Even though we say that we believe, there is a part of us that doesn’t. There are many times in our lives when we experience death, whether it be the physical death of someone we love, a failed relationship, the loss of a job, or a broken dream. As we are going through these death experiences, we can easily find ourselves reaching out to God to make it better and fix it! We think that the proper order of life is to maintain the things of this world, especially those things that are essential to our sense of well-being and security. We do not like change. The grieving that comes from our death experiences can keep us stuck and in despair. If we have lost something or someone of great value, the very meaning and essence of life is lost with them. We need gentle companions to lift us from despair and that is precisely who God desires to be in our life as well.

“Do you believe in the Son of Man?” Jesus wants to motivate each one of us to see the truth. After developing a relationship with Jesus, the blind man “sees” as someone very special. The Pharisees, due to the blindness caused by their ignorance, prejudice, and need for self-preservation, still remain blind. Presuppositions, prejudices, assumptions, and our needs can easily blind us to truth. We see what we want or need to see and not what is really there. In addition, our stubbornness continues to convince us that we are right and that our vision is perfect. Only God can complete the picture.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This is a very trying time. It appears the devil is working overtime using Covid-19 to get his foot at the door with a sole purpose to destabilize our social, economic and spiritual way of life. It has made it impossible for us to gather together as a family to worship our God. I truly miss having you in church. Because it is important to not allow this test to intrude into our communion with our Father, I recognize it is important to continue to celebrate our normal liturgies each day and each weekend. Therefore, remember to tune in at www.facebook.com/JohnPaulGreatParish and celebrate with us the daily Mass at 8:30AM in English, and 6:00PM in Spanish from Monday to Saturday and Sunday liturgy at 10:00AM in English and 11:30AM in Spanish. In addition, if you are not be able to celebrate with us at these times for various reasons, you can watch the Mass at your own time and become part of the same service.

When we are visited with trials and hardship, the temptation is to give in to fear. God can seem aloof and so distant. As your pastor, I have a message for you: Do not be afraid. We shall weather this storm together. The psalmist urges us not to fear in the face of evil for God is with us (psalm 23).

In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul reminds us that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). Covid-19 may succeed in destabilizing our way of life, take away our health, weaken our economy, but it cannot take away Jesus from us. It can never take salvation that Jesus won on the cross from us. It does not have the power to prevail over the house of God.

We give the definition of ourselves over to so many things. We allow our society, friends, family, work, social groups, ethnicity, and even institutions define, classify and color how we perceive ourselves. When we listen predominantly to the voices of others, we lose touch with what is happening within our own inner voice. If we listen carefully within, we can easily discover that we are in want and need. We know our incompleteness and also know that loneliness, sadness, and self-images can propel us outward in attempts to fill those gaps. We can become not only victims of our own prejudices but can find ourselves overly self-indulgent in things that can only satisfy for a short time, if at all.

Psychology has taught us a great deal about family dynamics and how we have come to be the person we find ourselves to be. We are comprised of such a mixed bag of blessings and obstacles with their graced moments and sinful ones. Think back on the journey of your life and how the many different and varied choices that you made influenced the direction your life. If you didn't go on that first date with your spouse, who would be beside you today? If you chose to be in one place rather than another, what would have happened to the course your life has taken? We are on such a wonderful, exciting journey. What is most incredible and awesome is that we are not alone! God is with us. He inspires, heals, opens doors, and calls us every moment of our lives. The very life we have is due only to Him.

Life can easily spin us out of control. While there are so many wonderful opportunities before us, we can also get easily distracted and exhausted. There is always something to do, respond to, or check. The clutter of our lives can take us off course, and the best remedy for getting back on track is the experience of the desert. Here we can face our demons square on, resist them, and get back on course. We desperately need the season of Lent. This simple time of year forces us into greater awareness and grounds us in what is good and true.