Dear St. Francis Parish Family,

As I was thinking and praying about his Lent; I was struck when I remembered that last year Lent came to an abrupt end.  After the Second Sunday of Lent everything stopped;  we had no public Mass, we had no Stations of the Cross or Benediction, we were not even able to give out Psalms or celebrate the Sacred Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter) with a congregation; even the rites for the RCIA were put on hold.  This year, although things will be different; we will have Lent.  We already celebrated Ash Wednesday, Stations will be, but without walking around the Church with Benediction after; there will be a “Light is on For Your Confession” on March 29, Palms will be given out (at least as of today) we do have a RCIA candidate who will go through the various rites at weekend Mass, and we will, praise God, be able to celebrate the Sacred Triduum.  Although many things are different, the essence of Lent remains the same.

Lent is that time for us to examine ourselves under the light of God’s grace and renew our relationship with God and His people. The traditional Lenten practices are still very helpful.

Prayer:  time to reconnect with God.  Perhaps you and your family could make a conscious effort to pray together before meals, come to the Stations together, attend one week day Mass as a family; to paraphrase Pope Francis:  put down the phone or table, turn off the television and open a Bible.

Fasting:  a great way to remind ourselves that everything we have, are and hope to be are directly or indirectly gifts form our God; to rekindle our spiritual hunger for God and the things of God.

Almsgiving:  reminds us that we are called to be compassionate and generous to those who have less than we, and are in need for the basics of life. It can also help us to understand that the Church is more than our parish or Diocese; we belong the a Universal Church, that is the meaning of the word “Catholic”.

God Bless you; and may we all have a prayerful, spiritually fulfilling Lent so that we can celebrate the glory of Easter with our hearts, minds and souls renewed.

Fr. Dan

I am writing this so that any confusion may be cleared up. As many of you know, as a language teacher I find it very important to use words correctly, and to paraphrase St. Pope John- Paul II: we must call things what they actually are. There is a euphemism that is used in our culture; “reproductive rights”. While that sound perfectly plausible, many of the concepts to which it refers are directly opposed to our Catholic Moral teaching. One of which is abortion. Included in this week’s bulletin as a hand out and posted on our social media platforms you will find the excerpt from the Catechism of the Catholic Church as what the Catholic Church teaches about abortion.

click here for the hand out

As 2020 finally has come to an end, and we begin a New Year, I thought that it might be good to reflect on what was and look forward to what might be. Yes, 2020 was very difficult and we are all happy to see it behind us; but hopefully, we did learn some things from the experience:  the value of time spent with loved ones, to refocus on those things that are truly important, how to appreciate our health and value the gifts God has given to us. As we look forward to 2021, Pope Francis offers to St. Joseph for the new year. We have no recorded words that St. Joseph said, Matthew’s Gospel describes him as a righteous man, one who was obedient to the will of God God the Father entrusted to St. Joseph’s care His most precious gift, His only begotten Son, Jesus and His mother, the Virgin Mary. St. Joseph cared for them, protected them and provided for them. St. Joseph is the patron of the Universal Church and a model for all who quietly strive to know and do the will of God.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
God Bless, Fr. Dan

This year many things are different about how we celebrate Christmas.  Family gatherings are smaller if we can gather at all.  People Still need to greet one another wearing a mask and keeping social distancing.  Even in Church our numbers are limited, sign up for Masses are required, the use of hand sanitizers and practicing social distancing in our pews; even the way we receive the Eucharist is very different. Yet, the message of Christmas does not change:  our God is with us, choosing to become like us in all things but sin.  Born of the Virgin Mary, the Lord Jesus entered human history to save us and set us free from the age old tyranny of sin and death. In the words of John’s Gospel 3: 16 “For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son into the world, not to judge or condemn, but to set it free.”  With great faith, hope and love we proclaim:  Merry Christmas!

12/21/20 Letter

Dear St. Francis Parish family,
Advent is much more than a time of frenetic activity between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is a season all to itself that all too often gets overlooked. The word Advent comes from the Latin noun Adventus, which means approach or arrival. Who is approaching or whose arrival are we awaiting? Christmas, the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, is a commemoration of Jesus’ first coming in time as John tells us: “For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son into the world not to judge or condemn, but to set free” (John 3:16): this event has already taken place in time. Our faith also proclaims that Christ will come again at the end of time to judge the living and the dead (cfr. Matthew 25). Surely we can prepare for this final coming of Christ, but what about the time between the Incarnation and the Final Judgment? Advent is an invitation to stop, quiet down, pray and reflect about the coming of Jesus Christ into our lives, here now: today. So, how can I use this Advent to prepare my life, not for Christmas, but for Christ? Where do I need to make room to let Him enter? These four weeks of Advent are a gift of time to look at our lives and reflect on how well I have welcomed Jesus Christ into my life as the Lord of my life. When I pray: “Come, Lord Jesus”, do I really mean it? Take time this Advent to pray, read scripture, attend the Sacraments ( especially Eucharist and Penance) and truly make time and space for Jesus Christ in your life. Maranatha, Come, Lord Jesus, do not delay.
God Bless, Fr. Dan

This quote is from a speech given by Col. Douglas McArthur McBride, Jr. 13th. ESC Commander, June 30, 2016. When I first saw this quote, I was taken and moved by the simplicity and honesty of it.  As we look forward  to celebrating Veterans Day this November 11, I think that it is important for all of us to remember that freedom is not free and it was bought and is protected for us by the service, sacrifice and lives of all of those who have served and are currently serving in our Armed Forces. Please remember to pray for these heroes of our freedom and when you see a Veteran remember to say: “Thank you for your service.” May God bless them all and may God continue to bless America.

God Bless you,

Fr Dan

Bishop Lucia’s Letter dated 10-21-20

Faithful Citizenship Video

Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship document

Sun Column dated 10-15-20

Assisting the faithful in forming their consciences as they prepare to vote by offering the following  bulletin insert