Bulletins on Sunday Bulletins (Page 17)
May 15th – Fifth Sunday of Easter
In Jesus, all of the prohibitions of the “old” law were cast aside. His
new commandment is simple: “Love one another as I have loved
you.” While it is easy to state, it is far from easy to live.
It has been said that “Love is the only law, and that all the rest is
commentary.” If we were completely and totally loving (God,
neighbor and ourselves), there would be no need for any other rules or
laws. That would be a perfect society; that would be heaven. But for
now we depend upon laws to be able to live orderly lives and to
protect our relationships between and among others and even with
oneself.
After 2000 years of Christianity, it is sad that Jesus’ commandment is
still new, and that our world has not yet discovered the peace that is
the fruit of love. We continue to pray for the people of Ukraine, for an
end to the brutal way being waged against them and the conversion of
those who lead and direct the invading forces from Russia.
May 8th – Fourth Sunday of Easter
When Good Shepherd Sunday falls on the second Sunday of May, it
is not a difficult stretch to connect the image of Jesus as our Good
Shepherd with the mothers (and our fathers!) who gave us life and, for
the most part, continue to serve as shepherds to their children, no
matter how old, successful or independent they may be. May those
who still have parents with them rejoice in this gift that God gives us;
and may we all join in prayer for the repose of the souls of our
mothers who have gone to the Lord. May they all rest in the peace of
Christ.
This weekend, we ask all our parish families to consider donating to
the Diocesan Priest Retirement Appeal. We need the support of every
parish family at Saint Clare to be successful. Remember, not everyone
can make the same size gift, but everyone can make the same size
sacrifice. Please make a gift that truly reflects all the blessings you
have received from God and your willingness to support the work of
our Diocesan Priests. Donations of all sizes are gratefully accepted
and appreciated. Our retired priests rely on their minimal Social
Security since they were paid a very modest wage and the Priest
Retirement Plan payments for their living expenses and end-of-life
needs. Yet, like the general population, priests live longer, more
active lives. This has increased the challenge of providing adequate
care to our retired priests. Your gift to the Diocesan Priest Retirement
Appeal provides vital funding for medications, nursing care, and more
to these priests who have been good shepherds and have kept their
promises to the faithful of the Diocese. Please know that priests across
our Diocese hold you and your loved ones in grateful prayer.
As he mentioned at some of the Masses this past weekend, Msgr. Fran
will likely be one of our retired priests around 2027/2028, if not
before. . .Father George, pastor from 2010-2014, will likely retire
within the next five years.
May 1st – Third Sunday of Easter
Jesus’ three questions to Simon Peter, asking him, “Do you love me?”
must have been painful for Peter to hear. But, in fact, the Lord was
giving but another example of God’s tremendous willingness to
forgive, no matter how many times we stray. Three times, Peter had
denied knowing Jesus. And after Peter declares the third time, “Yes
Lord, you know that I love you,” Jesus called to him again, “Follow
me.”
For us, to know that “God’s mercy is without end” is one of the
foundations of our lives. It gives us hope and should endow us with a
willingness to forgive those who have offended or hurt us. Being part
of a reconciling community of faith demands no less of us. That
Christ is victorious over sin and death allows us, in Him, to do the
same. Then we can share the joy of the Resurrection.
Congratulations to the children who will receive Holy Communion
for the first time this weekend and next. We pray that you will remain
as close to the Lord in the years to come as you are with him on this
special day.
April 24th – Second Sunday of Easter
“Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, the one who lives. Once I
was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever” (Revelation 1:17b-18).
For the Church, the great Easter Feast extends for 50 days, until
Pentecost, this year on June 5. But the “day” of Easter itself lasts
until this Sunday, which we call the Second Sunday of Easter. This is
the greatest of our holy days. Even Christmas Day is only one day,
but Easter Day is eight days. In fact, it takes that long for us at our
daily Masses to hear all of the Easter appearances of the Lord.
