Pastor’s Letter: March 30, 2025

Pastor’s Letter: March 30, 2025

28 Mar 2025 | Posted by: chadmin

Dear St. Philomena Parish Family,

Joyful blessings to you this Laetare weekend!  As you may recall from a previous reflection on the vestment colors, this 4^th Sunday of Lent is a unique one where the priest can wear rose-colored vestments. Rose is a liturgical color that symbolizes joy…highlighting for us the joy of Christ’s love in the midst of our Lenten journey. From an Oregon Catholic Press article by Ken Canedo, “’Laetare’ is Latin for ‘rejoice,’ the traditional designation for the Fourth Sunday of Lent.” The name actually comes from the first word of the entrance antiphon for the Mass, “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast.” This antiphon invites us to celebrate in the goodness of God as we recognize the journey to Easter is past halfway this week. As Canedo continues, “We rejoice because of God’s abundant mercy. The temptation to sin can be overwhelming and impossible as it nudges us away from God. But once we ‘come to our senses’ and seek forgiveness, the Lord is ready to embrace us and welcome us home. God calls us to reconciliation. Let us rejoice, indeed!”

For me, to think about rejoicing is to think about what is good, inspiring, and beautiful—all the ways that the goodness of God is noticeable in a moment. To recognize God’s goodness is to be confident in God’s love and presence with us. A Scripture passage that has caught my attention more and more over the past few years is:  “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope” (1 Peter 3:15). This passage is one that challenges me in a good way to be reflecting on the good things the Lord blesses us with each day. I have a priest friend who is excellent at asking questions, and has helped me through the years to name those blessings. Often when we get together for a meal, he will ask a question like, “What is the most joyful thing that happened on Tuesday?” or “What was your favorite moment from one of the Masses last weekend?” He truly has a gift for good, deep conversations…and no doubt, those questions help me to always be ready to share why I am hopeful…or in the case of this weekend, why I am joyful.

In a recent conversation, my friend asked about how Lent was going, and where I could recognize God as work through it. As I was sharing some great moments, I realized just how full of blessing this Lenten season has been. To be honest, I usually don’t enjoy Lent that much and could easily say it is my least favorite of the liturgical seasons. It is a long one…and often overlaps with the last part of winter…there are things we pull back on like not using the Gloria or Alleluia. Throw in the realization of where repentance is needed…No doubt, for me, Lent can sometimes drag on a bit as I have my sights set on Easter. This year, I’m happy to say, has been different. The abundant blessings have certainly outshined the typical Lenten restrains. How about for you? Have there been moments where you have seen God at work? Have there been times when God’s goodness has been obvious to you? If you are willing, I’d like to invite you to some prayer and reflection for this “Rejoice” Sunday…What was an unexpected joy this past week? How did God’s love and mercy show forth? Who were the people or what were the moments that reminded you of God’s love?

I certainly know that Lent can be challenging…and if it has been a hard one for anyone I certainly understand that. Yet, more and more, I also am convinced that we can find the beautiful in the midst of the hard. The cross is a great example of this—no doubt the cross is great suffering. However, the cross is also a great triumph of love…and for each of us a reason for our hope. If anyone needs help seeing a reason for hope and joy, here are a few that stood out to me this week:

• Connected with five couples who are preparing for marriage in Christ
• Added three new baptisms to the calendar
• Reflected with our OCIA class about the last stages of their journey to the Easter Sacraments
• Talked with three people who are already thinking about joining next year’s OCIA class
• Visited with some of our Pre-K 3-year-olds who stopped by in the church as I was working on a few things at the altar—we reviewed genuflecting and saying good morning to Jesus. Their faith is so pure and sincere—it certainly warms the heart to know how our young people are growing!

I am joyful to say I could list many more! If you are noticing blessings, I invite you this week to enjoy them. If it has been a tough Lent and harder to see blessings, know that I am praying for you, especially that there will be a good one to see this week. Sending you all my blessing from the altar!

In Christ

Father Luke