Bulletin Article: April 25

Next Sunday, May 2, Family Fun Fest will return from 11am-4pm. This will be an opportunity for well needed fellowship. There will be a variety of Hispanic food and a family friendly environment. All food will be “to go” packaged. This will be scaled back from prior years due to COVID-19 restrictions, but I am still happy to be having this event. Despite being an outdoor event all in attendance will be required to wear a mask covering their mouth and nose at all times unless they are actively drinking or eating. A distance of six feet should be maintained with those of other households at all times.

I thank those who participated in our spring clean up day and to the Knights of Columbus for providing lunch. I also thank those who participated in our parish open forum this past Monday. I will have an outline of our discussion and date for the next forum in the next bulletin.

Please remember that an additional Mass on Monday evening begins tomorrow, April 26, at 6pm and will be offered in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. 

In Christ, 

Fr. Dustin Collins

3rd Sunday After Easter Homily

Our sight is currently being set upon the coming Ascension of Jesus into Heaven: “A little while, and now you shall not see Me: and again a little while, and you shall see Me: because I go the Father.” With this in mind we are to set our sight upon that which is to come, the Kingdom of Heaven. As was pointed out for us by Saint Paul in our Epistle: “I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, to refrain yourselves from carnal desires which war against the soul.”

Truly each of us are pilgrims who find ourselves on a journey towards Heaven. Our Secret reminds us of this: “that checking our earthly longings, we may learn to love heavenly things.” A pilgrimage is something far different from a vacation. I have been on pilgrimages where individuals have been looking for a vacation and thus the group suffers and the individual misses the point of why they attended in the first place. A pilgrimage is a journey where one goes in search of new or expanded meaning concerning a higher good after which they will return to their daily life.

Through the understanding our of life being a pilgrimage towards Heaven we can begin to see that our life takes on purpose. When we are in the midst of everyday life we are still called to live for the Lord instead of the here and now. As Christians we cannot allow ourself to delay when it pertains to the spiritual life. We take on so many pursuits at the spare of a moment, but when it pertains to faith we so often push it off. As pilgrims we must be sent forth with a true spirit of haste.

As pilgrims we can never find true happiness until we reach that ultimate goal which is the Kingdom of Heaven. Despite the time that it may take to reach this goal we should set out in order to obtain it now. There is not time for us to delay because if we truly believe why would we delay?

At the Ascension we know that Christ ascended to His Father who is in Heaven. We too, therefore, should look forward to ascending into Heaven after our own bodily resurrection. The Ascension places our attention upon that which is most important for us, Heaven. We so easily elevate our sight to that which detracts from this reality, but we should instead raise our sight towards that which is to come.

If we are to live for that which is to come let us begin to live for Heaven now. Each of us are pilgrims on a journey. This is something that we must be convinced of and be willing to respond to. There are so many who know not where they are headed in this life, including those who go to church week in and week out. We cannot be this way for we must know where it is that we are currently headed. Let each of us strive for the Kingdom of Heaven above all things.

Bulletin Article: April 18

Our next Parish Open Forum will be April 19th at 6:30pm via Zoom. I will present on plans for our parish celebration on September 12th and the events which will lead up to it, current progress with HOME Campaign funds and long term planning, and other topics which may be brought up at this meeting.

Starting Monday, April 26, at 6pm I will begin to offer a Low Mass (Latin) each week on Monday unless otherwise listed inside of the bulletin. There will not be music nor a homily at this Mass. 

In Christ,

Fr. Dustin Collins

2nd Sunday After Easter Homily

Today is the 2nd Sunday After Easter, but is also known to us as Good Shepherd Sunday. We know Christ to be the Good Shepherd who desires to protect the flock and bring them to everlasting life. When it pertains to the flock, Jesus is most important for He is our sustenance and without Him we are nothing.

