Spiritual Freedom
Dear parish family, Some of the best advice I ever received was from my wise, holy spiritual director when I was 25 years old. In one of our conversations he said to me: “Daniel, we have a Messiah, and you are not Him.” Perhaps you have heard the story of Pope John XII, who is supposed to have said at the end of a long day: Lord, I am tired and going to bed. It is Your Church, You take care of it until morning.” Another expression that you may have heard (I do not know from whom this came) “Tell the Lord all of your plans, then sit back quietly and listen to Him laugh.” None of these are meant to suggest that we should not plan and prepare and do the best that we can with the gifts and talents that God has given us; but they do remind us that ultimately God is in charge: God is the Creator, only God can redeem us; only God has total freedom and absolute knowledge. This Spiritual Freedom enables us to be truly free; to not be overly anxious or worried about what will be. God expects us to work with Him in the proclamation of His Kingdom, but it is His Kingdom, not ours. He has given us all that we need: Jesus, our Redeemer; the Holy Spirit to teach, help and sanctify us; the Scripture, the Church and Sacraments and a long history of wise and faithful people who remind us to trust God. Two of my favorite prayers that remind me to trust God are: “The Prayer of Abandonment”: by St. Charles de Foucauld and the ” Take Lord Receive Prayer” by St. Ignatius of Loyola. Of course there is St. Faustina’s brief exhortation “Jesus, I trust in You.” This sense of Spiritual Freedom is truly liberation and removes much of the burden of worry and anxiety. Try these prayers; offer all to God and surrender freely to His Divine will. Try it, you will like it. God Bless, Fr. Dan

Christian Unity

Dear parish family,

This past week, January 18-25, was the week of prayer for Christian unity. Jesus Himself prayed for the unity of His Church: “that all may be one, as you, Father are in me, and I in you; I pray that they may be one is us, that the world may believe that you sent me” (Jn 17:21). This unity, although not yet fully achieved, is still the prayer of Jesus and His Church. In the Documents of Vatican II, “The Decree on Ecumenism” the Church reiterates the hope and work necessary for Christian unity. This is based in Scripture and calls for no judgments and open honest dialogue, and cooperation in carrying out the Christian ministry for the common good of humanity and calls for common prayer (where permitted). As Christians, we share one Baptism by water and the invocation of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In Marcellus, we have an Ecumenical committee, made up of members from the four Churches in our community: the United Methodist Church, The Presbyterian Church, St. John’s Episcopal Church and St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church. In addition to our joint prayer activities: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, we have a Thanksgiving Celebration and work together on social issues such as the Ecumenical Food bank. The pastors of the Methodist, Presbyterian, and Catholic Churches meet regularly to assist one another in our ministries and promote open dialogue and Christian action. We, the pastors, are preparing a joint statement of the necessity of peace to promote the inherent dignity of human life. We continue to echo the Lord’s prayer that we may all be one and work together to achieve His goal. Please consider supporting the Ecumenical actives of the Marcellus community
God Bless, Fr. Dan

New Year’s Resolutions

Dear Parish Family,
Do you want to be a Saint?
It has been less than one week and people are taking time to consider their New Year’s resolutions. Perhaps they are to be more healthy, lose weight, exercise more, get one’s financial house in order, work on relationships; whatever they may be. I would like to suggest that we all consider a New Year’s resolution to re-kindle, intensify or even begin a spiritual relationship with God and the Church. Consider setting aside a specific time each day for prayer, praying at the beginning of your day and/or at the end, praying the Rosary daily, using one of the many resources available of FORMED, saying grace each day as a family before meals, celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation (going to confession) on a regular basis (if you can’t remember that last time you went to confession it might be to long). Going to Mass on a regular basis, not just on Sunday but why not try one more day during the week. As our relationship with God strengthens, then we will see more opportunities to put our faith into practice, opportunities to share our faith, opportunities to help others. God wants you to be one, in fact that is why each of us was created; to be holy and live our lives according to the plan of God and the graces He gives us to enter into Eternal Life.
Happy New Year.
God Bless,
Fr. Dan

Dear Parish Family,

Thank you!  On behalf of Deacon John, myself and Honey, I would like to say thank you to all who were so generous with your cards, gifts and well wishes for Christmas; we truly appreciate this.  Also, thank you for being such a wonderful parish family who truly care for one another and love the Lord and the Blessed Mother and are growing in faith, hope and love.  It is an honor and privilege to minister to and with you.   God Bless you and I pray for a holy, happy and blessed New Year.  –Fr. Dan

The Blessing of the “Bambinelli”

Dear Parish Family,

Next weekend, the Third Sunday of Advent, we will bless Baby Jesus figurines at all Masses.  You may bring your own baby Jesus figurines if you would like to have them blessed.  We will also have baby Jesus figurines available to be blessed and distributed.

The blessing of the “Bambinelli” [Baby Jesus figurines] as they are called in Rome, reminds us that the crib is a school of life where we can learn the secret of true joy. This does not consist in having many things but in feeling loved by the Lord, in giving oneself as a gift for others and in loving one another. Let us look at the crib. Our Lady and St Joseph do not seem to be a very fortunate family; their first child was born in the midst of great hardship; yet they are full of deep joy, because they love each other, they help each other and, especially, they are certain that God, who made himself present in the little Jesus, is at work in their story. And the shepherds? What did they have to rejoice about? That Newborn Infant was not to change their condition of poverty and marginalization. But faith helped them recognize the “babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” as a “sign” of the fulfilment of God’s promises for all human beings, “with whom he is pleased” (Lk 2: 12, 14).     -National Catholic Register

