Season Two!

When we finished Season One of our Bible Study based on The Chosen, those of you who attended the final session enthusiastically expressed your desire to continue our Bible Study during the summer. After taking some time off for other activities, we are now ready to resume this popular program.

The Bible Study will take place from 6:30pm to 8:00pm in Knight Hall on the following Tuesdays: July 18, August 1, August 15, August 29, September 12, September 26, October 10, and October 24.

Remember, this Bible Study is open to everyone. No registration is needed. Bring your friends from other parishes and other religious backgrounds! We will follow the same format as before: we will read the Scriptural passages associated with the night’s episode; we will watch the episode; and we will discuss what we have read and seen.

Whether you came to our Season One Bible Study or not, I hope you will join us for Season Two. We always have good, inspiring discussions, and we come away from each evening with a greater experience of closeness to Jesus Christ, closeness to his followers, and closeness to God’s Word. I look forward to continuing my favorite program with you!

Gratefully Yours,

Peace

When Jesus sent his seventy-two disciples out to spread the Good News, he instructed them: “Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.” (Lk. 10:5-6) The greeting of “Peace!” is echoed by the Lord many times in Scripture. In every Mass the priest quotes the Lord’s words during the Last Supper: “Peace I leave you, my peace I give you….” (Jn. 14:27)

I like to quote the beginning of the Prayer of St. Francis: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” Those words could form the basis of our Christian way of life. We are called to be at peace with God, within ourselves, and with others. It all begins with the Lord’s peace, which he gives to us and wishes for us.

We could transform the world if, before thinking, speaking and acting, everyone asked themselves, “Will this promote peace?” and then followed through in promoting peace. Let’s transform our world, one decision at a time. Each one of us really does make a difference.

Gratefully Yours,

Independence Day

This Tuesday our country celebrates the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The last sentence of that document, right before the signatures of our Founding Fathers, contains an important phrase: “with firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence.”

“With firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence”: Someone could say, “That doesn’t sound like a declaration of independence; it sounds like a declaration of dependence.” And they would be right. Our Founding Fathers declared their independence from an oppressive foreign power, but they also declared their dependence on God.

This teaches us an important principle that is almost never stated: freedom and independence are not the same thing. Freedom requires dependence on the only one who can make us free. This is true politically and socially; it is also true (and especially important) morally. The only way we can be free from sin (the most oppressive and tyrannical force that exists) is to be completely dependent on the one who frees us from sin; that is, of course, Our Lord.

May the Lord bless our nation on this weekend, and may we always show our “firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence.”

Gratefully Yours,