Sadly, we live in the midst of a world which sees no value in religion. At this point in history this is the first time in America that people belonging to a religious community are no longer in the majority. Some of those who proclaim to be Christian and even Catholic have been swept away by a spirit of relativism. It is relativism which leads us to reject truth and therefore we reject the ultimate truth which is God. The world is in search of something to fulfill it, but that can only be encountered through Christ who is our Good Shepherd.

This Sunday we had the opportunity to witness the reception of the sacrament of confirmation. To receive this most wondrous of sacraments is to be sealed with the Holy Spirit. There are many who are unable to properly articulate why this sacrament is important. This sacrament is not the moment when one becomes Catholic for that was accomplished at one’s baptism. Rather, this is a sacrament of initiation which brings to fulfillment that which was begun at baptism. To be confirmed is to receive grace, grace which sends us out into the world to live a life of faith and to draw others towards Christ.

Therefore, this sacrament, sets our attention upon Christ. The world with all its temptations and trails takes us down many paths. We cannot continue to twist and turn to the point that we get lost along the way. Instead we must stand firm with Christ and desire to know and serve Him above all else. Baptism is not the end, but the beginning. So too with the sacrament of confirmation because it does not signal the end of one’s journey with God.

Christ is our Good Shepherd. We need to know Him by name. Think of the many priorities that you have built up in your life. Relationships, work, the pursuit of money, and pleasure. Have you truly made room for Christ or have you instead allowed other pursuits to reign supreme over Him? Again Christ is our Good Shepherd and He desires that you know Him in thought, word, and deed.

On this Good Shepherd Sunday may we come to do precisely this. Let us be sent forth from here to love the Lord our God. Let us come to know Him in the Eucharist for He is truly present with us there. Let us come to know Him in the sacrament of confession for there we come to encounter He who is merciful and just. Truly let us come to know and follow Christ the Good Shepherd.

3rd Sunday of Easter Year B Homily

Jesus was made known to the apostles through the breaking of bread. The apostles came to know the celebration of the Holy Eucharist as the breaking of bread for at the Last Supper Christ “took bread and, after He had given thanks, broke it and said: This is my Body!”

We have the opportunity to behold this same Lord which the apostles were able to behold with their eyes. Through the Holy Mass we too participate in this breaking of bread in this current age. It is at Calvary that all of time stands still and when we enter into the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we enter into the mysteries of our Lord’s sacrifice which have redeemed us. The Mass is not a symbol of Calvary, but is to participate in Calvary itself.

From the Gospel of Saint John we know concerning the body of our Blessed Lord, “So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead , they did not break his legs.” The Prophet Isaiah testifies to this healing reality, “But he was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity. He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed.”

I point this out because we are broken by the reality of sin, but through our Lord’s life giving act upon the cross we are healed. As Saint Paul puts it in his 1st Letter to the Corinthians, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?”

As Saint Ignatius thought concerning the Eucharist, “I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which the flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for drink I desire his blood, which is love incorruptible.”

Throughout the Easter season the hearts of the apostles would continue to grow in their love and understanding of Christ. Through the Breaking of Bread they came to know Him more intimately as He prevailed Himself to them in His Flesh and in His Blood. The thought of such an action should humble us in the Lord’s presence for this is what happens for us each and every time that we attend the Mass. We come to behold Him in the Breaking of Bread.

As Pope Francis has stated, “The Eucharist in the summit of God’s saving action: the Lord Jesus, by becoming bread broken for us, pours upon us all of His mercy and His love, so to renew our hearts, our lives, and our way of relating with Him and with the brethren.”

Therefore, may this Easter season remain fruitful for each of us. Let us develop devotion to the Eucharist and proper understanding of the importance of the Mass where Christ becomes manifest with us in the Breaking of Bread. We have grown burdened over the passing of time, but Christ awaits to console us. Through the Breaking of Bread may we come to know and love the Lord our God who pours Himself out for us upon the cross. Let us be sent forth into the world filled with His grace and and joy to proclaim the Good News that the Lord has risen and how we have come to know Him in the Breaking of Bread.

Bulletin Article: April 11

April 17th is a stewardship opportunity because it is our Spring Cleanup Day. The day will begin following the 8:30am Mass and will end at 1pm. Please come and go as you are able.

Bishop Stika has set September 12th aside to be a weekend for parish’s to have celebrations. To lead up to the weekend we will have a series of rosaries at 6pm on the 13th of every month from May-October. These six dates were chosen for they mark the days in which Mary appeared to the children at Fatima. These rosaries will be specifically offered for all those touched by COVID-19 and in intercession for our parish as we come to celebrate on September 12th.

Our next Parish Open Forum will be April 19th at 6:30pm. More information for this meeting will be in next week’s bulletin. 

In Christ, 

Fr. Dustin Collins

Bulletin Article: April 4

Christ is risen! He has risen indeed!

Let us not forget that Easter Sunday is not the end, but only the beginning of this wonderful season. This season will come to its’ end on May 23rd when we celebrate Pentecost. 

Next Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday. We will have a Divine Mercy prayer service this day at 3:30pm. I will be away from this parish this weekend and thus there will be no confessions prior to Sunday obligation Masses. These confessions will resume the weekend of April 17/18.

Please remember that our next Parish Open Forum will be April 19th at 6:30pm. Also, please save the date of September 12th on your calendar. This day has been given to us by Bishop Stika to hold a parish celebration after all that we have been through this past year. More details about September 12th and the events leading up to it will soon be coming out. 

Happy Easter,

Fr. Dustin Collins

Easter Homily

CHRIST IS RISEN! HE HAS RISEN INDEED!

Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, but she discovered that the stone was removed from the tomb. She expected to find a dead body, but what she instead found was the hope of life everlasting. The very fact that through the burial cloths and the cloth that covered His head being cast to the side signaled the great reality that the Lord had risen from the dead. As the apostles heard of this news they came to the tomb and there they “saw and believed.”

The past year has been very difficult for many. This time last year we were not having the public celebration of Masses. For some of you this Easter Mass may be your first Mass back in over a year, we welcome each of you back to our parish! With all of this isolation and other unknowns we have maybe despaired what the future will hold for us. Nevertheless, we continue to gather here on this day and realize with the confidence of faith that the stone was removed from the tomb.

Easter is about allowing the Lord to remove the stones which we have put up in our life. The ways in which we have turned away from Him through sin. The ways in which we have become too busy for the life giving reality of the Gospel. The ways in which Christ and the hope that He brings into our life has been doubted.

Christ does not leave us in a perpetual period of darkness for the light of the Resurrection always springs forth. We must allow the Lord to remove the stones which are present within our life. We must come to develop and foster true faith in Him and His saving Gospel. We must maintain the virtue of hope because no matter the struggle or difficulty we are a beloved child of God. There is always the hope of conversion and the of the Lord’s mercy if we so desire to receive it.

What is the stone that remains present in your life that causes you to be unable to allow the Lord into your life? What needs to be taken away in order that you may come to more perfectly rejoice with Him on this Easter Day? Why are you so afraid to let go and to trust in the Lord? We do not have to remain sealed in the tomb, but through Christ our Lord we are able to be liberated from all that holds us a slave if we so desire.

Each and every time that we gather for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on a Sunday we participate in the reality of the Lord’s Resurrection. No matter the difficulties that we encounter in the course of the week we should always be consoled by this reality. Let us flock towards the Lord and the hope of His Resurrection and make Christ and the Mass a priority within our life for from this reality the stone always comes to be removed.

May each of you have a blessed Easter and allow the Lord to remove the stone which is present within your life.

Easter Vigil Homily

CHRIST IS RISEN! HE HAS RISEN INDEED!

This is the most holy of nights for on this night we proclaim the great reality that Christ has triumphed over sin and death. We rejoice for the tomb is not the end, but instead as was revealed to Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome that the Lord has risen. It is for this reason that we dare to cry out Alleluia, for all is well with the world now that Christ has risen and thus a great hope shines forth for us for all eternity.

On this night we also rejoice with those who enter into the life giving waters of baptism and who will be received into the Church. May we continue to pray for them and through these life giving acts which we witness and the profession of faith which we will soon make may our love for Christ increase and may our commitment to Him do the same.

It is hard to fathom that only a year ago our Church was closed and nobody was in attendance for these most sacred of liturgies. At that time it seemed as if we were thrust into a perpetual period of darkness. Nevertheless, Christ continues to triumph over every pain and hardship that may come our way. He looks upon us and desires that we be moved towards His heart of infinite mercy. Through the Resurrection our sadness and pain is quickly turned into a period of hope and rejoicing.

As we celebrate this most sacred of nights we must come to trust in the Lord. Let us remain attentive to Him and allow Him to illuminate the darkness of our soul. Let Him bring us to the light of His salvation and from this sanctifying light we come to be transformed into people of true faith. Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome encountered this great hope which sent them forth into the world to be witnesses of this truth. Likewise, may we join with them in coming to encounter Christ and spreading the Good News of the Gospel to the world.

Good Friday Homily

Today we commemorate the Lord’s Passion. It was on this day that Christ poured forth His Most Precious Blood from the cross in order that we may be redeemed. If we go back to Egypt, at the time of the Passover, we would hear commanded by Moses: “Sacrifice a lamb without blemish and sprinkle its blood on your doors.” This blood foreshadows the blood that Christ spilled upon the cross. It was for this reason that the angel of death would pass over the home of the faithful marked with this blood.

So too we have been marked by the pouring forth of this  blood. Christ has claimed each of us as His own through His sacrificial offering upon the cross. We have been redeemed through His Most Precious Blood. Our sins came to be paid for through His own blood. So often images of Christ crucified have been cleaned up, but may we not forget those five wounds: His Hands, His Feet, and His side. From each of these five wounds poured forth this blood.

Very soon we will have the opportunity to silently venerate the cross. In doing so let us remember each of these wounds and the blood which poured forth from them. Let grow in our love and appreciation for all that Christ has done for us. From these wounds may we desire to turn away from sin and be moved towards His infinite mercy. We now come to anticipate the hope of His Resurrection, but in doing so may we always come to adore the cross and all that has been worked for us upon it.

In the words of Saint Catherine of Siena: “Precious Blood, ocean of divine mercy: Flow upon us! Precious Blood, most pure offering: Procure us every grace! Precious Blood, hope and refuge of sinners: Atone for us! Precious Blood, delight of holy souls: Draw us! Amen.”

Holy Thursday Homily

Today we celebrate Holy Thursday where we commemorate Christ’s gift to the Church which is the Most Holy Eucharist. We must remember that this sacrificial meal was not just a meal between friends, but instead finds its context in the Passover meal. It was at Passover where the angel of death passed over the homes of the Israelites who had marked their doors with the blood of the sacrificial lamb. To commemorate this day they gather to have the Passover meal.

Therefore, what Christ does is most profound because it brought something which was observed to its fulfillment. For each of us the Eucharist is most important, not only this day, but each and every time that the Holy Mass is offered. It is at the Mass that time stands still as we join with our Blessed Lord at His Sacrifice at Calvary.

We have many priorities in this life, but nothing can be more important then God and thus Christ who is present with us Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Most Holy Eucharist. So often we forget why this gift is so important as we rush out the door and move onto the issues of this world separated from Christ. Wherever we go we must bring the Eucharist with us in the ways in which we act and order our life.

As was seen in today’s Gospel there is a call to service from this sacrament as is seen in the washing of the disciple’s feet. Likewise, each of us is to act accordingly when we behold this most wondrous of Gifts. We cannot rush out the door and forget what we behold, but instead must allow what we behold to bring about change within us.

St. Cyril of Alexandria stated: “The Eucharist heals the maladies of the soul. It strengthens it against temptation.” And the more often you receive Communion lovingly and reverently, the more good Jesus can do in your soul!”