Have Faith in the Glory of God

03-17-2024Weekly Reflection© LPi Fr. John Muir

A middle-aged woman sat on the couch in my parish office and recounted to me a shocking list of terrible calamities in her life: addictions, terminal illnesses, financial loss, broken relationships, and so on. She smiled as she did so. “Please forgive me,” I asked, “but you seem to be smiling as you share this.” She said, “Father John, I am totally overwhelmed. But I’m smiling because I just can’t wait to see what good things God does with this mess.” She expected God would manifest His glory when she most needed it.

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"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world."

03-10-2024Weekly Reflection© LPi Fr. John Muir

Our national pastime isn’t baseball. It’s what the Bible calls “condemning the world.” We generally enjoy pronouncing curses upon those whom we see as trouble, wrong, or evil. Don’t believe me? Listen to almost any podcast, cable news network, or social media platform to hear it. It will be some version of: “We all agree that if they are eradicated, things will be great.” Condemning is almost always clothed in virtue. It basks in its good intentions. That’s why it is so attractive. Condemning seems like our best path to saving what is good.

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I am the Lord your God … You shall not have other gods beside me.

03-03-2024Weekly Reflection© LPi Fr. John Muir

One of the greatest golfers of all time — if not the greatest — was Jack Nicklaus. Which is why it is baffling that at the beginning of each season he would return to his childhood coach and re-learn how to grip the golf club. It’s like Shakespeare re-learning the alphabet and grammar. Why would he do that? Because Jack knew that the fundamentals are always relevant. Perfecting and obsessing over his grip allowed him to do everything else in the game well. In sports and life, the best ones love the basics.

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Consider serving in the Protect the Flock ministry

03-02-2024From the PastorRev. Emmanuel I. Ihemedu

Dear Parishioners of St. John Paul the Great Parish,

I am excited to share with you an opportunity to serve in a ministry that is close to our hearts – the Protect the Flock ministry. As the first Catholic church security program in Connecticut, Protect the Flock is dedicated to ensuring that all of us can worship in peace, free from the worry of harm. In addition to providing security, our team is also trained to assist in medical emergencies, offering comfort and support until professional help arrives.

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Remain until the Final Blessing

03-01-2024From the PastorRev. Emmanuel I. Ihemedu

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

As we gather together in worship and fellowship, it is important to remember the significance of our time in this sacred space. Our participation in the Mass is not only an act of personal devotion but also a communal expression of our faith and unity as the Body of Christ.

In the spirit of reverence and respect, we are reminded of the importance of remaining in the church until the conclusion of the Mass. Just as we would not leave a funeral before the body has been escorted out, or a wedding before the newlyweds have departed, so too should we honor the presence of Christ in the Eucharist and in the person of the priest by waiting until the priest has processed out of the church.

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Trust in the Lord

02-25-2024Weekly Reflection© LPi Fr. John Muir

As a college student, my prized possession was an after-market car stereo. It was my pride and joy: glorious audio, eye-catching display screen, and multi-disc CD changer. It drained my hard-earned dollars, but it was totally worth it. It drenched me in music everywhere I drove. On Ash Wednesday of my senior year of college, Father Tom, the Jesuit priest at my university said, “Pray for God to tell you what he wants you to sacrifice for Lent.” I did.

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Surrounded by God's Glory

02-18-2024Weekly Reflection© LPi Fr. John Muir

When I feel down, I sometimes watch the famous “Double Rainbow” video on YouTube to feel better.

It’s hilarious. A young man camping in Yosemite Park sees two rainbows stretching across the sky. He bursts into a kind of ecstasy. “Double rainbow, all the way! Oh my God!” he announces. Then he starts to weep. He cries out, “What does it mean?”

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Sin and Loneliness

02-11-2024Weekly Reflection© LPi Colleen Jurkiewicz Dorman

When I was in high school, we read The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. It’s a depressing little novella about a man who (spoiler alert!) turns into a cockroach and dies of neglect, his family gradually ceasing to recognize the creature he has become.

“Never underestimate how badly human beings need touch,” our teacher told us. “Without each other, we curl up and die.”

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Only say the word and I shall be healed.

02-04-2024Weekly Reflection© LPi Fr. John Muir

Maybe I’m weird, but I like spending time in doctor’s offices, confession lines in churches, auto repair shops, prison cells, and support groups of various kinds. It’s refreshing to be with people who humbly admit something is wrong and forthrightly set out on a path toward a solution. When we ignore what is off kilter, we become alone and fragile. In places where people are honest and hopeful about brokenness, sturdy if subtle fellowship usually ensues.

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