Dear Parishioners,             May is the month of Mary. So every Monday night in May at 6pm we will pray the rosary and have adoration and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Why do Catholics pray to Mary? It often puzzles many people why we, as Catholics, speak to our Blessed Mother in prayer when we could simply speak directly to God. Going to Mary, the earthly mother of our divine Lord, seems to some like a roundabout and maybe ineffective way of getting to Jesus who knows us entirely already and invites us to speak to Him, the Father, and the Holy Spirit at any time. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners,             Last weekend we celebrated “Divine Mercy Sunday.” As I said in the homily, what look like rays of light, red and blue, symbolize blood and water: Eucharist and Baptism. This image brings us back to the Cross. The chaplet reminds us that we return to Calvary. As we say: “for the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” The lesson is clear: Divine Mercy comes to us through the Cross, through the water and blood that came from the side of Christ pierced, through the sacraments. This truth needs constant reminding. We may doubt that God can work in and through the cross and suffering. We may be like St. Thomas in the Gospel, thinking God will not save the world through the Cross. In our doubts we place a limit on God’s mercy; we place a limit on how much he loves us. On Divine Mercy Sunday, God breaks our expectations. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners,             The joy of Christ’s resurrection continues this weekend. For the past week the Church throughout the world continued to celebrate Easter. The great news of Christ’s triumph over sin and death cannot be contained to a single day. So this past week the prayers and readings at Mass and in the Liturgy of the Hours all focused on the empty tomb and the encounter with the Risen Christ. Click the title to read more.

Dear Parishioners, Today we celebrate our Lord’s triumphal entrance into Jerusalem. Welcomed as king and messiah, only several days later he would be hung on a cross. Five weeks ago, we stood in the church and received ashes. We were reminded of our mortality, our sinfulness, and our need for penance and prayer. In a word, we remembered that we need a savior. Those ashes were the remnant of Palm Sunday branches from last year. This year we once again receive new palm branches. This symbolizes new growth and rebirth. Click the title to read more.