Wow! Or, Eek! I am uncertain which to say. In a week and a half is the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord into heaven. This happens 40 days after Easter. How has time flown by so quickly! Outside it is still late winter. At night the temperature is in the 40s and during most days it climbs only to the high 50s. We are still getting the April showers in mid to late May. First Communion has been celebrated, graduations and commencements are underway, and weddings have now begun. This weekend is the Sixth Sunday of Easter. And today’s Gospel has a wonderful message for us in our world of constant motion and over commitment. Hear or read in the Gospel of today that Jesus gives his apostles the gift of peace. The peace Jesus gives is far more than a superficial temporary peace or calm. It is very deep and rich in tone and value. This “peace” comes from the Hebrew word shalom, which is the fullness of the messianic blessing—salvation itself. This peace, this shalom, is an absolute gift of God. We also recognize that it is the special gift the apostles need on the night before Jesus dies.

“What is next for our School Building and Property”

I have received requests to repeat last week’s information about the school building and land, and Parish Open Meetings:

In the Lent 2019 Weave Parish newsletter, I discussed at significant length and with great detail our process for our Parish’s future and its use of the School Building and Land. We now know for sure that the school building and land will return fully to us on this June 30, 2019. We must now prayerfully and thoughtfully begin to plan our future with this property of almost 5 acres and an aged school building. At the same time we must operate the building for our 1200 to 1400 Religious Education (CCD) students with building costs at approximately $75,000 per year (insurance, heat, light, grounds, snow plowing and shoveling, maintenance and repairs, etc.). The building is 60 years old and has aged to a great degree and also the use by the Charter School has worn it down considerably. The great question before all of us is: “How does this building and land (i.e. the Patrimony of Saint Mary’s) support the long term Mission of Saint Mary’s Parish?” What is the best and highest use of this land and building to help us worship our God and support the spiritual life of our Parishioners? We need to seek the insights, advice and opinions of all committed and engaged Parishioners to devise the many possible uses of the property in alignment with our Mission. Our Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) will be providing leadership in being listeners and communicators with Parishioners. As a result of these listening sessions and on-going deliberations of the PPC, the PPC will formulate the highest and best use of our Parish Patrimony. They will have as a professional advisor Dr. Bernard Swain Ph.D., a skilled, experienced and accomplished Church leader with an expertise in parish life and process. He will help all of us create the vision or visions of our future use of the property. The Parish Finance Council (PFC) will have the role of taking the wisdom, insights, visions and recommendations which the PPC has prepared and attempt to make the best possible use of the property. The PFC will be the ones who take what is hoped for and help to create what is possible and make those recommendations to me. They will have Matt Kelly, Franklin MA as a Real Estate Advisor. The PPC and PFC have a great responsibility to all of us as they will be the people who help develop the strategy to make sure that we have the highest and best use of the property to help us support the holy work and Mission of Saint Mary’s Parish.

In the Lent 2019 Weave Parish newsletter, I discussed at significant length and with great detail our process for our Parish’s future and its use of the School Building and Land. We now know for sure that the school building and land will return fully to us on this June 30, 2019. We must now prayerfully and thoughtfully begin to plan our future with this property of almost 5 acres and an aged school building. At the same time we must operate the building for our 1200 to 1400 Religious Education (CCD) students with building costs at approximately $75,000 per year (insurance, heat, light, grounds, snow plowing and shoveling, maintenance and repairs, etc.). The building is 60 years old and has aged to a great degree and also the use by the Charter School has worn it down considerably. The great question before all of us is: “How does this building and land (i.e. the Patrimony of Saint Mary’s) support the long term Mission of Saint Mary’s Parish?” What is the best and highest use of this land and building to help us worship our God and support the spiritual life of our Parishioners? We need to seek the insights, advice and opinions of all committed and engaged Parishioners to devise the many possible uses of the property in alignment with our Mission. Our Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) will be providing leadership in being listeners and communicators with Parishioners. As a result of these listening sessions and on-going deliberations of the PPC, the PPC will formulate the highest and best use of our Parish Patrimony. They will have as a professional advisor Dr. Bernard Swain Ph.D., a skilled, experienced and accomplished Church leader with an expertise in parish life and process. He will help all of us create the vision or visions of our future use of the property. The Parish Finance Council (PFC) will have the role of taking the wisdom, insights, visions and recommendations which the PPC has prepared and attempt to make the best possible use of the property. The PFC will be the ones who take what is hoped for and help to create what is possible and make those recommendations to me. They will have Matt Kelly, Franklin MA as a Real Estate Advisor. The PPC and PFC have a great responsibility to all of us as they will be the people who help develop the strategy to make sure that we have the highest and best use of the property to help us support the holy work and Mission of Saint Mary’s Parish.

We learn quite clearly in the bible that all authority comes from God. Only God ruled over Israel; human kings held sway only as God’s substitutes. We also know that too many of them forgot that they served God as the ultimate authority. Throughout his earthly ministry, Jesus often displayed a distinctive power and authority in all he said and did. In Matthew at the time of the farewell of Jesus scene, the risen Lord begins his instructions to his followers to “make disciples of all nations” by stating, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

Our readings this weekend are replete with references to authority, divine and human, good and not so good. The first reading shows us how the Sanhedrin tended to be pragmatic and pretentious, somewhat self-serving and self-contradictory, as many governing groups are.

