+Dear Saint David Parishioners,

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us in CCC #234, the Trinity is the central mystery of the Catholic faith. We can never fully comprehend its meaning due to our human limitations. However, we may recall in our elementary religion classes how Saint Patrick used the three-leaf clover to explain the Trinity to people. As the clover which has three distinct leaves, yet is one, so too in the Trinity we have God the Father – our Creator; God the Son – Jesus, our Redeemer; and God the Holy Spirit – our Advocate, Guide, and Sanctifier, one God, three distinct persons in the Trinity.

Another method of describing the Trinity to young people is by using an apple. In a children’s book entitled A Picture of God: 3 in 1, Joanne Marxhausen explains that the apple has three parts: the peel, the flesh, and the core; so too there is the one true God in three Divine Persons.

Each part of the apple has a specific purpose. As the peel protects the apple, so is God the Father our Creator and Protector. People committed sin, and to take the punishment for us, the Father sent His Son Jesus Who became flesh, died, and rose from the dead. Marxhausen continues. As the apple seed is buried in the ground so was Jesus, and as the seed sprouts from the ground, so Jesus rises from the dead to give us a happy, new life. To have this new life we must have faith in Jesus. Just as we believe a plant will grow from a seed, we believe that Jesus died and lives again to give us new life. That is faith in Jesus.

Our hearts are like the ground. The seed of faith planted in our hearts is God the Holy Spirit Who keeps our faith alive and growing. We water our faith and allow it to grow by reflecting on Scripture, by praying, by participating in the Sacraments, and by loving one another. With a strong faith and with God’s grace, we can then bear fruit. What unconditional love the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has for each one of us. May we continue to allow the Holy Spirit to help us grow in the unity of the one God, 3 in 1!

Happy and blessed Memorial Day to all! Our deep appreciation and prayers are extended to our dedicated veterans living and deceased who gave their all to protect this great United States of America.  God bless America!

In Mary’s Immaculate Heart, I am,
Sister Mary

Saturday May 22nd St. Rita of Cascia
4:00 pm † Intentions of the Parishioners

Pentecost Sunday May 23rd
9:00 am For those affected by COVID-19
11:00 am † Intentions of the Presider

Monday May 24th Mary, Mother of the Church
6:30 am † Joe Lavalle

Tuesday May 25th St. Bede the Venerable, St. Gregory VII, & St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi
6:30 am † Mary Ann Volpe

Wednesday May 26th St. Philip Neri
6:30 am † Sandra DeLaurentis

Thursday May 27th St. Augustine of Canterbury
6:30 am† John Brown

Friday May 28th
6:30 am† Edward Rempfer

Saturday May 29th
8:00 am† Marie Estle

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Remembering in our Prayers…
… all those who are sick … Mary Trauger, Loretta Boyle, Margaret DeLucas, James Dehan, Nina Ferraro, Teresa Riegal, Eric Bull, Bruce Seth, Vanessa Wismer, Adeline Buccini, Adriana Sproehnle, Karen Dale, Mike Dunn, Robert Farrell, Frank Fierraro, Agnes Neas and the residents of Garden Springs and the Landings.

… all those who are deceased … David McInerney.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.

The Power of the Holy Spirit

What a wondrous and beautiful event we witness today with the coming of the Hoy Spirit to the apostles.  The Holy Spirit that engulfed the apostles both physically and spiritually is the same Holy Spirit that we receive at Baptism and is then strengthened through our Confirmation.  The Spirit of God that dwells within each one of us makes us a true temple of the Spirit.  When God himself resides in us, great power and abilities come along with His residence.  I know you are asking yourself, “Wait, I don’t have any of those abilities that the Spirit came and blessed upon the apostles.”  I promise you that you do. 

 You have the ability to heal and speak other languages.  Have you ever seen someone who was down or sad? Were you able to lift them up with a kind gesture or word? We have the ability to recognize that they need help.  No words are exchanged but we understand their body language and we can make a difference.  We can also comfort through touch.  Have you ever had someone put a hand on your shoulder and felt the comfort of that touch?  These are true healing events.

