Pastor's Corner

From the Pastor

Pastor's Corner

March 22, 2026

Lent, Easter, Confirmation, First Communion, parishes consolidating, new name – all these things are occurring in our parishes now. And all of them call us to a deeper understanding of who we are as disciples of Jesus the Christ!

Lent’s prayer has been the prayer of Mother Olga, (the foundress of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth), “Empty me, fill me, use me.” The prayer calls us to an understanding that as followers of Christ, we are called not to be filled with our own will but with the will of God, to seek to build God’s Kingdom in all that we do. In short, to make our faith – God – the center of our lives.

As we heard in the story of the man born blind last weekend, Christ the light comes to lead us from the blind darkness of the world into His light. Once we accept Christ, we can see clearly. We accept Christ and have the blindness of the world removed from our lives through baptism. The blind man is sent to wash in the pool of Siloam – meaning “sent” - and is recreated as a child of God!

Easter is about Baptism and new life. Christ conquers sin and death in the resurrection, and as we celebrate His resurrection, we recommit ourselves to our own recreation! We renew our baptismal promises during the masses of Easter. We have emptied ourselves realizing that the things of the world will never satisfy our thirst, just as the woman at the well understood. We empty ourselves of the things of the world because they cause blindness to the ways of God and lead to death. We rise to new life with Lazarus and with the risen Lord. Easter is about having true life in Christ, and so we recommit ourselves to the life we received in baptism.

First Communion and Confirmation bring us into full communion with Christ and the Church. These sacraments complete the sacraments of initiation, receiving his body and blood and the fullness of the Holy Spirit. These sacraments are all celebrated at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. Easter is about new life in Christ and after the emptying of ourselves during Lent, we now can be filled with Christ and sent out into the world to build his Kingdom.

Our parishes consolidating into one and choosing a new name are also about seeking to proclaim to the world who we are as disciples of Christ. As you think about the name you would like for our new parish, focus on how whatever name you choose proclaims to others how we seek to live our lives being used by God to do his will. Mary, St. John Paul 2, St. Augustine and St. Simon all lived their lives placing the will of God above their own.

Mary replied to God, “Be it done to me according to your will.” John Paul 2 forgave the man who shot him and was a constant witness to Christ all over the world. St. Augustine turned away from a sinful life and influenced the whole Church with his teachings. And St. Simon, being sent as an apostle, died proclaiming the Gospel of Christ.

The name that you choose, hopefully, inspires you to live your life committed to the light of Christ – not the world.

The work of Lent has been and is all about emptying ourselves of all of the false Gods and promises that the world gives us so that we may be filled with the will of God and we may be used – like all of the saints – to proclaim the Kingdom of God.

This week is the last full week of Lent. Next weekend is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. If you have not yet fully entered into the season of Lent, take this week to pray more – to really prepare yourself to become a better witness of Christ. Receive the Sacrament of reconciliation and let the light of Christ shine through all that you do.

Empty me, fill me, use me, Lord!

Faith Like a Child

If you Google Search recommendations on how to raise generous children, almost every list of ideas begins with — or at least contains — the directive for adults to be good models of generosity themselves. Our children learn from our actions much more than from our words. Of course, when I think back over the years while my children were growing up, I think I may have learned as much from them as they learned from me. There is a time between early childhood and middle school where a child seems to be freer to give and share than at any other time in life. It is around the age of First Communion when the cries of “mine” turn to laughter and smiles, and the urge to be a part of something bigger than oneself leads to sharing. Before you know it, the child hits the pre-teen years, and once again, he or she becomes the center of the universe. I believe that the previous paragraph is all true, however, the stages described seem to repeat themselves throughout adulthood. Don’t you agree? Sometimes we fall into seeing ourselves as the center of the universe, or we become consumed by our state in life or with what we have acquired. Also, we at times are generous and loving people. It is sin that draws us back into ourselves and away from any meaningful life of stewardship and generosity. In order to be freed for love, we need role models to help us see what really matters. We need to reflect on the example of many of our brothers and sisters in Christ. And, yes, we need to look to children who may be at the point in their lives where sharing is fun, and love is something in abundance.

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