Fourth Sunday of Easter, May 11, 2025
Dear friends,
On the Fourth Sunday of Easter, the gospel focuses our attention on our Lord, the Good Shepherd (John 10:27-30). The Good Shepherd longs for us to hear His voice, to know Him and follow Him. He wants us to be united with him forever, and so He promises eternal life to us that we might not perish.
In the Book of Revelation (Revelation 7:9, 14b-17), John has a vision of the Lamb in the center of the throne, shepherding those who have survived times of great distress. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. (Rev 7:17) This image of our Lord as our Shepherd is so powerful and the reason this Sunday is also known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.”
Thus, it makes perfect sense that today is observed as the “World Day of Prayer for Vocations,” the 61st annual commemoration. The World Day of Prayer for Vocations was created so that the Church and its people might publicly fulfill Jesus’ instruction: "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest" (Mt 9:38; Lk 10:2). As the climax to a prayer that is continually offered throughout the Church, the World Day of Prayer affirms the primacy of faith and grace in all that concerns vocations to the priesthood, diaconate, and consecrated life. While it appreciates all vocations, including those of a secular nature (marriage and the single life), the Church concentrates its attention this day on vocations to the ordained ministries (priesthood and diaconate), the consecrated life in all its forms (male and female religious congregations, societies, and institutions; societies of apostolic life; consecrated virgins; and secular institutes) and the missionary life.
One of my many dreams for us is to make our parish a seedbed for vocations. This parish has reached a level of maturity where it is ready to support the vocations of those in our parish who feel called to be priests, deacons, brothers, and sisters. Let us, therefore, pray fervently to the Lord of the Vineyard for more vocations here.
In light of this, I invite each of you keep the following prayer intention in your heart and mind this week:
We pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood, to the diaconate, and to the consecrated life. And, in a special way, we pray for the Congregation of Holy Cross: that more men might respond with open and generous hearts to be priests after the Heart of Christ and brothers seeking to imitate the virtues of Saint Joseph, model of fidelity. Lord, hear our prayer!
May 11, 2025 is also Mother’s Day. What a blessing we have in our moms! As we celebrate Mother’s Day, I wish to thank all of our mothers for all that they do. I especially want to express my gratitude for their dedicated commitment to the faith. St. Pius X said something so sweet about mothers: “Every vocation to the priesthood comes from the heart of God, but it passes through the heart of a mother.”
In my case and Fr. Martin’s, this is absolutely true. Because of my mom and Fr. Martin’s grandma, we have had three vocations from my family alone: Fr. Martin, my sister, Sr. Nirmala Mary, a Franciscan nun, and me.
A lot of what we do every day here at St. John’s is largely accomplished through the consistent and tireless efforts of the mothers in our parish. They are the primary ones making sure that the children in their families get baptized, attend religious education and sacramental preparation classes, celebrate the sacraments, and regularly worship the Lord our God in church. No doubt, they do this along with our dads, but we need to accept that the push basically comes from the mothers. We are blessed to know that, thanks to some amazing men in our parish, this initiative comes from both our moms and dads.
I bow my head to all our amazing mothers: Thank You, Mothers, for all you are and all you do that affirms and shares the fire of your love for the Lord. Happy Mother’s Day!
Fr. Martin is enjoying a much-deserved vacation for the next three weeks. He is in India visiting our families. He has been on the go right from the day he arrived at St. John’s, and I am grateful to God for his presence here with us. Let us pray each day for safe travels for him and that he might bring joy and comfort to all with whom he visits and will encounter.
As I write this column, the world’s eyes are on the conclave in Rome. Now that the days of mourning for Pope Francis are over, we turn our gaze to the College of Cardinal-electors gathered in conclave to elect our next Holy Father, the Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Catholic Church. It could be that by the time you read this, we have a new pope. However, our responsibility to pray for the pope never ceases. Therefore, let us pray throughout the conclave and beyond: O God, eternal shepherd, who govern your flock with unfailing care, grant in your boundless fatherly love a pastor for your Church who will please you by his holiness and to us show watchful care. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Prayer for the Election of a New Pope, from The Roman Missal)
I have been wanting to tell you how much we love preparing couples to get married or to have their marriages convalidated in the Catholic Church. What a blessing it is to witness a wedding in our beautiful church. I am very grateful to our wedding and FOCCUS coordinators for their enormous help with this preparation and with the celebration of the Sacrament of Matrimony.
For those who intend to marry or have their marriage convalidated at St. John’s or elsewhere, it is of great importance that you give us at least six (6) months to a year to work with you. There are many logistics to work out and often paperwork requirements that are out of our hands but that you must, nevertheless, obtain before we can proceed with your wedding. We will guide and help you meet any and all requirements, but these things take time. Please help us to serve you well and follow these basic requirements:
- Make an appointment to meet with me first before setting any dates.
- If you are planning to have your wedding ceremony in any other church, you will need to meet with me at least a year before you plan to marry. Marriage in a church other than your home parish involves, besides the usual preparation steps for the couple, the sending of all necessary paperwork from us to our diocese and from our diocese to the diocese where the wedding is to take place.
