Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’

Summer is here and it is time for all kinds of great activities: swimming, visits to parks, camping, trips away, grilling, and tending to flowers and vegetable plants.

Did you ever get in one of those situations where that summer activity gets slightly curtailed because you forgot something? You have the charcoal but forgot the matches. You want to dig out the soil around those plants but can’t find your gardening shovel, oh – and you forgot the sunscreen. In those types of situations we often run across a good samaritan, a neighbor, friend, the person on the towel next to you at the shore, even just a passer-by who notices the situation (and frustration) and offers to help. Take my matches, borrow my shovel, here’s some sunscreen…

St. Paul was addressing the Elders of the Church in Ephesus. He was planning his leaving for Jerusalem and the persecutions that lay ahead (See Acts 20 starting at verse 17). He tells them the things they will face and implores them to be strong. He gives thanks for those who saw to his needs saying Jesus’ words: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’

Faith is somewhat like our summer adventures. We all start from a place of borrowing. We borrow from and imitate our families and community. As we progress in our lives our faith becomes our own, becomes solid, we own it and take responsibility for it. We are ready for action and are living faithfully day-to-day. Occasionally though we need help, we’ve forgotten something or left something behind. We need to borrow from friends, mentors, family, the passer-by. We need help filling in the gaps in our journey toward Jesus. The key here, as Paul told the Elders, is to: be alert. We must not live on a faith that is merely borrowed or imitated, it must be our own. We need to invest the time to grow in it. We continually prepare ourselves and are alert for gaps. Let us be open to receiving help and also be willing to lend help, and be blessed.


July already and the calendar just continues to fill-up. We are so thankful for all who are partaking of, or will partake in, the Church’s and our parish’s summer events. Our newsletter highlights all of these activities. Come in for weekly liturgy this summer still at 10am and Noon on Sundays. Stay for a brief repast, and share in the salvation and fellowship of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We have a report on the Men’s Retreat, are planning for the XXVI Holy Synod of our Church, are welcoming people to a summer church music learning session, and welcome a newly baptized member of the parish. Fr. Jim shares his reading list. We pray for our country and give thanks.

All that and more in our July/August 2022 Newsletter.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

I have been thinking about joy, about that state of life where one is at ease no matter what, where one is confident and secure so we might be positive no matter what. No matter what…

This year’s celebration of Easter was perfectly joyful for me. This was a year where I seemed to connect really well with what the apostles and disciples must have felt when they encountered the risen Lord. In June we transition out of the Easter Season into Pentecost, the Solemnities of the Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi, and at the very end of the month into Ordinary Time carried forward by celebrating Word of God Sunday. Further joy for sure and we revel in the wonderful presence of the Holy Spirit and God’s total giving for us. But…

It has also been a weird time for me. I suppose part of it has been my allergies. For some reason my black car is always yellow by the next morning. The pollen seems the worst it has ever been. This has me feeling tired, run down. Then too, our children are getting older and are transitioning in their lives, moving to the next stage which is a happiness, but at the same time a change which is not always easy emotionally. I suppose the worst thing – I’m turning sixty this year!

Here’s where the Word of God and the action of the Holy Spirit steps in. We have a God of hope – which was confirmed on Easter – where even death no longer holds sway. Hope actually does spring eternal. With hope eternal, the Holy Spirit in us as a people, we can take hold of joy, we can have peace no matter what we face. It comes down to this: Do we place our all in the state of life where one is at ease no matter what, where one is confident and secure so we might be positive no matter what. No matter what… or do we dwell in the But what about… If we dwell in the ‘but if only’ things we face we will never find the truth of joy that is our faith. So be filled with hope and joy and believing which overcomes all things.


Welcome to our June 2022 Newsletter. At the start of the month we are busy celebrating the Church’s birth at Pentecost where we live the Kingdom life. We will then mark the Octave of Pentecost with our reflection on the mystery of the Holy Trinity closely followed by the Solemnity of Corpus Christi (our month long discipleship focus).

This summer ahead is jam packed with activities including this month’s Men’s Retreat, July’s Kurs Camp, Convo, our summer picnic, the annual Golf Tourney at the start of September and so much more.

In June we doubly focus our prayer efforts on vocations – for those in discernment, those in formation, and those called that they may respond generously. We celebrate Father’s Day and the growth in our parish’s ministries including a new Women’s Group and CarePortal.

Read about all this and more in our June 2022 Newsletter.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

We have a God of unconditional love. In John 3:16 quoted above we recall that verse which many of us memorized early in life, or at least we recognize it from sporting events. It may be the greatest verse in the Bible! It tells us about a God who loves us unconditionally. You see, our great God loves us so much, that He was willing to send His only begotten Son to die for us so that our sins be washed away. He gave His all to destroy the barrier that separates us from Him and each other. He loves us so much that He showed us what was to come, that thing we celebrate every Easter, the resurrection of the dead – when we will all appear as Jesus did – in glorified bodies. We also recall that God loves us so much that He did not create any complicated rules, or hoops to jump through, to get to Him. He only asks one thing – faith: To believe in the Lord Jesus by confessing our sins and making Him the Lord of our lives. Then living in His Kingdom community.

We make things complex in this world because it is difficult to grasp the full meaning of what it is to love unconditionally. We place conditions on love. We read in realities in our relationships that are not really present. We need to stop that. The little word ‘so’ in John 3:16 means that God loves us mightily! He loves us with an unconditional love that is not based upon circumstances, wants, or as part of any deal. God’s love is not based upon what we do, what we can do, or what we have done in our life. He only desires that we actively love as He does. Perhaps in a very special and unique way we connect with that aspect of God during the month of May for we reflect on the unconditional way in which Mary offered herself to God’s service and the way our mothers gave of themselves unconditionally for us. God’s mighty unconditional love is what we must both cherish and give; love without reason or excuse. So let us love in God’s way.


Welcome to our May 2022 Newsletter. At the start of the month we are a little less than half-way in our celebration of the Easter Season and our remembrance of the new life we have in the Kingdom, in the resurrected Christ. By the end of the month we will be preparing for the celebration of the Church’s birth at Pentecost where we live the Kingdom life.

The summer ahead is jam packed with activities highlighted herein. There is the Men’s Retreat, the Kurs Camp, Convo, the annual Golf Tourney, and so much more. May itself is filled with the great celebrations of Good Shepherd Sunday, Mother’s Day, May Marian devotions every Wednesday, and the Solemnity of the Ascension on its proper day – the Thursday that is forty days after Easter. We are exceptionally thankful for everyone’s Basket Social support, SwiÄ™conka (Easter) Basket support, and all who worked so hard to make Holy Week and the Triduum deeply prayerful and Easter incredibly celebratory.

All this and more in our May 2022 Newsletter.

[A Sermon offered to the congregation of the Evangelical Christian Church of North America (Restoration Movement) out of Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania this Sunday, April 24, 2022.]

I am saved by Christ.

Jesus’ sacrifice of the cross has freed me.

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection has restored me.

I am a citizen of the Kingdom Jesus ushered in from the cross when He declared, “It is finished.”

I have work to do!

Brothers and sisters. I am coming at you from Romans, Chapter 8.

This past Friday was, as is commonly called, Earth Day. On this day people take a moment to reflect on humanity’s care for the earth. People gather to do some good work – whether a neighborhood clean-up, planting trees and such, or some other effort. They might say – I have work to do!

None of these things is bad, for indeed God gave us stewardship of His creation. We are to see to His work and treat it with respect. However, from what perspective are most people seeing this day? Where are they coming from who exert so much effort to care for creation? To whom is their work dedicated?

You might agree that many see no hand of God in creation. They see no place for God in this work, or in fact in anything. It is merely human endeavor, human work. We, on the other hand, see differently. We see in all things God’s righteous and mighty presence. This is because we are the children of the Kingdom. We live in the Kingdom. Our perspective has been changed. Our vision is clear. Our call to God’s work is here and now.

As children of the kingdom, we live a different existence, an ‘other’ existence. We, as St. Paul tells us, live by the standards of the Spirit, who gives life through Christ Jesus. We have been set free from the standards of sin and death. (cf. Romans 8:1-4)

God condemned what was broken, futile, hopeless, and against Him in His Son Jesus Who took on our corruption to free us from it. Free from condemnation, from brokenness, futility, and hopelessness we live now in the Kingdom by our faith filled confession and acclimation. We live spiritual lives; lives of peace that do not regard or grasp after the world’s peace – for indeed Jesus told us on the night before He would suffer, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27).

Since we live in peace and by a much different standard than those who belong to the world, how should we view “Earth Day?” What is our call to work?

The clue to this is found is Jesus’ post resurrection discourses with His disciples: 

From Luke 24:46-48: He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

I say it again: “You are witnesses of these things.”

From Mark 16:15-16 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved…”

I say again: â€œGo into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation”

For us Earth Day is not about just a day, but about continuously seeing the world for what it is, and for what is possible because we belong to Christ. The Kingdom Jesus ushered in is not a someday somewhere else place. Indeed, the Kingdom, I say again, is the very place we dwell, with the Holy Spirit in us. Therefore, having a realistic and honest view of what is out there, and where we are, we are called to the work of remaking the earth, to bring to fulfillment the Kingdom, to draw many to know, love, and serve the Lord, to confess His Holy Name.

Earth Day for us as followers of Jesus must be a call to respond to creation groaning with the pains of childbirth up to the present time. (Romans 8:22) Our work is to give birth to the kingdom in the hearts of those who do not know Jesus or who fail to acknowledge Him as their Lord and Savior.

The worldly are groaning in their ignorance. They desire to really know Jesus, to enter the Kingdom life, but they need the work of witnesses to show them the way. They need people of faith to stand up and say – see Your salvation is at hand, repent. The Kingdom is at hand for you. Confess, profess, and enter.

You see my beloved brothers and sisters that Earth Day is a constant call for Christians to view the world as it is – a sin destroyed landscape that rejects God, the dwelling of the evil one, and the opportunity to offer that landscape hope and salvation. That is our everyday earth day work. 

Thus, we have mission work to do. Wherever we go, in our work, driving about, shopping, selling, family time, cooking, eating, planting and growing, morning, noon, and throughout the night, we must be prepared to give and account of our reason for hope. (1 Peter 3:15) We must be constantly on alert for the chance to change the landscape, to bring souls to Jesus, to expand the Kingdom with the very next soul we encounter.

Is remaking the earth easy, is the work of bringing the Kingdom to its fruition and flower a casual task? Of course not. But we have assurance, Divine assurance.

St. Paul goes on to tell us in verses 14 through 16

Certainly, all who are guided by God’s Spirit are God’s children. You haven’t received the spirit of slaves that leads you into fear again. Instead, you have received the spirit of God’s adopted children by which we call out, “Abba! Father!”

We must not walk in fear or quiet ourselves for we have a great and mighty God to proclaim, the salvation of His Son Jesus, and the outpouring and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We are not slaves to the world and its agenda, but free citizens of the kingdom with much work to do.

Listen to Romans 8:31-39 for it instructs us on confidence and assurance:

What can we say about all of this? If God is for us, who can be against us?  God didn’t spare his own Son but handed him over to death for all of us. So he will also give us everything along with him. 

Who will accuse those whom God has chosen? God has approved of them. 

Who will condemn them? Christ has died, and more importantly, he was brought back to life. Christ is in the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne. Christ also intercedes for us. 

What will separate us from the love Christ has for us? Can trouble, distress, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger, or violent death separate us from his love? As Scripture says:

“We are being killed all day long because of you.
We are thought of as sheep to be slaughtered.”

The one who loves us gives us an overwhelming victory in all these difficulties.  I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love which Christ Jesus our Lord shows us. We can’t be separated by death or life, by angels or rulers, by anything in the present or anything in the future, by forces or powers in the world above or in the world below, or by anything else in creation.

