Dear Parishioners,
HAPPY EASTER! Now that the somber season of Lent is complete, our time of penance gives way to the joy of the resurrection. Death gives way to new life and darkness is replaced by light.
Last night in the darkened church, I raised the Paschal Candle with its solitary flame, and sang, “The light of Christ.” From that one candle others were lit so that when I reached the altar, the church was bathed with light. Similarly, when Jesus came into the world, evil was rampant and God seemed to be absent. However, our Lord’s death and resurrection was the flame that has spread light and life back into the world. Unfortunately, sin still remains and evil still tries to extinguish the light of Christ. The temptations of materialism, individualism, hedonism, and relativism are very much a part of our culture, trying to block out the light of Christ. Let us look to Jesus and his bride, the Church, to lead us to truth and eternal happiness.
May you and your families have a Blessed and Happy Easter.
- Fr. Carl
Rev. Stephen Hook is Pastor of the Pastorate of the Visitation which includes the Catholic Churches of Pasadena, Maryland: St. Jane Frances de Chantal (Riviera Beach) and Our Lady of the Chesapeake (Lakeshore). He is assisted by Associate Pastor Rev. John Belinki, Deacon Howard Klohr, and Deacon Rick Clemens. To learn more about our pastorate, please visit www.catholicpasadena.org.
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Friday, March 22, 2013
We cannot save ourselves
Palm Sunday
Anytime we hear a narrative from one of the Gospels, we have a fundamental choice to make. Will we simply listen to the story, or will we take the more challenging step and find ourselves in the story.
Who among us doesn’t want to see ourselves as the champion of righteousness and doer of good? But then it happens. Stepping into this story, we realize that, come Friday, we are part of an angry mob, unaware of God’s love for us and our need for grace.
Like the waiting Father, God’s love rushes to us because God knows we cannot save ourselves. So as you make your way through this week we call “holy,” dare to step into this story and hear from the depths of your soul the telling of God’s great love for the likes of you and me. With open hands and a willing heart, with deep humility and overwhelming gratitude, receive from God the gift of life eternal that God offers us through His only Son our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, our Savior and Redeemer.
- Deacon Robert
Anytime we hear a narrative from one of the Gospels, we have a fundamental choice to make. Will we simply listen to the story, or will we take the more challenging step and find ourselves in the story.
Who among us doesn’t want to see ourselves as the champion of righteousness and doer of good? But then it happens. Stepping into this story, we realize that, come Friday, we are part of an angry mob, unaware of God’s love for us and our need for grace.
Like the waiting Father, God’s love rushes to us because God knows we cannot save ourselves. So as you make your way through this week we call “holy,” dare to step into this story and hear from the depths of your soul the telling of God’s great love for the likes of you and me. With open hands and a willing heart, with deep humility and overwhelming gratitude, receive from God the gift of life eternal that God offers us through His only Son our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, our Savior and Redeemer.
- Deacon Robert
Friday, March 15, 2013
Embracing Our Mission
Dear Parishioners,
Those of you who were at Mass last weekend know that we have started a project with the Archdiocese called Embracing Our Mission. It’s a capital campaign to address some needs here in the parish and throughout the archdiocese. I welcome this opportunity as it gives me a chance to meet with a number of you to share the vision of our parish and the archdiocese. But more importantly, it gives me an opportunity to get to know a number of you in a more personal way, other than a friendly greeting at the church doors, on the parking lot, or in Lauer’s. So far, I have met with a small number of couples who have, in the course of our meeting, shared a bit of their personal history including their faith experiences. I have found it to be a very beautiful and humbling experience. I look forward to many more such meetings. Obviously I can’t meet with everyone, so I have recruited some volunteers in the initial phase of the campaign, but will need more in the future. We will let you know when. In the meantime, when you get a call, please be kind. It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet and get to know some of your brother and sister parishioners. Although our goal is significant, I am very confident we will not only reach it, but surpass it. You are a faith-filled and generous people. In the next few months, I ask you to pray for the success of our campaign.
