A message from Father Pete

For Sunday, May 28, 2023 Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23 Have you ever been at a loss for something to say? Have you ever wondered what the future has in store for you? Have you thought you may have made the wrong decision for your livelihood or in certain relationships? Have you ever felt like the cards are stacked against you? Have you ever imagined what it would be like if you started life all over again? These questions have come up in my life. They are not comfortable. The Bottom Line You and I have worried moments and fears. Sometimes these fears hold such a grip on me that I feel paralyzed, tied up in knots, unable to get out of the situation I’m stuck in — and I’m helpless. Is there any light at the end of the tunnel? Do I compare my situation with what the apostles faced on their first Pentecost Sunday? Probably not. The gospels give the gruesome account of Jesus’ torture, crucifixion and death. Fearing their own arrest and possible death, the apostles ...

For Sunday, May 21, 2023 Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:17-23, Matthew 28:16-20 On today's Feast of the Ascension of our Lord, I look at my 56th anniversary of ordination to the Priesthood and reflect on some questions that seem to repeat themselves during difficult times in people's lives: Where is God? Why does it seem that in difficult times, God isn't around for me? What is happening in our world ... why is there so much violence, war, killing? Doesn't God care about all of this? Could it be that the end of the world is approaching? How can I feel God in my very uncaring and busy world? Good questions. But underneath them lies another, deeper question, one for me: What must I be doing as a follower of Jesus and as a Catholic Christian today? This leads to others: Have I abandoned God? Do I feel that the message and mission of Jesus is just for my own life and spirituality? Can I spell out my mission and how I am fulfilling it? Do I feel that God is calling me to specific ...

For Sunday, May 14, 2023 Acts 8:5-8, 14-17; 1 Peter 3:15-18; John 14:15-21 A great Jesuit exercise is the Particular Examen , which suggests taking time for peaceful reflection on the day past. It invites us to identify the movement of God in the people and events of our day. Where did I see God? Where did I expect to see God and didn't? Where did God surprise me today? The Examen has a five-step routine: Give God thanks for all the thing I'm grateful for today. Ask for the Spirit's help in discerning the day. Review and recognize my failures. Ask for forgiveness and God's healing. Pray about the day ahead. The overall theme is knowing that God is present to me every moment, and God is giving me His strength and grace that may bring peace ... turmoil ... confusion ... weakness ... hurt ... happiness ... as I live each day for and with Him. I am Christ alive in my world today because the Holy Spirit is within me. Am I living this? Am I believing this? Do I continually —...

For Sunday, May 7, 2023 Acts 6:1-7, 1 Peter 2:4-9, John 14:1-12 “Show us God … show us the Father,” Philip asks Jesus at the Last Supper, from which today’s Gospel is taken. Before the Passover dinner begins, “Jesus knew that His hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved His own in the world and He loved them to the end.” [John 13:1] He spends quite a bit of time cementing the fact that God loves all people and loves the apostles for staying with Him and realizing He is sharing that God’s love is supreme and given to all. There are no conditions attached: God just plain loves. He will display the ultimate example of love by dying on the cross. They do not know this will be happening in a few days. Jesus reinforces the mission of the apostles by washing their feet; they are to be givers and caregivers to all. The act of washing another’s feet is one that cannot even be expected from the lowliest Jewish slave. Is there any deeper humiliation Jesus can endure? Shortly...