We, my friends, my brothers and sisters, have much work to do – but we Count it all joy (James 1:2). We are opposed, but the world opposed Jesus Who has the ultimate victory. He will not let our work of winning souls and remaking the earth fail. He will bless and grant abundance to our work of evangelizing and taking the gospel of grace to the streets and the door posts of all people.

I am saved by Christ.

Jesus’ sacrifice of the cross has freed me.

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection has restored me.

I am a citizen of the Kingdom Jesus ushered in from the cross when He declared, “It is finished.”

I have work to do!

Now let us set to it.

Holy Week and the celebration of the Solemnity of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ are the true central point of our life as Christians and of our liturgical year. In this time, we are called in a special way to walk with Jesus from His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, to the Last Supper, through His passion, death, and entombment, to His glorious resurrection. Come, join in as a member of God’s Kingdom.

Holy Week

  • Sunday, April 10, Palm Sunday. Holy Mass with the Traditional Blessing and distribution of Palms at 10am. Second Holy Mass at Noon.
  • Monday, April 11, Holy Monday. Holy Mass at Noon.
  • Tuesday, April 12, Holy Tuesday. Clergy Conference and Chrism Holy Mass at St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Cathedral in Scranton, Pennsylvania starting at Noon.
  • Wednesday, April 13, Spy Wednesday. Holy Mass at Noon. Private Confessions 12:45 until 2pm.

Pascal Triduum

  • Thursday, April 14, Maundy Thursday. Reception of Oils, Holy Mass of the Institution of the Eucharist, Procession, Reposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Vespers, and Striping of the Altar at 7pm. Church remains open afterward for private devotion.
  • Friday, April 15, Good Friday. Church opens at Noon for private devotion Seven Last Words at 1pm. Bitter Lamentations / Gorzkie żale at 2pm. Liturgy of the Presanctified and Opening of the Tomb at 3pm. Church remains open afterward for private devotion.
  • Saturday, April 16, Holy Saturday. Liturgies of the day (New Fire, Blessing of Holy Water, Proclamation of the Exhortations, Renewal of Baptismal Promises) at 10am followed by the Blessing of Easter Baskets. Church open until 2pm for Blessing of Baskets and private devotion.

Solemnity of the Resurrection

  • Sunday, April 17, Solemnity of the Resurrection (Easter). Solemn Resurrection Procession and Solemn High Holy Mass at 8am. Second Holy Mass at 10am. Easter repast (SwiÄ™conka) after each Holy Mass.

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13

At the start of the month we are nearly five full weeks into the Lenten season. On April 3rd we enter into Passiontide, the last two weeks of Lent, a time marked by the somberness of veiled statues and candles and deep reflection on the Passion of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So I ask, are you somber?

I know, from my own experience, that there have been years in which a deep somberness would overcome me by Passiontide since I had done nothing to reform my life. I did not engage in more diligent prayer, fasting, worship, or giving. I was not turning from my sins, nor did I change direction. I had great intentions at the beginning, on Ash Wednesday, but did not take any concrete steps. I would feel that, well, it is too late now… In other years I would start off wonderfully and then get stuck and would start going backward. So the question many somber people ask: Am I too late?

The scripture above from Jeremiah 29:13 says no. God’s infinite mercy says no. The very fact that we feel a somberness in ourselves is proof of God’s acting on us to change, turn away from sin, and go in His way. Is it easy to change, to yank the sinfulness out of ourselves, and to walk more closely with Jesus? No, it does take work – but turning with our whole heart has the full support and assistance of the Holy Spirit, our Guardian Angel, and the whole Church. So we must not despair nor be somber. We must start now. What makes a difference is setting aside the idea of intention. ‘I intend to’ is no more than words. We have to act. The Prophet Joel told us on Ash Wednesday: rend your hearts and not your clothing. That statement means we cannot just stand on the intention of change and return without ever doing anything. Intention is no better than tearing our clothes, an outward appearance. Rather, even today, we can actually change our hearts, our whole self, and find God waiting to embrace us. Seek wholeheartedly and find Him.


