Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, If the words of Lord Acton are true, then power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Last week, the Gospel showed us the authority given to Peter, an authority that, in a certain way, is absolute. To Peter is given the authority, the power, to forgive sin and to teach the truth about Jesus. Just a few verses later, however, as we will hear in the Gospel today, Peter oversteps his authority, perhaps even tries to assert an authority he does not possess. Hearing the Lord’s prediction of suffering and death, Peter says no.…read more

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, If not for Sunday taking liturgical precedence, August 27 would be celebrated as the feast of St. Monica. August 28 is the feast of her son, St. Augustine – and also Fr. Eric Silva’s birthday. This mother-son duo is incredibly important in the list of the saints. While St. Augustine is one of the greatest minds in western civilization, an important theologian and philosopher, the inventor of the literary genre “autobiography,” and one of the most prolific Latin writers in history, his eventual conversion to the Catholic faith came about because of the many…read more

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, On Monday August 21, we celebrate the feast of our parish patron saint, Pope St. Pius X. Born Giuseppe Melchior Sarto on June 2, 1835, in Riese (now in Veneto, Italy), he was the son of a postal worker, and the second of ten children. While he was a strong student, his modest origins meant that tuition for the seminary would be an obstacle. Fortunately, his parish priest asked the Cardinal Archbishop of Venice to provide a scholarship for the young man, and young Giuseppe was able to begin seminary studies. He was ordained…read more

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, If you read the Fairfield County Catholic, you may have caught a recent article about youth ministry in the town of Fairfield. For a few years, we have taken a collaborative approach to Catholic youth ministry for the parishes in Fairfield. St. Pius has been the only parish with an active youth group since the pandemic, but we have been fortunate to welcome teens from numerous parishes in town. Hence, we do not speak about a St. Pius youth group, but rather about Fairfield Life Teen Youth Ministry (www.fairfieldlt.com). Our goal is to make…read more

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The mountaintop experience in the spiritual life is one of the greatest spiritual gifts. It is also one of the greatest spiritual challenges. So many retreats and conferences make a powerful impact in a short time, and almost all of them end with a talk focused on a common theme: “What next?” The origin of the Christian mountaintop spiritual high is the Transfiguration of the Lord Jesus. In a few short verses of the Gospel, we hear that Jesus has taken Peter, James, and John up on Mount Tabor, and there the apostles see…read more