Seasons

Dear Parishioners,

As I reflect on the Gospel reading for this week (Mk 6:30-34), I’m reminded of how our world is full of activity that runs in cycles or in rhythm. The seasons of the year, daylight and night time over the 24 hours of a day, even the plant life has its cycles of growth and bearing fruit. There are many other examples—these are just a few. Jesus speaks to us about the cycle or rhythm of the Christian life. The Christian life is a continuous going into the presence of God from the presence of men and coming out into the presence of men from the presence of God. After the activity of ministering and serving others, we must reconnect and recharge in prayer with our Lord, otherwise our spiritual life becomes ineffective.

Deacon Howard

Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Dear Parishioners,

The month of June is traditionally dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the Feast day is always celebrated on the Friday after Corpus Christi. It goes back to the late 1600s when Jesus appeared to a nun of the Order of the Visitation, the order founded by St. Jane Frances. The nun, St. Margaret Mary, said that Jesus visited her three times between 1673 and 1675. Our Lord said he was deeply saddened by the ungrateful, neglectful, even contemptuous way he was treated by mankind. He explained how His heart burned for all creation, and that he had perpetually given His mercy, compassion, and uncompromising love to every person. Yet so many, including Christians, were not returning that love.

He asked Margaret Mary to honor his love by frequently receiving holy Communion, especially on the first Friday of every month. He invited her to spend a holy hour the night before offering recompense for what he experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane.

During another visit, Jesus urged the nun to promote a church feast to be held on the Friday after Corpus Christi Sunday. He desired people throughout the world to celebrate the day by receiving holy Communion and by prayer.

Through these pious acts, Christians would make reparation for all the times people have ignored or even mocked his love. In return, Jesus made 12 promises. Among them was that anyone who received holy communion on the first Friday of every month for 9 consecutive months would always know the refuge of His Sacred Heart, especially at the time of death. The promises Jesus made are as follows:

1. I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their homes.
3. I will comfort them in their afflictions.
4. I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all in death.
5. I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.
6. Sinners will find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Lukewarm hearts will become fervent.
8. Fervent hearts shall quickly mount to high perfection.
9. I will bless every place in which an image of My Heart is exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who promote this devotion shall have their names written in my heart.
12. Those who make the 9 first Fridays will receive the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in disgrace nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.

That’s not a bad return for a little extra time with Jesus.

Fr. Carl

Introducing Deacon Howard Klohr

Hello, everyone!

I want to introduce myself to the parish this weekend.  I was ordained a permanent deacon this past May 2021. I’m thrilled to be here at St. Jane Francis parish. I grew up in Glen Burnie and attended Church of the Crucifixion parish all of my life. The parish is now part of Christ the King Church. I’ve lived in Pasadena for over 31 years with my wife Sandy. We’ve raised our three daughters here, all of which are grown adults living here in Pasadena. We have two son-in-laws, two grandsons, and a granddaughter. I hope to get to know each of you as I settle into my vocation in the parish. I look forward to working together in ministry and serving each other as we worship and praise our Lord we love and adore. I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide our activities as well as our daily lives.  
 
As I reflect on the second reading for Sunday’s mass (2 Cor 12:7-10), I’m reminded of how much we need to surrender our own will, and trust the Lord to work in and through us. When we accept our weakness then we can fully rely on the Lord. It’s when we’re relying on God’s strength that we’re truly strong, for it’s God’s strength working through us, not the strength of our own flesh. When we are weak, but God is strong in and through us, keeping us faithful in our weakness, he can work through us in amazing ways. This brings glory to his name, because it’s clear that it’s not us, but God at work. So, let us be strong in the Lord and go forth in God’s strength and let him bring glory to his name, through us—even through our weaknesses.
 
Again, I look forward to being a part of this parish family and sharing in our faith journey together. I ask that you please keep me in your prayers, and I will keep you in my daily prayers.

God Bless,
Deacon Howard

God versus Science

Dear Parishioners,

From time to time, you hear people denying the existence of God. They say, “If God is the is the creator of all things, why did he create evil?” In a book entitled God vs Science, the author answers this way. He begins by talking about heat and cold, and asks the atheistic professor, who has been questioning God’s greatness, “Professor is there such a thing as heat?” The professor answers, “Yes.” “And is there such a thing as cold?” Again, the professor answers “Yes” to which the student answers, “No sir there isn’t.” The student explains “You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super heat, mega heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest 458 degrees.

The student then does the same thing with light and darkness to show that darkness doesn’t exist by itself; it is the absence of light.

Finally, the student asks “Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?” The professor answers “Yes” and then refers to the news saying that you read and hear about all the crimes reported. To this the student replied “Evil does not exist or at least it doesn’t exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God’s love present in his heart. It’s like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.” The professor had nothing to say and sat down.

