April 2020 archive of From the Pastor
Bread of Life
Posted by Barb Weaver on 4/29/20
Anyone who has grown up in a large family with a tight budget knows of the importance finding ways to make food go a long way. Sometimes one has to get creative doing that, but what is perhaps a common way to make food go a long way? ... Read More »
The Power of Forgiveness
Posted by Barb Weaver on 4/28/20
I mentioned yesterday that St. Stephen was the first martyr. Martyr comes from the Greek, meaning “witness.” The typical sense of this word refers to those put to death because of their faith and adherence to Jesus Christ, and we see this on display in today's first reading ... Read More »
Time to Reorder Priorities?
Posted by Barb Weaver on 4/27/20
Today's first reading from the Acts of the Apostles (6:8-15) features St. Stephen, and we're told at the end of the reading that “All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him [Stephen] and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” I ... Read More »
Fighting Words
Posted by Barb Weaver on 4/25/20
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Mark. St. Mark is one of the four evangelists, writing one of the four gospels. Mark probably worked with St. Peter, and so his gospel is probably filled with Peter's account of Jesus' life. Mark also wrote the shortest of the ... Read More »
God Wastes Nothing
Posted by Barb Weaver on 4/24/20
Yesterday, I lovingly mentioned how dessert was rationed. Today, I'll include the fact that dessert was only possible if we ate all of the food on our plates. I even think we weren't excused from the table unless we ate our meal. While I usually had no problem ... Read More »
Obeying God
Posted by Sara Freed on 4/24/20
Growing up, our family always had plenty of food on table, but with four children in the house and following a budget, certain foods had to be rationed, particularly Oreos or other such cookies. If we ate all of our food, we could have two cookies and no more. ... Read More »
Go And Tell The People About Life
Posted by Sara Freed on 4/22/20
We sometimes lump together the Pharisees and Sadducees, but they were two distinct sects of Judaism. One of the differences between them was that the Sadducees did not believe in the possibility of the resurrection from the dead, and of course, that is why they are sad, you see?
... Read More »
Generosity, Charity and Encouragement
Posted by Sara Freed on 4/21/20
The first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles (4:32-37) displays the generosity and charity of those first Christians, who were of one heart and mind. However, there is a detail we may gloss over if we we're not reading this closely. We're informed of a man named ... Read More »
The Power of Prayer
Posted by Sara Freed on 4/21/20
“As they prayed, the place where they gathered shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” These are the words concluding today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles (4:23-31) after Peter and John are released ... Read More »