Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The celebration of Palm Sunday introduces us to the holiest days of the Church’s calendar. Holy Week is an extraordinarily important time, as it is in these days that the Church marks the central mysteries of our faith. If the covering of images last weekend was to highlight the tension between belief and faithlessness, Palm Sunday brings that tension to its highest point. We begin Mass by welcoming our Lord with joyful acclamations of “Hosanna!” but will soon cry out with the same voices, “Crucify him!” Each day of Holy Week gives us an…read more

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Today the Church celebrates the Third Scrutiny for those entering the Church at the Easter Vigil. Having reflected on the Gospel stories of the Samaritan woman at the well and the healing of the man born blind, we now reflect on Jesus raising his friend Lazarus from the dead. The Scrutinies have drawn our attention to the desire of God for a relationship with us, just as Jesus engages the Samaritan woman in conversation and leads her both to conversion and to become an evangelist. They also point us to the ways that God…read more

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday, gives us great reason for hope as we enter more deeply into these penitential days. Hopefully our disciplines and prayer have begun to bear fruit in our lives. Perhaps they have been a bit of a struggle, but even in those challenges we can see the grace of God at work. Today, though our journey in the desert is not yet over, the Church sounds for us a note of hope as we look forward to the day on which Christ accomplishes our salvation. The name “Laetare…read more

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, With the third Sunday of Lent, the Church begins to invite those who are preparing to receive the sacraments of initiation to a deeper reflection and participation in the life of Christ. Today and for the two Sundays that follow, the Scrutinies are celebrated for those catechumens and candidates anticipating reception into the Church at the Easter Vigil. Here at St. Pius, the Scrutinies will be celebrated during the 11 AM Sunday Mass. These unique rites have their origin in some of the ancient practices of the early Church. At a time when persecution…read more