A message from Father Pete

For Sunday, May 24, 2026 Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13; John 20: 19-23 The Jewish feast of Pentecost was one of the three major pilgrim festivals of Israel. Originally it was a celebration marking the end of the grain harvest. It was also called the Feast of Weeks because it came 50 days after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which brings part of the Exodus story to light. When God told every Hebrew family to sacrifice a lamb and wipe its blood on their doorpost, they were admonished to prepare to depart so quickly they wouldn’t have time for bread to rise. So this feast, celebrated for a week, memorialized the Exodus event. Now the Passover event celebrated the giving of the Law — the Ten Commandments — on Mt. Sinai. Because of the great significance of this day, Hebrew pilgrims from “every nation” were in Jerusalem for the celebration. Although only “men” were mentioned, we know that women and children also made the pilgrimage. We don’t know exactly where the room was, which...

For Sunday, May 17, 2026 Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:17-23, Matthew 28:16-20 As we journey through the seasons of the Church, we marvel at how they duplicate our faith journey: Advent brings us to a culmination of how much God loves each of us — God the Father sent Jesus to show us God’s total love for all and how everyone is important to God. Then we arrive at the Season of Lent and we spend time listening to reflections on the Messianic prophecies of how God proves His love by dying in a horrible crucifixion and rejection by His Jewish nation and religion. As we progress into the Easter season, Jesus puts into all of our minds the purpose of God’s plan. It isn’t a once-and-done occurrence — the Apostles, the early Christian believers, and we today, are called upon to be witnesses to this love. This is the focal point of today’s Ascension feast. God is telling us how Jesus is present in our world and our individual lives. Today’s feast is the day when Christ is publicly established as L...

For Sunday, May 10, 2026 Acts 8:5-8, 14-17; 1 Peter 3:15-18; John 14:15-21 During the past few Sundays we have heard and witnessed descriptions of the early Christian community from the Acts of the Apostles, explaining how the Christian faith was spread. We have to keep in mind that Jesus was Jewish until the day He was crucified. His apostles were Jewish too. They realized that following the Jewish faith was incomplete — Jesus told us the complete description about God and the meaning of living a life of God. During those early years, followers would go to the temple/synagogue on the Sabbath and then, on Sundays, assemble for the Breaking of the Bread . Eventually — because of persecutions and rejection by Jewish followers — they stopped the Sabbath component and assembled just for the Breaking of the Bread — the Eucharist — which later became the Mass . Today’s readings recount the spread of the Gospel with Philip, one of the seven “workers” discussed last week who tended to the ne...

For Sunday, May 3, 2026 Acts 6:1-7, 1 Peter 2:4-9, John 14:1-12 We begin with some basics today. Abraham is the Father of our Faith. God picked him and started the Jewish community through him. Abraham was a wanderer because he owned a flock and went where his sheep and goats could graze well. His clans increased tremendously and they, too, wandered. Isaac was one of the sons of Abraham and Sarah — who represents the fulfillment of God’s covenant (promise) — confirming the promise of land, blessings and seed through Isaac rather than his older brother, Ishmael. The wanderings of Abraham’s community took many twists and turns, ending eventually in Egypt — basically for survival and protection for their crops and flocks. In time they were enslaved; who wanted foreigners in their land? Jealousy and persecution followed. The people complained to God, who chose Moses to lead them out of captivity with the promise of a “land of milk and honey.” Note: This phrase, symbolizing abundance and f...

For Sunday, April 26, 2026 Acts 2:14, 36-41; 1 Peter 1:20-25; John 10:1-10 Today is known generally as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” Jesus is using a figure of speech that the people of His time would understand: They could leave their towns and go out and see herds and herds of sheep. We leave our cities and usually come across herds of cattle for the most part. Sheep were wanderers, going all over to find food … just wandering off. During my one trip along the western coast of Ireland I saw loads of sheep — I was shocked by how bold and huge they were. They would cross the road whenever they wanted, or just walk out and sit on the road. I noticed that they had huge, painted blotches on their rear ends, the color signifying their ownership. In the Middle East sheep are referred to as dumb animals, wandering into all sorts of trouble without any concern for predators. At night the shepherds would herd them into “box canyons” and then lay down across their entrances to ward off predators and...

For Sunday, April 19, 2026 Acts 2:14, 22-33; 1 Peter 1:17-21; Luke 24:13-35 How present is God in your life? In my life? Do we reflect on this? Is our reflection a common occurrence, or does it only happen on weekends in Church or during our daily prayer meetings? Do we place life’s obstacles and attractions in the way of sitting and spending time in gratitude, reflection and wonder over God’s constant interactions in our lives? The Resurrection of Jesus is a constant reminder of our own resurrection to eternal life — an enduring promise of Jesus. Do we sit with this or just stay silent and hope it will happen? How do we form or reform our lives to make God’s love more a reality and His presence a focal point of our gratitude and instruction on our journey to our heavenly home? Life is not static but rather a movement from one point to another. God created us out of love and in accordance with His plan. He inserted us individually in this place and time along with others. We have forge...

For Sunday, April 12, 2026 Acts 2:42-47, 1 Peter 1:3-9, John 20:19-31 What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus? What does it mean to be a Christian? What does it mean to profess our faith in the Church? If we’ve reflected on this during our Lenten experience leading up to Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection, we acknowledge that we can’t be passive. God sent His Son Jesus to tell us we are loved and that we are needed to live a life of love, whether or not we belong to a church or have any religious affiliation. Living a life concerned with me hurts others and is non-productive in relationships and living with others. How do I discover and learn about this God? The Apostles went through all of this during their time with Jesus and we hear of their experiences in today’s readings. Most of us are like Thomas, who looked for some tangible evidence of the Resurrection and what it was all about. We might not be as straightforward as he was, but we are frequently no less adamant. “Then ...