I'm So Excited!

Dear Parishioners,

Anyone who attended one of our First Communion Masses the last two weekends would have been edified by our young boys and girls. They looked so angelic in their nice outfits and well excited as they prepared to receive Jesus for the first time. I asked one little girl bubbling with enthusiasm how she felt, and she replied “I’m so excited! I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time!” Actually, it’s the way we should all feel. We should be excited every time we come to Mass to receive Jesus. The entire world cannot contain our Lord, yet he wants to be contained in us. He wants to be in our hearts as a great guest. However, the years have a way of diluting that youthful fervor, and so the Eucharist can be taken for granted. It saddens me to see some people receive Holy Communion and then walk right out the door as though they had just picked up a burger at fast-food drive-in window. No time for a proper thanksgiving for such a great gift.

Jesus says in the gospel, “Unless your become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (Matt 18:3) May we all recapture the attitudes of our young First Communicants.

- Fr. Carl

“One ought always to be ready to give up one’s own will
to do what God wants… ”
~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars

Encountering Christ in the Eucharist

Dear Parishioners,

Last week and this week we have had our first communions. So I was reminded of a reflection by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

In a small village in modern day Tunisia [in the year 303 A.D.], forty-nine Christians were arrested one Sunday while they were celebrating the Eucharist (which was against the law of the Roman emperor Diocletian) and taken to Carthage to be interrogated. A man named Emeritus gave to the proconsul who asked him why he had disobeyed the emperor’s severe orders the following answer:

“We cannot live without joining on Sunday to celebrate the Eucharist. We would lack the strength to face our daily problems and not to succumb… Christ is truly among us in the Eucharist… It is dynamic presence that grasps us, to make us his own, to make us assimilate him. Christ draws us to him, he makes us come out of ourselves to make us all one with him… Communion with the Lord is always also communion with our brothers and sisters… This means that we can encounter him only together with others. We can only receive him in unity…”

Then Benedict himself goes on to say this. “The consequence is clear: we cannot communicate with one another… To do this we must learn the great lesson of forgiveness: we must not let the gnawings of resentment work in our soul but must open our hearts to the magnanimity of listening to others, open our hearts to understanding them, eventually to accepting their apologies, to generously offering our own.”

- Fr. Carl

“During the day, and even at night if you wake, say to
God : ‘My God, give me the grace to love you as much
as it is possible for me to love you!’”
~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars

The Good Shepherd

Dear Parishioners,

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, and we rejoice in having Jesus as our “good shepherd” who will watch out for us, guard us, protect us, and lead us to the green pasture of heaven (John 10:27-30). However, we might not like being likened to sheep who are noted for their intelligence. Yet in one sense, they are far wiser than human beings. How? They always recognize and follow the voice of their shepherd. They only get lost when their shepherd isn’t around to lead them. We, on the other hand, hear not only the voice of the Good Shepherd but also other voices from the culture around us and sometimes from the Devil himself. And sometimes those other voices are so appealing, attractive, and popular that we follow them instead of Jesus.

Let us pray for the grace to listen more attentively to the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who always has our best interest at heart so as to arrive safely into God’s eternal pasture.

- Fr. Carl

“AH! If only God saw in us the same humility and selfabasement
as he saw in the Centurion who said to him:
‘Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my
roof,’ with what pleasure and with what abundance of
graces would He not come into our hearts!”
~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars

Mercy

Dear Parishioners,

Last week I thanked the various ministries and committees who helped with Holy Week Services. However, there was one very important group I forgot to thank, and that was you, the parishioners who attended the services and who were so generous in giving St. Jane’s your time and treasure. I deeply appreciated all your support!

The renovation project for the parish kitchen/hall is moving along on schedule. So far the electrical system and additional lighting along with a stainless steel backing behind the ovens have been installed. We have received contracts for an epoxy floor in the kitchen, a tile floor in the hall, painting the kitchen, and rolling counter shutters/doors at the service windows. We will begin the majority of the project after school lets out in mid June and hope to be finished by the time school opens in late August. Please pray for the success of this much needed and well deserved upgrade.

