I greet you all again this week. I hope you had a great week! In today’s Gospel, we see a beautiful invitation from Jesus to His disciples: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”

Since Fr. Scott is on retreat, I get to greet you all this week. Please keep Fr. Scott in your prayers so he may receive much of the Lord’s grace and strength during his retreat.

One of the strongest lies we face time and again throughout life is, "I am not enough." It's tempting to believe because it's not entirely false. Deep down we feel and even know that this is the reality, that we aren't sufficient on our own. Some self-help guides try to combat this difficult truth with the even more deadly lie that "I am enough."

“God did not make death.” This stark opening line from our first reading is answered at the end of that same passage: “By the envy of the devil, death entered the world.” God made us to live eternally with Him, through Him, and in Him. By enticing us to sin, the devil knew we would die because of our disconnection from God, the source of eternal life.

"Let us cross to the other side." Jesus speaks these words to His disciples as they prepare to cross the Sea of Galilee. We see in these words the Lord inviting us all on the journey of life, crossing over from what is old and sinful and becoming a new creation in Christ. This journey is called the Paschal Mystery.

In today's Gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a man scattering seeds and then going about his day to let the seeds grow. Jesus commends the man for letting the seed grow naturally without the man trying to micromanage the growth of the seeds. We play our part by planting the seeds of God's grace in our lives and in the world around us, but then we're called to step back and let God's grace take effect. 

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity and grace! During the Easter Season, we celebrated First Communions, Confirmation, end of the school year activities and graduation, Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi, and so many other awesome events at the parish and in our diocese.

This weekend we celebrate Corpus Christi, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The Eucharist is a meal, a memorial sacrifice, and the real Presence of Jesus Christ. When we gather to celebrate Mass, all of these realities come together to unite us in Christ. 

We celebrate the Holy Trinity this weekend, affirming God's revelation of Himself as one God in three divine Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Happy Pentecost! As our Easter season concludes after this Sunday, we enter back into Ordinary Time with the renewed gift of the Holy Spirit given to the Church at the first time at Pentecost. If you think of it, every moment since that great day is a new Pentecost, a new outpouring of the Spirit of Christ upon His Church.

Happy Mother's Day! May the blessing of our Lord be with all our mothers whom we celebrate this day, for all moms in heaven, (great)grandmas, godmothers, and for all expecting mothers.

Our Scriptures this Sixth Sunday of Easter point to the universality and primacy of God's love. In extending salvation to the Gentiles, St. Peter realizes that "God shows no partiality" in His invitation to share life in His Son Jesus. The Letter of St. John reminds us that God is love, and that God initiates the gift of love.

I'm pleased to announce that seminarian Anthony Donatelli has been assigned as a summer intern to St. Mary and St. Patrick Parish this summer! Anthony will be entering 5th Theology, his final year of seminary formation as he prepares for ordination to the Transitional Diaconate and Priesthood.

Happy Good Shepherd Sunday! The Fourth Sunday of Easter provides us with one of the deepest images and identities of our Lord Jesus as our Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd knows and loves His flock.

As we move deeper into our Easter season, we have some exciting initiatives and news in today's bulletin with updates on the new St. Mary's rectory build and sponsorship items and Parish Council nominations.

On this Divine Mercy Sunday, we get to see the workings of God's mercy for those who crucified our risen Lord. Mercy is a free gift of God offered to us to reconcile us through Christ to the Father and to our brothers and sisters.

Happy Easter! What a joy it is for Fr. Fabian, Deacon Tom, Deacon Larry, Deacon Bob, Deacon Phil, and me to celebrate this Easter with you. Our Lord is risen! The resurrection of Christ anticipates our own resurrection, when He will raise us up, body and soul, to live with Him in eternal life.

We celebrate Palm Sunday this weekend and enter into Holy Week. Lent intensifies dramatically this week as our fasting, prayer, and almsgiving lead us to be with Jesus in His Passion leading up to the resurrection.

We have two weeks until Easter. Next weekend is Palm Sunday. Fr. Fabian and I look forward to journeying to Jerusalem together in prayer with Jesus and with one another as we prepare for Holy Week, Triduum, and Easter.

I was reflecting this past week about how grateful I am for the blessing of these days with you. Whether it’s praying together at Mass, ministering with one another, or just spending time together, I hope you can see this time we're in with all its ups and downs as a gift from the Lord.