Dear Parishioners,

One of the perpetual struggles within the church has been, and continues to be, the notion of change. We rightfully want to know which aspects of the church may change and which aspects may not. In a more specific inquiry one could focus on the church’s beliefs (creed), or on its ritual practices (cult) or on its moral demands and expectations of behavior (code). These “3 Cs” are common to all religious traditions and to most secular organizations and societies as well. What aspects contained in the church’s creed, cult and code are able to be changed and which must be forever constant?

Dear Parishioners,

You may recall that on the weekend June 7/8, the feast of Pentecost, I spoke at all the liturgies asking people to increase their weekly Offertory Gift if this were possible. We had incurred a significant deficit which we did not want to carry into the new fiscal year. This deficit resulted from the general inflation we are currently experiencing as a nation. I believe it is important to identify the source of the deficit to avoid creating or blaming other factors such as the capital campaign, the school or frivolous spending.

Dear Parishioners,

Having reached the summertime apex of July 4th , it won’t be long before we begin seeing the gradual descent from this plateau into the late summer weeks of August. I once read that August is summer that has heard the rumor of fall. -- a lovely poetic description for the month that offers us a seamless transition into the season of autumn. In Ohio, (and perhaps elsewhere too) farmers measure the present time of year by the height of the sweet corn. I grew up hearing, “Knee high by the Fourth of July,” not only as a measuring concept, but also as an expressed hope for the bountiful crop needed to sustain the farmers’ livelihood. Roadside stands punctuated the rural roads on Ohio where one could purchase freshly picked corn as well as a wide variety of homegrown fruits and vegetables that found their place on countless dinner tables.

Dear Parishioners, It’s rare that June 29th falls on a Sunday. It’s even more rare that this feast (or any feast) of Sts. Peter & Paul, which is commemorated on June 29, is permitted to trump the ordinary celebration of a Sunday. Given the antiquity of this commemoration as well as the enormous significance of these two pillars of the church, we are privileged to honor them on the Lord’s Day. The great esteem in which all the apostles were held in the early church is evident in the New Testament letter to the Ephesians (2: 19-20) that proclaims, the community of the saints and members of the household of God is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets.

Dear Parishioners,

As time rushes by as it seems to do the older one gets, last Friday, June 20, marked the official beginning of summer with the occurrence of the Summer Solstice at 10:42 PM. The solstice occurs twice a year, at winter around Dec. 21, and at summer around June 21. According to NASA, a solstice happens when one of the earth’s poles reaches its maximum tilt toward the sun. The word itself is derived from the Latin solstitium, meaning “sun stands still,” referring to the moment when the sun’s apparent path pauses before reversing its direction.

Dear Parishioners, On June 1, 2025, I blessed the Time Capsule (and its contents) that was one of the closing moments of our parish centennial celebration. Our time capsule was designed and organized by the committee that has overseen all the components of our year-long celebration.

The purpose of a t ime capsule is to preserve a snapshot of a specific period in history so that future generations will be able to better understand and appreciate its roots. Within capsules are objects, documents and other items that represent the accomplishments of those people.

Dear Parishioners,

On this great festival of Pentecost the Church brings the Easter Season to its solemn close. This day is sometimes referred to as the Birthday of the Church. I recently read an article that offered a creative way for us Americans to understand Pentecost. If July 4th commemorates the day when the 13 American states were liberated from England’s rule, then September 17th commemorates the day when this collection of states became the one United States, for it was on this day that the Constitution, our charter document, was signed allowing us to take our place among the other nations of the world.

Dear Parishioners,

In a recent weekday homily, I noted the distinction between two realities that we sometimes conflate—jealousy and envy. Strictly speaking, jealousy is the desire to rigidly guard what we already possess. Envy, on the other hand, is the resentment toward another for what he/she already possesses and the desire to deprive them of it.

Dear Parishioners,

I’m calling my bulletin article for this week, Familiar Places with New Faces, as hopefully will be evident.

The first of these familiar places is Vatican City, the smallest sovereign state in the world. It is home to what may be the largest Catholic church in the world that is built over the necropolis where the apostle Peter is buried. It is also the place where the pope, successor of St. Peter, resides.

Dear Parishioners,

Early this past Easter Monday, I woke up and discovered almost immediately that our Holy Father, Pope Francis, had passed into eternal life. I was both surprised and not surprised at this news. I was surprised because, even though the pope did not preside at any of the Holy Week Liturgies, the Vatican media seemed to intimate that his health was stable and that he was conserving his energy for upcoming papal tasks by not acting as celebrant for these sacred rites.

Dear Parishioners,

Happy Easter!

Who doesn’t love Easter? It comes in the springtime of the year and heralds the imminent return of warm weather, colorful flora, rejuvenated trees, and meaningful rites of passage like First Communions, Confirmations, graduations, and weddings. Easter day typically brings families and friends together (without the gift-giving agenda as at Christmas) for light-hearted laughter, elaborate feasting, and heart-warming recollections of loved ones who have since gone home to God. Regardless of how strictly one may or may not have observed the disciplines of Lent, Easter Sunday is a day of conscious excess for everyone with the universal call to REJOICE. This call is the human response to the divine action of the Resurrection—the action by which God the Father vindicated the sacrifice of His Son on the cross. Without this action, there could be no Christianity. Our faith would be empty and, in the words of Saint Paul, we would be the most foolish of people (1 Cor. 15:14).

Dear Parishioners,

Today we begin that week which every year we call Holy. In the purest understanding, we believe that all time is holy. Time cannot be considered “profane” since all time is consecrated by the Grace of the Incarnation. Thus every moment in this human construct that we label “time” is sacramental and capable of revealing some aspect of divinity. But by annually designating this one week as Holy, we are able to re-discover the root of that holiness in what we call Pascha. This allows us to deepen our appreciation for the Christian faith and helps us continue the work of Jesus in a more credible manner.

Dear Parishioners,

With Holy Week and Thursday’s Celebration of the Lord’s Supper fast approaching, I thought it beneficial to offer some REFLECTIONS and REMINDERS that pertain to the Holy Eucharist – that great mystery that Christ gave us at the Last Supper. The word Eucharist comes from the Greek word eucharistein, which means “thanksgiving.” It is one of the church’s seven Sacraments and, like each of them, can be broadly defined as a visible sign of an invisible grace. In other words, the Eucharist makes visible that invisible presence of Christ which manifests itself in four distinct ways: the gathered assembly, the minister of the priest, the proclamation of the Scriptures, and most especially in the consecrated elements of bread and wine—Christ’s Body and Blood.