The Word of God that we hear during our liturgy is also an excellent example of the power of that Spirit that resides in us.  Our liturgy is proclaimed almost in every tongue and dialect in this world.  You could walk into any church in the world and participate in the Mass. Now that is power.

  There is one power from the Holy Spirit that God wants us to use more than any other power we have received.  This power actually makes us more like God and true temples of his Spirit than any other.  This power is the power to forgive.  The ability to forgive heals and strengthens not only us but those who we forgive. In fact, the power of forgiveness is so powerful that our own sins cannot be forgiven unless we forgive. 

We may not have experienced the dramatic scene from the Gospel when we received these gifts at First Holy Communion and Confirmation. The power of the Holy Spirit stirs deep within us each time we use our gifts. 

May Jesus live in our Hearts forever. 
Deacon Chris

Saturday May 15th
4:00 pm † Intentions of the Parishioners

Sunday May 16th
9:00 am For those affected by COVID-19
11:00 am † Intentions of the Presider

Monday May 17th
6:30 am † Donato Buccini

Tuesday May 18th St. John I
6:30 am † Joe Lavalle

Wednesday May 19th
6:30 am † Teresa Lavalle

Thursday May 20th St. Bernardine of Siena
6:30 am † Betty & Bill Power

Friday May 21st St. Christopher Magallanes & companions
6:30 am † Teresa Lavalle

Saturday May 22nd St. Rita of Cascia
8:00 am Intentions of Karen & Dennis Campbell

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Remembering in our Prayers…
… all those who are sick … Mary Trauger, Loretta Boyle, Margaret DeLucas, James Dehan, Nina Ferraro, Teresa Riegal, Eric Bull, Bruce Seth, Vanessa Wismer, Adeline Buccini, Adriana Sproehnle, Karen Dale, Mike Dunn, Robert Farrell, Frank Fierraro, Agnes Neas and the residents of Garden Springs and the Landings.

… all those who are deceased …

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.

There was one time I heard a father talk about an incident in the kitchen with his 2-year-old son.  He was about to make him lunch when the phone rang and the father went to answer it. As he was talking on the phone, he turned around to see his son, Anthony, climb up on the kitchen counter and grab a steak knife. He began to crawl around the countertop with the knife.  The father immediately dropped the phone, ran over to take the knife from him, picked him up, and embraced Anthony by saying, “You can’t do that. You are going to hurt yourself.”

All of us are God’s children and yet there are times where we put ourselves in harm’s way by the sins that we commit.  Sometimes we don’t know the destruction that these sins can cause us. God doesn’t just stand back and shake his head saying, “Jeez, what is he/she doing now? Isn’t he/she ever going to learn?” When we put ourselves in harm’s way, God runs to us.  He takes us into his arms and holds us. He wants to throw away anything that we are clinging to.

That image of the Father is the one that Jesus has when we hear Him pray to His Father lovingly and confidently in today’s Gospel.  He is praying to the Father for all of us, the ones striving for holiness and even the worst sinners that do not seem to want to change.  In this prayer, He knows that He is about to be manhandled by the plotting and blind religious leaders.  He knows that one of His closest friends is going to betray Him.  He knows that most of the rest of His friends will abandon Him on the cross – except for His mother and a few brave disciples. And yet, even though He knows all of this, He knows most of all that He must die on the cross so that we don’t see the Father as a vengeful God out to get us, but as a Father who wants to embrace all sinners lovingly.  

This week and beyond, the challenge for all of us is to listen to Him in prayer for the things that are keeping us from growing closer to God. In prayer, we work with him so that he can show us more and more that the Cross is about us seeing the depths of a Father’s love so that we drop the things that harm us and keep us from eternal life with Him.

Self-Gardening

Every spring my wife and I buy flowers for our yard.  We try and pick the prettiest and spread them throughout our flower beds.  It can be hard work and the flowers seem so delicate as we are planting them.  I worry every year how they will bloom.  I water and feed them and tend to them by removing any leaves or petals that may have died so the flowers do not have the extra burden.  They can grow to be quite beautiful, and I am surprised every year, but it is through the hard work by my wife and I that they look as good as they do.  One weekend last summer we had gone out of town and my children were going to make sure the flowers were watered and fed.  As with all families there was a little miscommunication, and they all thought the other was watering.  Needless to say, no watering or feeding of the flowers took place.  In one hot weekend the flowers took a severe beating.  They were all wilted and dying.  Just one weekend without care we almost lost all of them.  We began watering right way and in about two weeks most of them came back.

