 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
St. Mary's Catholic Parish: From the Pastor Fr. Paul E. Desmarais, Pastor - St. Mary's Parish
|
 |
For the Week of December 27, 2009
St. Paul says in his letter to the Colossians; “Put
on as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion,
kindness, gentleness and patience. Bearing with one another and forgiving
one another…and over all these put on love.”
These virtues should be the foundation of family life. This should be
the way we treat one another. This is how we can care for one another.
The most important virtue besides love for one another is forgiveness.
To forgive each other in our sinful and weak moments, to be understanding
when someone we love is in need. In our families these virtues have a
safe place to grow and mature. We can help these and other virtues to
grow in each other. We can make our homes a safe place for all family
members to be themselves and allow them to become the people God has made
us to be. Each family has the opportunity to support and love each other,
but also to forgive each other when we fall short of the ideal. When we
do fall short let us be people of patience, forgiveness and compassion
for one another.
For the Week of December 20, 2009
Mary hears the words, “Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Mary
had to rely on her faith and trust in God to help her accept the will
of God for her. She did not know what all of this would mean. She did
not know what would happen to her. She had no way of knowing the future.
The only thing Mary could do was have faith and trust in God’s word.
No easy task when you are being told you will be the mother of the Messiah.
In whatever choices we make in life faith and trust are essential in living
out our choices. We have to believe that God is with us just as Mary had
to believe that God would help her in her life. We are ready to celebrate
the birth of the one who promises to be at our side in all we do. Let
us, like Mary, learn to put our faith and trust in God’s mercy to
help us on this life’s journey.
For the Week of December 13, 2009
St. Paul says in this letter to Philippians “Your
kindness should be known to all.” St. Paul is saying our faith is
best revealed to others in the way we treat one another. John the Baptist
shows us how to treat one another. Give to those in need, be just, be
kind, and be fair with one another. When Jesus lives in our hearts, we
want other people to see His love, mercy and compassion alive in our hearts.
We live in a world that desperately needs to see our Lord alive and present
to us. Hope, goodness, kindness, compassion, forgiveness can only be felt
by others when we are the living examples of His love each day.
What I say and do to others means a lot to them when they see the love
within us. St. Paul also says “The peace of God will guard your
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” When we are reflections of love,
goodness, kindness to others, all else in our lives rests in the hands
of God. It is his promise for you and me.
For the Week of December 6, 2009
John the Baptist quotes the prophet Isaiah, “All
flesh shall see the salvation of our God. We are being promised the forgiveness
of our sins; we are being told that the mercy of God is greater than the
sinfulness of our lives. Our Lord brings into the world a message of hope.
To all whom struggle with everyday life there is mercy, forgiveness, and
compassion. We are reminded that those living in darkness have seen a
great light. The darkness can be anything going on in our life; the light
is our Lord’s love for us. The cross is the beacon of light, it
is hope, and it is mercy. St. Paul reminds us that nothing can separate
us from the love of God that comes to us in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Let us not in this time of running around, loose sight of these words:
nothing can separate us from the love of God that comes to us in Christ
Jesus our Lord.
For the Week of November 29, 2009
What better way can we better describe Advent. Let this
be a time when we grow in love for one another. When we buy a gift for
someone; what are we thinking of? Do we let the business of the holidays
get to us? Are we so frantic in all that we do that we forget why we are
doing this? Are the gifts that we buy a true expression of our love for
that person or an obligation we have to fulfill?
The Advent season helps you and I focus on why our Lord has come into
the world. “Greater love than no man has than to lay down his life
for his friend.” The Advent season is a time to reflect on the depth
of our Lord’s love for us. Our Lord then asks you and I what gift
of love can we give to one another? How can we show that we truly care
for each other? In thought word and deeds let us give to each other the
true gift of love that our Lord wants to give to each and everyone of
us.
For the Week of November 22, 2009
This weekend we celebrate the feast of Christ the King.
