March 1, 2026

February 24, 2026

Dear Friends,

 

This weekend presents to us, in our Gospel, the Transfiguration. Matthew 17 is particularly poignant as one of our parishes is named after this event. It is also important for all of the faithful to reflect upon as we go forth seeking hopefully a “Change of Heart” this Lenten season.

 

The custom of reading this gospel passage near the beginning of Lent may have come from the ancient tradition which held that the transfiguration of Jesus took place forty days before Good Friday. The response of “It is good for us to be here” carries right to this present moment for you and me. It is good that we gather together to reflect on the word of the Lord and be nourished with the Bread of Life, Jesus Himself.

 

As Saint Augustine said, “may we become what we receive.”

 

How is your Lenten journey going so far? What is happening in the interior of your lives and within your heart?

 

Jesus often referred to individuals with “hardened hearts.” He cited scribes, pharisees, and even His own disciples. Some of these moments occurred when He healed on the Sabbath (Mark 3:5), after walking on the water (Mark 6:52), and His post-resurrection appearances (Mark 6:14)

 

Are we possibly discovering any hardness of hearts in relationship to belonging to Jesus? After all, if we belong to Jesus, we are to love as He loves.  How are we doing with loving as Him? Are there any issues we need to address honestly? Is He telling us something we need to address in the interior, depth of our very self, soul, and heart?

 

Jesus is addressed in the New Testament as the rock, our spiritual foundation. Like in the Old Testament when Moses addressed the grumbling Israelites thirst in the desert, striking the rock as directed by God to satisfy their thirst, so too we read in 1 Corinthians 10:4, that the people ”…drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.”

 

Jesus is the spiritual life and foundation of faith. Jesus as our “rock” is a prominent metaphor for His strength and protection. When we accept Jesus as our secure refuge and foundation, we better understand and address where we need changes of our own hearts.

 

May we take time to in our personal prayer and communal prayer these remaining weeks of lent to prepare well what it means to belong to Jesus. May we drink from the “spiritual rock”, our foundation in Him, and continue journey alongside our brother to Jerusalem.

 

Let us know indeed it is good for us to be here with one another and prepare for the eternal life that lies ahead.

 

With faith and blessings,

Father Rob 

 

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Father Rob's Weekly Message

April 12, 2026

April 7, 2026
Dear Friends, I hope this Octave of Easter has been days of continuing joys of our Risen Lord in your lives! This past Lent/Holy Week and Easter has been one of my best. The many services throughout Lent offered me many things to reflect upon with our theme “Change of Heart.” Holy Week was one gift after another with the Chrism Mass, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and a ever so joyful Easter Vigil! Coming home after the Easter Vigil I was so pumped up by the prayerful experience and seeing the faces of our Elect so radiant. These individuals bring much with them to enrich our parishes. I pray that we will do the same in offering our prayer and support to them not only through the Easter Season, but always. Continue to bring to your prayer Ellen, George, Jack, Katie, Lila, Vance, Quinn, Rosemary, Shauna, Abigael, Haleigh, Josh, David, Michael, Jack, Sarah, and Devon! How blessed we have been to share their happiness in following the Holy Spirit and their desire to be one with us in our church! God bless them and all of you as we sing our Alleluias , Father Rob

April 5, 2025

April 2, 2026
Dear Friends, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!!! What a gift we celebrate in returning to song and uplifted prayer with our Alleluias, commemorating Jesus’ triumph over death and His resurrection. I am so grateful for everyone who was able to join our services this past Holy Week. I am very thankful for all those who helped prepare our services, for our music ministries, liturgical ministers, arts & environment ministries, and everyone who pitched in when a call for assistance was asked. On behalf of the Parish Staff, we wish everyone a blessed, holy, joyful, and prayerful Easter Season! May the experience we shared in a “Change of Heart” over these past six weeks keep us proclaiming Jesus Christ’s Good News! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Father Rob

March 29, 2026

March 24, 2026
Dear Friends, The two Gospels for this Palm Sunday certainly evoke reflections on the “Change of Heart” theme for us. The two Gospels go from shouts of praise and triumph, to calls for crucifixion and death. Gathering around Jesus, folks go from wanting to be in his presence, to desiring his presence be eliminated in their lives. These are individuals who let their hearts know Jesus for who he is, but become individuals persuaded by outside forces to deny Jesus for who he is. These sacred texts are food for thought for us. Might we ask ourselves, have we possibly been fickle about our own relationship with Jesus? Have we had moments of yes, I do know the Lord and believe in him totally, to moments of doubt, despair, and questioning just where is he in my life? Do I welcome his presence? Do I ever walk away from his presence? This Holy Week who do we identify with? Are we shouting praises or calling out to death? Who is in our crowd that we associate with? Is the crowd of this earthly world or of the eternal world? In the coming days we will be with many different people in our scriptures. There will be Pilate, Peter, Mary of Magdala, soldiers, bystanders, Judas, Veronica, Simon of Cyrene, Mary the mother of Jesus, the women at the tomb, and others. Is there someone we may identify with, whether we want to admit it or not? Is there more than one person in whose shoes we may have walked? Change of heart is a reality for all of us. Hopefully, we are working our hearts in the direction of being more like Jesus. Let’s pray for one another this Holy Week that we will be fully ready to say yes, alleluia to our upcoming Easter. We have several opportunities for reflection on our invitation to a “Change of Heart.” Holy Tuesday, the Chrism Mass will take place at Sacred Heart Cathedral at 6 PM. This very evening our newly installed Bishop John Bonnici will bless the sacred oils. These oils are the Sacred Chrism (a perfumed oil, consecrated for confirmation, ordination, and dedication), Oil of Catechumens (used for baptismal candidates), and Oil of the Sick (used for the infirm). Holy Thursday marks the beginning of the Paschal Triduum. It commemorates the Last Supper, where Jesus instituted the Eucharist. Here we hear the commandment to love and serve. The celebration will begin at 7 PM at Saint Catherine’s. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will be in the chapel until 10 PM. Good Friday, we come together again at Saint Catherine’s at 3 PM, commemorating the crucifixion, suffering, and death of Jesus on Calvary. At Transfiguration, Simple Stations of the Cross will take place at 7 PM. Holy Saturday, at 8 PM, we will gather at Transfiguration for the most solemn celebration in the Christian liturgical year, marking the transition from mourning to the joy of Christ’s resurrection. During this most beautiful celebration our Catechumens and Candidates will be welcomed into the church. I hope you will come, support, and welcome them into our faith family. On Easter Sunday, we are blessed to have two masses at each of our churches. They will be at 8:45 AM and 10:45 AM. My dear friends I will be holding you in prayer and hope you can join me in these sacred liturgies. Blessings , Father Rob