From the bulletin for The Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (2026 June 28) June 28, 2026 - 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time Last week I attempted to describe a phenomenon of history by which mankind tends to overcorrect for past excesses and “throw the baby out with the bathwater” in its efforts to progress beyond the perceived failings of its fathers. In the context of the Liturgical Movement in the first half of the 20th Century, one of those “babies” that was in danger of bei

From the bulletin for The Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time (2026 June 21) June 21, 2026 Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time Hegel wasn’t right about everything, or even most things. But he did put his finger on something when he observed that human history is characterized by an oscillation between “theses” and “antitheses”. His faith in inexorable historical progress through a “synthesis” of the two, however, is too-rosey a reading. Just as often, what results is a pendulum swin

From the bulletin for Corpus Christi (2026 June 07) Parish School of Prayer: Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus June is the month of the Sacred Heart. This year, on the eve of the Solemnity, the bishops of our country will consecrate the nation to the Divine Heart of Our Lord, using this prayer: O Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: You know the longings of our hearts, and you desire that we enjoy friendship with you. From your pierced side, you have poured out the wellspri

From the bulletin for Trinity Sunday (2026 May 31) May 31 - Trinity Sunday In the past two weeks, the following ministries and/or activities have concluded for the programming year: OCIA Family Faith Formation Bible Study Preschool Capital Campaign Others surely could be added (Boy Scouts?). In the next couple of weeks, Ignite will extinguish and the choir will wrap up a phenomenal 2025-26 season, as the liturgical cycle essentially breaks until the Assumption with the Solem

From the bulletin for Pentecost (2026 May 24) May 24 - Pentecost Except for a few weeks in September, from summer of 2021 to summer of 2022 St. Mark’s was without any maintenance staff. To paraphrase Michael Scott, “somehow we managed.” A Latino family came on Sunday nights to clean in the church. A facilities management company was contracted to take care of the mega-boiler and large projects. A local lawn service company took care of the mowing and snow plowing. Since I had

From the bulletin for The Ascension of the Lord (2026 May 17) May 17 - Ascension/First Communion This year’s Bible Study has provided the occasion to “resurrect” our parish’s YouTube channel, which was much more active during COVID, when we livestreamed daily Mass, stations of the Cross, etc. Last week, shortly after our new deacon’s first homilies, I was scrolling through old videos on our channel and happened across the livestream for Ascension Sunday 2020… at which your pa

From the bulletin for The Sixth Sunday of Easter (2026 May 10) So, Where to Now for These New PES Deacons? It’s been a bit since we had deacons serving on Sundays at St. Mark’s. A closetful of dalmatics has lain fallow ever since May 29 of 2021, when Fr. Joe and I started wearing chasubles instead (five years already!). But all of a sudden, like the geese now flying back north, and the rabbits reappearing in the rectory yard, our parish has been redeaconized! Hallelujah! One

From the bulletin for The Fifth Sunday of Easter (2026 May 03) 5th Sunday of Easter In the month of April, a strangely conspicuous number of wild turkeys (plump, slow moving ones…) have been wandering about in St. Paul. I’ve seen them all over. I have heard them all over. I don’t know what to make of it. In other ages, they would surely discern in this some prophetic portent. In ours, we point at them and say, “Oh look, turkeys!” That is, until the fifth time we have seen the

From the bulletin for The Fourth Sunday of Easter (2026 April 26) 4/23: Parish School of Prayer: Praying with the Psalm (on the Day of the Lord) The psalm for this 4th Sunday of Easter, “Good Shepherd” Sunday, is perhaps the most well-known: Psalm 23. Its six short verses are fairly easy to commit to memory, and its pastoral imagery and expressions of confidence have made it a favorite among God’s people “for endless days.” But beneath the psalm’s simple surface, there is a r

From the bulletin for The Third Sunday of Easter (2026 April 19) April 19 - Third Sunday of Easter This Sunday, we hear a Gospel that very much proclaims a New Beginning to humanity, as the Risen Christ restores all things, beginning with the hearts of these two disciples. In a deep sense, He is undoing the Fall of Man. Consider the following parallels between the walk to Emmaus and Genesis 3: In Genesis 3, we have two individuals, a man and another (the woman). They have ju