It is not a coincidence that Christ uses the metaphor of the vines and branches as to our relationship with him.  A vineyard, like a garden, needs constant work.  The vine provides the life to the branches.  The branches need the vine to provide water and food.  Take the vine away and the branch will die.  Take away Christ, and we surely will die.  The waters of baptism and the food of the Eucharist truly sustain us.  We use these life-giving sacraments to maintain the garden of our faith.  When we have time away our faith can start to wilt.  We can be our own gardeners of our faith, but it takes work.  We need to meet Christ in prayer and in the Eucharist.  The very best thing about our wilting faith is that Christ offers us every opportunity to save it, no matter how wilted it has become.  No matter what conditions our faith has endured, it can always be strengthened again by the true vine.

May Jesus live in your hearts forever.
Deacon Chris

Saturday April 24th
St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen
4:00 pm † Intentions of the Parishioners

Sunday April 25th
9:00 am For those affected by COVID-19
11:00 am † Intentions of the Presider

Monday April 26th
6:30 am † George Smith

Tuesday April 27th
6:30 am † Mary Kies

Wednesday April 28th
St. Peter Chanel & St. Louis Grignon de Montfort
6:30 am † Jack Poole

Thursday April 29th
St. Catherine of Siena
6:30 am † Dorothy Ross

Friday April 30th
St. Pius V
6:30 am Marisa Buccini

Saturday May 1st
St. Joseph the Worker
8:00 am † Mary Flaherty

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Remembering in our Prayers…
… all those who are sick … Mary Trauger, Loretta Boyle, Margaret DeLucas, James Dehan, Nina Ferraro, Teresa Riegal, Eric Bull, Bruce Seth, Vanessa Wismer, Adeline Buccini, Adriana Sproehnle, Karen Dale, Mike Dunn, Robert Farrell, Frank Fierraro and the residents of Garden Springs and the Landings.

… all those who are deceased …

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.

From the Desk of the Pastor

Being the second oldest of five boys in my family meant growing up I was always wearing my older brother’s clothes after they got too small for him. It also meant that my younger brother would wear the same clothes after I grew and it was the same for the next brother and so on down the line.  My brothers and I actually didn’t mind wearing the hand-me-downs, especially if it was a sports jersey that we liked.  We couldn’t wait until the older brother grew out of it and it was time for us to get it.  But in wearing these hand-me-downs, it always came with a price as sooner or later one of us would put a hole in the clothes.  My mom would try to preserve them the best she could by putting patches on the holes and a lot of times after I was done with the clothes it was usually more patches than cloth.  That’s when my mom would buy new clothes even if my brothers and I didn’t want her to.

Sometimes in our lives, we need people to point out to us that it is time for something new.  That the patches don’t work anymore. Where if we keep on patching things, or go through the motions in life, things won’t get better. We may need a different perspective and do something new.

Saint Peter is a great witness to this.  Throughout the gospels, we hear about both his zealous and sinful heart.  He was first to proclaim Jesus as God, but also denied the very instrument Jesus wanted to use to show his love: the cross.  Peter could not cope with death and suffering as the best way to salvation. He wanted to fix the problem of death on the cross with patches and did not allow Jesus to confront his own fears of death.  Saint Peter’s patchwork did not work and we know this ultimately in his betrayal of denying Jesus on the cross.

His patchwork continued even after the resurrection as he tried to patch his heart by going back to his old way of living; he went back to fishing.  It was only at the end of John’s Gospel in chapter 21 when he finally surrenders and accepts Jesus’ Mercy, love, and peace that helped him to move forward in his fears. It was only when he realized he needed a new heart that it gave him the room to accept those gifts of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  It was after receiving his new heart that he was able to say lovely without point fingers in judgment what we hear in the first reading today “Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away.”

