This past week, I received my new parish assignment to serve at St. Thomas Aquinas/St. John’s Student Parish in East Lansing, beginning July 1st. When I was first ordained a priest, I can remember other priests telling me that leaving your first parish will be one of the hardest times to say goodbye. Well, I […]
Hosanna: The holiest week of the year begins with the final Sunday of Lent, Palm Sunday. This day commemorates the triumphant arrival of Christ in Jerusalem. Jesus knows that he will be crucified and die for us. Palm branches are widely recognized as symbols of peace and victory. Palms or small branches would be waved […]
Raised from the dead: This Sunday is the fifth Sunday of Lent. Next Sunday is Palm (Passion) Sunday and then the following weekend is the Easter Triduum culminating in EASTER SUNDAY!!! This Sunday’s readings focus on the raising of Lazarus from the dead (let that sink in). This is the sixth ‘sign’ of seven signs […]
Blind: This Sunday’s Gospel reading focuses on John 9: 1 -41–the man blind from birth. His disciples asked Jesus whose sin caused the blindness—the parents or him. Jesus said, “neither he nor his parents sinned, it so that the works of God might be made visible through him.” Jesus sent the man into the Pool […]
Thirsty: In today’s Gospel we encounter two people who are thirsty for water: Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. Their thirst for water is on one level, but on a deeper level they are thirsting for more. Jesus thirsts for the woman’s heart. It is he who first seeks us and asks for […]
Did You Know… Every year the parish of Holy Family baptizes youth and adults at the Easter Vigil? Because we have “Elect” in our RCIA process, we will be using the readings from Liturgical Cycle Year A on the 3rd Sunday of Lent at the 12 pm Mass ( Mar 19th), on the 4th Sunday […]
Transfiguration: On this second Sunday of Lent the Gospel is on the Transfiguration of Jesus. Our Savior had talked to his disciples about the cross—not only His cross but taking up their cross as well—and they must have been afraid. So Jesus does something beautiful. He takes Peter, James and John up a high mountain […]
A Choice to Make: Today’s readings are fascinating. In our first reading Adam and Eve listened to the “serpent’ (the devil) instead of God. They chose to believe the serpent’s lies that God could not be trusted, that following Him was just about following rules, and that He doesn’t love us. However, in the Gospel […]
Ash Wednesday: Lent is upon us once again as Ash Wednesday is March 1. Lent is 40 days long as we live out Jesus’ temptations in the desert by the devil. Yes, there is a devil, and in Scripture and tradition he is called Satan or Lucifer. And yes, he wants to lead you away […]