Letter from the Pastor

Do you remember the Gospel passage in which Jesus was a guest at a wedding in Cana of Galilee?  It must have been a festive occasion because the wine was gone before the celebration was over.  The Blessed Mother told Jesus about the problem and He came up with a marvelous solution.  At His instruction, six stone jars were filled with   water.  Then some was drawn out and taken to the head waiter.  He tasted it and then said to the groom: “People usually serve the choice wine first, then a lesser vintage.  What you have done is keep the […]

Every wife, mother or whoever happens to have the responsibility knows that there are two ways to clean house.  One is routine and regular; the other is major and seldom.  In the first, you sweep the floors, vacuum the carpets, wash the dishes, make the beds, scrub the bathrooms, and dust the furniture.   The second way includes all of the above but goes a bit further.  You also move the furniture in order to get at the dirt that has accumulated under and behind.  You clean out the refrigerator and throw away all of the moldy food.  You rearrange the […]

Would you agree that most people have a rather casual concept of forgiveness?  Many tend to view it somewhat the same way as a police officer tearing up a traffic ticket or a judge saying: “Case dismissed.” And yet with Jesus, forgiveness is never shallow and inconsequential.  Calvary can be understood only in terms of Jesus’ concern for us and for what sin does to us, and the suffering and sorrow it causes in our lives and in the lives of others. It may be less painful to close our eyes and minds to our own sins, but the price […]

We often speak of self-sacrifice as an ideal for our Christian living.  We call upon ourselves and others who will listen to give up selfishness and live sacrificially.  But the moral quality of any sacrifice is determined by the cause for which it is made.   Some years ago, the world was shocked by a story of sacrifice in the city of Beirut.  A young man drove a truck loaded with explosives into a building, housing more than two hundred U.S. Marines.  Then he deliberately detonated the explosives, taking his own life and the lives of most of the men who […]