We all have a God-shaped hole in our hearts.  Please know that!!  How do we fill that void?  How do we cope with disappointments, suffering, boredom, our own and other people’s weakness, and sins?  Do we try to fix them on our own with patching?  If so, Jesus is calling us to something new, he is calling on us to accept his love, mercy, forgiveness, and peace.  He calls us to his deeper love and a different perceptive in life.

We need to prayerfully examine ourselves regularly to see if God is calling us to change. We need to pray and ask for help to accept any changes He might ask from us.  Through our baptism, we became a new creation and we are called to a life of renewal, so that means no more patching. We are called to fast from hatred, fast from injustice, fast from judgment, and from anything that prevents us from becoming the best that God has called us to be.  We are called to accept this personal encounter with Jesus and allow him in our lives more and more so that others stop seeing our patched hearts and only see his perfect one.

Saturday April 17th
4:00 pm † Intentions of the Parishioners

Sunday April 18th 3rd Sunday of Easter
9:00 am For those affected by COVID-19
11:00 am † Intentions of the Presider

Monday April 19th
6:30 am † Paul Gleason

Tuesday April 20th
6:30 am † Michael O’Brien

Wednesday April 21st St. Anselm of Canterbury
6:30 am † Cheryl Malvoso

Thursday April 22nd
6:30 am † Bernice Coleman

Friday April 23rd St. George & St. Adalbert
6:30 am † Mary M. Rosenbaum

Saturday April 24th St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen
8:00 am Intentions of James Dever and Family

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Remembering in our Prayers…
… all those who are sick … Mary Trauger, Loretta Boyle, Margaret DeLucas, James Dehan, Nina Ferraro, Teresa Riegal, Eric Bull, Bruce Seth, Vanessa Wismer, Adeline Buccini, Adriana Sproehnle, Karen Dale, Mike Dunn, Robert Farrell, Frank Fierraro and the residents of Garden Springs and the Landings.

… all those who are deceased … Margaret DeLucas.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.

Creating communities of disciples, leaders, and missionaries for today and tomorrow.

The Disciple Maker Index Survey Opens this week!

St. David will be participating in a parish survey about discipleship conducted by the Catholic Leadership Institute called the Disciple Maker Index. Please help us by participating in a 10-15 minute survey online as soon as possible.
— Go to https://portal.catholicleaders.org/dmi/survey/ky4d32ygdy.
— There are also opportunities to complete the survey after daily and Sunday Mass and you can obtain a paper copy next to the offertory baskets or by contacting Maureen Mahon at 215-657-0252.

The survey will only be available from April 16th through May 17th, 2021 and will ask you to reflect on your own spiritual growth and enable you to provide feedback on our parish’s efforts to help you grow. All responses will be confidential and the parish will only receive information about the community as whole.

We are trying to get the highest response rate possible. This information will be invaluable to Fr. Windle and our various ministries as we plan for the future and strive to be the best disciples we can be. We will receive the results this summer at which time we will share what we have learned with the entire parish.

Thank you for helping with this important project!

Saturday April 10th
4:00 pm † Intentions of the Parishioners

Divine Mercy Sunday April 11th
9:00 am For those affected by COVID-19
11:00 am † Intentions of the Presider

Monday April 12th
6:30 am † Sisters of St. David Convent

Tuesday April 13th
St. Martin I
6:30 am † William Eagan

Wednesday April 14th
6:30 am † Bernice Coleman

Thursday April 15th
6:30 am † Lorraine M. Hendricks

Friday April 16th
6:30 am † Joseph & Marietta Johnson

Saturday April 17th
8:00 am Intentions of Ava Curnell and Family

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Remembering in our Prayers…
… all those who are sick … Mary Trauger, Loretta Boyle, Margaret DeLucas, James Dehan, Nina Ferraro, Teresa Riegal, Eric Bull, Bruce Seth, Vanessa Wismer, Adeline Buccini, Adriana Sproehnle, Karen Dale and the residents of Garden Springs and the Landings.

… all those who are deceased … Alice Schaeffer, Paul E. Gombeda III, Marilyn Karzewski, Kim Chabin & Richard Noel.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.