In this Holy Year of Mercy, we see St. Peter on the receiving end of Jesus’ mercy (John 21:1-19). Three times Peter had denied knowing Jesus on the evening of betrayal. So it is only fitting that Peter be asked to attest to his love for Jesus, three times, and he willingly does just that. Of course, Jesus extends his Mercy and forgiveness to St. Peter after his repentance. It must have been very embarrassing for this strong fisherman so confident in his faith before the passion, to have to humble himself before Jesus. Yet his faith was stronger than his pride, and Peter did what we must do when we fall—humble ourselves before Jesus in the Sacrament of Penance. There we can expect the same treatment as St. Peter—mercy and the call of all disciples of Jesus “Follow me.”

- Fr. Carl

“We notice in the Gospels that there were very few who
confessed their indebtedness to Jesus Christ openly;
people only thanked him for as long as they remained
at his feet.”
~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars

God Never Tires of Forgiving

Dear Parishioners,

It was wonderful but exhausting Holy Week. The weather cooperated, the liturgies were well attended and well celebrated. I never received so many compliments on the liturgies as I did this year.

Every year I hesitate to list all those who helped because I am afraid I will omit some group or person. So please forgive me if I do. First our maintenance men, our church cleaning crew, our liturgy and decorating committee, our lectors, our cantors, choirs, and musicians, our extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, our sacristans, and our altar servers, all did so very, very well. They were wonderful and I appreciate all the extra time they put into our liturgies.

One new assist was provided by Atlantic Maintenance Group who put in many hours to help make our grounds so attractive. The leaf removal and mulch around our flower beds and trees was provided at no cost to the parish. What a blessing!

This Second Sunday of Easter, also known as Divine Mercy Sunday, celebrates the great mercy God through Jesus offers us in the Sacrament of Penance. Jesus passes that mercy through the priests of the Church. God never tires of forgiving. So let us never tire of asking.

- Fr. Carl

“Jesus on the Cross said to the disciple whom he loved:
‘Behold your mother!’ How sweet are those words to the Christian
 who is able to understand what depths of love they contain!”
~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars

Apostle to the Apostles

Dear Parishioners,

The “Apostle to the Apostles”—that’s what the early Church fathers called her. You and I know her as Mary Magdalene. Today at the Easter Vigil or Easter Sunday, the gospels show her on center stage for two reasons (John 20:1-9). First, unlike the apostles who were nowhere near the tomb on Easter Sunday morning, she was there. Her love and faith were so strong she had to be as close to Jesus as possible no matter what. That’s the role of any good apostle or follower of Jesus. Second, she was sent to bring the good news to the apostles, for the word apostle means someone who is sent. Subsequently, the apostles would regain their faith and be sent to preach the good news to all the world.

While Easter Sunday is a day of great joy and celebration because our Lord’s resurrection conquered sin and death and opened the gates of heaven, let us not forget Mary Magdalene and the apostles. In following Jesus, we are going to encounter difficulties and defeats. Hopefully, we can press on faithfully as did Mary Magdalene. However, if we falter as did the apostles, let us start out anew to try to spread the good news. Happy Easter to you and your families.

- Fr. Carl

“Jesus on the Cross said to the disciples whom he loved:
‘Behold your mother!’ How sweet are those words to the
Christian who is able to understand what depths of love
they contain!”
~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars

Palm Sunday

Dear Parishioners,

The weeks have passed all too quickly and now, with the sun making its way across the sky, we are here with our Lord outside the silent stone walls of old Jerusalem (Luke 22:14–23:56). We have come a long way. We have witnessed this One now robed in love feed the hungry, give sight to the blind and strength to the lame. We have heard stories about a woman accused of adultery and two lost sons. With our Lord walking before us, we now see him on the Mount of Olives rising to sit on a donkey whose back has never felt the weight of a human being.

Palm Sunday, this day when the stone walls would shout even if we were silent, is a day to remember. With God's presence and in God's loving embrace, nothing can ultimately keep us from God's love and grace.

- Deacon Robert

“To preserve Purity, three things are necessary; the practice of
the presence of God, prayer, and the Sacraments; and again,
the reading of holy books– this nourishes the soul.”
~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars