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,

Summer

During these summer months, our parish continues to be filled with all kinds of activity. The past two weekends we had farewell celebrations for Fr. Marco and Fr. Joseph. It was great to have so many parishioners here to pay tribute to these two fine priests. I will miss both of them more than I can say; we formed a good team, and we have enjoyed our ministry together. I would like to express publicly my thanks to them for all they have done here. Let’s continue to support them with our prayers as they move on to new assignments.

We anxiously await the arrival of our two new parochial vicars, Fr. Mauro and Fr. Aristotle. With you, I look forward to welcoming them to our great community. I’m sure it will be fun to get to know them, and I have no doubt that they will be wonderful additions to our parish.

Meanwhile, this weekend I will observe a special day of my own: Sunday, June 25, will be the 39th anniversary of my priestly ordination. I thank God for these years of ministry, and I thank God that you and I are able to spend some of these years together. God is good to us!

Gratefully Yours,