Message from our Pastor
March 29, 2020
We enter Holy Week like we never have before! These are strange and unprecedented times for us. The Coronavirus has certainly made its impact across the world. The power of how we react to all we experience is up to us. As quickly as this virus has placed many into isolation, away from school and work, and at arm’s length from one another, the one thing it cannot take away is how we react to it. Hence, we must search and ponder the positive in this situation.
Thus, goes Holy Week! We proclaim and powerfully remember the triumphal entry of Jesus into the sacred city of Jerusalem. He was hailed and acclaimed by many. At the same time, there was an undercurrent of those who were plotting against him. Jesus’ goodness drew so many to his side and to others they wanted to see his life end. Yet, we keep in mind that as palm branches welcomed him a cross is waiting for him.
So, what we have is the ultimate juxtaposition. We begin our Palm Sunday liturgy usually singing Hosanna and waving palm branches, and only moments later shout out “Crucify Him.” The liturgy is set-up this way to represent a humanity that is fickle and precarious. The reality of this situation has been relived throughout generations to this very day. Betrayal, trust, friendship power, humility, hubris, manipulation, denial and deceit are just a few themes at work in our Gospel today.
All of us have at one time or another felt the betrayal, manipulation, or deceit of another. The feelings that these themes stir in us can consume and draw us into ourselves. How we overcome such situations cannot be done on our own. We have the great gift of faith that tells us Jesus is with us even in and through his death. My time with the Lord these past few weeks has stirred up quite a bit from my life. When you have more “down time” and you begin to ponder, God at some point will bring up those moments or parts of our life that we are called to strengthen and at other times the parts of our life we have difficulty accepting. We are not whole but are striving for completion. This is only done through the working of Jesus in our lives who gives us the ability to make amends with ourselves and others.
All of what I just said begins to take on added significance through the events that we intimately remember through the next week. Jesus will wash feet, share his body and blood, go through the passion, carry and die on a cross, and overcome all the world can throw at him by conquering death. His Resurrection means our redemption and the impetus to grow in our faith and meet head-on those parts of life we may have been afraid to face. I hope and pray that this Holy Week will be powerful for you even though we are physically separated.
This coming week we will Livestream Mass on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 8:30AM. Holy Thursday Mass will be Livestreamed at 7PM. Good Friday we will Livestream Stations at Noon and then we will Livestream our Good Friday Services at 3PM. The Easter Vigil will be Livestreamed at 7PM on Saturday and Easter Sunday Mass Livestream will be at 8:30AM. Thanks to Deacon John Grazia, Stan Krulc, and Tim Smitley for their work to make the Livestream possible for us all.
I am praying in a special way throughout this Holy Week for your intentions. This Holy Week for me will be different than any other Holy Week in my life. I offer this time and these powerful days for you and your family. Please remember to keep those who are in special need of our prayers. We pray for those who are alone, isolated, and depressed because of illness or situation in life. We also pray that the Coronavirus will quickly dissipate, and life will return to normal. We pray for all those in the medical field who are putting their lives on the line to make life more comfortable and caring for those who are sick.
Finally, I just want to make financial plea. As you can guess our collections have gone down drastically over the past several weeks. We can always use your help. I say this also realizing that your financial situation may have been altered by the difficulty of the COVID-19 Virus. If you can help us out financially through the next several weeks, I will appreciate your generosity. You can always sign up for our Automated Giving through the bulletin or call us at the parish office and we can help set this up for you or you can mail in your envelopes.
Thank you for your prayers and I look forward to the day we are all around the altar of the Lord. Have a powerful Holy Week!
