For the most part, taking shortcuts to achieve a goal is counterproductive because it usually means completely redoing something later to make it what it is supposed to be. The minimal or poor effort usually produces very poor or inadequate results, as the saying goes: “if it is worth doing, it is worth doing well.” This maxim also applies to living our Catholic Way of Faith and Life.

This weekend we celebrate the great Feast of Corpus Christi, or as it is rendered in the English language “The Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.” Our readings this weekend are meant to be reflective of many issues regarding the Eucharist.

Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Mary Parish,

The Prayer Vigil Service held on the Common last Sunday evening was a most impressive service. Thank you to all who were involved. A Schola from our Choir came and provided very inspirational music for the service. Father Boris of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, (St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Woonsocket RI); spoke most inspirationally and passionately about the War in Ukraine. We must always pray for peace and also work for peace. Prayer is the beginning and foundation, but we must also strive in all things to bring peace to our lives and world.

As followers of Jesus, we have come to believe in God as the Holy Trinity-one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is a major doctrine of our faith tradition. Certainly it is not a belief that we have an absolute clear and scientific explanation, but with time and understanding we come to recognize and accept this belief about our Triune God as powerful and meaningful in our lives. None of us can explain everything well, all of us are able to explain only some things well, whether they be religious, mechanical or natural science. I remember from high school about the quadratic equation: certainly that is not easily explainable or understood by most people or in fact practically useful to people. The equation has meaning for those who use it. This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, a feast which has meaning and power in our lives, but not all that easy to explain.

Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Mary Parish,

This Sunday evening at 5 PM there will be a Prayer Vigil/Service on the Town Common for the people of Ukraine. The Franklin Interfaith Council along with invited guests will be participating in the service. Please plan to come and stand with and for the Ukraine people, pray for them, and also the end of the horrible violence. You will notice that it is early evening so people may find it more convenient to attend. If it rains, we will use Saint Mary Church for the Service. Everyone is welcome. You may wish to bring a “beach chair” to sit on.

Our great feast this weekend is the Feast of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit to the apostles in the upper room. Our first reading illustrates this spectacular event for one and all. The apostles cannot hide from the Holy Spirit. It clearly is the Holy Spirit who is coming to them in that upper room. WE also witness how the effects of the fire and wind do them no harm but certainly inspire them to feel the Spirit. They appear to be stunned by this special presence in the room. This first reading dramatically tells us that there is no getting away from the Holy Spirit. It is in light of the Holy Spirit that all barriers of understanding and language disappear. Every single disciple in the room understood that this spirit is holy and brings with it charity, kindness and unity. This spirit is the appearance of God’s grace and presence to everyone there, without exception.

Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Mary Parish,
Eke! I made a date error in last week’s letter. The Special Town-wide Prayer Service and Vigil for the people of the Ukraine is on Sunday, June 12 at 5 PM on the Town Common. Please note that this is the correct day, date and time. I apologize for my error. Please plan to come and participate in the early evening hour Vigil. Song, Hymns, Reflections and Prayers will be part of our special Vigil.
This weekend Parishioners are electing four new members to our Parish Pastoral Council (PPC). You can fill out a ballot in church or you may also do so from our website (stmarysfranklin.org). This Council advises me on our Parish Mission and Vision and gives particular advice on some practical items. They also engage in listening with all Parishioners so that they may representative a wider point of view in their insights and advice for the pastoral good of our entire Parish.

This weekend our first reading is from the Book of Acts and it is all about Stephen the martyr. The story which we have today is about the last hours of the life of Stephen. The entire Chapter 7 is about Stephen, but at this Mass we read just a brief section from its end. The speech which is given early in the chapter is created by the followers of Stephen who want to give witness and testimony about Jesus, in a sense; they are the words of Stephen. Notice in the story that the death of Stephen is matched up with references to the Life and Death of Jesus.

Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Mary Parish,

This coming Monday we will be honoring all those who have died in the service of our country. There will be prayers said at three of the Memorials for Deceased Military and Veterans in our Town (one of which is at Saint Mary Cemetery) and our Town Festivities and Parade will conclude with final prayers and speeches in honor our deceased veterans at the Town Common in the Memorial Area opposite the church. Memorial Day is a sacred day in many ways and is held close in the heart of Veterans and their loved ones. May we always be grateful to all those who have served in the military. Our Way of Life is protected by their service and sacrifice. We will also celebrate a special Mass at our Cemetery on Beaver Street this Monday, Memorial Day at 9:00am. The Sacred Hearts Knights of Columbus will be hosts and offer refreshments after the Mass. Please bring a lawn chair. In the event of rain, it will be in our Chapel on the lower level of the Church building. Everyone is invited to come and pray at this Mass.

We learn in the Gospel of this weekend that Jesus gave his apostles the gift of peace. When trying to describe this gift of peace and what peace is, we learn that it is not a lack of disagreement and is more than a feeling of tranquility. When we discover that Jesus used the word shalom and that it means the fullness of the messianic blessing which is salvation, our understanding radically shifts. This gift of peace is a special gift from God and it suffuses the apostle’s hearts on the night before Jesus died.

Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Mary Parish,

During this wonderful season, we all take delight in congratulating our young and (even older) people who are graduating from school. Completing educational or vocation programs is a major achievement in life. For most folks, this is the closing of a chapter of special growth and starting a new chapter in life. For some of the graduates, they will continue on to higher education whether it be a Bachelor’s Degree or a Graduate Degree and for some a specialized learning for a skill or role, and also for others it will mean their first “job”  in their chosen profession or work area and in addition for others, it is an advancement in their work position.

There are lots of “farewells” or “goodbyes” in life. There are the simple ones of every day when we leave home, work or a place where we meet other people. We never really think about what this “good bye” may mean. It is often simply said as the proper polite words as one leaves. We never think this may be for some extraordinary reason the last time we actually see and say “good bye” to that person. Most of us know the hurt and sorrow that comes from saying a final “goodbye” to someone we have loved. Saying “goodbye” to a dying spouse, parent, child, brother, sister, or any relative or friend can be most painful. This weekend our Gospel passage is about the “farewell” or “good bye” of Jesus. It is in fact a long discourse or passage. This “farewell” is actually an accumulation of many of the sayings and words of Jesus and placed at the Last Supper All of this passage is the last testament of Jesus before He died on the cross.

Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Mary Parish,

I understand late this week we will be enjoying temperatures around 80 degrees. How wonderful those days will feel after the cold and long winter we all endured. Being New Englanders we sort of lean into winter and accept it, but I think many of us yearn for the sunny and warm days of summer. Having the four seasons with their ups and downs and their extremes, we become philosophic people. Living in New England with its weather helps make us people who have substance and strength. I suspect also the unexpected and also both sudden and rapid changes in our weather through the year helps us to face change and unpredictability in life. With our faith as a foundation in life, we are able to live life with some peace of heart and strength of person.

Unfortunately in our contemporary society, shepherds are seen as “romantic figures” that gently and happily care for sheep on mountainsides. The extreme danger, painful isolation, and great risks which existed for shepherds in the time of Jesus cannot be appreciated by us today. When we hear the words of Jesus about shepherds, we need to shift our understanding of what a shepherd is to the common understanding which existed over two thousand years ago. Shepherds were courageous, ever vigilant, and self-sacrificing for their flock.

Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Mary Parish,
Last weekend’s First Communion Mass was quite spiritual and touching. I am certain this weekend’s First Communion Mass will be as moving and beautiful. Attending First Communion certainly fills our hearts with beauty and joy. The brilliant sunlight and warmth of the air with the blossoming shrubs and trees provided a larger setting of beauty for all of us. Pray for the children’s parents that they be models and examples of faith to their children. Parents are the primary teachers of their children and what they say and do, or fail to say or do truly matters in their children’s lives.

The major theme of the scriptures this weekend is about authority, in that all authority comes from God. It is made clear in the Old Testament reading that only God ruled over Israel and the kings held authority as a delegate of God. Sadly many of the kings of Israel forgot this simple truth. We also learn of the power and authority of Jesus in his ministry among the people. He certainly displayed unique power and authority. According to Matthew, the Gospel writer, when He says his “farewell”, He reminds them that “all power in heaven and on earth has been given to me” and that He now instructs his disciples to go “make disciples of all the nations”.