The command from God "Do not be afraid" appears more often in Sacred Scripture than any other instruction. This command shows us that fear is the biggest stumbling block to our relationship with God and others. The crippling fear that often overtakes our good intentions and best efforts truly undermines the work of the Holy Spirit in us. The remedy to fear is courage, trust, and faith in God. With God at our side, of whom should we be afraid? We enter our daily lives with a deep trust, surrender, and serenity knowing that God sees us and all things in their entirety. We have only to be faithful and look to our God to provide our daily bread for all situations, especially for those circumstances beyond our understanding and control.

God loves His people! After freeing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, the Lord calls His people to be faithful to His commandments and become His special possession, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. St. Paul reminds the Romans that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Jesus pities the people because they were like sheep without a shepherd, so He appoints the twelve disciples with spiritual authority over the people for their healing and sanctification.

This weekend we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. The Eucharist is the divine gift of God Himself who pours Himself out for our reconciliation and peace.

"The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all." This is how I start Mass every time. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.

This weekend we celebrate Pentecost. Throughout the Easter season we proclaim, “He is risen. He is risen, indeed. Alleluia!” We conclude the Easter Season with Pentecost. As we “breathe in” and “breathe out” God's Pentecost spirit in our midst, we can pause as another busy year in our parish community begins to slow down a bit. Yes, parishes often follow the “school year” for activities and “programs.” I hope it has been a fulfilling and enriching year for you. And as we approach summer – which begins in a few weeks – and summer's slower pace – I pray that we can experience God’s presence in nature, in our families, friends, and community.

We celebrate the Ascension of our Lord this Sunday. We began the Season of Easter six weeks ago with the announcement of the angels and our risen Lord to Mary Magdalene to tell the disciples to go to Galilee to see Jesus. Today's Gospel marks the moment when Jesus speaks to His disciples at Galilee.

I'd like to focus on our Second Reading from 1 Peter for this Sixth Sunday of Easter. Peter begins with the powerful instruction, "Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts." Think of our heart like a throne room. Who, or what, is enthroned there? Do we enthrone Christ as King in all areas of our life? Perhaps there is one or more areas where we struggle to sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts.

On this Fifth Sunday of Easter, we hear how the number of disciples continues to grow in the early Church. This is wonderful news, but it presents a new problem: the Apostles are becoming too preoccupied with "serving at table" administering the goods of the Church which is taking away from their time to pray and proclaim the word of God! They propose choosing seven reputable men appointed to administer the goods of the Church to the needy so that God's Word may continue to be spread and the Church continue to grow.

We celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday this weekend. As Christ's flock, we know Him and follow Him because we recognize His voice as the fullness of truth and life as our Shepherd. I have some exciting announcements in my column today, so read on!

Simon Peter plays prominently in our Scriptures on this Third Sunday of Easter. On the day of Pentecost, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, speaks to the Jews of Jerusalem concerning Christ's Resurrection as the fulfillment of God's promise to King David. In the Second Reading from the First Letter of St. Peter, he speaks of conducting ourselves reverently in light of Christ's redeeming death. In the Gospel, the disciples on the road to Emmaus meet the risen Lord Jesus made known to them through the opening of the Scriptures and the breaking of the bread. As these disciples turn back towards Jerusalem, they encounter the other Apostles and hear about Jesus being raised and appearing to Simon Peter.

We celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday on this Second Sunday of Easter. We see the mercy of our risen Lord Jesus on full display in the Gospel today. As the Apostles are hidden in the upper room behind locked doors, Jesus comes and proclaims to them, "Peace be with you."

Happy Easter! After 40 days of fasting and prayer, we now get to rejoice in the 50 days of Easter, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Let the reality of that sink in - Easter is not just a day, but a whole season!

This Palm Sunday, we begin Mass with a procession with palms and a Gospel reading regarding Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem as He is hailed as the Son of King David. The tone shifts quickly with the Scripture readings during Mass as the plot unfolds to arrest and condemn Jesus to death. The same crowd that hailed "Hosannah to the Son of David!" would days later shout "Crucify Him!" Even the Apostles who testify adamantly that they would never betray or deny Him find their faith shaken and abandon Him during His Passion.

One of the great themes in these Scrutiny Gospels for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays of Lent, as well as for the Passion Narrative next Sunday is the theme of substitution. Jesus takes the place of the sinner (the woman at the well), the outcast (the man born blind), and the one who is dead (Lazarus). In the Passion Narrative, Jesus is condemned to die although He is innocent. Barabbas, who is guilty and whose name means "son of the father", is freed while Jesus, who is innocent and who is the Son of the Father, is condemned to die in his place.

"What do you see?" The question of perception is paramount in our Scriptures this Fourth Sunday of Lent. I find it interesting how people can perceive the same reality in different ways. Like a Rorschach inkblot test, or the interpretation we give to a work of art, our minds capture an image and likeness that corresponds to some aspect of reality that reveals itself to us. Sometimes our perceptions grasp a deeper spiritual reality than what appears on the surface, while other times our perceptions miss the deeper meaning.

We hear today about the Israelites grumbling against Moses in the desert because of their thirst for water. Now, this would not be the first nor the last time Moses had to deal with the people's grumbling! They grumble for food and God gives manna. They grow tired of manna and grumble for meat, so God gives quail. They get sick from greedily hoarding the quail and complain about their misery to the Lord!

Jesus' Transfiguration in today's Gospel drives home the purpose of our Christian journey to be totally transfigured into the image and likeness of Christ. St. Paul reminds his brother bishop, St. Timothy, to bear his share of hardship for the sake of the Gospel. Transfiguration can be a kind of fruitful hardship since it means letting go of our own ways of understanding and living and letting God direct our minds and hearts after the mind and heart of Christ.

We began our Lenten journey this past Wednesday by having ashes traced on our foreheads in the sign of the cross. This ritual gesture came with the words, "Repent and believe in the Gospel," or "Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return." Putting all of these symbols together, we can see that we are journeying with Jesus and sharing in His Cross knowing that, while we are unworthy to follow Him, He nevertheless continues to call us to Himself.

Lent is right around the corner with Ash Wednesday this February 18. Our Mass times are 7:30 am, 9:30 am (with the School), 12:00 pm, and 7:00 pm at St. Mary's, and 7:00 pm at St. Patrick's. Remember that you must have a Mass Pass to attend the 9:30 am Mass with the School, so stop by the parish or school office this week to get your pass to avoid delays. I look forward to beginning this sacred time with you!

Jesus tells His disciples in today's Gospel that they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. In the midst of this dark and cold winter, I imagine we want to experience less salt and more sunlight in the weeks ahead! Turning to Jesus' message for us, think about the effects of salt and light and how He asks His disciples to become the salt and light of the world.