A Word from Your Pastor April 19 - Divine Mercy Sunday

Dear Parishioners:

Divine Mercy Sunday is a day of special prayer for the whole world.  As we observe this day today, the whole world is truly in need of Mercy.  Life will never be quite the same after the current “crisis” is over.  We can pray today that all of us will have new wisdom from the experience of this time.

The Divine Mercy Prayers are relatively short and the ideas are easy to incorporate in our thoughts.

Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your Mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy Will, which is Love and Mercy itself.

These prayers invite us to acknowledge Eternity, so that time and its troubles are not given undue importance.  They invite us to keep in our sights the reality of the Paschal Mystery, the suffering, Death and Resurrection of the Lord.  They also highlight the centrality of the Eucharist, which allows us to share in the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Son.  And they keep us aware that we are not alone in our need for Mercy, but that the whole world receives it.

Let us keep our hearts centered on Divine Mercy.  Together, let each one of us affirm, “Jesus, I trust in You.”

A Word from Your Pastor April 12- Easter Coronavirus Exile

Dear Parishioners and all who would be with us at Easter:

Easter has arrived!  We find that we, like the Apostles, have to confine ourselves for fear of something that this world is throwing at us.  However, unlike the Apostles when they first gathered before Jesus came to them Resurrection morning, we know the outcome of the whole story.  Their experience and their subsequent witness have come to us as the Good News of Easter.

Jesus Christ is Risen!  Alleluia can ring out.  We look forward to the day when we can sing it out together once again.  In the meantime, we are called to live as bearers of the Gospel.  Our lives, even in quarantine, are meant to mirror the deepest truth – that no matter what our earthly life throws at us, we will come out all right in the end.

There are wonderful stories of unselfishness and caring that are being shared.  Human beings are being shown some deep truths.  We are one.  Whatever happens to someone else affects each one of us.  Our choices in the small things have the power to make a big difference in the lives of others.  We are free to love no matter what our circumstances are.

God is Love and the God of Love has shown us through Jesus Christ that He loves the human race.  He will not give up on us.  We must allow the Spirit to work in our hearts and our lives to draw us ever closer to the Risen Lord.

We have just spent a Lenten Season we will never be able to forget.  Let us also live the fullness of the Easter Season.  From now until Pentecost, we are invited to live as the early Christians lived.  May the way we love one another show the world that we do believe the Message of Easter: Jesus Christ is Risen and He Lives among us!

Easter blessings to you and to your family!

A Word from Your Pastor April 5 - Passion (Palm) Sunday Coronavirus Exile

Dear Parishioners:

Holy Week is the most sacred time of the Church Year.  Each year we have striven to empty the week of all extraneous activities so that we can concentrate on the Liturgies of this week as a Catholic Parish.  Quite honestly, every year that I have been a priest, we have failed completely to empty the week.  For so many, it was life as usual.

Some items were on calendars just because of the particular week of the month when Easter fell.  Others because there was an attitude of indifference to the week, just as there has been a growing indifference to being present at church for Sundays and Holy Days, only more so, because, apart from the Sundays (Palm Sunday and Easter), these are not obligation days.

This is the very first year that we have succeeded in emptying the week of other concerns.  Sadly, we are not able to conduct the Liturgies as we should due to the coronavirus pandemic.

At St. Timothy, we will livestream only two Liturgies as such: Holy Thursday evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, and Easter Sunday.  We will forego the Liturgies of Good Friday and Holy Saturday, inviting you to participate in the livestream events of the Vatican or of St. Joseph Cathedral, in order to express our unity with our Diocese and the Church Universal.  We will offer some other forms of prayer and reflection for Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

Let us live this week as truly Sacred Time, even though we cannot gather for the celebrations. 

Make plans now to keep Holy Week of 2021 completely open of extraneous activities so that we can live the Liturgies intensely.  Easter next year is April 4.  So Holy Week will be March 28-April 3.  Let that be the high point of your calendar and make all other appointments so that Easter Eucharist is truly the Source and Summit of your life in Christ.