God Bless,  Fr. Dan

Divine Mercy Sunday

Holy Hour 3:00pm 4/16/23

In 1931, Jesus appeared to Sr. Faustina in Poland and expressed his desire for a feast celebrating his mercy. The Feast of Mercy was to be on the Sunday after Easter and was to include a public blessing and liturgical veneration of His image with the inscription “Jesus, I trust in You.” This promise of mercy has been affirmed by the Church, which has made Divine Mercy Sunday an occasion for receiving a plenary indulgence, “the remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sin whose guilt has already been forgiven” (CCC, no. 1471). The plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful under the usual conditions (Confession, Eucharist, prayer for the intentions of the pope, and complete detachment from sin, even venial sin). The faithful may either take part in the prayers and devotions held in honor of Divine Mercy in any church or chapel or recite the Our Father and Creed in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, adding a devout prayer to the merciful Lord Jesus. There are many aspects of the Divine Mercy devotion, including the Chaplet, the Divine Mercy image, and the “hour of great mercy” (3:00 p.m.). The popularity of these devotions, focused on the Lord’s infinite mercy, has grown rapidly in recent decades. Regarding the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, St. Faustina wrote that Jesus said to her, “At the hour of their death, I defend as My own glory every soul that will say this chaplet; or when others say it for a dying person” (Divine Mercy in My Soul, no. 811). Source: usccb.org.

A Prayer for Easter

O Risen Jesus,

may I always seek and find you,

think about you, speak to you

and do everything

for your honor and glory.

Be always my hope, my peace,

my refuge and my help

in whom my heart is rooted,

so that I may never

be separated from you.  Amen.

―St. Bonaventure

Dear parish family,
Last Sunday evening I had the privilege of being part of the Master Touch Ecumenical Service. First, I would like to thank the Marcellus United Methodist for being the host and the Marcellus Ecumenical committee for doing the planning and preparation. The event was much more than a concert; although the music was wonderful and the singing spectacular; it was a prayer experience. interspersed with the music were readings from Scripture, secular readings and shared prayer responses focused on Our Lord’s Passion. Afterwards there was a time of shared fellowship with soup and sandwiches. I would highly encourage and strongly recommend that when the Ecumenical committee presents similar events; we would all make an effort to participate; you will be greatly enriched.
The Ecumenical committee and the events they plan and sponsor remind us that, although there are some differences (and some are significant) in the way the different Christian Denominations pray and celebrate the Faith; there is a great deal that we have in common. Most significantly we share a common Baptism. Baptized in water in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we become brothers and sisters in Christ and share in His Mission to spread the Good News of the Gospel; to be a Light to the nations and truly offer care, aid and support to those who are in need; without regard to ethnicity, creed or social condition.
Together, we can help spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a society and world that desperately needs to receive the Good News of Salvation, Hope, Peace, Fraternity and Joy.
God Bless, Fr. Dan

LENT

This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Forty Days of Lent that lead us on our faith journey to the Sacred Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter). Lent is a time set aside by the Church for reflection, repentance and conversion so that each of us and by extension, our parish family, may become more identified with Jesus and cleared witness to His Gospel of Redemption and Salvation. Although Lent is a penitential season, the main focus is not on our sins (though we need to acknowledge our sin and come to God for forgiveness); we focus on God’s compassion, mercy and forgiveness offered to us by the saving victory of Jesus in His Cross and Resurrection over sin and death. We traditionally look at our loves in light of the injunction of Ash Wednesday: “Repent and believe the Good News.” We repent, acknowledge our sin and come to Confession for forgiveness; and we believe the Good News that we are able to be forgiven by God.  The three-fold ancient practices of Lent are Prayer, Fasting and Alms giving.

Prayer is not to change God’s will or mind, but to align our lives and will more with the will of God; to be able to say with Jesus in the agony of the garden:  “Not my will, but Your will be done.”

Fasting:  is not just to give something up, but rather to help us appreciate that yes we are physical being, we are also spiritual beings and to help us re-focus on who we are; not just people of the world, but also, Children of God and Heirs of the Kingdom and to rely on God’s goodness and generosity.  It also helps to appreciate and enter into solidarity with those who are hungry:  physically, and/or spiritually.

Alms giving gives us the chance to imitate God in His great generosity to us and to share His many gifts to us with our brothers and sisters who are in need of the basics necessary to live a dignified life.  -Fr. Dan

Dear Parish Family,

This weekend a number of our children will be celebrating First Penance; not only is this a blessing for our parish, but also a time for each of us to reflect on our own celebration of this great Sacrament of healing.  Confession is one of those Sacraments that seem to have fallen out of favor with many; perhaps we don’t believe that we are in need of forgiveness, or perhaps we think that my ‘sin’ is only between God and me. So why should I go to the priest for absolution?  First, we are all sinners and in need of forgiveness, St. John writes:  “Whoever says that they are not a sinner has made God out to be a liar.” Sin is not just a breaking of a law or a commandment, it is a disruption of righteousness and relationships. When I sin, I choose to diminish (or in the case of mortal sin) cut off my ability to receive and experience God’s grace.  If God’s grace was only given to me for me then I do not need to be reconciled with anyone other than God. However, God’s grace is given not just for the individual, but through the individual for the community and the world.  My sin, my refusal to love, affects my relationship with God, with my authentic self (the person God created me to be), the community of the Church and the world.  I need to be reconciled, not just with God, but with myself, the community and the world. In the Sacrament, God forgives sin, restores relationships and empowers one to live more closely in line with Jesus’ life. Also, in this sacrament we experience both pardon and peace. Take a moment and prayerfully ask yourself: “When was the last time I went to Confession?” If you can’t remember or if it has been over a year then it is time to reacquaint yourself with the celebration of this great gift of healing, reconciliation, restoration and grace.

God Bless, Fr Dan