While we are not literally at the empty tomb, in the garden, the upper
room or on the road to Emmaus, the Risen Lord continues to make
Himself present to us – in His word, the Eucharist, and the Christian
Community, especially when gathered for the celebration of the
Eucharist. As He lives “forever and ever,” He sends us forth, as
disciples, to announce the good news (“gospel”) that the Lord is risen
and, even more, that we also will rise.
Our parish Easter celebrations were the cause of great joy last
weekend. It was the first time since the pandemic that we experienced
a full church. I pray that this continues, even when it is not Easter
Sunday. It was so good to see all of you!!
Happy Easter!
April 17th – Easter Sunday
Dear Parishioners,
This ancient Easter greeting resounds through time and space as a
reflection of our joy and our hope.
We are far from first century Jerusalem, yet these words continue to
proclaim the fundamental Christian mystery: the Lord Jesus has
conquered death and sin and the
darkness of our lives and our
world.
In Baptism, each of us is united to the Lord’s victory and we walk in
His light, as sharers of the life that has no end. In our Christian living,
we are witnesses to God’s abiding presence and to the hope that is the
foundation of our lives.
May our gathering during Holy Week and the Easter Triduum
renew our faith; may they also renew us and all people in appreciation
of God’s unending love. We thank you once more for the privilege of
serving you.
April 10th – Palm Sunday
As we enter this week that we consider the holiest of all, we try to
unite ourselves with the Passion of the Lord, so also to share His
Resurrection. We might ask ourselves where we can begin our
personal and communal journeys this week. Perhaps, we can take as
our starting point this Sunday’s second reading from Saint Paul to the
Philippians, where we find this:
“Your attitude must be that of Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God. . .
emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.”
May our participation in the mysteries of the Lord’s Cross and
Resurrection help us – one and all – to serve in love, even as He did.
April 3rd – Fifth Sunday of Lent
The “water in the desert and rivers in the wasteland” that God
promised through the prophet Isaiah was referring to forgiving the
forsaken, the lost, and the hopeless. This is borne out in Jesus’
treatment of the woman caught in adultery, whom the scribes and
Pharisees wanted to stone to death: “Has no one condemned you?. . .
Neither do I condemn you.”
In rejecting the penalty prescribed by the Law, Jesus chooses mercy. . .
for the woman and for each of us. If we had been in the crowd that
day, could any of us claim to be sinless, to be able to cast the first
stone? Only in recognizing our own sins and failings can we also
recognize God’s limitless forgiveness. . .and become that same forgiveness for one another.
This coming Saturday afternoon, we will celebrate our Lenten
Reconciliation Liturgy. During the pandemic – and for a good
number of years previous to it – many have neglected celebration
of the sacrament. As we heard on Ash Wednesday, “Now is the
acceptable time. . .Now is the day of salvation.” Join us next
Saturday at 3:00 pm, in the Church. We will have a number of
visiting priests to serve as confessors.
March 27th – Fourth Sunday of Lent
The fifteenth chapter of the Gospel of Saint Luke is filled with stories
of God’s relentless love. This is most particularly true of the gospel
story we hear this Sunday. “The Prodigal Son” tells of the richness
of God’s mercy, forgiveness and love. In fact, it may be more
correctly titled as “The Parable of the Loving Father.”
Some of us may mistakenly think that “prodigal” refers the repentant
son when he decides to return to his father; however, “prodigal”
actually describes the way the young man squandered his father’s
wealth.
The elder son could only focus on his brother’s misdeeds and had no
room for forgiveness in his heart. His bitterness seems never to have
gone away and he remains alienated from his brother and his father, in
spite of his father’s pleading, “My son, you are here with me always;
everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice,
because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost
and has been found.”
On this Fourth Sunday of Lent, may each of us not only experience a
love that is like that of the father in this parable, but let us also extend
that forgiving love to one another.