Many times when we think of kings we think of them as rulers, high and
mighty people who have no contact with the real world. Not so with our
Lord. He teaches that His kingship is about service, His kingship is about
forgiveness, healing and love. His throne is the cross. It is why the
cross is so central to our faith. The cross reminds us of what His kingship
is all about.
Jesus put upon himself, abuse, torture, hatred, jealousy, envy, death
to show us his love was greater than all the suffering of the cross. Instead
of getting even or crushing his enemies; he said, “Father forgive
them, they do not know what they do.” The power of the cross is
love and forgiveness. This is what we are reminded of each time we walk
into church. The cross we see is the reminder of Jesus victory over sin
and death. When we feel weighed down by the burdens of life, we look to
the cross as our hope. Our Lord knows and understands our burdens and
the crosses we carry. He is the strength and help we need to carry them.
For the Week of November 15, 2009
“Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will
not pass away.” There are all kinds of prophecies and predictions
of when the world will end. The latest prophesy is from ancient Mayan
text that the world will pass away in the year 2012. Stay Tuned!! Jesus
is trying to tell us that everything about this world is temporary; instead
the one constant we have is the word of God. God’s word for us will
never pass away.
In a world where nothing is permanent, God’s word and his presence
are always with us. The one true relationship we have, the one true friendship
we have is God’s presence in our life and in our world. The readings
from last week and this week focus us on God’s presence in this
world on our life journey. Whatever may happen, we are not alone. We can
turn to Him, trust in Him and depend on Him to be with us. No matter what
the prophet of gloom and doom says; God will always be with us through
His Son.
For the Week of November 8, 2009
Jesus talks about a poor widow in today’s gospel
who gives everything she has to help her temple. A poor widow in the first
reading today also gives all she has to help the prophet Elijah. Both
women trusted in God to help them in spite of their poverty, both women
are not afraid to share of themselves and what they have to help someone
else.
One might think that they would be afraid to loose the little they had;
fear would prevent them from helping others. They have a deep trust in
God to watch over them. They put their meager gifts in God’s hands
and trust Him. We may think the gifts and talents we have are meager.
I have nothing to give or offer others in my life. God sees it differently.
Our Lord can do great things with the small gifts we have. The gospel
simply calls us to step out in faith and leave the rest of it in God’s
hands. Two widows in the readings today did just that and were blessed
by God for all they gave.
For the Week of November 1, 2009
Today we observe the Feast of All Saints Day. We have
looked upon the saints somehow as people bigger than life. They were holier
than we were. They did things that were greater than the things we did,
but we overlook what allowed them to become saints. Mother Teresa said
“That a saint is a person who does the ordinary things of life with
great love”.
This is our calling, our vocation. All of us are called to do the responsibilities
of our life with great love. The lives of the saints become a way for
us to learn how to love. They teach us in their own faults and failings
that they were capable of loving other people. When they sinned, they
knew they would be forgiven in confession, they learned that it was not
held against them. Love taught them how to be forgiven and to forgive
others.
The saints teach us how to love, not only in the past, but even today
when we ask for their intercession. How many times have we prayed to saints
for their intercession and they respond to our prayers out of love. St.
Anthony helps us find lost things, St. Jude is the patron of hopeless
cases, and St. Monica is the patroness of a mother who prays for her children.
All of this is done out of love. The saints are always to be with us and
guide us on our own road to sainthood.
For the Week of October 25, 2009
A blind man in today’s gospel calls out to Jesus
for help; he wants to see. While some people in the crowd tell him to
keep quiet, other people urge him to come forward to meet Jesus. They
say to the man; “Take courage, get up, Jesus is calling you.”
What encouragement they give to this man. They give this man the help
he needs. They are a part of Jesus healing ministry. Their help and encouragement
give this man the strength he needs to allow Jesus to heal him.
Would we ever think we are part of Jesus healing ministry? Do we offer
hope, comfort, strength, and encouragement to those who are sick or discouraged?