Welcome to our April 2022 Newsletter. At the start of April we enter Passiontide, then Holy Week, and finally arrive at Easter. We have tons of opportunities to finish Lent well with daily Holy Mass, Stations of the Cross, Bitter Lamentations / Gorzkie Żale, and our directed giving program. We invite you to join us for all things Holy Week and Easter. During the Easter Season we will also hold a welcome back/renewal day. Beyond all that, read about our engagement to help Ukrainian refugees.

There’s more to check out as well: We have blessed Polish Easter Baskets for sale (a portion of the proceed will be donated to Ukranian relief efforts), our amazing Basket Social is April 24th at the South Schenectady Firehouse, we are planning for the wonderful activites coming up Churchwide, and now is the time to apply for music scholarships.

All this and more in our April 2022 Newsletter.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being [remodeled] day by day.

Have you ever remodeled your home? Maybe you have rebuilt a car or truck? Maybe you changed the way things are done at work – improved them. In any event, consider what is involved in a remodel or re-do. My wife and I are in the process of updating our home. We watched HGTV and saw lots of nice things we might like to do. Finally we pulled the trigger and embarked on the remodel. Oh my… Well, it is nothing like HGTV. It will not happen in a weekend or in a sixty-minute episode. At each turn there is something unexpected, something one might consider frustrating. That, and the cost, the necessary investment. You like that vanity and sink – it will be eight to twelve weeks. We got the bathroom tile in, but now need to shave down your door. The moulding is disintegrating – you will need new moulding. It goes on.

Here we are in Lent. Here we are in this season of spiritual remodeling. Some parts of us may need a major redo, other parts, just a nice touch of paint. Nonetheless, we all need a remodel, a re-do in some measure. As we enter Lent we might view it like an episode of the other HGTV – Holy Grace TV. We think we can get it done quickly, but then reality sets in. It takes grace and work. Some of what we undertake is going to take time. Some of what we attack is going to require far more. Perhaps we need to bring in a consultant (a spiritual director, Holy Scripture, a good and proper Christian study book…). As with any work we need to do, we must begin by taking account of what we are willing to invest. Our investment: What things we can sacrifice to make more time for our Lenten re-do (prayer, charity, holy reading, sacrifice, diligence). Once we set to work we must fully expect the frustrations that will come along the way. It will not be easy, but wait till you see the result! Let us then enter our Lenten re-do, our internal renewal without delay.


Welcome to our March 2022 Newsletter. It is packed full of info on the season of Lent and all of the great opportunities we have to increase prayer, devotion, almsgiving (charity), and scriptural study. We need folks to go to the National Mission and Evangelism workshop and we should all participate in our Seniorate Lenten Retreat. 

The BASKET SOCIAL is back. Read further on our Discipleship focus on the Holy Eucharist, get your Polish Easter Baskets, and PRAY, PRAY, PRAY for The Ukraine. All this and more in our March 2022 Newsletter.

Please join us throughout Lent for Holy Mass and Devotions. These are all opportunities, beyond Sundays, to focus time on prayer.

  • Ash Wednesday – Holy Mass and Distribution of Ashes at Noon and 7pm.
  • Lenten Sundays – Holy Mass at 10am and Noon every Sunday.
  • Daily Holy Mass, Monday through Friday at Noon.
  • Stations of the Cross every Friday at 3pm.
  • Bitter Lamentations / Gorzkie Å»ale every Sunday at 3pm.

Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD.

The text above is from Jeremiah 17:7, the Old Testament reading at the start of Pre-Lent. The next verse goes onto say about the one who hopes and trusts in the Lord: They are like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It does not fear heat when it comes, its leaves stay green; In the year of drought it shows no distress, but still produces fruit. As you will read herein, the Pre-Lenten season of Septuagesima is one of preparation. So the question, Preparation for what?

