“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

01-29-2023Everyday Stewardship - Recognize God in Your Ordinary Moments

The phrase “poor in spirit” can be confusing. Think of it in this sense—poor in spirit means depending on God’s providence and not depending on our own self-reliance. Being detached from earthly things (power, money, and comfort) and being attached to heavenly things (charity, sacrifice and mercy). Denying ourselves from satisfying our desires and helping others their basic needs.

Hope

01-29-2023The Pastor's PenFr. Matthew R. Paratore, S.T.L., J.C.L.

Dear Friend,

What does hope in God do for humanity?

Hope shines brightest when the hour is darkest.
Hope motivates when discouragement comes.
Hope energizes when the body is tired.
Hope sweetens while bitterness bites.

READ MORE

Temptations

01-22-2023The Pastor's PenFr. Matthew R. Paratore, S.T.L., J.C.L.

Dear Friend,

Think how many temptations we might face in an ordinary day.

Growling at the breakfast table - the temptation to unkindness.

Arguing over who should change the baby this time - the temptation to selfishness.

READ MORE

“He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.” Matthew 4:22

01-22-2023Everyday Stewardship - Recognize God in Your Ordinary Moments

Just as Jesus called the first apostles, He calls each of us to follow Him, too. Not everyone is called to leave their business or family behind, but we are excepted to put God first in everything. In gratitude to God, we should give our first and best of everything to Him: our time in daily prayer, our talent in participating in one of our parish ministries and our treasure

“Now the Lord has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb...” Isaiah 49:5

01-15-2023Everyday Stewardship - Recognize God in Your Ordinary Moments

God have given each of us different gifts. In order for God’s plan to work, you have to do what God is calling you to do and I have to do what God is calling me to do. And guess what? God has given each of us a different plan! So, stop comparing yourself to others. Don’t let envy and jealousy enter your life. Be thankful for the gifts God has given you and become the saint that God is calling you to be.”

Confession

01-15-2023The 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.

Sin wants to remain unknown. It shuns the light. In the darkness of the unexpressed, it poisons the whole being of a person.

READ MORE

Baptism

01-08-2023The Pastor's PenFr. Matthew R. Paratore, S.T.L., J.C.L.

Dear Friend,

In the early days of the church Baptism was a declaration that the believer was definitely identifying with that group of people who were called Christians and were often despised and hated.

To be a Christian meant taking a leap of Faith. To identify yourself with those who were called Christians meant persecution, maybe death; it meant being ostracized from your family and shunned by friends. Finally, the one act which was the final declaration of this identification was Baptism.

READ MORE

Resolved

01-01-2023The Pastor's PenFr. Matthew R. Paratore, S.T.L., J.C.L.

Dear Friend,

These are the last New Year's Resolutions of Saint Sir Thomas More who was executed by the English King Henry VIII in 15ti5 because of his fidelity and loyalty to the Pope. He was the Lord High Chancellor of England. The Church has named him Patron of Statesmen and Politicians

"Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humble entreat Him, by His grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to His will, for Christ's sake. [I will] remember to read over these Resolutions once a week.

READ MORE

Come Be My Light by Mother Teresa and Brian Kolodiejchuk

01-01-2023Book Recommendations

This historic work reveals the inner spiritual life of one of the most beloved and important religious figures in history - Mother Teresa. During her lifelong service to the poorest of the poor, Mother Teresa became an icon of compassion to people of all religions; her extraordinary contributions to the care of the sick, the dying, and thousands of others nobody else was prepared to look after has been recognized and acclaimed throughout the world. Little is known, however, about her own spiritual heights or her struggles. This collection of her writing and reflections, almost all of which have never been made public before, sheds light on Mother Teresa's interior life in a way that reveals the depth and intensity of her holiness for the first time.

READ MORE