Finally, as Lent comes to an end, we hear the gospel of the woman caught in adultery and the great mercy Jesus extends to the woman (John 8:1-11). You, too, can encounter the mercy of Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Come with your family on Wednesday evening from 7-8:30pm, Saturday from 3:30-4:30pm, or call the rectory for a private appointment. Also, please pray that those who have been away from the Church for a long time will come back home to Jesus.
- Fr. Carl
Those of you who were at Mass last weekend know that we have started a project with the Archdiocese called Embracing Our Mission. It’s a capital campaign to address some needs here in the parish and throughout the archdiocese. I welcome this opportunity as it gives me a chance to meet with a number of you to share the vision of our parish and the archdiocese. But more importantly, it gives me an opportunity to get to know a number of you in a more personal way, other than a friendly greeting at the church doors, on the parking lot, or in Lauer’s. So far, I have met with a small number of couples who have, in the course of our meeting, shared a bit of their personal history including their faith experiences. I have found it to be a very beautiful and humbling experience. I look forward to many more such meetings. Obviously I can’t meet with everyone, so I have recruited some volunteers in the initial phase of the campaign, but will need more in the future. We will let you know when. In the meantime, when you get a call, please be kind. It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet and get to know some of your brother and sister parishioners. Although our goal is significant, I am very confident we will not only reach it, but surpass it. You are a faith-filled and generous people. In the next few months, I ask you to pray for the success of our campaign.
Finally, as Lent comes to an end, we hear the gospel of the woman caught in adultery and the great mercy Jesus extends to the woman (John 8:1-11). You, too, can encounter the mercy of Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Come with your family on Wednesday evening from 7-8:30pm, Saturday from 3:30-4:30pm, or call the rectory for a private appointment. Also, please pray that those who have been away from the Church for a long time will come back home to Jesus.
- Fr. Carl
Friday, March 8, 2013
God Is Waiting For You
Dear Parishioners,
One of the most famous parables Jesus told his listeners, people like you and me, was about the return of the Prodigal son (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32). The far gaze of God seems to reach all the way to the end of the road where we one day come limping over the horizon. And yes, to be sure the far gaze of God sees you and me at the end of the road. God is waiting for us.
The only condition is that we take the first step toward him. So come to know yourself and where life's journey has taken you. Make your way home. God, our father, is looking down that road waiting for you.
Deacon Robert
One of the most famous parables Jesus told his listeners, people like you and me, was about the return of the Prodigal son (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32). The far gaze of God seems to reach all the way to the end of the road where we one day come limping over the horizon. And yes, to be sure the far gaze of God sees you and me at the end of the road. God is waiting for us.
The only condition is that we take the first step toward him. So come to know yourself and where life's journey has taken you. Make your way home. God, our father, is looking down that road waiting for you.
Deacon Robert
Friday, March 1, 2013
A Shot in the Arm
Dear Parishioners,
We had an excellent mission given by the president of Archbishop Curley, Fr. Joe Benicewicz. A good number of you attended. For those of you unable to attend, there are several excellent opportunities this Lent.
First, on Saturday, March 16 from 8:30am – 4pm, the Archdiocesan Men’s Fellowship will be held at Calvert Hall High in Towson. See the ad in the bulletin for further details. Second, St. John’s in Severna Park will have a mission on March 10, 11, 12 at 7:15pm by a Catholic convert and former Protestant minister, Michael J. Cumbie.
Of course, we still have Stations of the Cross each Friday at 10am and 7pm, as well as daily Mass at 8:30am. However, these other opportunities listed above might give you the shot in the arm you need. Even the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI goes on a retreat each year. (He just got back last week). If the pope does something extra special each Lent, shouldn’t we?
- Father Carl
We had an excellent mission given by the president of Archbishop Curley, Fr. Joe Benicewicz. A good number of you attended. For those of you unable to attend, there are several excellent opportunities this Lent.
