Sunday February 23rd, 2025 – Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Friends,
This weekend, Jesus says in the Gospel, “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same”. And yes, this is a very hard thing to do. In fact, left to my own strength and capabilities, what Jesus is proposing in the Gospel is impossible to do. Our trust is, therefore, that Jesus will provide us with what we need to do things like loving our enemies and never judging others. It is the Christian thing to do and, no matter how virtuous a person is, without practicing what Jesus lays out in the Gospel this weekend, we are not of Christ.
Two weeks ago, I shared about my appointment to studies in Rome, Italy and said I would be leaving in September of this year. In this regard, I have an update to share, namely, it has been determined that my last day at the parishes be June 24, 2025 and that I travel to Rome that week. As I process and prepare for what it will mean to leave the parishes in June, I want to share my love and gratitude with each of you. I look forward to being your fellow Christian and parish priest until then.
If I may, from now on, I will write my bulletin columns in both English and Spanish to make our Spanish speaking parishioners feel more so part of our Family of Parishes.
Jesús nos dice en el Evangelio, “si hacen bien a los que les hacen bien, ¿qué mérito tendrán? Los pecadores hacen lo mismo”. Si, esto es muy difícil de hacer, y de hecho imposible, si depende todo de mis propias fuerzas. Por eso, confiamos en que Jesús nos dará su gracia que es fuerza para hacer aquello que nos pide realizar, como amar a nuestros enemigos o nunca juzgar. Por esto nos llamamos cristianos, y el que no cumple lo que Cristo pide en el Evangelio de este Domingo, simplemente, no es de Cristo.
With love y con cariño, Fr. Carlos.
Fr. Carlos
Sunday February 16th, 2025 – Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Every week, people tell me they wish they had more time for prayer or could pray better. I always wonder who told them that they were not praying well enough. I’ve come to believe that many people set goals for prayer that they cannot realistically attain. Either they want to pray for more extended periods of time, or they want to incorporate more prayer practices and devotions into their daily schedule than they can handle. When they realize that they cannot achieve the goal they set for themselves, the result is a feeling of failure and fear that they are somehow letting God down. That is a shame because I do not think God is ever disappointed with our efforts to pray. I want to offer a few suggestions.
First, if you want to add more prayer to your daily life, choose one thing and stick with it. If you want to attend weekday Mass, start with going one day a week. When that becomes a regular pattern, you can decide if adding another Mass on a different day will work for you. If you want to pray the rosary every day, don’t look for other prayers or devotions to add to it. Work on finding the right amount of time and the right time of day for you to pray the rosary well. When it has become a part of the regular rhythm of your life, then you can look to possibly add something else.
Second, prayer does not have to happen apart from the ordinary pattern of your life. A very good friend of mine, a mother of three children, told me about the spirituality of peanut butter sandwiches. Every day, as she made lunch for her kids to take to school, she intentionally prayed for each one as she made their lunches. This gave her the time to pray for God’s blessings upon them as they studied, took tests, and prepared for dance rehearsals, sports games, or theater performances. If you drive your kids to school or sporting events, pray a Hail Mary or Glory be to the Father before everyone gets out of the car. Prayer doesn’t have to be long or complicated.
Finally, if you want to learn to pray over the Scriptures, a great place to start is with Pray as You Go. This is a daily online prayer sponsored by the Jesuits of Ireland. It is based on the day’s Scripture readings and takes no more than 15 minutes. You can find this resource at www.pray-as-you-go.org or download the app to your phone or tablet. They provide many other resources there as well.
Lent begins in two weeks. Now is a good time to begin to think about how you will incorporate prayer into your observance of the season. Choose one thing, not multiple things, and work on doing it well. You may develop a prayer practice that will last long after this Lent has passed.
With my love,
Fr. Brian
Sunday February 9th, 2025 – Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
YOUR GIFT, GOD’S WORK
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP APPEAL KICKOFF WEEKEND!
Dear Friends,
We are honored to welcome our new Archbishop to our beloved parishes as we celebrate the Anniversary of the Rededication of the Cathedral, the Mother Church of the Archdiocese. It is also the kickoff of the Catholic Stewardship Appeal, the annual fund appeal, this year hoping to raise $8.1 million dollars to support the important work of ministry in our parishes. Services and support are covered in 4 important areas:
- Serving those in need.
- Supporting Catholic Schools and Parish Religious Education.
- Forming priests and deacons and fostering parish leadership.
- Strengthening Parish Ministries and Promoting Evangelization.
We invite you to watch or listen to our new Archbishop’s vision for this year’s Catholic Stewardship Appeal. You may access the video on our parishes’ websites and social media, in addition to the Archdiocesan website.
All registered parishioners will be receiving a letter asking them to be part of this effort. Also, contributions can be made through the Archdiocesan website via credit card or electronic transfer. We ask you to be as generous as possible. Let’s all work together to meet our goal and support our Archbishop in the important work of the Church!
Sincerely, with love,
Fr. Tim and our parish chairs
Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist: Darice Topolski
Old St. Mary: MaryAnn Delzer
Our Lady Of Divine Providence: Annette Lucchesi
Ss. Peter & Paul: Susan Wustrack
Three Holy Women: Laure Rosauer
Sunday February 2nd, 2025 – Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
Happy Feast of the Presentation of the Lord!
We are taking a quick break from ordinary time to celebrate the Presentation of the Lord. This year it falls on a Sunday, so let us celebrate!
Today’s gospel shares today’s feast of Jesus being presented in the temple according to the law. An old man in the temple was told he would see Christ before he died. He recognized Jesus and proclaimed what today is known as the canticle of Simeon. This canticle is part of night prayer, which priests, religious, and many others pray every day. Praying the canticle helps us recognize Christ in our day, just as Simeon did so many years ago. May we all recognize Christ every day.
Fr. Carlos composed a beautiful article about the jubilee year a few weeks ago. We are a month into this year-long celebration. One of the suggestions of the jubilee year is to take a pilgrimage to Rome. It is a great opportunity to see Rome and to walk through the holy doors. I am leading a pilgrimage to Rome in November to celebrate the jubilee year. There is a flyer in today’s bulletin. Please consider joining me in Rome!
May your celebration of the Presentation of the Lord be fruitful!
