March 8, 2026

March 3, 2026

Dear Friends,

 

Reflecting upon, and examining our lives, we are now into our third week of Lent addressing where a change of heart is being invited of us.

 

Two Sundays ago, we encountered the devil tempting Jesus in the desert. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert. The Spirit of God remained with Jesus for these forty days.

The devil tempts Jesus, but the Lord will let anything come between him and his father.

 

Last Sunday we had the passage close to our hearts of the Transfiguration of Jesus. This “mountain top” vision was a powerful prayer experience for Peter, James, and John. These invited men coming to this moment have now seen Jesus for who He really is! It makes me recall what “mountain top” experiences have I seen? How has my vision been able to see the Lord for who he really is and bring it to the depths of my existence?

 

This Sunday, our first reading from the Old Testament has the Israelites in their desert complaining because they do not have water to drink. Grumbling to Moses they question, where is God in all this?

Moses calls out to God and God provides. He instructs Moses to go strike the rock and water will be provided. Indeed, it comes forth, God is ever present to the people. Their hearts will change for the time being.

And on this very weekend we meet the Samaritan woman at the well. There Jesus sits and waits for this individual. Jesus speaks to her with kindness and patience. She listens to him, asks questions, and responds to his invitation to drink the water he’ll provide that will never make her thirsty again. She was ready to move from material needs to spiritual (Change of Heart).

 

The third week of Lent is before us. How have you been doing with temptations, prayer on mountaintops and knowing God is present to you providing what is lasting, Have you been seeing changes in your heart for the good? Are you feeling and recognizing a deeper invitation to be closer to Jesus?

Moses struck a rock and water came forth. How is God striking our hearts this lent. What is coming forth from ourselves? Is there life giving water that satisfies our spiritual thirsts? Is there still any hardness of our hearts attached to material temptations that we really need to address and be honest about with God?

 

We still have weeks ahead of us before Holy Week. Let us pray together that we will make the most of this time for a blessed Easter.

 

I ask you in your prayer to also remember our sisters and brothers who will become one, holy, catholic, and apostolic among us at the Easter Vigil! They are a beautiful group of people. How blessed we are to have them share faith among us and for us to do the same for them.

 

To a “Change of Heart” and continued blessings,

Father Rob 

 

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Father Rob's Weekly Message

April 14, 2026
Dear Friends, Alleluia, He is Risen! But that doesn’t mean He has left us. Do you recognize Jesus’ presence all around you? He is here, in the beauty of our planet, in the person sitting next to you at church, in the people we help through our outreach ministries. Please enjoy this reflection from Fr. Muir on our Gospel readings this week. I will be away for a few days as I volunteer once again at the Boston Marathon. God Bless, Father Rob When I first read Homer’s Odyssey as a teenager, one scene captured my imagination: Odysseus finally returning home after 20 years, yet no one recognized him. Disguised as a beggar, he speaks with his wife, his son, and even his enemies. He is fully present, yet hidden. Only at the right moment does he reveal himself, and everyone realizes he has been with them all along. I was struck by the mystery that he could be so close to his loved ones, and yet they simply could not identify him. A similar mystery is at the heart of today’s Gospel. Two disciples walk the road to Emmaus with Jesus, but “their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.” (Luke 24:16) He listens, teaches, and eats with them, yet they remain blind until he breaks the bread. Suddenly their eyes are opened — and at that very moment, he vanishes. His disappearance is not absence. Rather, it is revelation. The Risen Lord is now present in a new way, in the breaking of the bread and in the life of His Church. Faith is this shift of vision. Instead of searching for a visible Jesus as if he were absent, we learn to recognize him unveiled in hidden ways — in Scripture proclaimed, in the Eucharist, in the sacraments, in the very life of the Church. And what is true of him is true of us. Just as he disappears into the mission of his Body, we too are meant to be hidden in him. When we live hidden in Christ, we are seen for who we really are. — Father John Muir ©LPi
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 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