Posts by Fr. Rich (Page 4)

After a beautiful and prayerful Holy Week and an uplifting Easter celebration, I just wanted to take this moment to say Thank You to all who make this possible. Father Tom and our Deacons add so much to our liturgical celebrations and are a great help to me personally. All those who minister at the altar as well as the choirs and musicians, decorators and planners work hard to make all things go well and look so beautiful. There are…

We finished our forty day lenten journey of sacrifice and have come now to the great feast of the Resurrection. It is a feast of new life, new beginnings and a renewed and stronger faith. I’m sure everyone will be celebrating today with family and friends. Maybe it will be a family meal and get together, or a long awaited phone call or personal visit. In whatever way you celebrate today, celebrate the Feast of Easter with joy and happiness…

How do you pass on a living faith to the next generation? A religious sociologist did a survey. His results showed that one of the highest factors of passing on the faith came in homes where religious objects, artworks, and symbols were commonplace. It could be a family Bible, a religious icon or a crucifix. The Palms that we receive today are a powerful symbol of faith, standing at the gateway to Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection. They speak not…

In the start of today’s Gospel, some Greeks said to Philip, “We would like to see Jesus!” In my priesthood, I’ve been asked that many times, from little children asking what does Jesus look like, to teenagers questioning their faith, to adults wondering if God is really present in our world with all the bad things that are going on. None of these people wanted a theological or Biblical discourse. In answering their question, I start with a question for…

Grandma was in her glory because her grandchildren were circled all around her. She gloried in their presence, looking at each fresh-scrubbed face, peering, it seemed, deep down into each of their souls. And she liked what she saw. “Aren’t you beautiful!” she would say to the girls, and “Don’t you look handsome!” she would exclaim to the boys. And then she would grab hold of each one and pull that child into her big, cozy grandma hug. She would…

In today’s Gospel, we hear and see Jesus chasing the vendors out of the temple: “stop making my Father’s House a marketplace.” The Early Christians were not perfect, but as a community they tried to seek the best way to live the Christian life. How about us today? We are not perfect but do we try our best to live a Christian life. Amidst the busyness of our lives, we are challenged even to make Mass every Sunday. But that…

“This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.” These are the words in today’s Gospel that God speaks about Jesus. It reminded me of my pastor when I was growing up and thinking about the priesthood. He said to me, just pray and God will guide you. At first I was excited in prayer and it felt good. Then it became routine and not so exciting and it didn’t always feel so good. When I went back to my pastor,…

As we begin our Lenten journey, let us make it a time of spiritual renewal, especially through prayer and penance. Formerly the six weeks of Lent meant a time of severe penance as a way of purifying ourselves from our sinful habits and getting ready to celebrate the Paschal Mystery (the passion, death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ), with a renewed commitment to follow Christ. In our present time, the Church leaves this Lenten practice of penance to the good…

THANK YOU from the High School Youth Group for your support of their annual “Souper Bowl” collection last weekend. Through your support and generosity, they raised $ 1,500.00. This money will be divided and donated to our local food pantries and soup kitchens that serve our community. Thank You and God Bless You!

Rebecca O’Conner is a nurse at New York Presbyterian Hospital. When she saw the horrific images of the Asian tsunami, she knew she had to do something, so she flew to Sri Lanka with eight other medical Professionals. They set up a makeshift clinic in a downtown Sri Lankan mosque, treating hundreds of people a day with respiratory problems and foot and leg wounds. Then they discovered there was a hospital less than a mile away. So the obvious question…

Every February, we commemorate World Day of Prayer for the Sick to devote special attention to those who are ill, but it is also a celebration of God’s mercy, especially through the work of those in the healthcare field. In 1992, then Pope John Paul II designation this coming Sunday as that special day of prayer and sharing, of offering one suffering for the good of the Church and of reminding us to see in our sick brothers and sisters…

I am sure that you have heard the phrase “actions speak louder than words.” When you listen to today’s Gospel, maybe that is what Jesus was speaking – with authority and not like the scribes. The Scribes and Pharisees spoke but hardly ever backed up those words with action. Jesus spoke and His words came to life as He cures the man possessed by an unclean spirit. That leaves us the question for ourselves: do our actions speak our words?…