- You must be a registered and participating member of St. John’s for at least one year before we can work with you on your wedding.
As you know, the St. John’s Silver Jubilee will be starting in September 2025. Our Jubilee theme is “Journey of Grace, Faith, and Hope.” Please, mark the following important Jubilee dates on your calendars:
· 14 September 2025: Opening Ceremony
· 18 January 2026: Dedication of the New Rectory
· 24 May, 2026: Mass of Thanksgiving to be held at the USSSA Stadium
Have a splendid week!
With Love,
Fr. John
Dear friends, We are well into the second week of August, summer vacations have ended, and programming for our parish community is back in full swing. In addition, a new academic year begins for our children and their teachers, so we will offer a blessing for all who are returning to school. Meanwhile, our faith formation classes will resume in this order: The high school programs (FIAT and confirmation classes) kickoff on Sunday, 17 August. Our middle school Anchored in Faith ministry begins on Wednesday, 20 August. SJE Kids classes for kindergarten through 5th grade start on Sunday, 24 August, on Wednesday, 27 August, or on Thursday, 28 August, as appropriate. As you know, we need many volunteers to assist with teaching our children. I am deeply grateful to our catechists and assistants both for their time and passion in passing along our faith to the next generation. Sensory-friendly Mass: In our efforts to make worship of our God more meaningful for families with children who struggle with distractions, we will celebrate a sensory-friendly Masson Sunday, 10 August at 1 p.m. in the parish hall. Vocations Prayer Challenge: On 7 September, we will begin our Vocations Prayer Challenge. This will be an opportunity for our parish to pray for religious vocations in a special way which is vital toward ensuring future generations of Catholic priests, deacons, and religious to celebrate the sacraments and help guide us in our faith. Please sign up using our SignUpGenius link: https://www.signupgenius.com/ go/10C0D4AAFAA22AAF4C61-55726073-stjohns . Photo Directory: As part of our Silver Jubilee celebrations, we are creating a parish photo directory. I am grateful to Mike and Kathy Mos for coordinating this huge undertaking. Please sign up in advance for the day among those available that works best for your schedule. August 19th and 20th have been added. Call Mike & Kathy with any questions or if you need to change or cancel an appointment. We celebrate the Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time when the Church, in her wisdom, invites us to place our trust in God, as did Abraham, our “father in faith” who, despite all odds, trusted in God and in his promise(Hebrews 11: 1-2, 8-19). In this week’s gospel reading, Jesus uses a parable to present examples of both faithful and unfaithful stewards. Faithful servants receive greater responsibility for sharing the Father’s generosity. Jesus concludes saying “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more” (Luke 12: 32-48). Speaking of faithful stewards, I want to recognize the SJE MOPSTERS ministry. Our church, as you know, is a large and beautiful place of worship, but it requires regular maintenance to keep it that way. The members of our Mopsters team area phenomenal group of passionate and dedicated men and women who faithfully dustmop the floors on Tuesdays and damp mop on Thursdays. Larry Wehner has led the way for so many years, followed by Bill Seck, but now the time has come for us to bolster the ministry with more support. Nearly half of our current crew are unable to continue for medical reasons or due to relocation, so I am now requesting more hands on deck to join this awesome ministry and help us keep our church clean. As a young boy, my mom and I were involved in the upkeep of the church for our parish. My responsibility was the sanctuary lamp, ensuring it had sufficient kerosene to keep it lit. This small act was one of many ways for us to foster a stronger sense of belonging to our parish community. St. John’s is our church, our faith family and home, and we need to come together to help keep it clean. Can I count on you to step up? Know that I am extremely grateful to the team dedicated to this ministry, and If you see the mopsters around our campus, please thank them. On Friday, 15 August, we will celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Since it is a holy day of obligation, we will have three Masses as follows: 8 a.m., 12.05 p.m., and 7 p.m. Have a blessed week! With love, Fr. John In a particular way, I would like to invite the faithful of the Eastern Churches, particularly those already in full communion with the Successor of Peter, to take part in this pilgrimage. They have suffered greatly, often even unto death, for their fidelity to Christ and the Church, and so they should feel themselves especially welcome in this City of Rome that is also their Mother and cherishes so many memories of their presence. The Catholic Church, enriched by their ancient liturgies and the theology and spirituality of their Fathers, monks and theologians, wants to give symbolic expression to its embrace of them and their Orthodox brothers and sisters in these times when they endure their own Way of the Cross, often forced by violence and instability to leave their home- lands, their holy lands, for safer places. For them, the hope born of the knowledge that they are loved by the Church, which does not abandon them but follows them wherever they go, will make the symbolism of the Jubilee all the more powerful.