Do we encourage others to find the healing power of God’s love in
their life? How many times in the gospel stories do we hear of people
bringing sick and crippled people to our Lord? How many times do we hear
of someone coming to Jesus begging him to heal a loved one? Look at the
number of people today who volunteer their time to be in a hospital or
nursing home or a hospice volunteer, so they can help someone who is sick
and in need of their love.
Our love, care and concern can make a difference. We can bring someone
to meet the healing power of our Lord’s love for them.
For the Week of October 18, 2009
“Whoever wishes to be first among you will be your
servant.” Jesus talks about greatness as the ability to serve the
needs of one another. In the eyes of Jesus, greatness is about our ability
to love one another. All of us have been called at one time or another
to serve or help others in need. We help a sick child; we care for a sick
parent, or relative. We cook meals for a neighbor recovering from surgery
and are in need of our help. We grocery shop for a homebound person. We
give of our time to baby-sit. In these and many other ways we are answering
the call Jesus gave us to serve one another. We are great in the eyes
of the Lord when we help one another. All of us learn this lesson at one
time or another.
Our society often measures greatness because someone is a singer, or an
actor or actress, or a star athlete, but in the eyes of our Lord it is
how we love one another in the way we care for each other. Our Lord says
whatever you do for the least of my brothers and sisters, you do it for
me. Greatness in the eyes of Our Lord is how we love one another and care
for one another.
For the Week of October 11, 2009
“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
This question has been asked for more than 2,000 years. In today’s
gospel, Jesus talks about charity and compassion. It isn’t living
in a state of poverty that will earn us salvation, but it is what we do
with the gifts and talents God has given to us. How do I use what I have
to help others?
Mother Teresa helped the poor every day even though she herself was poor.
Others use their wealth or talents to bring love and compassion to those
most in need of it. Compassion and mercy help us to want to make other
peoples lives better. Rich or poor a person can be bitter or resentful
of others, we can be jealous or envious of others. We then overlook or
fail to see what God has given to us. Let us ask God to help us see the
goodness and richness of our lives so we can be people of mercy and compassion
to others.
For the Week of October 4, 2009
As we enter the cold and flu season, it has been suggested that we adept a couple of practices to help prevent the spread of germs. 1) At the sign of peace instead of shaking hands just look to the person on either side of you and say “Peace be with you.” 2) At Communion time instead of receiving communion on the tongue; receive communion in the hands. These two simple things can greatly reduce the spread of germs in crowded places. Thank you for helping in this manner.
For the Week of September 27, 2009
October has always been a month dedicated to Our Lady.
She has always said she would watch over us with a mother’s love
and care, interceding for us with her son. I would like to begin a special
devotion to our Lady. We have a stature of Our Lady of Fatima that people
can bring into their homes for a week; to pray to Our Lady for that week.
A person would bring the statue to their home on a Sunday and bring it
back the following. Each day you would pray the rosary to Our Lady for
your intercessions and those of your family. The coordinator of the statue
will be Sandra Croce. You would call her and tell her what week you would
like the statue and she will reserve that week for her. Her number is
539-0309. If you live alone or have a large family please call her.
Our parish is dedicated to Mary and this is a wonderful way to seek her
help and protection. We have a wonderful chance and opportunity to re-dedicate
our parish to Blessed Mary our mother.
For the Week of September 20, 2009
“The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for
those who cultivate”. It seems harder and harder to be people of
peace, at home, at school, at work, in the community or the world. There
is a spirit of meanness and anger that seems to hover over us. People
seem to have lost the sense of common decency and respect for one another.
More and more we hear about brutal violence happening in our world. In
the richest country in the world why are people so angry? Why is there
such mistrust and hatred?
St. James talks about the need for wisdom from above for our world. We
need to be peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy. St. Paul and our
Lord tell us to be patient, kind, compassionate and forgiving. We also
need to have the gift of humility. A peace that lasts can never be won
by force or by hatred of an enemy.
