Fear Not

Brothers and Sisters,

The emotion of fear is probably the most pervasive and powerful motivating force we face as human beings. From the moment we are born, we learn to fear the world around us, certainly to fear the stranger, sometimes to fear even those who are closest to us. Fear can cause isolation, depression, or cause us to act in a way which is contrary to the truth we know. But most of all, fear can prevent us from acting at all. We become afraid of doing anything, and so we do nothing. Where do we find ourselves?

Jesus recognizes that fear can cause the failure of discipleship. Jesus’ disciples courageously leave the security of their homes and families to follow him as they proclaim the coming of God’s reign. They, too, will face the power of fear on their mission. Faithful proclamation and practice of the gospel inevitably puts his disciples on a collision course with the powers of this world. So, as Jesus prepares his disciples for their mission, He is frankly realistic about the threats they will face. At the same time, He builds the case for why they should not let fear master them or hinder their witness.

Jesus asks us to leave our fear behind and to follow in the security of being His disciple. Trusting in His promises and knowing that God’s presence is always with us. God’s absolute protection and provision is always upon us. Jesus reminds us not to fear harm, because while man may be able to hurt us physically, the world cannot spiritually harm us. God is the one who has power over both body and spirit, and God has promised to guard and protect us and bring us to eternal life. The God who created and tends every living thing, values us more than anything. His love for each of us is greater than our fear. “Perfect love casts out fear.” So do not be afraid.

God Bless,
Deacon Howard

The Kingdom Of Heaven Is At Hand

Dear Friends of OLC and St. Jane Frances,

This weekend, we celebrate the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Our Gospel is a good one for our transition to summer and our preparation for our Pastorate’ mission of proclaiming: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mt 9:36–10:8) It begins with one of those statements of Jesus that I believe offers us a glimpse into his Sacred Heart. Jesus was moved with pity for the crowds of people because they were troubled and abandoned. He wants to help them, but he also knows that he needs people to help him with this mission. In the Gospel, it is the Apostles; but today, it is us! We are the ones who are being sent into the community seek the troubled and abandoned and show them the healing power of Christ at work within us, and within our pastorate. This Summer, may each of us accept Jesus’ invitation for us to be sent out to proclaim, to heal, and to love as Jesus loves.

I am very excited to announce that we’ve hired a Director of Pastorate Operations for our pastorate. Mike Downes will be joining our team in the days ahead. Mike comes with an extensive resume of work in the Archdiocese, including being the Director of the Msgr. O’Dwyer Retreat House, and a stint as Youth Minister at St. Jane Frances back in the mid-1990s. Mike’s main areas of responsibility will be to oversee the Pastorate’s facilities (including leases and rentals), building repairs and maintenance, technology (internet, phone, website, etc.), and office operations (Ministry Platform, bulletin, etc.) with some collaborative work with the parishes’ finances, although not a direct area of responsibility. He will have direct managerial responsibility for the staff working in these areas. Please join me in welcoming Mike to our Pastorate!

On Saturday, June 24th, the Archdiocese will be celebrating the ordination of eight men to the Priesthood. This is probably the largest ordination class in the past 30 years, if not longer. The Ordination Mass begins at 10:00am at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, and will be livestreamed on the Cathedral’s webpage if you would like to watch. In light of this weekend’s Gospel reading, please continue to pray for vocations – asking “the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

Finally, please plan to join us for the 8:30am Mass on the Fourth of July at St. Jane Frances. Kevin Garner and the music ministry from OLC will be there to celebrate with all members of the Pastorate. Please plan to join us and celebrate together with us.

Thank you for keeping our Pastorate of St. Jane Frances and Our Lady of the Chesapeake in your daily prayers!

God Bless,
Father Steve

God Dwells with His People

God Dwells with His People. God has an incredible history of doing what He loves to do: dwell among His people. He loves us and wants to be close to us! Since the beginning, He has chosen to do this not only spiritually, but also materially or physically on earth. The Lord walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, he dwelt among His chosen people Israel in the Holy of Holies on the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant for over 850 years, and he became man and lived among us for 33 years and died for us to show us how much He loves us.

With that kind of a track record, would he just leave and never come back to us physically? No, for Jesus said, “I will not leave you orphans; I WILL COME TO YOU.” (John 14:18). Jesus here was not referring only to the coming of his Spirit—the Holy Spirit who proceeded from the Father and the Son—but also to the fact that he WAS coming back to dwell with us sacramentally, physically in the Eucharist at Mass.