Dear friends, This weekend, we take time to pray in thanksgiving for Deacon Steven Lumbert and his 25 years of service to the diaconate. He was ordained in the Diocese of Pueblo on August 4, 2000 by Bishop Arthur Tafoya and served his first five years at his home parish of Holy Family. He was then assigned as Pastoral Associate for St. Paul the Apostle in Pueblo West for three years, followed by a two-year stint as Associate Director of Deacon Formation. In 2010, he was assigned as Administrator of St. Anne’s Parish and served there for nine years. During his active ministry, he assisted at most of the parishes in Pueblo, celebrating quinceañeras, weddings, funerals, committals, Word Communion services, and other ministries as needed. In 2019, he retired from the Diocese of Pueblo and moved with his ailing wife Socorro to Florida to be closer to their daughter Karina and son-in-law Rob and their children, becoming members of our parish. In 2023, he asked to serve in retirement through his diaconate ministry at St. John’s. It has been lovely knowing him and his family, and we thank him for his ministry, praying that he will continue to serve the Lord with joy. Congratulations, Deacon Steven Lumbert, on completing 25 years of service to the Lord and His people. I also take this occasion to thank George and Cis Franzen for their commitment to the Christ Renews His Parish ministry. George has served us faithfully for 15 years, beginning in 2010. Having stumbled into CRHP by chance, he has given his heart and soul toward promoting this life-changing ministry at St. John’s. George now passes the baton to Joe Flora with the hope that he will run with it for another 15+ years. Thank you, George and Cis, for your great passion. You will always be the “father figure” of CRHP at St. John’s. I offer a hearty welcome to Chris McLaughlin who will lead the music ministry during Sunday 4:30 p.m. Masses beginning this weekend. He comes to us with vast experience in leading LIFETEEN camps through amazing worship experiences. Please welcome Chris and plan to join us as a parish community in ever more vibrant praise and thanksgiving during our Eucharistic celebrations. On this Eighteenth Sunday, the Church calls us to reflect on building our treasures in what matters most to God and not be fooled into indulging worldly attractions and desires that will surely perish. In his letter to the Colossians, St. Paul invites us to seek what is above and put to death the parts of us that cling to this Earth. We look forward to the return of our children to full Mass participation and continued religious education. Have a blessed week! With Love, Fr. John Let us now continue reading Spes Non Confundit, “Hope Does Not Disappoint,” written by Pope Francis to inaugurate the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025, titled “Pilgrims of Hope.” We pick up where we left off last weekend: Pilgrimage is of course a fundamental element of every Jubilee event. Setting out on a journey is traditionally associated with our human quest for meaning in life. A pilgrimage on foot is a great aid for rediscovering the value of silence, effort and simplicity of life. In the coming year, pilgrims of hope will surely travel the ancient and more modern routes in order to experience the Jubilee to the full. In Rome itself, along with the usual visits to the catacombs and the Seven Churches, other itineraries of faith will be proposed. Journeying from one country to another as if borders no longer mattered, and passing from one city to another in contemplating the beauty of creation and masterpieces of art, we learn to treasure the richness of different experiences and cultures, and are inspired to lift up that beauty, in prayer, to God, in thanksgiving for his wondrous works. The Jubilee Churches along the pilgrimage routes and in the city of Rome can serve as oases of spirituality and places of rest on the pilgrimage of faith, where we can drink from the wellsprings of hope, above all by approaching the sacrament of Reconciliation, the essential starting-point of any true journey of conversion. In the particular Churches, special care should be taken to prepare priests and the faithful to celebrate the sacrament of Confession and to make it readily available in its individual form. To be continued ...
Dear friends, We celebrate the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time this weekend, and we are treated to an amazing passage where Jesus entrusts to his disciples, to his Church, and to us the fundamental Christian prayer: the “Our Father.” Jesus wants us to keep asking, to continue knocking at the door, and to never give up. Persistence in prayer will ultimately align our hearts to that of God’s. I extend my warmest, heartfelt welcome to Dr. Erikson Wikstrom, Superintendent of Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Orlando. We will hear about her dedication to Catholic school education this weekend, with a primary focus on St. Mary’s School in Rockledge and its dire need of our assistance. I humbly ask you to open your hearts to her message and be generous in helping St. Mary’s School. Thank you, Dr. Erikson, for all that you do for the spread of Catholic school education. I am extremely grateful to Jennifer Hera who has served our community as bulletin editor and, recently, as our Communications Coordinator. She was on staff from Sept 2023 to July 18, 2025 and is now leaving us to pursue higher studies and to attend to her ailing father. Jen has served St. John’s with love and dedication. Please join me in thanking her and wishing her all the best, as we will certainly miss her. Brian Kelly has now joined our staff, making the transition with Jen and taking over her responsibilities. Brian is a recent college graduate and delighted to be part of our team. I extend my warmest welcome to Brian and hope that his contributions to our parish community will bring joy not only to him but to all of us. A hearty welcome to you, Brian. Congratulations to Susan Answay, recipient of the Family of the Month Award for July 2025. Susan is one of our original parishioners and has done amazing works through her involvement with so many of our ministries. I thank her most especially for coordinating the EMHC ministry. Thank you, Susan, for your presence with us. With Love, Fr. John Let us now continue reading Spes Non Confundit, “Hope Does Not Disappoint,” written by Pope Francis to inaugurate the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025, titled “Pilgrims of Hope.” We pick up where we left off last weekend: 5. This interplay of hope and patience makes us see clearly that the Christian life is a journey calling for moments of greater intensity to encourage and sustain hope as the constant companion that guides our steps towards the goal of our encounter with the Lord Jesus. I like to think that the proclamation of the first