Religious Education - Children
Catechist BlogThe Other Procession
This Sunday as part of our Palm Sunday celebration we will remember and proclaim Jesus’ entry into the city of Jerusalem, from the East. He came riding upon a donkey and was greeted by ordinary people of the city who shouted “Hosanna” – “save us” to the wandering...
A Palm Sunday Prayer
Now to the gate of my Jerusalem, The seething holy city of my heart, The savior comes. But will I welcome him? Oh crowds of easy feelings make a start; They raise their hands, get caught up in the singing, And think the battle won. Too soon they’ll find The challenge,...
Judging
If there is a persistent fault or sin of us “religious people” it is our tendency not only to judge but to condemn, to marginalize, and to exclude. We see this fault in both of today’s readings and even the hypocrisy of those religious leaders who are judging and...
Silence
Saint Joseph, in tune with Lent, transmits sobriety and depth, simplicity and silence, prayer and austerity. Years ago, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said, “Let us be invaded by the silence of Saint Joseph.” We are so used to life surrounded by noise that we think it...
Witnesses
How many signs do you need? How many witnesses will it take to convince you? Sometimes no matter how many signs or witnesses we refuse to accept the truth; we refuse to accept what is right before our eyes. Sadly, today people are quick to believe many conspiracy...
Your Response
Today is the Feast of St. Patrick which has optional readings you can find here. The scene in the Gospel is familiar – “oh sure, I’ve heard this before, Jesus is calling His disciples to be fishers of men” – perhaps too familiar. As with most scriptures, there is more...
Pastoral Guidance from Fr. John
Over the last several weeks there has arisen several topics which have caused concern or raised questions in the minds of the faithful. Our pastor, Fr. John, has been diligent in providing sound pastoral guidance. In this post we offer three recent articles from Fr....
The hard work of forgiving
How do you offer forgiveness? I suspect that the most common offer consists of “I forgive you” or “Don’t worry about it” or “Don’t give it a second thought” or “It’s nothing.” And that all might be true, but sometimes it is only the socially-expected response. It is...
Hope and Healing
Today’s readings are a combination of the well-known (the Gospel) and the “what’s-going-on” (Ezekiel). The former is the familiar story of the man, afflicted for 38 years, who encounters Jesus, is healed and has hope restored. The latter is a grand vision of living...
Time
In her book Loud and Clear, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Anna Quindlen shares this observation: “The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make… I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the...