Divine Mercy: The Easter Gift

On this Feast of Divine Mercy, we celebrate Jesus’ tender mercy and love which is lavishly poured upon those who surrender their lives to Him in profound trust and accept His Easter Gift. What is this very special Easter Gift and how can we receive it? The Easter Gift is the forgiveness of our sins and the total remission of all temporal punishment for them. Everyone who trusts in God’s merciful love can attain this Divine Gift by cleansing their souls through the Sacrament of Penance in close proximity to this Feast and fervently receiving the Most Holy Eucharist on Divine Mercy Sunday. Saint John Paul II, after many years of prayer and reflection on the revelations of Our Lord to Saint Faustina, canonized her and declared the message of Divine Mercy God’s will for us. It was in the Jubilee Year of 2000 that the yearly universal celebration was established as a Feast on the Second Sunday of Easter. The Gospel which is proclaimed on Divine Mercy Sunday and the Image of Divine Mercy, help us to grasp the full sense and value of this gift.

The Evangelist John makes us share in the emotion felt by the Apostles in their meeting with Christ after His Resurrection. Our attention focuses on the gesture of Jesus, who transmits to the fearful, astounded disciples the mission of being ministers of Divine Mercy. He shows them His hands and His side, which bear the marks of the Passion, and tells them, “As the Father has sent Me, even so I send you” (Jn 20:21). Immediately afterwards, “He breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (Jn 20:22-23). Jesus entrusted to the Apostles the gift of “forgiving sins,” a gift that flows from the wounds in His hands, His feet, and especially from His pierced side. From there a wave of Divine Mercy is poured out over all humanity.

On this Feast of Divine Mercy, the most beautiful message comes from Thomas, the disciple who arrived late; he was the only one missing. But the Lord waited for Thomas. Mercy does not abandon those who stay behind. Now, while we are looking forward to a recovery from the pandemic, there is a danger that we will forget those who are suffering and left behind. We must remember that we are all frail, all precious and all equal in God’s sight. God desires that we partake of His free Gift of Mercy and share His mercy and compassionate love with everyone.

Trust in Jesus is the essence of the message of mercy that Saint Faustina received. The image of Divine Mercy with the inscription “Jesus, I trust in You!” was revealed and explained to her by Jesus Himself. She saw coming from His Heart, that was overflowing with generous love, two rays of light which illuminated the world. Jesus told Faustina that the two rays of light denote blood and water. The blood recalls the sacrifice of Calvary and the mystery of the Holy Eucharist; the water, according to the rich symbolism of John, makes us think of Baptism and the Gift of the Holy Spirit (Jn 3:5; 4:14).

May our hearts overflow with gratitude to our Risen Lord for His Easter Gift of Divine Mercy and resolve to share this tremendous gift of Jesus’ compassionate love as a beacon of light and hope for all our brothers and sisters throughout the world. Let us ask Mary, our “Mother of Mercy”, in union with Saint Faustina and Saint John Paul II, to obtain for us an awareness of the depth of Divine Mercy. Fixing our gaze along with theirs on the face of the Risen Christ, let us make our own their prayer of trusting abandonment and pray with firm hope: “Jesus, I trust in You!”

God love and bless you!
Sr. Kathleen Fitzpatrick, IHM

Further information on Divine Mercy is available at: https://www.marian.org/divinemercy.

⁺Dear St. David Parishioners,

We have just commemorated the most holy days of the Church year – the Sacred Triduum. What do these days teach us?

Holy Thursday – On the night before He died, Jesus gave us a living memorial, the gift of His Body and Blood in the Eucharist. On this most holy night, Jesus also instituted the priesthood. Jesus’ love is so great that He gifts us with Himself in Holy Communion every day. Let us pray that people will join as a community in the Mass each week and also pray for an increase of vocations to the priesthood.

Washing of feet: Jesus humbled Himself as He stooped to wash the feet of His apostles. In this act, Jesus encourages us to serve one another out of love, not out of obligation.