Jubilee, in the year 1300, was preceded by a journey of grace inspired by popular spirituality. How can we fail to recall the various ways by which the grace of forgiveness had been poured out upon God’s holy and faithful People? We are reminded, for example, of the great “Pardon” that Saint Celestine V granted to all those who visited the Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio in Aquila on the 28th and 29th days of August 1294, six years before Pope Boniface VIII instituted the Holy Year. The Church was already experiencing the grace of the Jubilee as an out pouring of divine mercy. Even earlier, in 1216, Pope Honorius III granted the plea of Saint Francis for an indulgence for all those visiting the Porziuncola on the first two days of August. The same can be said of the pilgrimage to Santiagode Compostela: in 1222, Pope Callistus II allowed the Jubilee to be celebrated there whenever the Feast of the Apostle James fell on a Sunday. It is good that such “dispersed” celebrations of the Jubilee continue, so that the power of God’s 3 forgiveness can support and accompany communities and individuals on their pilgrim way. To be continued …
Dear friends, This weekend, we celebrate the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, and our readings are all about the virtue of hospitality. Our first reading, from the Book of Genesis presents the story of how Abraham graciously hosts three unknown visitors who were passing by his home. In the Gospel of Luke (10: 38-42), we see the hospitality extended by Martha and Mary to Jesus and his disciples. Whenever I read these passages, I remember my mom who, despite the economic hardships of our life, would generously receive people at our home and serve them graciously, even if all she could offer was a cup of coffee or tea. I often see a similar graciousness shining in the lives of members of our parish. I am enormously grateful to the many of you who have been so gracious to both Father Martin, and me going out of your way to show your love and blessing us with your generosity. Let us pray for this virtue of hospitality in all that we say and do. Let us always remember the famous line, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some have entertained angels without knowing it”. (Hebrews 13:2) It is good to be back from our astonishing pilgrimage to Medjugorje. Thank you for your prayers for our safety. We prayed daily for each and everyone of our St. John’s families. Please be sure to ask our pilgrims about their experiences. We have a few more weeks to take advantage of the summer break. If you are preparing to travel before the end of summer, don’t forget— you still need to pack lots of patience, as you will surely need it. And one more thing: Summer travel doesn’t mean pressing “pause” on your Catholic faith! You still need to profess your faith in word and deed and participate in the celebration of Mass at one of the Catholic churches that may be found anywhere in the world. As I mentioned last week, the Brother André Golf Tournament will be one of the kick-off events for the parish’s Silver Jubilee Year. The tournament will be held on Saturday, 13 September at the Duran Golf Course. This is the first opportunity to come together to celebrate our parish family—you can sign up to play or just come for the catered picnic lunch. Thanks to Paco Farach and David Tomczak for spearheading this event. We need many volunteers to staff and assist with the tournament and related activities, so please contact Paco if you can help out—his contact information is on page three, along with a QR code through which you can register to play, attend the picnic lunch, sponsor a hole, or be involved in one of the many aspects of hosting this event. Thank you in advance for all your help! As described in last week’s bulletin, sign-up for the yearlong Vocations Prayer Challenge will begin in August, and the first week of prayers will begin on 7 September 2025. This is a program in which individual parishioners and parish families are invited to commit a week to praying for vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, especially within the Congregation of Holy Cross. See page eight for a snapshot of how the program works. We will provide more detailed information at the beginning of August. Let us now continue reading Spes Non Confundit, “Hope Does Not Disappoint.” This papal document was written by Pope Francis to inaugurate the Ordinary Jubilee Year of 2025 titled “Pilgrims of Hope.” We pick up now where we left off last weekend: With Love, Fr. John 4. Saint Paul is a realist. He knows that life has its joys and sorrows, that love is tested amid trials, and that hope can falter in the face of suffering. Even so, he can write: “We boast in our sufferings, 2 knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Rom 5:3-4). For the Apostle, trials and tribulations mark the lives of those who preach the Gospel amid incomprehension and persecution (cf. 2 Cor 6:3-10). Yet in those very contexts, beyond the darkness we glimpse a light: we come to realize that evangelization is sustained by the power flowing from Christ’s cross and resurrection. In this way, we learn to practice a virtue closely linked to hope, namely patience. In our fast-paced world, we are used to wanting everything now. We no longer have time simply to be with others; even families find it hard to get together and enjoy one another’s company. Patience has been put to flight by frenetic haste, and this has proved detrimental, since it leads to impatience, anxiety and even gratuitous violence, resulting in more unhappiness and self- centredness. Nor is there much place for patience in this age of the Internet, as space and time yield to an ever-present “now”. Were we still able to contemplate creation with a sense of awe, we might better understand the importance of patience. We could appreciate the changes of the seasons and their harvests, observe the life of animals and their cycles of growth, and enjoy the clarity of vision of Saint Francis. In his Canticle of the Creatures, written exactly eight hundred years ago, Francis saw all creation as a great family and could call the sun his “brother” and the moon his “sister”. [2] A renewed appreciation of the value of patience could only prove beneficial for ourselves and for others. Saint Paul often speaks of patience in the context of our need for perseverance and confident trust in God’s promises. Yet, before all else, he testifies to God’s own patience, as “the God of all patience and encouragement” ( Rom 15:5). Patience, one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, sustains our hope and strengthens it as a virtue and a way of life. May we learn to pray frequently for the grace of patience, which is both the daughter of hope and at the same time its firm foundation. To be continued… [2] Cf. Fonti Francescane, No. 263, 6.10.
