5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

by Rev. Kilian McCaffrey  |  02/06/2025  |  Pastor's Letter

“They beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them” (Lk 5:7).

First we see that Jesus is preaching to a crowd who is pressing in on Him to listen. What an amazing, inspiring image! Do we “press in” as we listen to the readings proclaimed in Mass with this same sense of wonder and urgency?

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The Feast of The Presentation of the Lord

by Rev. Kilian McCaffrey  |  01/30/2025  |  Pastor's Letter

Today, 40 days after Christmas, we celebrate the great Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, when Mary and Joseph brought their infant Son to the Temple in obedience to the laws of their Jewish faith. This is a beautiful and mysterious feast, with many lessons for us. This Gospel passage from St. Luke, recounting the details of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple, teaches us a stewardship lesson through the example of St. Joseph and the Blessed Mother, who are the “Holy Parents.” “Mary and Joseph consecrate Jesus to the Father out of love and obedience. Our parents did the same with and for us at our baptism.

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Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

by Rev. Kilian McCaffrey  |  01/23/2025  |  Pastor's Letter

“Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, ‘Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.’”

What does this teach us as Christian stewards? It shows us that we all have equal dignity and worth in God’s sight, and that if God sees us as equally precious, we should view each other in this same light. It teaches us to humbly recognize our own gifts as well as the giftedness of every member of our parish family. And, while God designed us to be ultimately dependent on Him, it seems He has also designed us to need each other!

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The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

by Rev. Kilian McCaffrey  |  01/16/2025  |  Pastor's Letter

“Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now” (John 2:10).

After the Baptism of The Lord, we return to Ordinary Time. Each year, the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time is from the Gospel of John. This year, we have the account of the famous story of the Wedding Feast at Cana, the time when Jesus officially began His ministry by performing His first miracle at Mary’s request.

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The Feast of The Baptism of the Lord

by Rev. Kilian McCaffrey  |  01/09/2025  |  Pastor's Letter

“You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

How do you describe the indescribable? It was the greatest day of Our Lord’s life. Up to that point, at least. We celebrated the Epiphany of The Lord last week with the Christmas Star over Bethlehem and the visit of the Magi and now we close out the Season of Christmas and we move to the River Jordan.

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The Solemnity of The Epiphany of the Lord

by Rev. Kilian McCaffrey  |  01/05/2025  |  Pastor's Letter

“And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way” (Gospel of St. Matthew 2:12).

Good Stewardship is an Act of Worship:
How do we announce the birth of a child today? “Send pictures! Send photos!” is the first thing we say when a baby is born and we send and receive photos or videos to each other on our cell phones and tablets. Usually the first pictures are taken shortly after the birth, still in the hospital. Then, after a while, there’s the more formal portrait photos with parents and siblings and grandparents. Yet we want to see the first photo above all.

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