The Mass of Thanksgiving and Blessing Ceremony of the Piazza del San Rocco and Addition are the result of the hopes and dreams and also the sacrifices and hard work of many, many of us. All of us owe a special thanks to the Benefactors of this addition to our beautiful church building that allows us to welcome everyone in a dignified and gracious way. The gifts of these parishioners allow all of us to receive a much greater gift: the church which can truly welcome one and all with warmth and hospitality. Although no one builds their home to accommodate the entire world, we who are a Catholic faith community of God know that we must offer a gracious invitation of welcome which is said not only words but is also a holy place which is accessible. Our new narthex (foyer, lobby or vestibule!!!) welcomes people with a dramatic view of our most beautiful church interior. Indeed, one person told me that this panorama invites you to come inside closer to the altar and be in the presence of our most holy God. We have placed the statue of “Saint Rocco in the Field” in our new outdoor piazza as “a beacon of welcoming” to all those who seek healing and eternal life. Our new outside walkways are all compliant with the “ADA” code. Our new main entrance on the piazza is now barrier free with an elevator that can transport guests to the lower level to the chapel and Sacred Heart Hall or to the upper church. Our hall and meeting space now have facilities that allow us to offer refreshments and hospitality. Both levels of our building now have restrooms that are dignified and accessible to one and all. This great project will support us not only in our worship, but also in our evangelization and hospitality. Our wonderful Parish will now be able to grow in faith in so many ways because now all of us, not just some, are able to gather as “disciples of the Lord.”

If you look about, you will see that there are fresh signs of resurrection and new life all around us. The time and work of Lent are complete. Christ has risen! New spiritual life abounds!

The readings on Easter Sunday are much less dramatic than those of the Easter Vigil. They are similar to the quiet as the sun at dawn starts to rise to a glorious new day. Today, we find the sunburst of newness especially in our responsorial psalm, for indeed “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad” (Psalm 118:24).

How are we able, in fact, to walk the way of the Cross? It is because ultimately we are walking towards the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We walk along with Jesus on his way to Golgatha and experience much with him, but it is because we ultimately experience him in his Resurrection that all of this has meaning. We sing great alleluias because He is Risen, not because he has died. This Sunday has been called Palm Sunday for many centuries even though the story really is about the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ. Our celebration of the Blessing of Palm is distinctive to this Sunday and it is the grand introduction to Holy Week with all its profound and spiritually moving ceremonies and services. How fitting it is to begin this week with a Procession of Palm in honor of Jesus Christ and his ultimate victory over death.

The major theme in today’s Gospel is compassion. Jesus is seen as the model of compassion for us to follow. We learn of his depth and understanding in this Gospel. Indeed this is a blessed and wonderful theme to think about in our lives just before the beginning of Holy Week.

In hearing this Gospel we learn that Jesus has been manipulated by the scribes and Pharisees who have humiliated a woman for their own ends. As can often happen with important leaders, people are to be used as needed and then coldly disposed of.

Are you aware that our faith tradition, the Judeo-Christian tradition, is historically based in many, but not all ways. When we think about it, the written words of the bible help trace and express the development of our relationship and experience with God. This particular way makes us distinct from a singularly nature-based religious tradition. This weekend our scripture very much deals with the issue of nature and the arrival of Spring at the vernal equinox. The scripture is addressing the newness of life which occurs around this time. On this day of true balance, daylight and darkness are equal, and each day thereafter, the daylight is greater than the darkness. This is Spring for us and this is the time for nature to recreate the dormant world. For many of us this is also a time for the re-creation of our human spirit. Lent is now half way through and we can sense that we are becoming part of a new creation as our Spring starts to suggest.

Our Church theological view is that as Christians we are a people who survive on the mercy of God, not solely on our own merit. In this papacy Pope Francis proclaims mercy in its various modes as our motto and also to be lived in our daily lives. Mercy must be the singular hall-mark of all who follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. For Christians, mercy must become our point of view in looking at our world. This certainly does not mean looking at the world and offering shallow sympathy. Instead, it means looking at our world and embracing it, living in it with its struggles and sufferings, and showing compassionate kindness to one and all.

The pre-story of this Old Testament reading is that Abram is greatly despairing because he and Sara are unable to have children. God now answers him, inviting Abram outside to view the beauty of the night sky. There, bathed in the starlight, God speaks and offers an unbelievable covenant to Abram. This is a strong and dramatic contrast to the usual covenant. The covenants of that time required the weak to be obligated to the powerful; in this special covenant, the great and all-powerful God is willingly obligated to the very powerless Abram. Note how God also makes it crystal clear that Abram does not have to do anything to earn God’s generosity. Indeed the only true requirements that Abram has to have are faith and trust that God will act on his behalf. Notice the balance: God promises, Abram trusts—thus the covenant is fulfilled.

The Season of Lent has begun with this Sunday and the readings address the major topic of the need for faith in our lives. The theme is in many ways trust in God as a strength, for we can rely on Him. Indeed, the message is simple and clear, but hard and difficult to live: trust in our God and do your best and all will work out accordingly.

Our Old Testament reading drives home the constant mantra of the Israelites that their God would never forget or abandon them no matter what they have done or failed to do. He will also rescue them when they call upon him for help. These lines of scripture today are critical to the Jewish faith and also are included in the Passover Haggadah.