Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Mary’s,

This weekend we will be celebrating a Mass for First Communion at the Noon Mass. How beautiful and touching it is that our youngsters receive the Lord Jesus in Holy Communion for the first time. We pray for them and also their parents. It is our great hope that the children’s parents will now bring them faithfully to Mass each weekend. The parents have honored the commitment they made at the time of the child’s baptism and now need to continue to honor that public promise of “raising them in the ways of our faith” by faithfully attending Mass and also assisting them with Religious Education.

What helps us to define the early church are three elements found in the first reading. You will note that the first element is the apostles. They are central because they witnessed, in a strong sense, the Resurrection. The church, as a community, is the second element. In fact one that was slowly increasing in membership. The third element is the regard others held for this community as a holy and healing group of people.All of these points come to have profound meaning in the Gospel of today where we are reminded that faith does not depend upon seeing.

Our Parish will be holding Our Parish Pastoral Council Elections this late Spring. Below is a Description of the Role and eligibility requirements. Folks will be invited to nominate parishioners during the weekend of May 7-8 in the church by filling out a nomination paper and placing it in the baskets at the door of the church when leaving or by email.

Pastoral Reflections In the cathedrals of archdioceses, such as our own and also in dioceses throughout the world and in addition, in monasteries and religious house chapels throughout the world, there are many, many “first readings” at the Easter Vigil. Parishes are not expected to participate in proclaiming all the various readings of the Easter Vigil, consequently we do not realize how subdued the scripture readings of Easter Sunday are compared to the solemn vigils of cathedrals etc.

Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Mary Parish,

May the Celebration of the Sacred Mysteries of our faith during these three Holy Days bring you and those close to your heart God’s grace, healing and strength. May you experience the joys and hope of the Resurrection of Christ in your daily life.

A Blessed and Happy Easter,
Father Brian

This weekend at Mass we begin “the holist week of the year” with the Celebration of Palm Sunday. This trium- phant and noisy event stands in stark contrast to the sacred events we celebrate later this week in the Sacred Trid- uum (the Three Days) which mark the Last Supper, the Institution of the Eucharist and Priesthood on Holy Thursday, the death of Jesus on the Cross on Good Friday and then on Saturday evening into Sunday morning the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. We all shout “Hosanna” on this Palm Sunday even though we know of the events later in the week. It is also from this additional knowledge that we know Jesus rose from the dead and from that truth our Palm Sunday takes its final meaning and shape.

In this week’s Gospel, we are not surprised when we learn that Jesus is being again tested by people. From the high Temple authorities to the officials of government, to the villagers He meets and even His own people of his village, Jesus is constantly being tested and questioned. In this passage, in particular, we realize that He is being manipulated and setup. His foes take advantage of a woman and humiliate her to get at Jesus. The scribes and Pharisees should know better because of their religious upbringing and education, but it does not seem to matter. They perceive Jesus to be a threat to them; they think that to use that woman was inconsequential. In their opinion and treatment of her, she was dispensable.

Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Mary Parish,

I have been told via email or in person that some folks are getting emails from me asking if they have some time to help me. These emails are fakes and really are fraudulently seeking money from you. I get anywhere from two to ten a week with various parishioner’s, family or friend’s names with the same request etc. I always delete them without reading them or sending them back to the alleged sender. Never open them always delete them, never send them back. Just delete them.  You do not need to get a computer virus. The scammers target the public email of priests in parishes. When in doubt, delete and do not open.

Sometimes people forget that our faith tradition, which is called the Judeo-Christian Tradition, is based in history and is the story of the experiences of God and human kind. The written words which are in the Bible that we call Sacred Scripture tell the various stories or “narrative” of this experience. We are not what are called a “nature based” religious tradition. We do, however, include within our experiences nature and all its wonder and power.

Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Mary Parish,

I hope this past week was a little easier for you as we continue to negotiate our way through the overall lessening of the Pandemic and the necessary protocols and rules which we follow out of concern for others and also for ourselves. I think the much longer days of sunlight and the increasing outdoor temperature help all of us to adopt a better attitude about life. We still are weighed down by the terrible situation of death, injury, destruction and violence in the Country of Ukraine. We must earnestly pray for the end of all this war-like violence and that all governmental leaders will actively pursue peace. May Our Lady intercede at the Heavenly Throne to bring peace to everyone who suffers from war or violence.

We have learned from the teachings of Pope Francis that God’s middle name must be “mercy” and also that for us to be His people we must rely completely on His mercy which he offers to each one of us. Indeed in many ways our motto in life could be the singular word “mercy”. Mercy must be the sign and hallmark of who we are who claim to walk in the Way of Jesus Christ. We must work hard to make mercy an everyday reality in our lives. This does not mean we simply feel bad for people and have a good thought for them, rather it is living in and loving our world with all its good, its flaws, its successes, it struggles, and in the very end of it all showing kindness to anyone whether we believe the person merits it. Mercy does not measure kindness, mercy is simple kindness itself.

Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Mary Parish,

Daylight Saving Time gives all of us a beautiful benefit of additional sunlight in the evening. Life simply changes for the better when we have evening daylight. The burdens and problems may be the same, but we find it easier to carry or solve our concerns or problems. Please enjoy the growing evening light and twilight.

In the verses from the Book of Genesis just before those of today's reading, Abram has come near to the end of his rope. He is so disappointed and frustrated that he and Sarai have not been able to have children. Surprisingly, God responds to Abram's search for an answer from out of the night sky. In the starlight of the night, God makes a covenant with Abram. This is very different from the usual covenant of the weak being obliged to the powerful, rather in this covenant the powerful, namely God is obliged to the weak, namely Abram. In it, God makes it very clear that Abram does not have to do anything to earn God's generosity of descendants and land. In fact, all Abram has to do is have faith and trust that God will act on his behalf. In a sense it is quite simple: God promises, Abram trusts, and the covenant is fulfilled.

In the verses from the Book of Genesis just before those of today’s reading, Abram has come near to the end of his rope. He is so disappointed and frustrated that he and Sarai have not been able to have Children. Surprisingly, God responds to Abram’s searBh for an answer from out of the night sky. In the starlight of the night, God makes a Covenant with Abram. This is very different from the usual Covenant of the weak being obliged to the powerful, rather in this Covenant the powerful, namely God is obliged to the weak, namely Abram. In it, God makes it very clear that Abram does not have to do anything to earn God’s generosity of descendants and land. In fact, all Abram has to do is have faith and trust that God will act on his behalf. In a sense it is quite simple: God promises, Abram trusts, and the Covenant is fulfilled.

In a very formal way, the Season of Lent begins this weekend; Ash Wednesday and the few days that follow it are “add-on” days to Lent. The scripture this weekend is the first formal launch into the Season of Lent. The scriptural message is quite clear for us in that we learn from the readings that trust in God will see us through in life. God will always act in life for us and for our ultimate good. We must simply have faith in God. Our Old Testament Reading from the Book of Deuteronomy reminds the Israelites that their (and our God) could not and would not ever forget or abandon them. The Israelites knew that when all the times they fell away from God, all they had to do was call out to God and ask him for his help and rescue.

Paul writes in his letter to the Romans about the necessity and power of faith. He tells us that those who have faith in Christ will not be put to shame. In fact, he writes that their shared faith will make them sisters and brothers in the Lord and also beneficiaries of God’s rich mercy.