gives it in all simplicity
and then leaves others to give theirs. Whether they are right or
wrong, he says no more.”
~ From “Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars”