A message from Father Pete

For Sunday, March 27, 2022 Joshua 5: 9-12; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 Rembrandt painted a haunting picture of the Prodigal Son. Fr. Henri Nouwen wrote a spiritual classic, The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming , after spending days and hours reflecting on this painting while he was in St. Petersburg, Russia. I have a large copy of this picture in my living room that is my inspiration and I know it has touched many. It seems to me that the highlight of the painting is not the wayward son’s returning and seeking forgiveness for his willfully rebellious life, nor is it the grouchiness of the older son who has it all but wants to be the proud example of an exemplary son who hates the world if it isn't centered on him. The father is the key: The whole of the portrait is centered on his humble, loving, compassionate presence with his family surrounding him; his two sons present along with his wife and daughter in the background. This parable is probably one...

For Sunday, March 20, 2022 Exodus 3:1-8, 1-15; 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12; Luke 13:1-9 I am comfortable in doing what I have been trained to do, being a priest. It has been a wonderful life. I know that many of you are the same: performing jobs, occupations that you have been trained to do. Many of you have switched occupations because you were “called” to advance and challenged to better yourselves. We enjoy the affirmation that comes with the reward of doing a good job. Often we get too comfortable with what we do and we miss opportunities for advancement. The same is true as we look at our spiritual lives in Christ. We are comfortable with things being the way they always were … we are uncomfortable with change. This disrupts the “status quo” and may mean that we have to learn new ways to handle situations in our lives. As we know, change is uncomfortable. We see in the readings today that life in Christ is never the “same old same old” because the Lord is always leading us closer ...

For Sunday, March 13, 2022 Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18; Philippians 3:1 -14:1; Luke 9:28-36 We are more than one week into Lent. I reflected this morning on how I am doing. This is a good question to ask throughout Lent. Do I find myself bogged down with “earthly” things? Have I found myself “listening” more to the Lord in that quiet, safe, holy place within me? Have my Lenten practices enabled me to see more into God’s plan for me? Have I reflected on how God is leading me closer to Himself? Am I shrinking away from the direction He is sharing about living my life with heaven as its goal? Have I included reflections on heaven in my Lenten journey? Or do I dismiss these since I don’t think I’ll ever get there because of the life I’ve led, or do my ways seem to be too much a part of that life? Why does heaven seem  impossible to accomplish? Side note: Wikipedia states, “In contract law, impossibility is an excuse for the non — performance of duties under a contract based in a change in...

For Sunday, March 6, 2022 Deuteronomy 26:4-10; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13 Lent has begun. Most of us probably have decided on Lenten resolutions: What am I giving up … what am I going to try and change … how can I make myself more into the person the Lord wants and needs me to be? These are very excellent approaches and models. I would like to add … suggest … an addition to them: Like so many, I have been absorbed in deep prayer over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We echo the Pope’s continued prayer for Peace. Let me suggest considering our Lenten Resolutions in another way: Knowing everyone is made in the image and likeness of God, we are also created to be part of larger groups: family, neighborhood, community, faith traditions, our country, our world. Jesus calls us to be inclusive of all and bring God’s love to our whole world. We have been guided through life through a series of transitions: school, college, marriage, children, death of loved ones, career changes, divorce, religi...