Dear friends, This weekend, we celebrate the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. At a time when our country is so deeply divided, the Gospel of Luke (10: 25-37), with the familiar parable of the Good Samaritan, challenges us to put aside division and learn to love everyone. We must ask ourselves: How can I overcome divisions and hatred and infuse my life and the lives of those around me with the spirit of Christ? How can I apply merciful love in all the circumstances in my life that cry out for it? The 4th of July celebration at our parish was splendid, with many prayer opportunities as well as great food, fun, and fireworks. We even extended the fun through Sunday so that our children could play in the bounce house and on the slide. We were blessed with a wonderful group of people who stepped up to assist Justin and Amanda Libak with this event. Thanks to all who pitched in. I am also grateful to Miller’s Ale House for sponsoring the hot dogs and for covering the cost of the bounce house, the slide, and the face painting stations. If you stop by Miller’s Ale House, please tell them you are from St. John’s and appreciate their generosity! The peak of summer break is upon us, and I know many of you will be traveling. Summer travel doesn’t mean that you press “pause” on your Catholic faith. Wherever you are in the world, you are still called to practice your faith and to locate a Catholic church at which to celebrate Mass on Sunday, at the very least. Please continue to remain faithful to our Lord wherever you may go. The Brother André Golf Tournament will help kick off our parish’s Silver Jubilee year. It will be held on Saturday, 13 September, at the Duran Golf Course. This is a great opportunity to come together to celebrate our parish family – you can sign up to play or just come for the catered picnic lunch. Thanks to Paco Farach and David Tomczak for spearheading this event. We need many volunteers to for supporting this event! You may remember that I announced last week another Silver Jubilee event: a year-long parish dedication to pray for vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, especially within the Congregation of Holy Cross. Called the “Vocation Prayer Challenge,” this will be similar to the parish’s previous “Elijah Cup” and “St. John’s Cup” vocation prayer efforts. Sign- up will begin in August, and the first week of the challenge will begin on 7 September. You will hear more about this in the coming weeks. Let us now continue reading Spes Non Confundit, “Hope does dot disappoint,” written by Pope Francis to inaugurate the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025, “Pilgrims of Hope.” It is an appropriate reflection as our St. John’s group of pilgrim visits the holy sites in Croatia and those of the apparitions in Medjugorje. Please pray for us; we will certainly pray for you. Let us turn now to where we left off with Spes Non Confundit last weekend. 3. Hope is born of love and based on the love springing from the pierced heart of Jesus upon the cross: “For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life” (Rom 5:19). That life becomes manifest in our own life of faith, which begins with Baptism, develops in openness to God’s grace and is enlivened by a hope constantly renewed and confirmed by the working of the Holy Spirit. By his perennial presence in the life of the pilgrim Church, the Holy Spirit illumines all believers with the light of hope. He keeps that light burning, like an ever-burning lamp, to sustain and invigorate our lives. Christian hope does not deceive or disappoint because it is grounded in the certainty that nothing and no one may ever separate us from God’s love: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or the sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” ( Rom 8:35.37-39). Here we see the reason why this hope perseveres in the midst of trials: founded on faith and nurtured by charity, it enables us to press forward in life. As Saint Augustine observes: “Whatever our state of life, we cannot live without these three dispositions of the soul, namely, to believe, to hope and to love”. [1] To be continued … [1] Serm. 198 augm. 2
Dear friends, After six straight Sundays of celebrating the most solemn mysteries of our amazing Catholic faith, we now enter into a period of ordinary Sundays. On this 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 10, presents a beautiful scene: Jesus sends 72 men on a mission to prepare the people for his coming. They return overjoyed because they have experienced life-changing transformations in the lives of the people among whom they were sent, including, the witness of demons fleeing from them. This is the beauty of working for the Lord, a beauty that we, too, will experience when we work for the Lord with total commitment. Our second annual 4th of July celebration was wonderful! We celebrated not only the historical event that gifted us with freedom but also the gift of our St. John the Evangelist family. I am deeply grateful to Justin and Amanda for managing the entire effort and to the Kitchen Crew and other volunteers who helped make this day an amazing experience. A special thanks to our Brother Knights for managing the parking. And thanks to each of you who contributed drinks, tablecloths, games, cookies, and other items. I wish to preview here another Silver Jubilee event: a year-long parish dedication to pray for vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, especially within the Congregation of Holy Cross. Called the Vocations Prayer Challenge, this event will be similar to the parish’s previous “Elijah Cup” and “St. John’s Cup” vocation prayer efforts. Sign-up will begin in August, and the first week of prayers will begin on 7 September 2025. You will hear more about this during Mass and in the bulletin beginning next week. Please join me in congratulating Fr. Jim Preskenis, C.S.C., on his Golden Jubilee of Priesthood. Fr. Jim was ordained to the priesthood in the Congregation of Holy Cross on March 22, 1975, with the motto: Know, Love, and Serve God. Fr. Jim served as a chaplain in the United States Air Force for 10 years, as the pastor of Holy Cross Parish in South Easton, MA, and also at Sacred Heart/St. Francis de