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Easter weekend was a great success for our parish. We saw many people here to celebrate Our Lord’s Resurrection, and we will continue that joy for the next six weeks through Pentecost Sunday...

The Whatsoever You Do (Matthew 25:31-46) Outreach Program has existed at Little Flower since the 1990s. The rationale for the program is best understood by the story of the tax collector Zacchaeus...

It is a joy to be able to celebrate Easter with a congregation! We must thank God for the little things, because the everyday things are really the joys of this life. We must embrace the beautiful goodness of our world with the eyes of a child, wondering at what God gives us. And this above all on this day of victory for all who are in Christ Jesus! Sin and Death are vanquished by the Risen Lord! In Baptism, we conquer with Him! And we welcome new members to the parish family at the Easter Vigil - who either were themselves baptized or have now entered the Church and received the Lord in the Eucharist! God is so good! ​​​​​​​

On this day the church recalls the entrance of Christ the Lord into Jerusalem to accomplish his Paschal Mystery. The memorial of this entrance of the Lord takes place at the beginning of all our Sunday Masses through the procession or the “solemn entrance” - this year we are doing the second option for the sake of better spacing of the congregation. The use of palm branches is another reminder of Christ’s entrance, which we hold to join in the crowds of that day. The liturgy reminds us today that it was for one primary purpose that Christ entered Jerusalem: to win our salvation by his Passion and Resurrection...

It has been a benefit to be a part of the presbyteral council for Bishop Rhoades alongside twelve or so other priests of our diocese. It allows me to get a wider picture of all the thoughts and perspectives that go into the decision-making of our divinely-appointed shepherd, who represents Jesus the Good Shepherd for us all. One of the discussions was very pertinent for us all and I think very helpful for us all to hear clearly...

Laetare Sunday comes at a time of Lent when some years (most?!) we need a “pick-me-up,” Lent can be challenging for many reasons, and even discouraging, feeling like this school of hard knocks is leaving us rather tenderized. If at this stage of Lent you  feel a little discouraged by the way things are going, hold on to hope. This Sunday’s rose vestments are saying to you, "Hang in there!"

An invitation to confession: This season of Lent is a time for returning to the Lord, so I want to help you prepare for a good Confession. In the story of the Prodigal Son (worth reading! Luke 15: 11-32) we see a perfect summary of the heart of the Father seeking to reconcile with the soul lost in its own sinful wanderings. St. Augustine defines sin as incurvatus in se, “curved in upon itself.” In doing so, we will experience ruptures of communion with God and others as our souls “turn their backs” to those around us. The Father wants freedom for us, and that is what Confession is about.   Please be aware of two special nights of Confession this month. One is this Tuesday from 6-8pm. Every church in the diocese will have Confessions. So if you live closer to another parish and want to be more “anonymous” for Confession, try that parish during those hours.

The Lord’s heart is on fire for you. He wants you to draw close to Him. He wants you to rest next to His Sacred Heart, to hear it beat, just like St. John the apostle did at the Last Supper. God really enjoys Lent. He enjoys it not because He wants to watch you suffer; not because He needs you to obey Him or show how important He is; no, He loves it because He gets to see you drawing closer to Him, even perhaps resting close to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and feeling the intense burning of that love for you. In this season the Lord sees so many trying together (each in their own way) to get closer to Him, and that is exactly why God loves Lent.

I hope your Lent has begun well. Jesus’ time in the desert without eating anything or 40 days may make our Lenten practices seem pretty small, but God is not concerned with your disciplines as much as He is with the spirit in which you do them. If I gave up coffee and wine and chocolate and sweets, only to be a bitter crank all the time, it wouldn’t be an offering pleasing to the Lord. What pleases Him is a contrite heart and afflicted spirit, one that admits sinfulness and honestly is working to grow in holiness, that is, in radical self -gift. May the Lord bless your journeys of 40 days!

Fr. Terry shares some renovation updates and reflections on the beginning of the Lenten season this week.

We are going to look more deeply into each priority of the pastoral plan. Today I want to focus on our third priority, “Accompaniment: Growing Together.” Why “accompaniment?" This pastoral priority (which is also a core value) is something that Pope Francis has stressed since his first days in the role of universal shepherd of the church. He models it beautifully himself, and his teaching in Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), especially paragraphs 169-173, gives us a helpful and convincing picture.

This month, we wrap up Ordinary Time and begin the season of Lent. This penitential season begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts for approximately 40 days (not counting Sundays). It is marked by the three pillars of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

As we have been working through the parish pastoral plan, we now arrive at the final section, the pastoral priorities. I would like to do an overview this week before looking at the priorities individually.

Continuing my exploration of the Parish Pastoral Plan, I now delve into the third Core Value of the Parish Plan – Sacrificial Generosity. There are three bullet points to describe what that means: (1) God first, others second, I am third; (2) I let God interrupt my plans; (3) I have gifts worth giving. Again, I would like to expand upon these bullet points.

You are the salt of the earth, …the light of the world. (Mt. 5) Are we living this vocation in our families, friendships, and other relationships? If we ignore our circles of influence and “travel across land and sea to make one convert” (Mt. 23:15), then who will speak to those we have abandoned? Saint (Mother) Teresa of Kolkata’s response to one who wanted to move to India to serve with her was similar: “grow where you are planted.”

Bill gives an update on the funds that were distributed for the Outreach program in 2020.

When does Christmas end? The answers - plural! - might surprise you. Depending on who you ask, the Christmas season ends...

The reading today ends with the words of the Father over the Lord Jesus. These words are huge and should be prayed about in depth for every one of us. That’s why I included the next verse above. The first thing Jesus does is He goes to the desert (wilderness) to get away from everything and think about what the Father is doing in Him.   Have you ever let these words, spoken over you in your Baptism, to sink into the core of your being?

If you could listen in on the conversations with folks who call for assistance, you would be humbled, as indeed we are. The fear and growing panic in many of their voices has reached ever new levels during the pandemic. The biggest fear is that they’re alone, that nobody notices them or cares about them...

In his Apostolic Letter Patris Corde, Pope Francis has asked the universal church to give special focus to Saint Joseph for the year of 2021. As the husband of Mary, the mother of God and thus the foster father of the Lord Jesus, Joseph deserves our attention in a particular way. This call for a year of St. Joseph marks the 150th anniversary of his being named   universal patron of the church. As such a patron, it means every single one of us is able to seek his support.