Doubt

Dear Parishioners,

The Apostle Thomas is the very symbol of each and every one of us. He is an ordinary person with all his fears and doubts. As the case of Thomas illustrates (Jn 20:19-31), even the disciples who walked with Jesus sometimes had doubts. Jesus meets us wherever we are on life’s journey and removes our doubts. He knows that in our walk of faith we face many challenges. But as we observe the method Jesus used with Thomas, it is not unusual in his dealings with us. His understanding of Thomas was perfect and he patiently brought him to a deep faith. You may ask, how can we believe unless we actually see the Lord? How do we encounter him without seeing him with our eyes? Jesus says that we do not have to see him to believe in him when he says: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” This is a new beatitude for those who believe in the resurrection based on the testimony of the Apostles. This is our beatitude. We are invited by Jesus himself to believe by reading the first  hand accounts given to us by the Apostles in sacred scripture. We also encounter Him through prayer and the sacraments. This shows us that Easter faith can only come through a personal encounter with the Risen Lord.

I pray that when we encounter trials and doubts in our life, we still have the courage to proclaim our act of faith and trust in the Risen Lord. Jesus be patient with us as you were with Thomas to strengthen our faith and remove any of our doubts. Lord we do believe, change our unbelief.

Easter joy to you!
Deacon Howard

Happy Easter!

Dear Parishioners,

Alleluia! He is risen! And since He is risen, so must our spirits as well. Sin and death, evil and suffering no longer have the last word. Jesus Christ, the Word of God, now has the last word. That word is an invitation to a better life, a risen life, a happy life with the Lord. The Easter dinners, bonnets, dresses, and egg hunts are wonderful ways to celebrate the day. Of course, it goes without saying that the Mass is the most appropriate and indispensable way to celebrate the day and give thanks to God for Jesus.

After the day is over, Easter is not over. It’s too great a feast to be finished in a day, and so we extend the feast for 50 days until Pentecost. And then the Easter season ends. Yet—maybe not. Since Jesus rose on Easter Sunday, every Sunday is a “Little Easter.”

With Lent long past and Easter fading from memory, there is the temptation to return to our past way of life. And while I am not suggesting we return to all the disciplines of Lent, it would be good to retain one or two. Perhaps Friday, the family could gather to pray the rosary, or once a month or every other month, you could go to confession, or perhaps 5 minutes a day with the Bible, or a weekly 5-minute visit to the Blessed Sacrament in the Chapel. As St. Paul reminded us last week, our journey in life is a long race and our attention should be on the finish line and the prize, “life on high with Christ Jesus.”

Fr. Carl

Holy Week

Dear Parishioners,

The story which begins on Palm Sunday is basically a human drama. It is our drama. As Jesus enters into this Holy Week, he takes humanity with him and continues to do so every Easter. We are not just remembering an historical event but we are celebrating and taking part in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus as it happens today to us and for us.

His entry into the city begins with optimism, joy and hope. But it quickly turns to betrayal and denial. Jesus is left alone. Where am I in the unfolding drama that begins on Palm Sunday, plays out over Holy Week, and which climaxes on Easter? As we celebrate Palm Sunday and begin our journey through Holy Week, we are called to ask ourselves who and where we are in the crowd. This is a week to pray and decide what kind of followers of Christ we are going to be.

During this week of prayer and liturgies, let us not lose sight of what we are remembering, celebrating and taking part in. There is a real danger that we can get caught up and lost in the busyness of the liturgies of this week. What does this week mean to us? As we begin this most holy of weeks, may Jesus be our constant companion. May we enter into the mystery of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection with faith and hope.

God Bless,
Deacon Howard

Passion Tide

Dear Parishioners,

We have been blessed the last several years with a wonderful maintenance man, Mike Sutor. Hard working, proactive, and conscientious, he has done a great job for the parish and school. Unfortunately for us, he has been offered a position that will be of greater benefit to his family and himself. So, he will be leaving St. Jane’s in early May. We wish him well.

Mike’s departure leaves a big hole in our maintenance department. Please spread the word that we are looking for a replacement. Applicants should call the office and talk to Gina or Tracey. There is a job description in the bulletin.

Recently the parish has experienced a rash of vandalism. Several weeks ago, the front of the church and Mary’s statue were egged; on Monday of this week, canned fruit and beans were dumped all over the entry way to the Hall and Chapel steps; and today, Tuesday morning, we found the parish truck’s passenger window smashed. If you see suspicious activity on the grounds, please call the office during working hours 410-255-4646. At other times, call the emergency number 443-618-5009.

