Category: Pastor’s Column

A weekly column I put in my parish bulletin.

Pastor Column: Mystici Corporis I

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of May 15, 2022]      The next encyclical of Pope Pius XII is Mystici Corporis Christi (“On the Mystical Body of Christ”) written in 1943. By “Mystical Body,” the pope is referring to the Church and this document gives a thorough teaching on what we mean when we say “the Church is the body of Christ.” So, we’ll take it a little at a time and see what it says.      To start with, Pope Pius says he is speaking specifically about the Church Militant, which...Read More

Pastor Column: Summi Pontificatus

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article from the bulletin of May 8, 2022]      In 1939, not long after Pope Pius XII was elected pope, he wrote his first encyclical titled Summi Pontificatus, which translates to “Supreme Pontificate.” This document was meant to set a tone for his pontificate and so he used those words in the title. The subtitle, however, tells us what this particular document is about: On the Unity of Human Society.      Like most encyclicals, this one begins with a rather lengthy introduction summarizing recent events and documents and praising God...Read More

Pastor Column: Pope Pius XII

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article from the bulletin of May 1, 2022]      We’ve wrapped up most of the encyclicals written by Pope Pius XI, so now we move on to Pope Pius XII. Born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli on March 2 1876, he was raised in a very devout family in Rome. The Pacellis had historic connections to the papacy with a number of ancestors who served in important positions under previous popes.      Once he turned 18, Eugenio Pacelli entered seminary in Rome to begin training for the priesthood. He was...Read More

Pastor Column: Divine Mercy

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. That can be found under "Homilies" on the website]      In the 1930s in Poland, a young nun named Faustina began to receive extraordinary messages from Jesus. He asked her to record them in a book that is today known as The Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska. It covers many things, but perhaps the most famous is the message of divine mercy, the Image of Diving Mercy, and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy that is based upon it.      The message is pretty straightforward: God loves us and He wants us to...Read More

Pastor Column: Fasting, Abstinence, and Annunciation

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the Sunday homily. It is an article for the bulleting of March 20, 2022]      As everyone knows, Catholic aren’t supposed to eat meat on Fridays during Lent.  What a lot of people don’t know, however, are all the other rules and exceptions that go with this. For one, we call this requirement abstinence. Most people associate that word with refraining from sexual activity, but it can mean to refrain from any particular thing. In this case, we’re talking about abstaining from meat. Now, I’ll jump to one exciting rule that a lot of people don’t...Read More

Pastor Column: Spring Ember Days

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the homily. That can be found here.]      You may remember that I’ve often invited you to join me in observing the Ember Days. The Ember Days are a traditional time of prayer and fasting connected to each season of the year. The idea is to sanctify – to make holy – each  season. While not as popular now, the practice of fasting has always been a central part of the Christian call to holiness. It purifies our attachment to food, reminds us of the fact that many go without, and gives us a chance to...Read More

Pastor Column: Mass Times Change

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the homily, that can be found under homilies on this website.]From the bulletin of Feb 27th, 2022      As I announced last week during the Homily, our Sunday Mass schedule will change to 9am starting the Second Sunday of Easter (April 24). The reason is straightforward: we don’t need two Masses to accommodate the number of people who attend on Weekends. We average just under 300 people on a weekend (100/Mass) though we could fit 600. It’s worth reflecting on how necessary the Saturday 4pm really is (don’t worry, I’m not cancelling it, just provoking thought)....Read More

Pastor Column: Singing at Mass

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the weekly homily. This is an article from the bulletin of February 6, 2022.]      If all has gone according to plan, I will have preached about singing at Mass this weekend. To support that points I made, I am listing here some of the teachings and guidelines of the Church that I’m referring to when saying “The Church says we should sing at Mass.” Besides the fact that Christians have sung at Mass since ancient times (even Jesus and the Apostles sang at the Last Supper), there are more recent documents from the Church that...Read More

Pastor Column: New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the weekly homily. This is an article from the bulletin of December 26, 2021.]      Every year, most people begin the new year with a set of resolutions. I think this is an excellent practice and just wanted to take the opportunity to make some recommendations.      First, invite God into making your resolutions. He has a plan for our salvation and holiness. Sometimes, what He wants us to improve is not the first thing we want to improve. But if we try to act without his help, we are likely going to fail. Even if...Read More

Pastor Column: When Jesus Was Born

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the weekly homily.] This is an article from the bulletin of December 19, 2021.      Every year around this time, you’ll find dozens of articles and blog posts talking about the “real date” of Christmas. There are a variety of approaches to this, but almost all of them have in common the claim that December 25 is not the real day of Christmas. To be fair, the exact date of Christmas is not some all-important dogma. It should not shake our faith if it turns out Jesus was born in the middle of June or whenever...Read More