After World War II instead of seeking to crust the Germans and the Japanese,
our Secretary of State, George C. Marshall sought to rebuild the two countries
and to rebuild trust between those two countries and ourselves.
Jesus in the gospel calls us to the virtue of humility and to care for
and look out for one another if we are to be people of peace. All this
is easier said than done but the grace of the Holy Spirit is leading,
guiding, and empowering us on this road to peace in our own life and the
life of the world.
For the Week of September 13, 2009
“Who do people say that I am?” It is literally
a life and death question that Jesus asks his disciples. He is the one
sent to redeem them and us. He is the one who feeds the hungry crowds,
heals the sick and will raise people from the dead. The mention of His
name will be calling upon the power of God to work in their lives and
the lives of all of us.
Years later Peter and John will tell a crippled man in the temple that
they do not have gold or silver to give them, but in the name of Jesus
he can walk. When they accept Him as Messiah, they accept His power and
love. Jesus tells his disciples and us that when we accept Jesus as our
Lord and Messiah, we to can expect to do great things. It took Peter a
life time to learn this lesson. We learn this lesson everyday of our lives.
The power of Jesus is the power of His love. It is given to us as Jesus
gift to us. How will we use it? How will we give to one another the same
love He gives to us? If we believe that Jesus is our Lord and Messiah,
are we willing to use the love He gave to us for Him and for one another?
For the Week of September 6, 2009
“Thus says the Lord: Say to those whose hearts are
frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God.”
There is plenty of stuff in our lives and in our world that can frighten
us. Our future, our jobs, our security are not as sound or secure as they
once used to be. Every night we hear about or read bad news. There is
very little we can take comfort in. Hope seems to be smothered by pessimism.
People say things will get worse before they get better. We hear however
these words from Isaiah. “Be strong, fear not; God is with us. We
draw strength and comfort and hope from our faith in God. We draw strength
from God’s promise to be with us. In the midst of darkness, He is
the light. In the midst of uncertainty He is our strength and hope.
We are challenged to put our faith in Him. We are called to trust in Him.
We are also called to be a witness of hope to one another. In how we live
our lives, we can be the source of love, goodness, kindness, forgiveness
and generosity to one another. We the people of God; we the church can
be a light in the storm. God working through us can bring comfort to those
most in need.
For the Week of August 30, 2009
“All good giving and every perfect gift are from
above.” In this letter of St. James, we are called to be people
of gratitude, grateful for the blessings God gives to us. Every perfect
gift is from above. St. James reminds us of the abundant mercy of God.
The Gospel challenges and asks us just how open we are to God’s
gifts. Think of what we are missing out on when we refuse to ask for His
gift of healing for ourselves or someone else. Think of what we miss out
on when we refuse the gift of reconciliation. Think of what we miss out
on when we refuse to receive His body and blood when we do not come to
Mass on Sunday. So many of His gifts for us go unused because we are not
open to receiving them. So many missed opportunities in our life of faith.
What a wealth of grace given to us when we dare to allow God to touch
our hearts and use us to serve one another.
For the Week of August 23, 2009
Peter asks Jesus, “Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.” Peter and the disciples learned
that Jesus not only had words of eternal life, He Himself was their eternal
life. The peace the disciples looked for. The joy, the love, the mercy
they were looking for was to be found in Jesus. Jesus promised that He
was the way, the truth, the life. St. Augustine said that “My heart
is not at rest until it rests in thee.” He learned that allowing
Jesus’ love and mercy to live in his heart would give him the peace
and mercy he was searching for.
Jesus is knocking on the door of our hearts asking us to let Him in. We
allow Him to come into our hearts when we pray, read the bible, go to
Mass and receive His Body and Blood. When we receive the sacrament of
reconciliation for our sins, forgiveness, compassion and mercy enter into
our hearts. How can we find our peace, how can we find eternal life? Turn
to our Lord Jesus Christ; allow Him to live in your heart. Allow Him to
give you the eternal life and peace your search for.