Betrayal of Judas and the denial of Peter: We are weak and sinful human beings and sometimes we really mess up. Judas did not believe in Jesus’ mercy and forgiveness – Peter did. We have an immeasurably loving and forgiving God. Judas took matters into his own hands, rather than repenting and trusting in God. He took his own life. Judas’ death was not the answer. Only God has the power and right to give and take away life. After His resurrection Jesus appeared to Peter and asked him, and He asks each one of us, “Do you love Me?” How we answer Jesus’ invitation of love and encounter can change our lives forever.

Good Friday:  The passion narratives help us to recognize the unconditional love that Jesus has for each one of us, despite our sins and shortcomings. Jesus freely suffered to save us individually and all of us collectively from the power of sin. We can contemplate the 14 Stations of the Cross, and let Jesus’ love penetrate our minds, hearts, and souls.  “We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.”

Holy Saturday teaches us holy patience, not an extremely popular virtue for those of us who often want an answer, or something done immediately. Many followers of Jesus thought that His death was the end, but His Mother Mary knew differently. She prayed with the apostles to calm their fears. They hid in the upper room for fear that they too may suffer crucifixion as their Divine Friend Jesus had endured. In the silence of Holy Saturday’s tomb, we wait, and pray, thinking – “What Wondrous Love!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGoypOMLZ9Y

Easter Sunday: Alleluia! Jesus is alive! Rejoice for Jesus has risen from death to new life and offers us eternal life in Him. Jesus literally demonstrates to us that His love is more powerful than any sin. We know and believe deeply that, “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life” (John 3:16). Therefore, let us move away any stones in our lives that keep us from living and loving Jesus as we know we should. We need not be afraid; Jesus’ grace is alive in us. He is the Light of the World! May we rise to living a more committed life with Jesus’ life, love, and peace in us! May the love, joy, and hope of the Resurrected Jesus abide with you and your family today and always!

In Mary’s Immaculate Heart, I am,

Sister Mary

Holy Saturday April 3rd
8:00 pm Intentions of the Parishioners

Easter Sunday April 4th
9:00 am For those affected by COVID-19
11:00 am † Intentions of the Presider

Easter Monday April 5th
6:30 am † William Eagan

Tuesday April 6th
6:30 am † Robert Quinn

Wednesday April 7th
6:30 am † Katherine “Kathy” Lamb

Thursday April 8th
6:30 am † Josephine Gallo

Friday April 9th
6:30 am † Deceased members of Reilly and McMahon Family

Saturday April 10th
8:00 am Intentions of Mike & Pat Stelacio

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Remembering in our Prayers…
… all those who are sick … Mary Trauger, Loretta Boyle, Margaret DeLucas, James Dehan, Nina Ferraro, Teresa Riegal, Eric Bull, Bruce Seth, Vanessa Wismer, Adeline Buccini, Adriana Sproehnle, Karen Dale and the residents of Garden Springs and the Landings.

… all those who are deceased …

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.

Saturday March 27th
4:00 pm † Intentions of the Parishioners

Palm Sunday March 28th
9:00 am † For those affected by COVID-19
11:00 am † Intentions of the Presider

Monday March 29th
6:30 am † Francis and Louise Lindgren

Tuesday March 30th
6:30 am† Richard M. Gusherowski

Wednesday March 31st
6:30 am † Elle Loughney

Holy Thursday April 1st
7:00 pm Intentions of the Presider

Good Friday April 2nd
3:00 pm Prayer Service

Holy Saturday April 3rd
8:00 pm Intentions of the Parishioners

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Remembering in our Prayers…
… all those who are sick … Mary Trauger, Loretta Boyle, Margaret DeLucas, James Dehan, Nina Ferraro, Teresa Riegal, Eric Bull, Bruce Seth, Vanessa Wismer, Adeline Buccini, Adriana Sproehnle, Karen Dale and the residents of Garden Springs and the Landings.

… all those who are deceased … Sister Edwardine Coleman, IHM

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.

The Lord’s Passion

I have always had a hard time with using the word Passion for the trial and punishment that Jesus received before his death. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “passion” in the following ways:
       1: a strong feeling or emotion,
       2: an object of someone’s love, liking, or desire,
       3: strong liking or desire: love.
These are all words of love and kindness. These words are not reflected in what Jesus went through on that day. Why would anyone love to be deceived, betrayed, denied, spit on, scourged, crowned with thorns, mocked unmercifully, and finally hung on a tree? How can these actions be desired by anyone let alone the only Son of the creator of the world? The one and true king.