Sales Parish in Bennington, VT. This was where I had the opportunity to serve as a deacon for seven months and as a priest for one year. After his full-time ministry, Fr. Jim moved into our Holy Cross senior men’s residence in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Whenever I needed a priest, Fr. Jim was always there to help us with Masses and confession. He has been a great brother to me. I would like to thank him for his priestly ministry and congratulate him for his steadfast commitment to serving the Lord. Fr. Jim will celebrate the 4.30 p.m. Mass on Sunday, 6 July 2025; we will use that opportunity to again thank God for his ministry. Let us now continue reading Spes Non Confundit, “Hope does not disappoint,” written by Pope Francis to inaugurate the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025 titled “Pilgrims of Hope.” We pick up where we left off last weekend. With Love, Fr John A word of hope 2. “Since we are justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing in the glory of God… Hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Rom 5:1-2.5). In this passage, Saint Paul gives us much to reflect upon. We know that the Letter to the Romans marked a decisive turning point in his work of evangelization. Until then, he had carried out his activity in the eastern part of the Empire, but now he turns to Rome and all that Rome meant in the eyes of the world. Before him lay a great challenge, which he took up for the sake of preaching the Gospel, which knows no barriers or confines. The Church of Rome was not founded by Paul, yet he felt impelled to hasten there in order to bring to everyone the Gospel of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead, a message of hope that fulfils the ancient promises, leads to glory and, grounded in love, does not disappoint. To be continued …
Dear friends, The long list of solemnities is not over yet, with this weekend’s bonus of Saints Peter and Paul. It is a solemnity which is celebrated by the Church every 29 June but only occasionally on a Sunday. This is indeed a gift, because our whole Church family gets to celebrate together two foundational characters, true pillars of the Church. It is important for us to see why and how St. Paul is joined with St. Peter for this celebration. In the Scripture readings provided for our reflection this weekend, we hear how St. Peter was miraculously rescued from the prison into which he had been thrown by Herod. We also hear how St. Paul, in his turn, is protected time and again from his vicious enemies. Despite the many attempts to silence them both, they continue to boldly proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Through them, the Church shows us how we as disciples of Jesus are called even today to proclaim unabashedly in word and deed that Jesus is truly the Son of the living God. On the 4th of July, we will gather once again as a parish to celebrate the gift of freedom we have received through the blessing of living in this country. What a privilege to be able to gather as a community here at St. John’s to celebrate this holiday! We will have a Mass and Rosary followed by food, festivities, fellowship and fireworks! See page eight of the bulletin to RSVP for this event. We extend a huge thanks to Justin and Amanda Libak for their devotion in making sure our remembrance of this day is a true tribute and great fun. We are now fully into the summer season, which I believe is a wonderful time for us to study one of the key papal documents marking the Jubilee Year. We will do this in small doses so that we can savor the richness of our Catholic tradition and the depth, power, and potency of our faith. Let us now begin at the beginning of Spes Non Confundit, “Hope does not disappoint,” the papal bull written by Pope Francis to inaugurate the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025 with the title, “Pilgrims of Hope.” Let us begin! With Love, Fr. John SPES NON CONFUNDIT BULL OF INDICTION OF THE ORDINARY JUBILEE OF THE YEAR 2025 FRANCIS BISHOP OF ROME SERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD TO ALL WHO READ THIS LETTER MAY HOPE FILL YOUR HEARTS 1. SPES NON CONFUNDIT. “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5). In the spirit of hope, the Apostle Paul addressed these words of encouragement to the Christian community of Rome. Hope is also the central message of the coming Jubilee that, in accordance with an ancient tradition, the Pope proclaims every twenty-five years. My thoughts turn to all those pilgrims of hope who will travel to Rome in order to experience the Holy Year and to all those others who, though unable to visit the City of the Apostles Peter and Paul, will celebrate it in their local Churches. For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the “door” (cf. Jn 10:7.9) of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere and to all as “our hope” (1 Tim 1:1). Everyone knows what it is to hope. In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring. Even so, uncertainty about the future may at times give rise to conflicting feelings, ranging from confident trust to apprehensiveness, from serenity to anxiety, from firm conviction to hesitation and doubt. Often we come across people who are discouraged, pessimistic and cynical about the future, as if nothing could possibly bring them happiness. For all of us, may the Jubilee be an opportunity to be renewed in hope. God’s word helps us find reasons for that hope. Taking it as our guide, let us return to the message that the Apostle Paul wished to communicate to the Christians of Rome. To be continued …
