Posts by Fr. Rich (Page 15)

At the height of Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was asked to lead a large gathering of Union forces in a prayer to God that He might be on their side. Lincoln stood up and said: “Sir, I am not really concerned about whether God is on our side. I am very concerned whether we are on God’s side.” We all want to be on God’s side. But standing on God’s side is not always easy. Making room for God’s bigger…

Mark had just gotten off a commuter train when an older woman asked for directions. She was supposed to meet a friend who was taking a particular bus to a particular spot near the train station. She had some trouble with the English language, and the instructions from her friend were not great. Mark walked with her to the nearest bus stop, but he wasn’t really sure it was the right place. He was beginning to feel he was not…

Today we invite the children together to start off a new school year and our CCD Classes. Do you know what the letters CCD stand for? It means Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. A mouthful to say religion classes. Our children, who don’t attend Catholic School, attend these classes once a week over the course of the school year. That’s just an hour a week! Hardly enough to teach and help them understand the faith, that is, what Jesus taught, what…

In 1981, Saint Pope John Paul II wrote an encyclical entitled “On Human Labor.” “Work is a good thing for man – a good thing for his humanity – because through work man not only transforms nature, adapting it to his own needs, but he also achieves fulfillment as a human being and indeed, in a sense, becomes “more a human being”. On this Labor Day Weekend, let us stop for a moment to think about each other as workers…

The Pharisees let their habit of hand washing over shadow Jesus’ word to love one another. We have habits too that at times overtake our lives. Some of us might have the habit of comfort, the habit of least resistance. At the end of our work we plop down in front of the television set or the computer screen, and hours go by. Over the course of the week we can waste a great deal of time. We never stop…

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Last Sunday was our Annual Parish Picnic. The rain came down, but that didn’t dampened anyone’s spirits. (See the pictures on our Facebook page.) Everyone had a good time: playing games, listening to the music and entertainment, and enjoying some delicious foods. I just want to express my THANKS to the picnic group who organized and put on a great picnic. Your work, generosity and dedication is second to none. Thank You and God…

In today’s Gospel, Jesus offers us a choice of whether to believe in and follow him or to go our own separate ways. Some could not handle the teachings of Jesus and left. Peter said, Lord, you have the words of eternal life. There is no other way to go. What is our choice? Do we walk away when the cross gets heavy? Do we say no, when we are asked to support the poor and needy while others are…

Today we celebrate this Feast in honor of the Blessed Mother: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven. Every time we celebrate a Feast of Mary or are reminded of her faith by one of her titles, I think of her Magnificat which is today’s Gospel. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord…” Mary turns her life over to the Lord and through Mary He comes into our lives. How many of us can say this same…

HOMECOMING BAZAAR – MINI-FESTIVAL was held last weekend. It was quite different from past bazaars due to the pandemic, its effects and after effects. But despite that, all was a success. THANK YOU to those who organized this parish event. Denise & Shawn Brosnan, our general chairpersons; Rocco & Gio Stigliano, food chairpersons and cooks; Marge & Andy McLean, Raffles; Megan Deleo, Sponsors; and many more who worked in different capacities to make this festival a huge success. I can’t…

In the opening verse of today’s Gospel, the Jews were complaining about Jesus. They didn’t seem to like what Jesus was saying. They didn’t want to accept who He was. We all do our fair share of complaining, and sometimes with good reason. We complain about the weather a great deal. We complain about all kinds of things. If we are not careful we can find ourselves complaining about nothing in particular, just complaining. We can easily get ourselves into…

People “hunger” for so many things in life. Some hunger for perfection, societal status, or even financial stability. Some hunger for excessive amounts of almost anything. Some hunger for only the delicacies and luxuries in life. Some hunger for so much food, just look around you and see this. Any of these “hungers” will satisfy us for the moment. But these hungers continue to gnaw at us and temp us away from what is truly important in our lives. Jesus…

How many people can you feed with two fish and five loaves of bread? Jesus fed five thousand. I believe generosity is contagious. Share a little something with another, whether that be a stranger, friend, neighbor or family, and watch what happens. It seems to spark something inside oneself. Whether that is from guilt, compassion, or a memory of someone helping you, that generosity becomes contagious and we want to do something for someone else. Multiply that just a few…