A message from Father Pete

For Sunday, June 8, 2025 Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23 We go through seasons of the year, and we have special ones. We go through seasons of the Church year — Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter — which concludes with Pentecost, the feast of the Holy Spirit — and Ordinary Time, which begins next Sunday, June 15. Which one is our favorite? Today’s feast gives meaning to all of these Church seasons. Jesus, the Messiah, has been promised for centuries. He comes. He tells us He has come to show the Father’s love. In giving His life He has redeemed all of our sins. By His death and rising He shows us that heaven is our home. Today’s feast of Pentecost shows us that the Spirit is God’s gift to grace us and live as people of love. The Spirit is our constant reminder and help that God that brings us to heaven if we cooperate. Am I living in the love of the Spirit? Am I asking for the Spirit’s help to be a loving, forgiving person? The Jewish feast of Pentecost was one of ...

For Sunday, June 1, 2025 Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:17-23, Luke 24:46-53 We are so familiar with Scripture — we have favorite passages that have attracted us to Jesus, the Father, the Holy Spirit, Mary and the Apostles. We are familiar with books, media, the Chosen and others that have made Jesus alive within us. As we reflect, we see how the Lord has ”gotten under our skin” — He is a part of each of our lives and we are grateful. As we look back today, we can identify what the apostles have experienced. For a few moments in their lives everything has changed. They have developed a friendship with Jesus over the last few years. They have come to admire Him. They have come to trust and respect Him. They pay attention to everything He says. They are awed by His miracles, and the people are attracted to Him. They have come to rely on Him for help and certainly turn to Him for advice. They believe what He says, even when they’re confused and struggling to grasp what it all means. I’m sure Je...

For Sunday, May 25, 2025 Acts 15:1-2, 22-29; Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23; John 14:23-29 The mystery: “God is with us” runs through our salvation story in scripture. We see this present in the garden and with Jesus telling us repeatedly through His life and actions that God is with us always. What is our role? What is God’s message to us? It has always been a constant — we see it in today’s last line of the Gospel from St. John: “This is how all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” This is a wonderful reflection and we should check our response frequently: Do I play favorites? Do I think I am “above,” more important than, or closer to God than another? Do I think God loves me more than another because of my status, role, income, competence, or station in life? Do I? Do I think I am in a “special place” because I belong to the Church, making me an “insider” and “more important?” The issue of conditions for membership was one of the most serious disputes...

For Sunday, May 18, 2025 Acts 14:21-27, Revelation 21:1-5, John 13:31-35 Jesus formed a new community — and in this new community there is a new law of love. There is a new heaven and earth that are established in the Church. We are new … we are different … and a new glory of God shines forth in its members. So much of the Acts of the Apostles sheds light on this community and it is in Antioch that they are known as Christians. What is different about these Christians? Tertullian, one of the early Christian theologians, would remark, “look at these Christians and how much love they have for one another.” Do we see this? Are we doing this? Does the mark that lives in us — God’s love seen through each of us — show in our lives? Is this our question or is that our statement? Lord God: Help us! Sociologists tell us that no society can survive without tolerance … no society can continue to grow and survive without mutual respect. Jesus demanded these tenets with an overriding abundance ...

For Sunday, May 11, 2025 Acts 13:14, 43-52; Revelation 7:9, 14-17; John 10:27-30 We are living in the time after Easter: a time of difficulties that the early Church faced in believing and living out what Jesus taught, and in the age-old but new direction He is leading each of us. In the wake of Jesus’ death, the disciples are confused. What has happened? What does this mean for us? How can we live and believe and follow Jesus? The readings illustrate succinctly what happens, and it's not that different from our own faith journey. Are things easy after Jesus dies and rises from the dead? Absolutely not! Are the apostles and new “Christians” admired for living Jesus’ way? Absolutely not! Is it easy to live their new life in Jesus? Absolutely not! Is it easy for us to live as Christians in our very secular world today? Absolutely not! Is it easy for us to see people who are hurting, deprived, persecuted and rejected by loved ones, even being ignored and neglected in their home c...

For Sunday, May 4, 2025 Acts 5:11-14, Revelation 5:11-14, John 21:1-19 “Did you notice?” It’s always interesting to start off with that phrase — it’s like I know something you don’t. In our reading from John today, the two preceding verses [John 20:30-31] are clearly the conclusion of the Gospel, and some texts actually include the title “Conclusion” or express its purpose as such. Scholars today believe that chapter 21 is an epilogue from an earlier edition of John that did not originally include it. If this is indeed the case, we must ask why the disciples didn't recognize Jesus on the shore. And yet this edition does include chapter 21 which identifies where Peter stands after his threefold denial of Jesus. Not including it would infer that Peter goes home after the discovery of the empty tomb [John 20:10] and returns to his fishing trade. Yet his going fishing at night seems to imply, “What am I going to do now?” Following that, his excitement at seeing Jesus, jumping into th...

For Sunday, April 27, 2025 Acts 5:12-16; Revelation 1:9-13, 17-19; John 20:19-31 We come to the second Sunday after Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, after experiencing the resurrection of Jesus. We are encouraged to be kind and recognize God's power and His love for each of us. All the readings on this day serve to guide new believers and followers of Jesus into deeper meaning and understanding of the religious mysteries and sacraments of the Church. Luke explains this in the readings from the Acts of the Apostles: “… many signs and wonders were done among the people at the hands of the apostles … yet more than ever believers in the Lord great numbers … were added to them. They even gathered the sick out into the streets … and those disturbed by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.” [Acts 5:12-16] We are given a glimpse into who we were from the beginning of the Church and an insight into who we should be today. And what do we see? What can we learn from these first Christians? Lu...