From the bulletin for The Sunday of Divine Mercy (2026 April 12) April 5 - Easter Sunday The parish pastoral year can neatly be divided into quarters. The fall term starts early September and culminates with Christmas. The winter quarter runs from January through Lent and terminates gloriously in the Pascal Triduum. The spring session begins with Easter and runs until the Sacred Heart solemnity mid-June. Then commences the summer “recess.” Although the Life never really come

From the bulletin for The Resurrection of the Lord (2026 April 05) April 5 - Easter Sunday During the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral this past Thursday, we sang an old favorite: Psalm 89. It’s a personal favorite because it was also sung at my priestly ordination (and mentions David). It’s always moving when two thousand voices are singing in unison: “The goodness of the Lord! The goodness of the Lord! Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord!” In context, we are contempla

From the bulletin for Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion (2026 March 29) 3/29 - Parish School of Prayer, Pt 23: Passion Tide The liturgy always seeks to lead us into the mystery of Christ’s work of our redemption, in such a way that this work is accomplished in our lives, through our participation in it. In Him! In truth, these “mysteries” have always been at work in God’s plan of salvation. Though they are fulfilled in the life, passion, death, and resurrection of Our Lord,

From the bulletin for The Fifth Sunday of Lent (2026 March 22) March 22 - 5th Sunday Last week we looked at donuts. Particularly, the marvelous manner by which investing in those “frosted energy wheels” has so helped to incorporate and build up the living stones of our parish. With the capital campaign underway, I should also say a word about the more enduring investments which also cry out for our attention, that we might better receive and gather that growing body of Christ

From the bulletin for The Fourth Sunday of Lent (2026 March 15) March 15 - 4th Lent Last week I shared some encouraging figures regarding some special almsgiving efforts that members of the parish have undertaken. Just as “deep calls on deep” when it comes to more causes for encouragement around the parish. In the summer of 2019, there was a “town hall meeting” at the home of a parish family in the wake of the school closure that spring. Concerned parishioners felt moved to

From the bulletin for The Third Sunday of Lent (2026 March 08) March 8 - 3rd Lent “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Thus spoke Winston Churchill, who lived through a crisis or two. In this case (only?), the Holy Spirit outdoes even the politicians. As the parable of the prodigal son shows, God, in His love, will often permit His children to fall into crises and pig-sties of all sorts in hopes that we will come to our senses, return to Him, and/or rise to the challenge wi

From the bulletin for The Second Sunday of Lent (2026 March 01) Lord’s Day: A Deeper Dive Sacred Scripture is meant to be read more like a poem than the news. Its content needs to be unpacked to be appreciated, otherwise its richness will be lost on us. Take the First Reading this Sunday: God commands Abram and obeys. Pretty straightforward, right? But when you dig in, questions arise. In the previous chapter of Genesis, we learn that Abram’s father Terah had already made de

From the bulletin for The First Sunday of Lent (2026 February 22) Feb 22 - 1st Sunday Lent In the Pledge of Allegiance, we recognize this land as “one nation, under God, indivisible, with justice for all.” We are forced, of course, to acknowledge that is more aspiration than reality: we live in a time when the oneness and indivisibility of the USA are under a severe test. And the degree to which the nation is or ever has been under truly the dominion of the God of Heaven, and

From the bulletin for The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (2026 February 15) Feb 15 - 6th Sunday Remember Lent? Well, it’s back. Your favorite time of year: when the natural world is thawing out and the world invites you to rejoice and frolic, but the Church makes you punish yourself by being sad and finding ways to suffer more than you already do. So you can appreciate Easter all the more! It may feel like that. But in truth, Lent is about learning how to rejoice and take deli

From the bulletin for The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (2026 February 08) Feb 8 - 5th Sunday OT There is a heartening billboard northbound on Highway 52 that encourages the “red and the blue”, the “left and the right” to talk, for a change. Billboards rarely cheer my heart. But this one did. Yet it also raises the doubt: where will such conversations occur? True spaces of public forum are rare in our society. In last week’s column I expressed the wish that St. Mark’s would