As Jesus speaks to the Pharisees, he references how Moses brought about healing to the afflicted people of Israel. May we gaze upon the Lord – lifted up upon the Cross – for our redemption.
Mass Readings – Tuesday of the 5th Week of Lent
***************
St. Vincent Ferrer, pray for us!
This fourth installment of the Lenten Retreat focuses on the humiliation and shame associated with being stripped of dignity. As the Lord experiences some of the most painful aspects of mental anguish, we take comfort that he redeems it with His saving love.
***************
The angels in the first reading and all creation in the Psalm response proclaim the power and grandeur of God.
Mass Readings – Wednesday of the 34th Week of the Year
Jesus Christ knows our hearts – the good, the bad and the ugly – and he offers mercy through his sacrifice on the Cross that we might have life. Take his hand!
Mass Readings – Saturday of the 22nd Week of the Year
***************
Calling, Yongsung Kim, Oil on Canvas.
This well known passage from the Gospel of John reminds us that it was out of love for sinful humanity that God sent Jesus Christ for our salvation. May we humbly acknowledge the darkness within our hearts and turn to the one who longs to make us whole.
Mass Readings – Wednesday of the 2nd Week of Easter
***************
While spending time with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus’ response to the scribes and pharisees offers us hope. The Lord’s willingness to bring healing and forgiveness to those in need reveals Christ’s longing for our redemption as well. May we follow the example of Levi and respond to the Lord’s call.
Mass Readings – Saturday after Ash Wednesday
***************
This feast day fosters both personal piety and a communal connection within the Church to Jesus Christ, our savior, redeemer, brother and friend. The Lord offers his heart for the salvation of the world as he gives his life on the Cross. May the love in his heart fill up what is lacking in ours!
Mass Readings – Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
***************
Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
Mass Readings – The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)
(Note: there are many choices for today; this link offers a few options.)
Today we pray for all who have died, sometimes still grieving their loss, and sometimes smiling as their memory warms our hearts. What’s more, our prayers are part of the communion we share in Jesus Christ, and we offer them for those who have gone before us…that they might meet us one day in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let the perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. Amen.
May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen
***************
Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
Mass Readings – Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
How many times throughout our lives have we made the sign of the Cross? Stop and think: at Mass; meal prayers; morning & evening prayers; special gatherings; and moments of blessing and grace. This simple action, which we teach to children at an early age, invokes a connection with the passion of Jesus.
We adorn our homes with the Cross. A crucifix is a common gift to a new home; they are placed in bedrooms and common areas as a reminder that Jesus is the source of our help and strength.
We adorn ourselves with the Cross in many ways: a crucifix on a chain; a cross in our pocket; earrings; rings; bracelets; and all the extra cards, bookmarks, figurines, and miscellaneous items that remind us that Jesus died on a Cross.
The Paschal Mystery – the death and resurrection of Christ – speaks to the heart of our faith. Out of love for us God sent Jesus, who gave his life on the Cross that we might have eternal life. Through his suffering and death, we recognize that God has made a pathway possible that we might all journey through this life to the gates of Heaven.
The Cross teaches us many lessons:
* Life is difficult, and at times painful
* Weakness and sin are part of our experience
* God identifies with our pain
* God dies that we might have life
At the core of our teaching the Cross stands as the testament of God’s love for us. On one hand the Cross is an embarrassment – after all, why would God (all powerful, all knowing, supreme) choose to be humiliated? Does that not mean that God is weak? Why could God not take away our sins in a way that showed majesty and splendor?
Yet on the other hand, the Cross is a statement that God meets us where we are in life. In our weakness, in our humiliation, in our low moments of doubt and sin God comes to us. Jesus, like us in every way but sin, understands our pain because through his Cross he shares in the suffering of the world. He knows us, and loves us even more.
Every time we make the sign of the Cross may we recall what the Lord endured for us. May the Cross be our strength as we trust in God’s love, and may we seek to follow that love as we journey through this life toward the world to come.
***************
Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
Mass Readings – Friday of the 2nd Week of Lent
Both the 1st Reading and the Gospel detail stories of rejection: Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers for 20 pieces of silver and Jesus explains how the tenants kill the vineyard owner’s son. Yet in both cases the reality of rejection is transformed and redeemed by God’s grace. May we face our moments of rejection with the power of our faith in Christ, that God will work in our lives to bring about good.
***************
Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
And to all of you who claim even a wee bit of Irish…Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Three Great Things 