For the Week of August 16, 2009
“Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.”
The Responsorial Psalm puts a challenge to us today. We are challenged
to recognize and see the Lord in all the things around us. We are called
to take the time to see God’s goodness in the world. The challenge
becomes all the more important because so many times we only hear the
negative things that go on around us.
It takes faith to cut through the negativity and see the good things of
the world. It is easy to become cynical or sarcastic or jaded when we
are constantly bombarded by the negative images of the world. To see the
goodness of the Lord takes hard work at times. The psalm also tells us
what we need to do. “I sought the Lord and he answered me, and delivered
me from all my fears.” I sought the Lord. To be a person of faith
calls us to keep our eyes on the love and mercy of God. We receive the
assurance of the psalm that the Lord will answer us and deliver us from
all our fears. We are told the mercy and love of God will deliver us from
fear.
A life of prayer helps us to see God at work in our world. A life of prayer,
the Word of God, the Eucharist, are the tools we need to see the Light
of Christ when things seem so dark. Seeing that light we do not loose
hope. Seeing the light we see the presence of God at work in the world
and at work in our everyday life.
For the Week of August 9, 2009
“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with which
you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, fury, anger,
shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice.”
Ephesians 4:30.
When we are bitter, full of anger, when we hold onto malice or revile
one another; who does it hurt? Usually it is not the other person who
is hurt but rather ourselves. We become embittered ourselves. In short
our bitterness, fury, anger and malice, cripple us rather than the person
we hate.
Before we can begin however to let go of this, especially when someone
hurts us deeply we need to ask for the healing power of Jesus to heal
our hearts. It is hard to forgive when we are hurt by someone else actions.
Grace has to touch our hearts before we can give it to someone else. We
have to pray and ask for the healing of mercy of our Lord to touch us
and remove our hurt and pain. How many times have you forgiven someone
and later the pain then caused you comes back and you wonder why? When
St.Paul in the letter to the Ephesians tells us to live in love, he is
also talking about the love we need to have for ourselves. The power of
the Eucharist is the beginning step on this road to healing and forgiveness.
Our Lord would not call us to do this unless he was here to help us in
these steps. He wants to give to us the power of love and it is only this
love from Him that can truly help our hearts heal and enable us to forgive
one another.
For the Week of August 2, 2009
The month of July has been a busy month for us. I want
to take the time to thank all of you who have worked so hard to help us.
I want to thank Mary Beth and all the volunteers who helped her during
Vacation Bible School week. There hard work gave our young people a wonderful
experience of God’s love for children. Mary Beth has also coordinated
the Steubenville Youth Retreat Weekend. She has brought a number of our
young people to a youth retreat weekend run by the Franciscan University
of Steubenville Ohio that was held at U.R.I.’s Ryan Center.
Many thanks to all the volunteers who helped make our Tent Revival such
a wonderful and joyful experience. A parishioner said to me of the three
days, “It was fantastic.” Get ready for Tent Revival II next
summer. All these events are hard work and planning. Thank you so much
for all who have helped us at these events.
Let us keep in our prayers Marge Tuthill who was so instrumental in putting
together and coordinating our PEP PROGRAM. So many members of our parish
were touched by her love and generosity. God Bless You Marge.
For the Week of July 26, 2009
The gospel story today about Jesus feeling hungry is an
important story for us to hear. It is no secret about the large number
of people who are going hungry for all different kinds of reason. The
problem only seems to be getting worse. The gospel talks about people’s
physical hunger, but it would be good to think about the other ways people
are hungry. There are many people who are hungry for love, friendship,
happiness, or peace in their lives. There are people who would love to
have someone visit them or someone to call them. So many people starve
for affection or friendship. It may be a member of your family, it may
be a parishioner, or it may be a neighbor.
