May 22, 2022

FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK

My Dear Parishioners:
In today’s gospel Jesus continues to speak reassuring words about love. He knows the unspoken questions in the hearts of His disciples – not only those around the Last Supper table, but all those of future generations. How will we be able to do what we heard Jesus tell us last Sunday: love one another as He loved us? “Whoever loves me will keep my word,” says Jesus. And this word is what He received from the Father who sent Him. Obedience and love are bound together, not by any external law, but by the love that Jesus lived and now speaks to our hearts from the depths of His heart. He is in our hearts, to be loved freely, without compulsion. Jesus is present and loved when His disciples remember His words and release them from the past by allowing them to make a claim on their present and future.

Nostalgia for what life was like when Jesus was present in first century Palestine imprisons us in the past. The new way of remembering Him will be powerful, real, and yet invisible, as present as the life-giving air we breathe. Jesus names this, the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our encourager, our advocate, and our counselor. We can grow in wisdom with the Holy Spirit as our guide and have the peace that we are not alone. What a comfort that is! Let us never forget this wonderful gift of peace and the Holy Spirit from Jesus. He will never abandon us.

Peace,
Fr. Monteleone

ASCENSION
PLEASE NOTE: The NJ Conference of Catholic Bishops has decided to move Ascension Thursday, which fell on May 26th this year, to the weekend of the 7th Sunday of Easter, May 28th and 29th.

It is my humble opinion that we have now lost a Holy Day of Opportunity – that is time to take a break from our daily lives and encounter Christ present in the Eucharist. I believe our faith should never be a faith of convenience, but a faith for us to stop, listen and grow. Growth can sometimes interpret our lives, but growth in Christ is priceless. Again, this is my humble opinion.

Fr. Monteleone

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