There is some good news. God is rich in mercy as we see in today’s gospel of the Woman Caught in Adultery (Jn 8:1–11). And we, ourselves, have the opportunity to experience the Lord’s mercy each Saturday from 3:30–4:30 pm in Confession at the church. Confessions will also be held this Monday, April 4th from 6:00–7:00pm.

This Monday we begin Passion Tide, the last two weeks leading up to Easter. It’s one last chance to renew our Lenten promises to pray, fast, and contribute to the poor. It is an opportunity to give a little extra as we push on to the finish line of Easter.

Fr. Carl

Anger and Mercy

Dear Parishioners,

The gospel this week is probably one of the most well known parables of Jesus, the Prodigal Son (Lk 15:1 3, 11-32). I’m sure at various times in our life each of us could relate to one of the characters of the story. Which one do we find ourselves relating to this Lent? How is the Father’s love calling you to a deeper relationship as His child through repentance?

The younger son is someone who finds relationships suffocating: he wants to love, but without commitment, without constraints. Love is hard work, and it requires commitment and sacrifice. The Father shows him that there is such a thing as a relationship of freedom.

The older son loves as if it were a rivalry; since he is always in competition with others, he is always measuring love. That is why he is angry, unable to enjoy the feast in honor of his brother. Somehow, he always feels that celebrating the other person’s life takes away from what he could have received. People who live like this are angry people, and anger is blinding. Anger only sees what it doesn’t have.

When we focus on the father, we recognize that he was not concerned with how he was offended. He was concerned only about his son who was lost; lost from the father’s world. We focus on the father’s joy at seeing his son approaching and seeking forgiveness. Luke describes how the father’s love for his child is expressed in profound actions. Actions that reflect his genuine mercy and forgiveness.

May we discover that God is always waiting and looking for us to receive His redemption. My prayer is that this Lent we will run to the waiting arms of the Father.

God Bless,
Deacon Howard

P.S. Please join us this week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings (March 28–30) at 7pm in the church for our Parish Lenten Mission with Fr. Christopher Whatley.

Second Chances

Dear Parishioners,

Tragedies are frequent in this world. The most obvious one today is the war in the Ukraine, where so many casualties and so much destruction is taking place. Much closer to home is Baltimore, where even innocent infants are shot and killed on the city streets. What sense do we make of it all?

In the gospel (Lk 13:1-9), Jesus was presented with several instances where people had died in recent accidents. Our Lord asked if their deaths were related to being more guilty than the rest. Of course not! Our Lord uses the suddenness of their deaths as a wake up call for the need to reform. And that’s what Lent is for us, a reminder of our need to wake from our indifference to sin.

At the end of the gospel, the fig tree owner is shown to be a man of patience. A fig tree normally takes 3 years to reach maturity. If it is not producing fruit by then, it isn’t likely at all. But this fig tree is given a second chance. God does the same with Peter, and Mark, and Paul as well as ourselves. God is infinitely kind to those who fall and rise.

But the parable makes it clear there is a final chance. If we refuse that, we will be lost. Let us not throw that last chance away.

Fr. Carl

The Transfiguration

Dear Parishioners,

The readings this week speak to us about transformation (Gn 15:5-12, 17-18/Ps 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14/ Phil 3:17-4:1 or 3:20-24:1/Lk 9:28b-36). The transformation or transfiguration of Jesus that the disciples experienced was not simply something they were to see and experience as happening only to him. It was also an invitation for them to undergo a transformation and transfiguration of their own.

St. Paul tells us, “from heaven comes the Savior we are waiting for, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will transfigure our lowly body to conform to his glorified body. He will do that by the same power with which he brings all things into subjection to himself.” Our goal in life is to be one with God. There is no other goal.

How does our own transformation or transfiguration take place? By listening to Jesus, listening to all that he invites us to be and do, however much that may go against the views and values of the world. The story of the Transfiguration shows us that it was while Jesus prayed that everything about Jesus was transformed and the disciples glimpsed who Jesus truly was. Prayer is a matter of the heart that spends time simply being in the presence of God. The Transfiguration teaches about our basic vocation to listen to Jesus as Son of God. It means having a total trust in walking his Way, a total trust that only his Way brings me into full union with God, the source of all Truth, Love, Happiness and Peace. Prayer changes everything.

God Bless,
Deacon Howard