God is Good!

07-26-2020The Pastor's PenFr. Matthew R. Paratore, S.T.L., J.C.L.

Dear Friend,

A Catholic Magazine carried a story about four young men, Catholic College students, who were renting a house together. One Saturday morning someone knocked on their door. And when they opened it, there stood this bedraggled-looking old man. His eyes were kind of marbleized, and he had a silvery stub of whiskers on his face.

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God Delights in You

07-26-2020Gospel Meditation© LPi

A single mother who has a child with special needs works two jobs and sacrifices much of her own pleasures in order to be available for her son. Being the best mother possible is important to her and brings her joy. We are willing to make great and often heroic sacrifices for those people and things that matter most to us. Unless there is something of obvious importance to us in our immediate path, we can easily approach life in a more haphazard and chaotic way. We jump from one thing to another, responding to whatever it is that is competing for our attention at that moment. When everything is important, nothing is important.

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When one door closes, another one opens.

07-26-2020Everyday Stewardship - Recognize God in Your Ordinary Moments

“We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Do you really trust God? Do you really believe that God will provide all that you need? Faith is a challenge for everyone at times. Putting our trust in God, in everything we do, in good times and in bad, means that God’s plan for our lives may be quite different than what we planned.

When one door closes, another one opens. Trust in God, His plan is always better.

Cultivate a Little Faith

07-19-2020Gospel Meditation

Grace and sin, belief and unbelief, good and evil all exist together. While we wrestle with these two dimensions of reality inwardly, they are also witnessed in the actions and words of others. Many, all too often, beat themselves up because of their sin. We are also all to quick to pass judgement on others whom we perceive to be in error and walking down a wrong path. God does not make rash judgements, nor should we. Patience is the order of the day as is an understanding that God is ultimately the call of the shots.

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Good Seeds

07-19-2020Everyday Stewardship - Recognize God in Your Ordinary Moments

“The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field...He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom.” (Matthew 13 ;24, 37-38)

As children of God, we are all “good seeds.” We are blessed by God with the potential to accomplish much good in the world. We fulfill God’s plan when we spend time in prayer everyday, use our skills to help others, and share our financial gifts to help build God’s kingdom on earth. Through our example of gratitude and generosity we sow “good seeds” on earth and ultimately help each other get to Heaven!

In Confession, Light breaks through the Darkness

07-19-2020The Pastor's PenFr. Matthew R. Paratore, S.T.L., J.C.L.

Dear Friend,

Sin demands to have a person be alone. It withdraws the individual from the community.

The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him or her, and the more deeply the person becomes involved in it, the more disastrous is the isolation.

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Strive for Gratitude and Generosity

07-12-2020Everyday Stewardship - Recognize God in Your Ordinary Moments

“The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word but then the cares of the world and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit.” (Matthew 13:22)

Does the lure of riches and material goods choke God out of your life? Are you so caught up in earthly activities that you have no time for God? Gratitude and generosity are virtues that we should strive to do on a daily basis. Every decision we make either takes us one step closer to God or one step further away. What we receive at Mass every Sunday should be shared with others all the other days of the week as well.

Let Your Burden Go

07-12-2020The Pastor's PenFr. Matthew R. Paratore, S.T.L., J.C.L.

Dear Friend,

One day, two Irish monks, James and Patrick, were walking through the countryside.

They were on their way to another village to help bring in the crops.

As they walked, they spied an old woman sitting at the edge of a river. She was upset because there was no bridge, and she could not get across on her own.

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Put on Christ

07-05-2020Gospel Meditation

We are all familiar with the refrain, “You have put on Christ. In him you have been baptized. Alleluia, alleluia!” In Baptism, we “put on” Christ. In putting on Christ, we put on all that Christ is and represents: hope, faith, and love. We are no longer bound to the sins and failures of the flesh, that part of us that resists God and relies exclusively on human means. It also means that we are not in debt to our past, complete with its sins, failures, regrets, fears, and unfulfilled dreams. There is always hope. In putting on Christ, we put on God’s vision for the world, for all of His children and for us. We have been given a road map to guide our paths and a blueprint to follow for our life’s journey.

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A Penitential Spirit

07-05-2020The Pastor's PenFr. Matthew R. Paratore, S.T.L., J.C.L.

Dear Friend,

Saint Theresa of Avila once said, "A growing Christian must have at his or her roots the life-giving waters of penitence.

The cultivation of a penitential spirit is absolutely essential to spiritual progress.

The lives of great saints teach us that self-distrust is vital to godliness.

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