A message from Father Pete

For Sunday, April 2, 2023 Isaiah 50:4-7, Philippians 2:6-11, Matthew 26:14~27:66 Palm Sunday: This is the 56th year that I have celebrated this holiest and most sacred season of the year as a Catholic Priest. I have acquired many memories while visiting and being a part of many different churches, parishes and communities of faith. I have witnessed these intimate events of our faith along with the deep faith, hopefulness and life convictions of people who have shared their love of Jesus, His life, teachings, healings, forgiveness, presence, and total giving of Himself. His goal was to return us to God’s plan for salvation for every person. These events and personages have imprinted an indelible mark on the growth of my faith and priesthood. Lord, I am grateful. Easter is not as much an event as it is a journey: All of the readings return us to God’s plan for our salvation and the importance of coupling this with every created person’s journey to heaven. This always has been God’s plan.

For Sunday, March 26, 2023 Ezekiel  37:12-14, Romans 8: 8-11, John 11: 1-45 The readings today are as dramatic as any we would encounter in anyone’s lifetime. The people of the prophet Ezekiel’s time were a defeated people. They had been demoralized and overcome by horrible adversity during their sufferings in the Babylonian Captivity. Is there any hope for us? Will we ever be allowed to return to our homeland? Will we be treated as slaves and non-people for the rest of our lives? Where is God? We are told that we are His People. Our beloved Jerusalem has been destroyed. Is Israel condemned forever to live in slavery and shame, to die and be buried, as no longer loved even by God? Ezekiel says NO! “Thus says the Lord God:  O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel.” [Ezekiel 37:12] In my despairing moments I can sympathize with their grief and aloneness. Why do I feel that God is not with me … has forgotten me … that I’m

For Sunday, March 19, 2023 1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41 Some questions as we continue on our Lenten journey: Do I really believe that God is present with me every moment? Do I believe that God cares about me and hears me when I call out to Him in prayer? Do I believe that God answers my prayers just the way I want them to be answered? Do I believe that I have to be “good” or “obedient” to have my prayers answered? Do I “turn off” God when my prayers are not answered? Do I share my experiences with God about prayer? Am I looking for the “secret formula” that should be used to have my prayers answered? Maybe the bottom line is: Do I compare myself to the Pharisees who “assumed” that they knew exactly how God acts in the world? What is my God like? Does it agree with today’s Gospel? Sidelight: God is always present. We struggle to admit that God steps in and pays attention to our prayers. Today’s Gospel about the man born blind teaches us that we all struggle

For Sunday, March 12, 2023 Exodus 17:3-7; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8; John 4:5-42 Do I work at getting better at my day job? Do I work at getting better at my “religion job?” Do I work to get better at my relationships? Which ones do I work hardest at? Do I work hard at my spiritual life? Do I evaluate my spiritual life to become more consistent or a better follower of Jesus? Do I even care about getting better ... or do I feel that I’m OK just the way I am? Do I feel I know enough about God, His creation, and Heaven and Hell, so I can just continue the way I am living — and that’s good enough for me? And is it good enough for God? Why does God want us to worship Him? How would we respond to these wisdom thoughts from Scriptures: “The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the source of God’s creation, says this: 'I know you: I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth' ”

For Sunday, March 5, 2023 Genesis 12:1-4, 2 Timothy 1:8-10, Matthew 17:1-9 What is Lent to me? It is changing each year because I am constantly changing: New people, new events, new challenges await me around each turn. How I am facing these new situations depends on my relationship with the Lord and how I am growing deeper in God’s love. I heard a story about a lady who was traveling to Greece and called a Greek Orthodox church for help in finding the Liturgical readings for the coming weeks. She was told that she “had to go to Mass at the Church of St. Metamorphosis.” She never had heard of that saint and asked who it was. The answer was, “Holy Transfiguration.” Reflect on this: Following Jesus involves a change from what I was to who the Lord needs me to be and is leading me to become. Like the apostles viewing the Transfiguration, we are constantly called to go to new places, have new experiences, face new realities, and be challenged out of our comfort zone. We are all called t