Fr. Carl

P.S.: The student’s name was Albert Einstein.

God’s Plan For Us

Dear Parishioners,

As I am writing this, I am thinking that this will be my last reflection for the bulletin. I have enjoyed writing these little notes, and I hope they have not been too annoying! 

Our readings today speak about trust in God who quells the storms in our lives (Jb 38:1, 8-11; Ps 107:23-24, 25-26, 28-29, 30-31; 2Cor 5:14-17; Mk 4:35-41). I would say that this is perhaps the biggest decision we need to make. Above many things is our need to say to Christ, “Yes, I trust you.” I believe that my move to St. Mary’s will be lead by God. It is my job to listen for what God is offering to me and what He wants from me. My answer will come in the opportunities I am given, the people I meet, the little nudges I get from family, friends, and church. This move, if guided by God, by me allowing God’s will to guide me and the Holy Spirit to inform me, will result in good things. 

Can I say how this will happen? Well, no. Can I tell you how God will use me for His purposes? Well, no. But I need to work at saying “yes” to God and trusting Him with my life. I don’t always follow this wonderful dictate, I sometimes act selfishly and say stupid stuff or do dumb things. I hope that God has a sense of humor. He needs it with most of us! But when I reflect and think reasonably, my trusting God is the only thing that really makes sense. If I try to seek out happiness, that doesn’t work because some circumstances are not happy. If I try to fill up things with money or activity, that doesn’t work for the important things can’t be bought, and sometimes the best reaction is simple quiet. Let us trust in God and be open to His will. Let us know that God will reveal His plan in His time and in His way. Let us listen and keep our eyes open to His presence and His word.

Blessings,
Deacon Steve

Changes and Blessings

Dear Parishioners,

This is the time of the year for changes. As you know, our deacon, Steve House, will be leaving to serve at St. Mary’s in Annapolis, and our music director, Jay Klapka, is retiring after a long career. They will be very much missed. However, the Lord has blessed us and given us two replacements. Deacon Howard Klohr and his wife, Sandy, will be joining us on July 1st. Deacon Howard was just ordained, has lived in Pasadena the last 30 years, is the father of 3 grown daughters and a grandfather of three. Our new Director of Music is Robert Henry and has served as an organist/music director for the past 21 years in different churches in the Archdiocese. I am pleased to welcome both of them on board.

While I am not a fan of modern technology and am frequently frustrated by my computer and the never ending changes, I cannot live without my smart phone. I so much appreciate the information I can get and the tasks it will do for me. Today, we can do so much more with it and all the other labor saving devices on the market, that we are losing the virtue of patience. Our consumerist culture brainwashes us to expect almost instant, visible results. But that’s not how God works. In the Gospel (Mk 4:26–34), Jesus uses the image of the farmer and the seed. It takes a good while for all the seeds planted to grow and become the harvest. It took 600 years for God to plant the seed with Abraham and bring it to fruition in Moses, and another 1200 years to grow into the incarnation of Jesus. Now there are over 1 billion Catholics in the world!

We have had the seed of God’s love planted in us at baptism and are called to grow in holiness. But that takes time—actually a whole lifetime. And so we must be patient with ourselves as we grow. We will make mistakes along the way, so we must be patient with ourselves, because God is patient with us. As Mother Theresa used to say, “God doesn’t ask us to be successful; he asks us to be faithful.”

Fr. Carl

Feast of Corpus Christi

Dear Parishioners,

I was driving to church a couple of weeks ago when my car was hit on Richie Highway. It was totaled, and we had to get a new car. This is what I feared about the trip from Annapolis. So, I am relieved that with my reassignment, I won’t have to regularly do the trip. But the accident also brought home to me God’s protection. Had the car hit my car a couple of feet further to the front, my door would have been hit, and who knows what injury would have occurred. As it was, I was thankfully not injured.  
 
God’s protection and presence in my life is a source of goodness and holiness that I readily acknowledge and seek out. This is a reflection of my faith. Today we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi. This Solemnity recognizes the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. It is his body and blood, soul and divinity. It dates back to 1264 and Pope Urban IV, under the influence of St. Juliana of Mount Cornillon, Belgium, a sister who had great devotion to the Eucharist and St. Thomas Aquinas, the great theologian. The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist means that we believe that Christ is truly present, and as we consume the Eucharist, Christ comes to be present in our body, mind, and spirit. The Eucharist is significantly described by the Vatican II Council as the source and summit of our faith. Christ is therefore present in the world around us and in ourselves, having partaken of the Eucharist. We live in him and he in us, in him we have our being. Let us therefore be aware of his true presence and be open to the fruits of his presence and thankful for its benefits.

Blessings,
Deacon Steve