As another Advent is rapidly coming to an end, I hope and pray that you are in a better place to truly celebrate the birthday of the Messiah than you were back on Nov. 29 when we celebrated the first Sunday of Advent.
I want to start by wishing everyone a very happy belated Thanksgiving. I hope and pray that, in spite of how very different it was for most, your Thanksgiving was truly a time of giving thanks to God for all his many gifts and blessings.
Heavenly Father, in this time of Thanksgiving, in a year filled with so much turmoil, confusion, violence, angst, and COVID-19, let us pause in your presence truly knowing and feeling your loving embrace.
As we prepare for the Solemnity of Christ the King, it is with hope and faith in our Lord’s power and desire to bring healing to our world. He is the Divine Physician, and we know that his will is to heal; he is the Good Shepherd, and we know that his will is to lead, guide and protect his sheep.
In late May 2020, it was reported that liturgical composer David Haas was accused of sexual misconduct. Since then, Catholic news sources reported that allegations have come from 44 women regarding abusive sexual conduct from 1979 to 2019.
Today, as a people of faith, we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The very name of this feast should cause us to take pause, as we are once again confronted with God’s ways, which are so often so far from our ways.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has launched a campaign inviting Catholics to model civility and love for neighbor throughout the year.
We write to you as our state recovers from a prolonged period of strife. Recent events have revealed just how fragile our lives are and how essential it is to make sacrifices for the sake of others.
As we move once again into Ordinary Time, I pray you still feel in your hearts and know in your heads the hope, joy, love, peace, power and strength of the Easter season and the great feast of Pentecost. Today it is with great joy that I write once again to update you on our diocesan plan to resume the public celebration of the holy Mass.
As the Easter season is rapidly coming to an end, I pray the hope, joy, and peace of the risen Christ be with you today and every day. On this the Feast of St. Bernardine of Siena, how fitting it is that we call upon his intercession as we prepare to move forward in this time of pandemic. As a young boy, St. Bernardine helped many people during a time of pestilence.
