Pastor’s Column 18th Sunday Ordinary Time August 1, 2021 What do we mean by the fraction rite and the co-mingling? The celebrant of the Mass performs both of these actions during the communion rite, while the people are saying or singing the “Lamb of God”. The priest breaks or fractions the host into two or more pieces in view of the people. St Paul expresses the theology well: “The bread we break, is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?” (1 Cor. 10:16). This action

Pastor’s Column 17th Sunday Ordinary time July 25, 2021 There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; But what good are these for so many? John 6:9 Jesus has a knack in the Gospels for getting the disciples into seemingly impossible situations, and he frequently does so with his followers today. Jesus saw the vast crowds, and felt sorry for them, so he began to teach them at great length. In fact, he spoke so long that the people ran out of food. Was this an ac

Pastor’s Column 16th Sunday Ordinary Time July 18, 2021 “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile.” Mark 6:31 In last week’s gospel, Jesus had sent the disciples out two by two to all the towns and villages (Mark 6:7-13). Now we find Jesus and his disciples crossing to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Time and again we find Jesus crossing to the other side during his ministry. These crossings mark boundaries between different phases of Jesus' ministry.

Pastor’s Column 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time July 11, 2021 “He instructed them to take nothing with them for the journey but a walking stick – no food, no sack, no money belts.” Mark 6:8 Perhaps no advice Jesus gave his disciples sounds more impractical than that which we hear in this Sunday’s gospel (Mark 6:7-13). Can any one of us imagine going on a trip and taking nothing at all with us but the clothes on our back, a walking stick and a pair of sandals? Jesus even instruct

Pastor’s Column 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time July 4, 2021 Have you ever heard the expression, “familiarity breeds contempt”? Well, this is what Jesus is facing in this Sunday’s gospel (Mark 6:1-6). He has come to the town where he grew up – Nazareth. We learn from this passage that Jesus had lived a very circumspect life at home. Jesus was laying low—he was fully a carpenter during these hidden years. Later, when Jesus did come back as a teacher and miracle worker, he had hid