Jesus’ Most Emphatic Teaching. Today we celebrate the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist: the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ (Latin: Corpus Christi). Today’s Gospel reading from John 6, one of the longest dialogues in Scripture (John 6:25-71) is arguably Jesus’ most emphatic teaching dialogue in all the gospels. He uses straightforward language in his discourse with the Jews and his disciples, leaving no room for misinterpretation: “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” He uses the word flesh 6 times, blood 4 times, and two different Greek words for eat 8 times. Jesus’ disciples clearly understood that he was not speaking symbolically, because they said: “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it? …and after this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him.” (John 6:60, 66). Driving his literal—not figurative—point further, Jesus turns and asks his 12 apostles, “Do you also wish to go away?” (6:67).

Heaven on Earth. Receiving Jesus’ Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in Holy Communion IS the fulfillment of Jesus’ assurance that he would always be with us to the end of the age through all our joys, trials, and suffering. The Word becomes flesh and dwells among us in His Most Holy Body and Blood in the Eucharist at Communion, making us truly united as one in His Body on earth, the Church.

Eucharistic Revival. This fall our pastorate will be actively participating in the national and archdiocesan Eucharistic Revival, offering a variety of opportunities for us to encounter anew Jesus in the Eucharist, who desires us to spend sacred time with him not only spiritually, but also in his real sacramental, physical Presence. More to come!

Peace in Christ,
Father Jim

The Most Holy Trinity

Dear Friends of St. Jane Frances and Our Lady of the Chesapeake,

This weekend, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. The mystery of the one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – is a mystery that is difficult if not impossible for the human mind to fully comprehend, for it is really the mystery of our God. We understand the Trinity through the relationship between Father, Son, and Spirit, and the revelations of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, but we also acknowledge that our human language is limited in its ability to fully explain God. Therefore, it is a dogma of faith on our part to profess that our Triune God has revealed himself to us in three persons, yet is of one nature (or substance – that is why we profess in the Creed that Jesus is “con-substantial” with the Father – of the same substance).

As we approach the end of the school year and begin the transition to summer vacation time, I wanted to continue to remind you of our Pastorate events scheduled for the coming weeks so that you can work them into your busy lives. First and foremost, of course, is weekly Mass! We hope you will make time to join us for Mass each weekend this summer when you are in town. I would invite you step out of your normal routine and consider attending Mass at the “other Parish” once or twice over the summer. Both of our parishes offer such beautiful, uplifting, and spiritual liturgies. As we continue to draw together in our Pastorate and begin to form a pastorate plan, it would be helpful for us to have a fuller appreciation for our Pastorate parishes.

This Sunday, June 4th is the Men’s Pastorate BBQ at OLC. This event is for all men of our Pastorate, and you are encouraged to attend with your father, son, grandfather, grandson, uncle, nephew or even your neighborhood buddy! We will begin at 4:00pm at the fire pit at OLC. There is also the Blessing of Trucks and Family Vehicles on Saturday, June 17th at 9:30am at St Jane. Invite your neighbors to come and have their vehicles blessed as well, and be ready for your summer road trips. Our Walking With Purpose summer series starts up this June as well. Contact the parish office for more details or to sign up, and invite a friend to join you.

Also this month, Deacon Sampson will be ordained to the Priesthood for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, on Saturday, June 24th at 10:00am at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. He was with us at OLC during his pastoral year in 2020 and 2021. He is hoping to come and celebrate Mass with us sometime in July. I will keep you posted.

Thank you for keeping our Pastorate of St. Jane Frances and Our Lady of the Chesapeake in your daily prayers!

God Bless,
Father Steve

The Holy Spirit

Dear Parishioners,

Pentecost: The Holy Spirit Permeates Everything. The Holy Spirit can be understood as the love that flows from the Father and the Son. Although the mystery of the Trinity runs deep, the concept of “three in one” can be imperfectly seen in Creation. For example, when a husband and wife become “one flesh,” we have a name for it: a child. One family, three persons; one which flows from the love of the other two.

The Holy Spirit in Scripture. The Hebrew word transliterated ruach (pronounced roo-akh) appears in the Old Testament 373 times and is translated as spirit, wind, breath, etc. The Holy “spirit (ruach) of God was moving over the face of the waters” at the beginning of Creation (Gen 1:2) and was in His chosen leaders such as Moses, Joshua, David, Ezekiel, and others. In the New Testament, “spirit” (Greek pneuma) appears 379 times, with the Holy Spirit acting profoundly through Jesus and the apostles.

The Holy Spirit in the Mass. References to the Holy Spirit permeate the prayers of the priest and the faithful during Mass. “Holy Spirit” is printed 983 times in the Roman Missal—the thick book on the altar from which the priest prays.