There are people who starve to be treated with respect and dignity. There
are people who are mistreated in many different ways. A husband or a wife
or a co-worker is always being put down for one reason or another. A kind
word to them can be so important. There are so many different ways we
can put an end to hunger.
We can make a donation to the food pantry or we can call someone or send
a card to someone, sometimes a kind word or a smile can help heal someone’s
inner pain or hunger. Jesus is calling you and me to feed his hungry people.
For the Week of July 19, 2009
St. Paul simply says, “Jesus is our peace.”
Many people and products say they can bring us peace. Buy this, try that
and you can have the happiness and peace you are looking for. We find
out however, that owning things and material possessions do not bring
us joy or happiness or peace. Our love for other people and their love
for us help us find true joy and happiness and peace. We can’t put
a price tag on our love for each other. The joy and peace found in friendships
and love for each other is something we can never buy.
St. Paul learned that Jesus was his peace, joy and happiness in his life.
Our faith in the Lord’s love for us becomes the foundation for the
love we have for others and other people for us. In our love for our Lord,
we find the true peace and love we are searching for. When we find it,
nothing can take it away from us. St. Paul reminds us in a wonderful way
that Jesus came to preach and bring peace to those people who were far
away and to those who were near to Him, because of that we all can have
access in one Spirit to the Father. This is our Lord’s offer to
us. This is what He came to bring to us on the cross.
For the Week of July 12, 2009
St. Paul in today’s letter to the Ephesians says
that “In love He destined us for adoption to Himself through Jesus
Christ.” Imagine, God calling us adopted. This is the closeness
we have with him. How many times however, do we take this for granted?
Watch some Sunday at the number of people who walk into Mass late and
then leave right after Communion. Are we here to spend time with the one
who loves us the most or do we come to Mass just to fulfill an obligation?
How much time do we spend in prayer as opposed to time on the computer?
How we act says a lot about our relationship with Him. God may be a part
of our lives, but is He the center of our lives. In the gospel Jesus calls
the disciples to trust in Him enough to go and witness the good news by
taking nothing on the journey. Do we have that kind of confidence in God
to care for us as He did his own disciples? The disciples learned they
could do much when they put their trust in our Lord.
This is an invitation for you and me to have that same kind of trust.
You and I are being called to this same kind of friendship. How much time
do we give to our Lord in this friendship?
For the Week of July 5, 2009
St. Paul writes that Jesus tells him, “My grace
is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” Our
Lord tells you and me the same thing today. He gives to you and me the
strength and grace we need. He gives us the strength, or wisdom, or courage
we need. We can pray and ask for knowledge and understanding. We can ask
for patience, kindness, humility. When we feel we are at wits end, we
can find the power of our Lord working in our lives.
How many times have we asked ourselves where the grace came from to deal
with a certain situation. It is the power and love of God’s grace
working in our lives. The people of Jesus own town have a hard time accepting
what he can offer them. Their own prejudice is an obstacle to that grace.
Their hearts are unwilling to receive what our Lord wants to give to them.
We too can put up obstacles to God’s grace. Simply believing He
would never touch our lives is an obstacle to grace. Not believing in
the grace at all is certainly an obstacle.
Our Lord wants to share this grace with us so much. He puts the challenge
to us to remove the obstacles or hardness of heart we have towards his
grace and love.
For the Week of June 28, 2009
The readings this weekend show us so clearly that Jesus
has come into the world to conquer death, to destroy death. There are
two kinds of death he conquers. In the book of Wisdom, the author talks
about the death of our soul. The call to repentance is to overcome sin
which destroys our soul. Jesus’ major theme in his preaching was
repent the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
The sacrament of Reconciliation reminds us of our need for forgiveness
for the sins we have committed against God, others, and the ways we hurt
ourselves. Many people have forgotten that it is the duty of every Catholic
to go to confession at least once a year. Many people have told me they
feel a heavy burden has been lifted from their shoulders after receiving
absolution. It is a wonderful forgiving and healing sacrament.
