Message from our Pastor
Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 5, 2024
I just finished a three-day retreat with the six permanent diaconate candidates who were ordained yesterday at St. John’s Cathedral. What a good group of men devoted to their faith, family, and Church. I am grateful for the time I was able to share with them and help them to prepare for their BIG day. I ask you to pray for them and those to be ordained to the priest- hood. It was powerful to hear about their anxiousness and hopes for their ministry. I know they will do important and good things for the people they serve. I have enjoyed watching our own Deacon John Grazia do so many good things for the people of our parish. I look forward to having Deacon Ryan Arto here at Divine Word for the coming school year. I am hoping there might be others who are thinking about the call to the Diaconate.
On Friday evening I was with my brother, Bishop Michael, as he celebrated his 40th anniversary as a priest. It has been a great gift to watch my older brother over the years and to see how happy he is now as our auxiliary bishop. As you might guess, he has a rigorous schedule and seems to be all over the diocese. Continue to pray for him and his ministry.
Sunday afternoon I will gather with thirty-five of our second-graders to celebrate their First Holy Communion. This celebration always has a special feel to it. Coming together with family and friends and to offer this awesome sacrament to our young people for the first time is a privilege. I know that the children are excited, but I also hope that the parents and families will see the importance of participating in this great sacrament. Jesus freely gives his life to us, and we are given the chance many times over to receive him in his Body and Blood.
With our celebration of First Holy Communion completed, the next several months will involve making plans for the upcoming year. We have a new Strategic Plan that we will be completing and eventually presenting to the parish for the next five-years. In July, I will be meeting with our Parish Staff, Finance Council, and Parish Pastoral Council, to talk about what is best for the upcoming years. The parish will be forty-seven years old this July which means the next five-year plan will include the celebration of our Fiftieth Anniversary. There is a lot to anticipate in the next few years.
Another powerful reading from the gospel of John! Jesus talks about a love that he himself will display in his life. He will never ask anyone something
that he himself would not do for us. The kind of love Jesus talks about is a sacrificial love that does not want or expect anything in return. This is a purposeful and intentional type of love. It is not always filled with sentimentality or to make another feel important. It is simply given from one person to the other, so that the other knows the power of giving without receiving.
For instance, Jesus says “if you keep my commandments you will remain in my love.” We could take those words a simply meaning, “do what you are told to do.” However, Jesus words will be backed by his actions. He does not want us to follow him out of “blind obedience” but to genuinely respond to his act of love. He will lay down his life for us literally on the cross and will rise from the dead. Why would we not listen to him and follow his words? His commandments are there to guide us and give us direction in a life that leads to greater joy. If we get away from the preoccupation with ourselves, maybe we can see the words of Jesus to help us understand that his way is what leads to greater fulfillment in life. Jesus never puts a disclaimer on his words that his way is the easiest route. Like living out the commandments, he asks us to carry our own cross and follow him.
I hope parents have enrolled their children for Vacation Bible School this summer. Registration is now open for VBS June 10th-June 14th, 9AM until noon each day. Registration can be found on the Divine Word website under Faith Formation. Complete the registration form, return it and the fee to the Parish office by Friday, May 31st. This is an excellent program for our young people.
May is one of those months that helps us move into the warmer days of the year. It is also one of those months that reminds us of the faith of Mary, the mother of Jesus and of the Church. This past Thursday, I celebrated the May Crowning of Mary with Our Lady’s Guild. Mary is that quick reminder of how important our faith is to the vitality of life and the Church. I also thank the Our Lady’s Guild for the invitation to be with them. I also want to thank the leadership of the Our Lady’s Guild for their direction and all they do for our parish.
As we enter the month of May, never lose sight of the need for prayer and worship in our lives. My prayers to all of you and in a special way to all our young second- graders who have received their First Holy Communion.