We know that Jesus was in total fear and agony for the task that had been asked of Him to do by His Father, but He did it anyway. We know how alone He felt and how abandon He felt because we can hear His words. He even felt abandoned by His Father who asked Him to do these things. He chose to do it anyway. It was not something He wanted to do, it was what was asked by His Father to do and out of total obedience and love for the Father, He did it. This then raises another question; why would the Father ask His Son to do sacrifice Himself for our sins? Jesus answered the question and told us that He and the Father share the same thoughts. So, these events were also the Father’s Passion, but this event could not be what they truly wanted. There has to be something else; some other reason our Lord chose these trials for Himself. That other reason is us. No one would have chosen such things unless they were doing it for someone else, someone they had a Passion for. Our God has a total and complete love and longing for US.

We are the Lord’s true passion. Through these events, Christ became the perfect sacrifice taken away all sin so that we could be united with His Father in an eternal life. Through the Son we can now have a full relationship with the Father. In our full relationship with the Father and the Son we share in their passion. So, we now have a passion for each other. Love as I have loved.

Live Jesus in your hearts forever.
Deacon Chris

The Miracle of Forgiveness

        The renowned English poet Alexander Pope stated: “To err is human; to forgive is divine.” Frequently and in unequivocal terms, Jesus has reaffirmed the indispensable obligation of all to forgive those who offend us, to pray for our enemies, and to do good to those who hurt us! This is the ideal we strive for, but how difficult it can be!  To attain this lofty spiritual goal, we must fervently pray for the gift of God’s grace, the virtue of humility, beg Our Lady of Sorrows to attain for us the grace to forgive, as she did, and most importantly, spend time meditating on the Lord Jesus’ Passion and Death.

        To forgive our enemies, to pray for them and to love them goes far beyond our fallen human nature. We desperately need God’s overflowing and abundant graces. Saint Augustine says that we are all beggars before God. Therefore, we should beg Him for the grace to forgive and trust that God will bestow His abundant grace upon us. It is also important to respond to God’s grace of mercy and forgiveness immediately, so that vindictive thoughts do not fester in our minds. Another efficacious spiritual weapon is that of humility. If forgiveness proves laborious and near impossible, then call to mind your worse sin and reflect on the fact that God forgave you as soon as you begged for His mercy and forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Pray to Mary, who except for Jesus Himself, suffered more than any human person, as she heard and witnessed her only Son suffer and die on the cross, after being brutally mistreated. In spite of this, Our Lady of Mercy, forgave from the depths of her Immaculate Heart. May she attain for us the grace to forgive and be merciful, as she was! The most convincing motivational force to compel us to forgive those who offend us, is the serene contemplation of Jesus hanging on the cross, shedding every drop of His most Precious Blood to save all humanity, but in particular my own immortal soul.

        As we continue our Lenten journey, let us ask the Holy Spirit to bring to light any trace of unforgiveness for past hurts, which may still linger in the depths of our minds and hearts. Then, through fervent prayer to our Savior for the gift of His grace and the intercession of our Mother Mary, offer wholehearted forgiveness to all! What relief! What comfort! What joy! What a miracle! It is a gift you give yourself!

God love and bless you always!
Sr. Kathleen Fitzpatrick, IHM

What is it like to lose our life?
How hard is it to let go of our ego’s?

There was an article written in Catholic Review on January 19, 2012 that I found helpful as a different way of looking at losses in life that maybe helpful to you:

The ego vs. the spirit

I discovered a little meditation recently that I now include as part of my morning prayers. It goes as follows: “Good morning. This is God. I will be handling all of your problems today. I will not need your help. So have a miraculous day!”

Imagine how wonderful life would be if we could allow ourselves to believe that and to live that. It’s another way of saying, “Let go and let God.” Suppose we actually allowed God to run our lives rather than our ego running our lives. Most of us were raised to think we were to do good things for God. In reality, what we are called to do is to allow God to do good things through us. That’s a huge difference. Most of us have discovered that our best efforts don’t always pan out. We can torture ourselves with thoughts that “we’re just not good enough. We haven’t done enough.” That’s our ego stressing us. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” is allowing God to work through us.

