The Most Holy Trinity

Dear Parishioners,

“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” — That’s the way we begin and end Mass; it’s the way we begin and end our prayers; it is how blessings are given. What this means is the Trinity is at the heart and center of our faith and sacramental life and is the most important mystery of our faith. Our God is three persons in one. This reveals that God is a community of persons who live in perfect love, harmony, and unity. (Proverbs 8:22-31; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15)

The Trinity reminds us how we, who are created in the image and likeness of God, should live with all members of the human race. Of course that won’t happen until our natural families begin to live like the Holy Trinity. Let us pray that our individual domestic families and parish family may become more like the Holy Trinity living in love, harmony, and unity.

- Fr. Carl

“Those who are lead by the Holy Spirit have true ideas; that is
the reason why so many ignorant people are wiser than the
learned. The Holy Spirit is light and strength. When we are
led by a God of strength and light, we cannot go astray.”
~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars

In All Things Charity

Dear Parishioners,

Last week we celebrated the Ascension, our Lord’s reentry into heaven to be with his Father and the Holy Spirit. This week, we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit to energize the apostles and the Church (Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7; John 20:19-23). The Holy Spirit also came to give guidance and unity to the Church. In the vigil reading from the Book of Genesis (Gn 11:1-9), we see the pride of early humanity in its desire to build a tower to the sky, The Tower of Babel, and make a name for themselves. Instead they should have been trying to develop a relationship with God. As a result of their sinful pride, God confused their language so that they were no longer able to communicate with one another. Their foolish venture came to an end as the multiplication of languages led to a division among the peoples and set the stage for tribal and national conflicts, which lead to the chaos and confusion that we see in the world today.

On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was sent not only to unite the various factions of the Jews but also the Gentiles, as well. It worked for awhile in the Church, but then again division returned, and we have a divided world, country, and Church. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will help humanity to heal the wounds of strife and division, as St. Augustine said, “In essentials unity, in non-essential liberty, in the all things charity.”

- Fr. Carl

“DIRECTLY anyone feels they are losing their fervor,
they should at once make a Novena to the Holy Spirit,
asking him to give them Faith and Love.”
~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars

Happy Mother's Day!

Dear Parishioners,

Never before have the Ascension and Mothers Day been celebrated on the same day. And while the preeminent celebration is the Ascension, how can we forget all the love, goodness, and sacrifice of countless mothers throughout the ages. Besides, in order for Jesus to accomplish his saving mission, he needed a mother to give him flesh and blood. He needed Mary! And so, too, do we.

Today the Church throughout the world celebrates the Ascension of Jesus into heaven (Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:17-23; Luke 24:46-53). It’s a sign of our ultimate destination as well, and it marks the end of our Lord’s visible presence here on earth. But our Lord’s work in this world is not complete. His work will be carried on under the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the Church. As part of the Church, we are called upon to share in Jesus’ mission of living the gospel values and sharing the gospel message as best we can. To do that requires ongoing faith formation through scripture readings on a regular bases, daily prayer, inspirational DVDs, CDs, books, and periodicals, etc. One new opportunity is giving one night through a series entitled “Discovering Christ” in which a number of our parishioners are currently engaged. We hope to offer it again, perhaps in the fall in our remodeled hall. I have heard very favorable reports by many past participants.

Finally, as we are in the month of May, Our Lady’s month, I encourage you to deepen your relationship with Mary through her favorite prayer, the rosary.

Happy Mother’s Day!
Fr. Carl

“If you look for God you will find him, and in the hour of
your death he will say to you: ‘See, I am here whom you
have ever sought!’”
~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars

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