Dear friends, The culmination of a secession of the foundational mysteries of our Catholic faith is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, known to us in the West as Corpus Christi Sunday. It is the day when we recognize, celebrate, venerate, and worship the Lord Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. This solemnity encourages us to profess, adore, and grow in love of our Eucharistic Lord, thereby deepening Eucharistic devotion throughout the Church. As you know, celebrating the Lord’s Body and Blood began at the Last Supper and continues to be celebrated at every Holy Mass. However, the formal feast of Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) began in 1246 in the Diocese of Liege in Belgium. It was extended to the wider Church by Pope Urban IV in 1264. The feast incorporates texts composed by Saint Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican priest who lived from 1225 to 1274. St. Thomas was commissioned by Pope Urban to compose a special Office of Readings and hymns for this feast. It is from these that we have the two most well-known Eucharistic songs: Pange Lingua, which contains the beautiful Tantum Ergo,) and O Salutaris Hostia, which we regularly use at our Masses and Benedictions here at St. John’s. The Solemnity of Corpus Christi occurs on the Sunday following Trinity Sunday, two weeks after Pentecost Sunday. It is designed to honor and celebrate the second person of the Trinity, our risen Lord, Jesus Christ, by affirming him as really, truly, and substantially present in the consecrated bread and wine at Mass. Christ’s Real Presence comes to us at every Mass through the act which the Church calls “transubstantiation” (change of substance). This occurs when, at the consecration, the priest says the words that Christ himself pronounced over bread and wine, “This is My Body,” “This is the chalice of My Blood,” “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Corpus Christi Sunday calls us to focus on two manifestations of the Body of Christ— in the Holy Eucharist and in the Church. At every Mass, our attention is called to the Eucharist and the Real Presence of Christ in it. But the Body of Christ is also present in the Church. The Church is called the Body of Christ because of the intimate communion that Jesus shares with his disciples. This is foreshadowed in the gospels through the image of Christ as the vine and his believers as the branches. It is made explicit in the letters of St. Paul who says, “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it” (1 Corinthians 12:17), and “[the Father] put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way” (Ephesians 1:22-23). This image helps keep in focus both the unity and the diversity of the Church. In most places, the Feast of Corpus Christi is an opportunity for public Eucharistic processions which serve as a sign of common faith and adoration. It is a public act of worship. I have been hesitant to do it at our parish because of the heat here in June. However, I really would like to have a Eucharistic procession next year during our Silver Jubilee celebration. I invite those who are interested to become part of a team to organize the procession. Please let me know if you would like to do this. It is a great way for you to bless our community here at St. John’s. Coming together to publicly declare our worship of Jesus in His Real Presence is a way of offering God our Father a pledge of undivided love. It also is an offering of ourselves in service to others. The 300 tickets for REBOOT! that were set aside at a discounted price have been sold! We are now opening registration to other parishes and cities in the area. I truly hope many more of our parishioners will register for this life-changing event with Christ Stefanick on Wednesday, 1 October 2025. Chris is undeniably one of the most gifted, powerful, and passionate Catholic speakers of the day. The REBOOT! experience has proven to change lives by reenergizing and renewing the faith life of those who attend. May your coming week be glorious! With Love, Fr. John
Dear friends, We have been celebrating a number of amazing Church mysteries and solemnities since the Solemnity of the Ascension. This weekend, we celebrate the basic and fundamental mystery of the Church and our faith: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Our attempt to understand any mystery is, in the end (and regardless of our efforts), essentially futile, and for none is this more true than the mystery of the Holy Trinity. This is the most mesmerizing and confounding of all the mysteries. As Tim Staples says, “Are we claiming that there are three Gods or are we teaching a logical contradiction such as saying 3 = 1, and 1=3?” As he seeks to answer this question, Staples says: The council of Florence (AD 1338-1445) taught that there is one nature in God, and that there are two processions, three persons, and four relations that constitute the Blessed Trinity. The Son “proceeds” from the Father, and the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son.” These are the two processions in God. And these are foundational to the four relations that constitute the three persons in God. These are those four eternal relations in God: The Father actively and eternally generates the Son, constituting the person of God, the Father. The Son is passively generated of the Father, which constitutes the person of the Son. The Father and the Son actively spirate the Holy Spirit in the one relation within the inner life of God that does not constitute a person. It does not do so because the Father and Son are already constituted as persons in relation to each other in the first two relations. This is why CCC 240 teaches, “[The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity] is Son only in relation to his Father. The Holy Spirit is passively spirated of the Father and the Son, constituting the person of the Holy Spirit. I guess now you can understand why it is better to leave the mystery to itself. Rather, it suffices to say, “I believe in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Shifting to a more practical issue: For quite some time, we have been unable to use the automatic door opener designed for those for whom the church doors are too heavy to open or who are using assistive devices that make opening the door especially difficult. But now, thanks to the creative mind and expertise of parishioner Richard Krassowsky who, as our electrical engineer, volunteers hours and hours of his time to both solving and fixing our electrical issues. Richard created for us a remote that allows us to turn on the automatic door-opening system. We are now able to keep it working during office hours and whenever we are celebrating the liturgy or having another function in the church. Thank you, Richard, and your lovely wife Mirian, for devoting your time and