I’m often asked, “What exactly do you mean by ego?” Put most simply, our ego is our way of being in the world. Our ego is what I call the “little me,” the part of us with worries, fears, doubts, stress, and so on. Our ego feels separate and alone, and is always trying to prove itself. Our “true self” our true identity is with our spirit, with the image and likeness of God that we are created in. The world wants us to forget our true identity, which is why Christ came to save us from the world.

What are some signs that the ego, rather than God, is running our life? Here are a few examples:

First, I am easily offended. The ego loves to be at odds with others. “Did you hear what she said, or what he did?” The spirit, by contrast, is always peaceful and forgiving. The spirit is never offended by anyone’s attitude toward me. “Father forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing” is the highest form of forgiveness. A practical axiom to follow is, “What someone else thinks of me is none of my business.”

Second, the ego has the need to win. Games of competition can be fun as long as we don’t identify too much with the outcome. The ego identifies with winning. The spirit identifies with the fun. Years ago, when the Baltimore Colts were moved to Indianapolis, people, including my ego, were saying, “It’s a tragedy!” The great Colt player, Artie Donovan got it right. He said at the time, “A kid with cancer, that’s a tragedy. A football team leaving town, that’s not a tragedy.” That was the spirit speaking.

Third, the ego loves to be “right” to be “superior.” We can have “institutional egos” as well. “My team is better than your team. My country is better than your country. My religion is better than your religion. My God is better than your God.” Killing in the name of God is an example of egos infiltrating even religions. The spirit always says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

A fourth sign of ego is always wanting more. It’s never enough. The ego needs more. By contrast, the spirit, rather than wanting more, is grateful for what it has. A state of gratitude is an infallible sign of the presence of the spirit.

A fifth sign of the presence of ego is that we find our identity in our achievements or reputation. The spirit, by contrast, finds its identity in its love for others.

Obviously, I could keep going on with this list. The challenge is just to be aware. We can choose to allow our ego to run our lives. We can choose to allow God to run our lives. As Father Fred Cwiekowski said to me many years ago in the seminary: “If Jesus is not Lord of your life, something else will be.”

Saturday March 20th
4:00 pm † Intentions of the Parishioners

Sunday March 21st
5th Sunday of Lent
9:00 am † For those affected by COVID-19
11:00 am † Intentions of the Presider

Monday March 22nd
6:30 am † Marion Martin

Tuesday March 23rd
St. Turibius of Mogrovejo
6:30 am † Jesus Covarrubias

Wednesday March 24th
6:30 am † Ernest Clark

Thursday March 25th
Annunciation of the Lord
6:30 am † Mary Garofalo

Friday March 26th
6:30 am † Special Intention

Saturday March 27th
8:00 am Christopher Higgins

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Remembering in our Prayers…
… all those who are sick … Mary Trauger, Loretta Boyle, Margaret DeLucas, James Dehan, Nina Ferraro, Teresa Riegal, Eric Bull, Bruce Seth, Vanessa Wismer and the residents of Garden Springs and the Landings.

… all those who are deceased …

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.

Saturday March 13th
4:00 pm † Intentions of the Parishioners

Sunday March 14th
4th Sunday of Lent
9:00 am † For those affected by COVID-19
11:00 am † Intentions of the Presider

Monday March 15th
6:30 am † Margaret Martin

Tuesday March 16th
6:30 am † Lorraine M. Hendricks

Wednesday March 17th
St. Patrick
6:30 am † Special Intention

Thursday March 18th
St. Cyril of Jerusalem
6:30 am Andrew Harbough

Friday March 19th
St. Joseph
6:30 am † Richard M. Gusherowski

Saturday March 20th
8:00 am Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Magee

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Remembering in our Prayers…
… all those who are sick … Mary Trauger, Loretta Boyle, Margaret DeLucas, James Dehan, Nina Ferraro, Teresa Riegal, Eric Bull, Bruce Seth, Vanessa Wismer and the residents of Garden Springs and the Landings.

… all those who are deceased …

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.