Monday, April 1, 2019

A Word from Your Pastor March 24 - Third Sunday of Lent


Dear Parishioners:

This weekend, I am away for a Retreat with members of the Focolare Movement at Mariapolis Luminosa in Hyde Park, New York.  This retreat is for the wider community of Focolarini who are present in North America – the United States and Canada.  Priests, Religious, and Laity will be together to deepen an understanding of the Call to Unity that comes from Jesus’ Last Testament, His prayer “That All May Be One.”

As I have shared with you, the Focolare Spirituality has been a real encouragement to me in my own ministry.  The power of the Holy Spirit to move us out of our own narrow visions to begin to grasp God’s plan for all human beings is evident in the collective response of the members of the Focolare.

The Third Sunday of Lent invites us to consider the longings of our hearts for “something more.”  We are all called to commit ourselves to God as He reveals Himself to us.  Like Moses, we are charged to lead others to freedom.  The Call of God is personal.  It is also communal.  We are on a journey to the Kingdom that forms us as a real people.

I invite you to consider the longings of your own heart.  Can you perceive how the Holy Spirit is inviting you to a greater depth of commitment to Christ and His Church?  In our day, it is clear that the world is tempting many to leave the Church.

How is God revealing Himself to you?  Are you able to identify the people who are in Egypt that you are called to lead to the Promised Land?

If you would like to learn about the Focolare Movement and to experience something of it for yourself and your whole family, even those who are not Catholic, give some consideration to joining in the summer family retreat known as a “Mariapolis,” that is, a “City of Mary.”  The Focolare Community of the Midwest will hold their gathering at the end of June.  See MidwestMariapolis.org for details.  Now is the time to register.  May we all be one!


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