The Holy Spirit in Church teaching. Referring to Pentecost 27 times and the Holy Spirit 593 times, the Catechism describes how the Church was made manifest to the world on the day of Pentecost by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and how “Christ now lives and acts in and with his Church… through the sacraments.” (#1076) What does this Holy Spirit mean to you and me? Since the Holy Spirit permeates our Catholic lives—literally since our Baptism—we may have questions such as: 

• Should I be concerned if I don’t feel the “power of the Holy Spirit” in my life as we’ve been reading in the Acts of the Apostles during the Easter season? 
• How do I know if my spirit is on the same wavelength as the Holy Spirit? 
• How can I tap into the guidance of the Holy Spirit for important decisions in my life?

Going Deeper. Asking and addressing these types of questions is what we do in the “Going Deeper in Your Personal Relationship with Jesus Christ” Series on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month, 7–8:15pm (except July and August), see the bulletin for details. These sessions are not “talks,” but rather opportunities for you to bring YOUR questions as we navigate the Bible, the Mass, and Catholic Teaching to help answer them. I hope to see you there sometime!

Peace in Christ,
Father Jim

The Great Commission

Brothers and Sisters,

As we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord this Sunday, we are invited to listen intently at the last verbal direction given to the Apostles by our Lord Jesus (Matthew 28:16-20). This final direction is commonly called “the Great Commission.” The words are spoken to the Apostles but they are also spoken to us.

Before Jesus ascends in the presence of his followers, he passes on and entrusts them with the responsibility of carrying on his mission of proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel and of establishing the kingdom of God. This ordinary group of men and women are the ones who were chosen by God to be the heralds and witnesses of the resurrection. Through their words and actions, the world will know that Jesus is truly alive and more alive and present to us than he ever was. As Jesus’ earthly life ends, theirs and our mission and ministry begins.

Today, that responsibility now belongs to us. The first friends and followers of Jesus are our foundation of faith, and we are their descendants. It is now up to each of us in our own way to carry on the mission and ministry of Jesus. Through us today, the world will know that Jesus is alive, present and active in our world. As Pope Francis says to each of us, “every Christian is a missionary to the extent that they have experienced the love of God in Jesus.”

Even though we are celebrating the Ascension of Jesus, he has not left us, deserted us, or abandoned us. He is with us when we gather to break bread with each other. He is with us when we reach out to help and support each other. These are the signs that Jesus is in us and with us, today and forever. May we go out into our world and make disciples.

God Bless,
Deacon Howard

God Is Love

Dear Friends of St. Jane Frances and OLC,

Christ is Risen! Happy Easter! Our Easter season continues this weekend with the celebration of the
Sixth Sunday of Easter. Our readings this weekend begin to make the turn toward the coming of the Advocate: the Holy Spirit. John’s Gospel tells us the Spirit will remain with us and be in us so that we are never abandoned or left as orphans. The Spirit of God is the bond of love between Father and Son that is now shared with each and every one of us as well. Whenever we experience love in our lives, we are experiencing God. (Just a reminder—the celebration of the Ascension will occur next weekend, May 20-21, and not on Thursday, May 18th.)

I would also like to wish a Blessed and Happy Mother’s Day to all of our mothers, grandmothers, godmothers, and the women in our lives who have been like mothers to us. I pray this day will fill you with love and surround you with the blessings of many loving family members and friends. May our Blessed Mother continue to watch over you and guide you on your faith journey as she leads you to a deeper love for her Son. May is the month of our Blessed Mother. We had beautiful weather for the May Crowning at St Jane’s last weekend. This weekend at OLC, we will be celebrating the crowing of Mary after the 10:45am Mass. You are invited to bring bouquets of flowers to place before the Blessed Mother throughout the month of May.

This week, please keep in your prayers our OLC 10th graders who will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation on Wednesday, May 17th. After this Confirmation, our pastorate youth will be celebrating the Sacrament together in the fall of 10th grade. The next pastorate Confirmation is scheduled for Wednesday, November 8th at 5:30pm at OLC and will include teens from both parishes.

Finally, I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who has given me birthday cards and ordination anniversary cards. I celebrated my 60th birthday on May 10th and will be celebrating my 20th ordination anniversary on May 24th. I would like to thank everyone who has been working on parish celebrations for me (it is very generous and I am most grateful!) There is a celebratory gathering on Saturday evening, May 13th, after the vigil Mass at SJF Hall and on Sunday, May 21st after both Masses in the Gathering Place at OLC.

Thank you for keeping our Pastorate of Our Lady of the Chesapeake and St. Jane Frances in your daily
prayers!

God Bless,
Father Steve