Palm Sunday

Happy Holy Week! It is hard to believe that it is Palm Sunday already. As we begin Holy Week we enter more fully into Christ’s Passion and Resurrection. Tomorrow in the New York Archdiocese is Confession Monday. Priests will be available for several hours to hear the confession of the faithful. It is an opportunity to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation before Easter.

Today we participated in the reading of the Passion story from the Gospel of Matthew. In our prayer service we used the shorter version. We had four readers, and, in several points, the entire gathering joined in from memory. It was a most moving experience as those gathered shared their memory of the story.

As we move through these days of Holy Week may we embrace God’s abundant love for us as we follow Jesus to the cross and ultimately the resurrection on Easter morning. How will I make this week special? How can I enter the story of Jesus’ passion in a new way? How can I walk with Jesus in my daily life? May these days be filled with peace and hope as we journey as people of faith.

5th Sunday of Lent

Today we mark the Fifth Sunday of Lent. It is hard to believe how quickly the days are flying by. In today's Gospel we hear the familiar story of the death of Lazarus. Is it a story about death or a story about true friendship? In the story Lazarus has died and is int he tomb, Jesus does not go immediately but waits. When Martha reproached him for not getting there sooner, Jesus takes the opportunity to teach her about death and the glory of God. Jesus tells them to roll away the stone and weeps. He wept at the death of his friend. Before Jesus raises Lazarus he speaks aloud to his Father so all the mourners can hear him.

Jesus raised Lazarus and many begin to believe in him. In this story Jesus is teaching about God's glory and that he, the Son of God, will be glorified too. Jesus wants them to believe in him and what he teaches. He wants us to believe and trust in him too. As we journey this day let us reflect on what it is we need to be freed from, unbound from, untied from. Like Lazarus let us trust that Jesus will free us from all that keeps us bound. Let us be people of hope and not despair. Let us welcome Jesus into our lives to heal and save us as we continue to prepare for the celebration of Easter.

Fourth Sunday of Lent

In many ways it is hard to believe that it is already the Fourth Sunday of Lent. Time is flying by. As we begin this Fourth Week of Lent let us look back and see where we have followed our desires and where we have let others go. I always enjoy the Fasting and Feasting that we find shared at this time. Perhaps as we enter the Fourth Week we can renew our commitment to deepen our relationship with our loving God.

FASTING AND FEASTING

Let us fast from judging others and feast on the Christ that dwells in them.  Let us fast from anger and feast on patience.

Let us fast from resentment and feast on forgiveness.

Let us fast from discouragement and feast on hope.

Let us fast from lies and feast on the God’s truth.

Let us fast from wasting time and feast on the holiness of work.

Let us fast from gossip and feast on holy silence.

Let us fast from shame and feast on the mercy of God.

Let us fast from prejudice and feast on our kinship in Christ.

Let us fast from selfishness and feast on generosity.

Let us fast from worry and feast on the story of God’s care.

Let us fast from gloom and feast on the beauty that surrounds us.

Let us fast from busyness and feast on cherishing every moment.

International Women's Day

March is one of those busy months as we celebrate Women’s History Month, International Women’s Day, March madness, the promise of spring and so much more. Women’s History Month is the national recognition highlighting the contributions of women to events in history and in society.

On Sunday, March 8, 2026, we celebrate International Women’s Day. rally with women and girls around the world to demand equal rights and equal justice to enforce, exercise, and enjoy those rights.

Nowadays, no nation has closed the legal gaps between men and women. Right now, women have only 64 per cent of the legal rights that men hold worldwide. In fundamental areas of life, including work, money, safety, family, property, mobility, business, and retirement – the law systematically disadvantages women.

International Women’s Day 2026, under the theme, “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls”, calls for action to dismantle all barriers to equal justice: discriminatory laws, weak legal protections, and harmful practices and social norms that erode the rights of women and girls.

Today’s Gospel for the Third Sunday of Lent recalls the Samaritan Woman at the Well as she encounters Jesus. Jesus gently reaches out to the woman, a sinner. In this encounter Jesus transforms her and raises her to new life. As we recall this woman may we honor the many women who have shaped our lives.

Prayer for Peace

Yesterday the United States and Israeli forces attacked Iran. The Maryknoll Mission Office sent out this prayer. May we pray for all involved in this attack. Let us bring peace and compassion to all who we come in contact with.

For families in Iran living in fear, and for all who live under the evil rain of bombardment, may they find safe refuge.
Lord, hear our prayer.

For world leaders, that they stop the bombs and choose diplomacy over destruction and dialogue over retaliation.
Lord, hear our prayer.

For all those who are poor and vulnerable, who bear the heaviest burdens of war, may their cries transform our hearts.
Lord, hear our prayer.

For the courage to see the face of God in our neighbors and to build a culture of genuine encounter.
Lord, hear our prayer.

For a lasting peace based on justice, mercy, and the sacred dignity of every life.
Lord, hear our prayer. Amen.

First Sunday of Lent

On this First Sunday of Lent, the central readings focus on sin and temptation. We hear the familiar stories of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and Jesus’ temptation in the desert. These readings can inspire the penitential attitude of remorse that we are asked to cultivate during Lent.

Adam and Eve, when given the choice to choose between innocence and evil chose evil and sin entered the world. On Ash Wednesday many people heard the phrase, “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.” The invitation was sealed with the sign of the cross of the ashes placed on our foreheads. This is the practice we are invited to embrace this lent – to choose good over evil. We are invited to embrace a right relationship with God and recognize the effects of our sinfulness and accept restoration with God.

Jesus faced his temptations with courage and strength. He did not bend to Satan’s invitations but stayed faithful to His Father. Jesus never wavered in his love for the Father. His fidelity to the Father is what sustained him during his forty days in the desert. The Father’s love for him gave him the strength and perseverance to stay true to his beliefs.

Throughout our lives, we face the same basic temptations and must guard against fixating on the wrong goods at the wrong time or to the wrong extent. Lent can be an opportunity to pause and recognize both the ripple effects of our sins, for which we can seek atonement, and the deceptive nature of temptation so that we can strive to avoid sin anew.  

May this Lent be filled with many blessings and much hope.

Lent

 

Pope Leo XIV’s Lenten message: Abstain from harsh words and rash judgement

Titled, "Listening and Fasting: Lent as a Time of Conversion," the papal message asked Catholics to come together as a community to listen to the word of God and to the vulnerable.

The pope also invited the faithful to engage in a "very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbor."

"Let us begin by disarming our language, avoiding harsh words and rash judgment, refraining from slander and speaking ill of those who are not present and cannot defend themselves."

Instead, he asked, "let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media and in Christian communities. In this way, words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace."

Lent is a time to "place the mystery of God back in the center of our lives, in order to find renewal in our faith and keep our hearts from being consumed by the anxieties and distractions of daily life," the pope wrote. 

The season of Lent begins on Wednesday, February 18^th. The Church prescribes “3 Pillars” to assist us during Lent:

1.    Prayer – helps heal our relationship with God

2.    Fasting – helps heal our relationship with ourselves

3.    Almsgiving – helps heal our relationship with others

As Lent begins let us take time to focus on our relationships – with God, with myself, with others. May these days be filled with many blessings.