First, on Saturday, March 16 from 8:30am – 4pm, the Archdiocesan Men’s Fellowship will be held at Calvert Hall High in Towson. See the ad in the bulletin for further details. Second, St. John’s in Severna Park will have a mission on March 10, 11, 12 at 7:15pm by a Catholic convert and former Protestant minister, Michael J. Cumbie.
Of course, we still have Stations of the Cross each Friday at 10am and 7pm, as well as daily Mass at 8:30am. However, these other opportunities listed above might give you the shot in the arm you need. Even the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI goes on a retreat each year. (He just got back last week). If the pope does something extra special each Lent, shouldn’t we?
- Father Carl
Friday, February 22, 2013
Our Lenten Road to Calvary
Dear Parishioners,
Earlier in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus began telling his disciples clearly, that his journey was headed for a cross in Jerusalem. Golgotha was not an unexpected ambush for Jesus. It was a planned destination to which “he set his face” with focused determination. How did he endure the suffering that was coming, how did he keep choosing the path of obedience in the face of temptations to take an easier road? Jesus lived a perfect life of obedience to a higher call. He would give his life in service to God and as a sacrifice for humankind.
And so for us, pilgrims along the Lenten road to Calvary, our endgame is also to find that higher calling from God, to match our deepest longing with the world’s deepest needs, to find something to live for, big enough to die for, and to live every day with that end in mind.
- Deacon Robert
Earlier in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus began telling his disciples clearly, that his journey was headed for a cross in Jerusalem. Golgotha was not an unexpected ambush for Jesus. It was a planned destination to which “he set his face” with focused determination. How did he endure the suffering that was coming, how did he keep choosing the path of obedience in the face of temptations to take an easier road? Jesus lived a perfect life of obedience to a higher call. He would give his life in service to God and as a sacrifice for humankind.
And so for us, pilgrims along the Lenten road to Calvary, our endgame is also to find that higher calling from God, to match our deepest longing with the world’s deepest needs, to find something to live for, big enough to die for, and to live every day with that end in mind.
- Deacon Robert
Friday, February 15, 2013
Lent: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving
Dear Parishioners,
The “desert,” that’s where we find Jesus on the first Sunday of Lent (Luke 4:1-13). Each of the 3 synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) show our Lord fasting and then being tempted by Satan. Satan is very clever, for he knows our weaknesses and the best time to exploit our weaknesses. He tempts Jesus when he is physically weak from fasting. Satan knows that we have sensual appetites for food, drink, and sex which are good in moderation and when used properly. He knows that we desire earthly goods like cell phones, automobiles, clothes, etc. And he knows that we want to be independent and self-sufficient. Those are good things to want as long as they don’t get in the way of our relationship with God. St. John describes these temptations when he says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” (1 John 2:15-16).
Our Lord’s entry into the desert and fasting did not make him weak, but instead strengthened him to stand up against the devil. May our Lenten observances of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (donations to the poor) enable us to resist temptation when it comes our way.
- Father Carl
The “desert,” that’s where we find Jesus on the first Sunday of Lent (Luke 4:1-13). Each of the 3 synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) show our Lord fasting and then being tempted by Satan. Satan is very clever, for he knows our weaknesses and the best time to exploit our weaknesses. He tempts Jesus when he is physically weak from fasting. Satan knows that we have sensual appetites for food, drink, and sex which are good in moderation and when used properly. He knows that we desire earthly goods like cell phones, automobiles, clothes, etc. And he knows that we want to be independent and self-sufficient. Those are good things to want as long as they don’t get in the way of our relationship with God. St. John describes these temptations when he says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” (1 John 2:15-16).
Our Lord’s entry into the desert and fasting did not make him weak, but instead strengthened him to stand up against the devil. May our Lenten observances of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (donations to the poor) enable us to resist temptation when it comes our way.
- Father Carl
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