Browsing the 2024 archive of Pastor's Column
6-02-24 - The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ - Fr. Leo Schneider
Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 5/22/24
Corpus Christi - Fr. Leo
In our reading from Exodus, Moses sacrifices young bulls to celebrate a blood covenant with the Lord. There is a more primitive understanding of God in the idea of atonement through animal sacrifice. Unfortunately, a thousand years ago this was brought into our concept of ... Read More »
5-26-24Holy Trinity - Fr. Leo Schneider
Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 5/20/24
Trinity Sunday - Fr. Leo
When I thought about peaching this Sunday, I asked myself, How can I make the Holy Trinity more accessible, or helpful to us in our spiritual lives? My first thought, was the community we express in making the sign of the cross and saying, ... Read More »
5-19-24 Pentecost - Fr. Leo Schneider
Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 5/14/24
Pentecost - Fr. Leo
The Holy Spirit is the life giving presence of God given to us in every moment. We have the Church, her teachings, the Gospels conveying the word of God the Father and Son, but it is the Holy Spirit that makes our faith real in the ... Read More »
5-12-24 - Ascension of the Lord - Fr. Leo Schneider
Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 5/07/24
Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord. - Fr. Leo
As the priest prepares the water and wine for consecration he prays, “Through the mingling of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.”
This ... Read More »
5-05-24 -6th Sunday of Easter - Fr. Leo Schneider
Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 4/30/24
6th Sunday of Easter Fr. Leo
There are many accounts of heroic people laying down their lives for others. The military man who covers a grenade to save his brothers. The person who rushes to get a child out of danger and dies doing so. Or the person who stops to help ... Read More »
4-28-24 - 5th Sunday of Easter - Fr. Leo Schneider
Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 4/23/24
5th Sunday of Easter Fr. Leo
In John’s gospel we heard these words: “Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.” Through this image, ... Read More »
4-21-24 - 4th Sunday of Easter - Fr. Leo Schneider
Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 4/16/24
4th Sunday of Easter Fr. Leo
The Lord is our Good Shepherd. We can say that in faith and we can confirm it by looking back over our lives, to see in hindsight where the hand of God has intervened in our lives. Looking at past blessings can build gratitude in ... Read More »
4-14-24 - 3rd Sunday of Easter - Fr. Leo Schneider
Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 4/10/24
3rd Sunday of Easter Fr. Leo
We can only understand Jesus’ mercy if we understand the new world order he ushered into the world through his death-resurrection-Pentecost.
St. Paul summarizes this new world order by contrasting the wisdom of this world with the wisdom of God. The summary of this ... Read More »
4-07-24 - 2nd Sunday of Easter - Fr. Leo Schneider
Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 4/03/24
2nd Sunday of Easter Fr. Leo
The essence of being the Catholic Church is that we are gathered in faith as a community to become “Christ.” The Church offers us the sacraments to help us grow in the Holy Spirit that makes us sharers in the Christ’s divinity. Our first reading ... Read More »
3-31-24 - Easter Sunday - Fr. Leo Schneider
Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 3/21/24
Easter Sunday Fr. Leo
Happy Easter to all! We have great cause for joy today as we remember our deliverance fromdarkness through the light of the resurrection. We learn to live in hope that what ever darkness remains in the world, the Lord will heal. He will protect us and raise us ... Read More »