Pastor's Corner

I watched the Memorial Service for Charlie Kirk and found it to be a moving tribute. His wife, Erika, spoke eloquently about what Charlie stood for, including this truth, "The answer to hate is not hate." She said, "The answer, we know from the Gospel, is love. It’s always love.” However, the spirit of the service changed when President Trump, appearing to reference Erika’s comments, said that Charlie "did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That's what I disagreed with Charlie (on), I hate my opponent, and I don't want the best for them."

We can be enamored by beautiful things and fun “toys,” in which we can invest a great deal of money, time and attention. Created things are wonderful to enjoy. However, if our focus is too great on them, we can be tempted to lose sight of the Origin of all created things. I offer you this prayer from 4 century Bishop and Doctor of the Church, St. Augustine of Hippo from his work, Confessions, as he reflects on how his inordinate focus on created things drew him away from God. It was a turning point in his spiritual conversion. May this be a helpful prayer for you as you seek to deepen your relationship with Jesus and His Church.

Ever wonder why we have a fishing net hanging in our church?

It reminds us of the time Jesus told Simon Peter to “lower your net for a catch” (Luke 5:1-11). Jesus invites each of us to go deeper in our trusting relationship with Him. Simon Peter reluctantly responded to Jesus’ directive to lower his net for a catch of fish even though he had caught nothing all night long. Peter listened to what Jesus told him to do.

This Sunday, September 7, in St. Peter’s Square in Rome, Pope Leo will canonize 2 young men: Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.

Carlo Acutis (1991–2006) was born in London and raised in Milan, Italy. He has become known as the "Apostle of the Eucharist" for his deep devotion and for creating a website documenting Eucharistic miracles.

St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta once wrote, "It is very important for us to realize that love, to be true, has to hurt." At first hearing, it sounds odd, if not, foolish. For love to be authentic, it must hurt?

Mother Teresa went on to explain that it hurt Jesus to love us. "And to make sure we remember His great love, He made himself the bread of life to satisfy our hunger for His love - our hunger for God - because we have been created for that love.

As we enjoy the summer season, did you know that you can practice a valuable spiritual virtue called eutrapelia? It involves playfulness and fun! Yes, it’s a real virtue.

St. Thomas Aquinas describes its value as something that can refresh and renew the person in both body and soul. He adds that it needs to be in moderation, done for the good that is intended. Modern science has verified the value of this virtue.

The following is a portion of a reflection provided by Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on June 16, 2025 on behalf of the bishops of the United States. View the full text at www.usccb.org/news/2025.

“… No one can turn a deaf ear to the palpable cries of anxiety and fear heard in communities throughout the country in the wake of a surge in immigration enforcement actions.

Recently, I came across a short video on YouTube that looked and sounded like Pope Leo, but after checking its authenticity, it turns out to be an AI generated clip. This is just one example of how many of us can be deceived when people and organizations disseminate deceptive messages, untruths, or half-truths to advance their own agenda. It can cause you and I to be suspicious of just about everything we see, hear, and read these days.

Next Sunday, June 22, the Catholic Church around the world will celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, traditionally known as "Corpus Christi" - Latin for the Body of Christ. This feast's origins go back to the 13th century and not long after that, a tradition of processing with the Holy Eucharist was started. In many Catholic countries, it has been a regular practice. However, in our own country, it has not been very common to have a Corpus Christi procession. But, a growing number of parishes here in the U.S. are reviving the practice.

The Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost, the event when the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus’ disciples in a special way to empower them to continue His mission of proclaiming the Good News to the world. Each of us fully initiated Catholics have experienced our own Pentecost event when we received the Sacrament of Confirmation and were bestowed the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord – which means revering God by offering Him due worship and devotion.

We’re fragile, vulnerable people who have a knack for making life look easy. It’s when we’re very young, very old, disabled or we get sick that it becomes difficult to project an image of self-reliance and complete independence. Yet, in reality, we’re all dependent, all subject to weakness when we face our limitations and have to acknowledge that we’re not ultimately in charge, that we’re not perfect. This realization is humbling and yet very healthy for us as Christians. Compassion springs from such awareness; it also engenders a sharpened sensitivity to the needs of others.