expertise to us. Our Vacation Bible School (VBS 2025) adventure “True North - Trusting Jesus in a Wild World,” held from Monday, 9 June to Friday, 13 June, was both exciting and meaningful for all the kids (and teens!) who attended. I was so thrilled to see our children having a great time and learning amazing lessons about trusting Jesus at all times, no matter the circumstances in our lives. I am most grateful to Natasha Mikse for volunteering to lead this year’s VBS experience as well as to John Moster, Gail Sullivan, and Art Hudson for their commitment to bringing to life the entire concept of “True North.” They worked many months to make this year’s VBS a worthwhile experience for our children. Thanks also to Kelli Salceda and Schonda Rodriguez for their guidance and to the many volunteers who attended to the multitude of activities and needs of the program, including the kitchen ministry team led by Denise Uram for ensuring our children were well fed. Finally, thank you to all who donated so many items for this year’s VBS. This weekend, we take time to celebrate our fathers, foster fathers, adopted fathers, grandfathers, spiritual fathers, and all who have been fathers to us. Father’s Day offers us a magnificent occasion to thank God for the irreplaceable role our fathers play in the life of the family, the domestic church. They are the ones called to imitate St. Joseph, guardian of the Holy Family and model of fatherly virtues, in their fidelity to the tasks entrusted to them. Like St. Joseph, they are here to protect and safeguard the family. Through his example and prayers, may fathers be strengthened to live their vocation with faith, love, and steadfast commitment, embracing their sacred role in forming their children and safeguarding the dignity of life. Thanks to those who have bought their tickets for REBOOT!, hosted by Chris Stefanick on Wednesday, 1 October 2025. Soon, we will be opening our ticket sales to other parishes. I wish more of our parishioners would avail themselves of this opportunity, as Chris is undeniably one of the most gifted, powerful, and passionate Catholic speakers of the day. This REBOOT! event is guaranteed to change lives by reenergizing and renewing our faith life. You can still purchase your tickets at our parish. As of now, we only have 25 more that will be offered at the discounted price of $30. With Love, Fr. John
Dear friends, We were blessed to celebrate a Confirmation Mass on Saturday, 7 June, during which 39 of our teens and seven adults were confirmed by Bishop John Noonan. Congratulations to all who received the gifts of the Holy Spirit at their confirmation. It couldn’t have come at a more perfect time in the liturgical year, the weekend of Pentecost. I would like to thank the parents for their commitment toward ensuring the ongoing gift of faith formation to their children, especially their teenagers. I am most grateful to Schonda and Ronnie Rodriguez and their team of volunteers for their tremendous efforts in passing on the faith to these youth. In addition, I thank the kitchen ministry and, most especially, the team of parents who were engaged in cooking meals for our children on Sundays through the Carlos Acutis Teen Nourishment ministry led by Kelly Rosas. The celebration of the Solemnity of Pentecost reminds us of that day on which the Holy Spirit most powerfully demonstrated his presence by the pouring forth of his gifts to over 3000 people gathered together. Pentecost changed their lives! It was the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise when he said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” (Acts 1: 1-11). This is the event we continue to commemorate as the birthday of the Church. Ever since that day, the Holy Spirit has been active in leading the Church and in continuing to bring people to the fountain of baptism. Even today, God is active through the power of the Holy Spirit in setting the hearts of many of the faithful on fire with His love, strength, and grace. Through the daily occurrence of Pentecost that we experience in the celebration of the sacraments, God continues to enable us to be powerful instruments of His transforming grace … if only we allow Him. One of the easier ways to be open to receiving the presence of the Holy Spirit is to pray, “Come, Holy Spirit.” Or, you can use the following prayer: “Lord, send forth Your Spirit in my life and set me on fire with the Gifts of Your Spirit. Holy Spirit, I invite You to take possession of my soul. Come Holy Spirit, come and transform my life. Holy Spirit, I trust in You.” Pentecost also signals the end of the Easter season. As a sign that the Easter season has come to an end, we will carry the Easter candle in procession at the end of the Pentecost Mass from the sanctuary to the baptismal Font where it will remain for the rest of the liturgical year. Beginning on the Monday following Pentecost, we will resume Ordinary Time with the tenth week, and it will continue until we begin the First Sunday of Advent on 29 November 2025. We will move from singing Regina Caeli to praying the Angelus during this time. White vestments will give way to green vestments, with the exception of feast days. Also, on the Monday following Pentecost, the Church celebrates the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, a decree issued by Pope Francis in 2018. To honor our Mother, we will have a special Mass at 7 p.m. on Monday, 9 June at the Grotto. I encourage those who have yet to purchase tickets for Chris Stefanick’s visit on Wednesday, 1 October to do so soon. He is a gifted, powerful speaker and a passionate, faithful disciple of the Lord whose presentation REBOOT! can change lives by reenergizing and renewing our faith life. Chris is also a commentator, internationally acclaimed author, producer of films and documentaries, and a committed husband and caring father. To learn more about Chris and hear the good news he shared at the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress, scan the provided QR code or click the following link: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=LccklgQU8SA. Remember, the first 300 tickets purchased are being offered at a discounted price. May your coming week be glorious! With Love, Fr. John