Parish Blog

Dear Friends in Christ,

So…the warm weather has returned as it always does in this part of the country. And with this weather, I see increasing numbers of men, women, and children dressed as if they were headed for the beach. A significant number of men, women, and children are wearing shorts, flip-flops, and a T-shirt from their favorite sports team at Sunday Mass.

Dear Friends in Christ,

I am writing this letter three days after the exciting news of the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the 267th successor to St. Peter. What a joy it has been to experience these past few days! I have always loved being Catholic, but these days have been extra special for me. I suspect it has been the same for you.

Dear Friends in Christ,

May 29th of this year will mark my tenth year as a priest of Jesus Christ. On that date in 2015, Bishop Guglielmone ordained Father Morgan and me at St. Mary’s in Greenville.

I don’t feel that it’s been ten years but denying it doesn’t make it less true. I am overwhelmingly thankful for the honor and privilege of serving Christ as one of His priests. Being a priest is difficult, challenging and sometimes completely exhausting, but the rewards are amazing. I thought I might try and do a brief reflection on my ten years using the description given by Terence Cardinal Cooke: “From the day of his ordination, a priest can never forget that he has been called by God Himself. The priest is called to be a servant, a victim, a brother, a listener and a friend.”

Dear Friends in Christ,

We had finished the Holy Triduum of our Lord’s passion, death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit blessed us with beautiful and reverent liturgies. On the Easter Vigil, I was blessed to offer the Sacrament of Confirmation to 24 people.

Then Easter Monday as I was getting ready to leave for the airport at around 4:00pm, a friend texted me and informed me that Pope Francis had died. It was quite a shock and quite a way to start on my journey to Wisconsin to see my brother Warren and his wife Marilyn.

Dear Friends in Christ,

In our Gospel for today, Jesus, on the first day of the week, entered a locked room where the disciples were hidden for fear of the Jews. Their Lord and Savior had been crucified by the Romans; their special friend, companion, and Lord was gone from their lives. I’m sure that you could cut the confusion and fear with a knife.

Into this locked room, Jesus suddenly appears and says, “Peace be with you!” and he shows them his hands and his side. And our Gospel tells us that the disciples “rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” Can you imagine their wonderment and joy? What would it have been like to be there? In this busy and demanding world, could your life use some wonderment and joy?

Dear Friends in Christ,

We have already heard the good news—or rather, the best news: “Christ is alive! He has risen and has appeared to His disciples.” Happy Easter to all! The sadness that filled our hearts at Christ's passion and death gives way to the uncontainable joy brought about by His resurrection.

Dear Friends in Christ,

Today, we read the narrative of the Passion from the Gospel of Luke. According to this evangelist, Jesus entering Jerusalem to a joyous parade of palms and the Passion narrative are mutually related. This is so even though the first part is jubilant while the second part is humiliating and degrading.

Dear Friends in Christ,

The Gospel passage describes the encounter of sin with divine mercy. The Pharisees who bring the adulterous woman have already decided that she must die; they focus on her past and want the law to be applied to her. Jesus doesn't want to play their game because none of them can pronounce just judgment. They too have a sinful past. It is Jesus who will exercise judgment, not by condemning, but by offering a way of salvation. He doesn't condemn because he looks to the future, to the plan he has lovingly established for each person.

Dear Friends in Christ,

Today, in this Laetare Sunday (“Rejoice Sunday”), the fourth Sunday of Lent, we hear again that amazing parable of Luke's Gospel, where Jesus justifies his unprecedented practice of forgiving sins to regain men for God.

Many wonder if the expression “prodigal son,” which this parable is named after, is really understood by most people. Perhaps we should rename it as the parable of the “merciful father.”

Dear Friends in Christ,

Jesus tells his followers a parable that concerns us: “The owner of the vineyard approaches the fig tree to pick its fruit and finds none.” This Lent, God demands fruit from us: Are we happy that Jesus calls us to account? Are we surprised? Are we afraid when we see our life as a tree full of leaves but without fruit? The episode begins with anxiety but has a happy ending. God will make one last effort to recover his tree: he will turn the earth, apply fertilizer, and wait another year because he is patient with what he sowed with such enthusiasm. Indeed, we should not reach the end of our lives empty-handed. Lent is an invitation to conversion.

Dear Friends in Christ,

Today, the second Sunday in Lent, the liturgy of the word invariably brings us the dramatic event of the Lord's transfiguration. This year it is with the nuances typical of St. Luke's Gospel.

It is St. Luke who more strongly emphasizes the praying Jesus, the Son who is permanently linked to the Father through personal prayer, at times intimate and hidden, at times in the presence of his disciples, but always full of joy through the Holy Spirit.

Dear Friends in Christ,

The Year of Evangelization starts this Lent as the first year of the five-year Diocesan pastoral plan called “Via Fidelis.” In the coming weeks, Bishop Fabre will be sending out a pastoral letter detailing this five-year journey. Recently, he shared suggestions for all of us for prayer and evangelization each month during this Year of Evangelization.

Dear Friends in Christ,

According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the preeminent issue facing us as Americans is respecting and protecting life, from conception all the way to natural death. Currently, a serious concern for all faithful Catholics is the aggressive manner in which in vitro fertilization (IVF) is being promoted at the federal and state level.