April 2, 2025

Dear Parishioners,

During the season of Lent, we intensify our efforts to set aside time for God. We are invited to grow in knowledge of God, who is an infinite and inexhaustible mystery in our lives. As our relationship with God grows, so, too, does our understanding of who God is. We know what common attributes we think of when we think of God: almighty, all-knowing, loving, merciful. Even in moments of darkness, in situations that seem beyond help, God can and does bring renewal.  

The Old Testament recounts many of God’s incredible acts for his people. He has used his power to defeat their enemies and lead them to safety. But the Lord says to not dwell on past events, but rather to look ahead; for God is alive and still creating in the world around us. We simply must be attentive to it.

Jesus Christ is the ultimate and perfect example of God doing something new. Through him and the new covenant he established, the land and people of God are restored and redeemed. An example of this is when the scribes and the Pharisees, in a feeble attempt to test Jesus, bring to him a woman caught in the act of adultery. They remind Jesus what the Mosaic law would have them do and ask what he would recommend. 

Jesus, calmly writing on the ground, tells them that those who have never sinned should throw the first stone at her. They all leave, knowing the truth of their own sin. In this encounter, Jesus does not change the law but shows its inadequacy. He sends the woman on to sin no more, forgiving her. Jesus shows something new by showing the true impact of God’s embodied mercy in concert with our repentance.

We have been in the season of Lent for several weeks. In our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, let us open our hearts to something new that God might be revealing to us. It could be finding new life after participating in the sacrament of reconciliation. It could be gaining a new understanding of the world through an act of service. It could be discovering a new sense of peace in our hearts after time in prayer. It could be deepening our sense of gratitude for God’s presence in our lives after a time of fasting. There are abundant ways in which we can find newness in the world around us. 

May the grace we receive from Jesus in the Holy Eucharist help us to open our hearts to the new ways God is revealed to us each day.

God Love Ya!
Fr. Reilly