Pastor’s Column 22nd Sunday Ordinary Time August 30, 2020 “You are thinking, not as God does, but as human beings do.” from Matthew 16:21-27 Saint Faustina’s diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul, is a real spiritual classic (and a very large book!) that I have read several times, highlighting all the best parts. The revelations and conversations she had with the Lord led directly to the establishment of Divine Mercy Sunday as the Second Sunday after Easter. In her diary, she freely shares her struggles with community living and the tasks God had given her to do in life, many of which made her feel inadequate, though she always trusted the Lord completely. Jesus made it clear to her at one point

Pastor’s Column 21st Sunday Ordinary Time August 23, 2020 Who do you say that Jesus is? Most of us, if asked this question, would reply, “Jesus is Lord” or “The Son of God”. But is he really? One of the ways that we can tell if Jesus is the Lord of our lives is by how we speak. Try listening to yourself this week. Do I tend to speak ill of others? If that person could overhear me, would I have to change the subject? Do I tend to use vulgar or obscene words? Am I a thankful person or a complainer? Do I speak one way in public and another in private? One of the greatest spiritual weapons we can add to our arsenal is silence. Oftentimes the best thing to say is actually nothing. One of

Pastor’s Column 20th Sunday Ordinary Time August 16, 2020 In this Sunday’s gospel (Matthew 15:21-28) we meet a very persistent pagan woman who keeps asking and asking Jesus for a healing of her dying daughter. Jesus responds by essentially appearing to give her the silent treatment, and then finally answering in a way that indicated he was unwilling to help her. The woman, however, would not give up, because she loved her daughter so much and knew Jesus could heal her if he so wanted. Jesus ends this by commending her faith and making it clear he had been testing her. By appearing to delay in answering, Jesus encouraged her to greater and greater acts of faith, which in the end was very p

Pastor’s Column 19th Sunday Ordinary Time August 9, 2020 Jesus dismissed the crowds, sent the disciples away in a boat and headed for the hills for some solitude and prayer with God (Matthew 14:22-23). Meanwhile, the poor disciples were battling a terrible storm on the Sea of Galilee, a storm Jesus had deliberately sent them into. Jesus was no doubt aware of the struggles of his disciples, and the disciples must have wondered about this too. After all, hadn’t he sent them out in the midst of the storm? And wasn’t Jesus praying up in the hills, where he could no doubt see the struggle taking place? Why did Jesus put them through this? When Jesus does finally come to the rescue, it is at

Pastor’s Column 18th Sunday in Ordinary time August 2, 2020 “When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.” Matthew 14:13 Who among us hasn’t wanted to get away from it all once in a while? Jesus was no different. Surrounded by people, almost all of whom wanted something from him, Jesus decided to get into a boat and take off for another part of the lake. It appears he also left the disciples behind. Jesus needed to be by himself for a time. Being alone can be a period either of loneliness, which is negative, or solitude, which is positive. The scriptures regularly show Jesus carving out times to pray and be alone with God the