Jesus in the gospel is called upon to heal a very sick girl. When he arrives
at the house she has already died. Jesus will conquer her death. The readings
point out to us the healing power of our Lord’s love. He wants to
conquer sin, sickness and death. The most important healing we receive
from him is the healing of our souls. When people ask to be prayed with
for physical sickness, our Lord always brings His healing love into one’s
heart even if they are not cured of their sickness. Our Lord wants to
give us that healing power and love. Reconciliation, the Eucharist, the
Laying on of Hands, are all the ways Jesus healing love and mercy are
given to us. He calls each and every one of us to open up our hearts to
His merciful love.
For the Week of June 21, 2009
All of us face storms in our lives; all of us know what
a challenge they can be. They can shake our faith and confidence to the
very core of our being. We might be like the disciples in today’s
gospel. They ask our Lord the crucial question, “Do you not care
that we are perishing?” They thought our Lord did not care about
them. Even with Him in the boat they felt they had been abandoned, that
he did not care about them. The Lord even in his silence was with them.
They did not realize they were safe even though he was silent and asleep.
We may have the same feelings; feelings of aloneness, questions about
where is our Lord. Our Lord’s own passion and death, his betrayal
and abandonment teach us that even in those darkest moments we can turn
to him as he trusted in his Father’s love for him even on the cross.
The disciples learned that he would not stop every storm, but he would
give them the strength and endurance they would need. We too are given
strength and endurance. Our Lord does not take away every storm in our
life, but we do find the help and strength we need to face them. Our Lord
does care for us very much.
For the Week of June 14, 2009
This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Body and Blood
of Our Lord. We, as Catholics can never underestimate the love that comes
to us through the Eucharist, yet our culture more and more is loosing
the understanding of the presence of Jesus in our world. We are slowly
loosing the sense of the sacredness of the Eucharist. Receiving the Body
and Blood of our Lord is the most important thing we do in our life. Being
with our Lord for at least one hour a week is more important than anything
we do that may cause us to miss Mass on Sunday. Yet many people have all
kinds of reasons for not coming to Mass on Sunday
The Mass is more than an obligation, you see it in the way people treat
the mass. People are walking into Mass during the homily or leaving after
Communion to beat the traffic out of the parking lot. Last year over 6,000
teenagers went to two youth conferences at LaSalette Shrine in South Attleboro,
MA to learn about the Eucharist and Eucharistic Adoration. It is all because
they want to know more about the love of the Lord for them. This year
the conference called “Steubenville East” will be held at
the Ryan Center at URI. Ask Mary Beth for more details. What wonderful
things would happen to us if we better understood the miracle of love
through the power of the Eucharist.
For the Week of June 7, 2009
“Behold I am with you always, until the end of the
age.” (Matthew 28:20)
We may truly wonder where God is in our world today. With all the bad
news we hear about day after day, we ask the question where is God and
what is he doing about it. It can be easy just to sit back and wait for
the answer, but we forget we may be the answer.
By simply putting our gifts and talents to use for the needs of others,
our baptism and confirmation will enable us to use the gifts God has given
us for the service of others. We alone are not going to solve every problem
in the world, but we are going to make an impact on someone’s life
when we reach out and help them.
When our Lord tells us that he is with us until the end of time, his gifts
and the Holy Spirit are with us every day. We cannot simply sit back and
wait for something to happen to make things better. We are the hands of
God touching a world in need of his love.
Come Holy Spirit enkindle in us the fire of your love.” How often have we prayed this prayer and forgot what it means for us? We pray for the Holy Spirit to enter our lives, do we realize what we are asking for?
From the Pastor: January to May, 2009
From the Pastor: June to December 2008
From
the Pastor: January to May, 2008
From
the Pastor: September, October, November, December 2007
From the Pastor: June, July, August 2007
Back
to Parish Bulletin