We could say that Pre-Lent is preparation for a better 40 day Lenten journey. That we might make time and schedule our fasting, prayer, giving  – that is certainly true. We could mark the time off on the calendar as days until Easter: 70, 60, 50 – that is true as well. Notice how both of these thoughts on preparation are time-constrained. I must set time to do these timely things according to the time on the calendar. However it might be better if we did not consider our preparation or even our lives as time constrained, as limited. We have, through our baptism, been  added to the great cloud of witnesses – disciples of Christ – who already reside in His eternal Kingdom. We are no longer time-bound. Rather we are freed to be as Jeremiah states. Then, let us prepare to be fully engaged as a people who trust in the Lord – having a real and active faith that Jesus does as He promised to do. We are to have full-time hope in Him – and that trust and hope leads to a courage when speaking about Jesus to others. If we focus on trust and hope and who we are in the Kingdom we turn out (bloom) like that tree. We are planted in Christ Jesus Who nourishes us. We do not fear the negatives, the “heat,” for Jesus has us safely in His care. We remain alive in Him, so prepare to bear fruit full-time by timeless lives that draw others unto Jesus.

Welcome to our February 2022 Newsletter. It is packed full of info on the season of Pre-Lent / Septuagesima, the two-and-a-half week time of preparation for the Great Lent (which starts late this particular year). We have provided materials linked herein for your study. We are holding our annual meetings this and next month, part of our ecclesial democratic tradition. The Valentine’s Raffle is here, SouperBowl Sunday, and Epiphany house blessings continue – schedule your time soon. March 6th is Scout Sunday and Scouts coming to church in uniform can get their Scout Sunday patch for 2022.

Also, read up on things to say in church, the meaning of “Lord have mercy,” College Stipends and Scholarships, free healthcare opportunities, and the BASKET SOCIAL is back. All this and more in our February 2022 Newsletter.

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,

Our celebration of the Christmas, the coming of God among us, His incarnate Being in our midst, is so important it must be celebrated for more than a few days. This season marks God’s chosen moment in which the story of salvation takes a major step forward. So, we must celebrate and set to ongoing work. The story of salvation is a continuous saga. It began with creation, God called us into being so we might belong to Him. The world rejected that call and turned away from God by sin. God would not give up! Salvation is not a once and done offer, and God would not rest until we were His as we hear in our Eucharistic Prayer based on the Canon of St. Basil the Great: “You did not abandon us to the power of death… You came to our help… Again and again You called us into covenant with You… You taught us to hope for salvation… In the fullness of time You sent Your only Son to be our Savior.” 

Jesus’ incarnation is the moment we were drawn permanently close to God in our humble humanity. God took what was broken and deformed and made it holy and beautiful by His unity in human flesh. Flesh that was cursed and apart from God now became one with God. St. Paul is saying something really amazing in Colossians 2:9. He summarizes in ten words the whole mystery of faith – that Jesus is God among us in our flesh. That changes everything. It makes us all capable of being washed free of the worldly choice of sin and one with God, heirs to heaven. All flesh was hallowed in Jesus, each person’s dignity certain. All flesh is given the opportunity to be one with Him if we choose so in faith. Furthermore, Jesus, before His crucifixion, provided for the permanent presence in His flesh and blood which is for His faithful to this very day: Take, eat and drink. This is My body. This is My blood. The totality of Christ is ours for the taking. In it are closer to His divinity and strengthened for our work.

We are in the story of salvation and we have work to do in our evangelism until His return. So, open the door, invite, He awaits.

Welcome to our January 2022 Newsletter and Happy New Year. In the Newsletter we explore the year ahead as we focus on Being a Eucharistic People. We have our upcoming annual meeting and election of parish officers (time to get involved). We give thanks for so many blessings brought about through your charity and our common work. It is time to prep for the SouperBowl of Caring (the soup pot is out). We reflect on the past year – our Centenary – and we celebrate. Check out the Newsletter for all that and more – including Music Scholarship Sunday and the Return of the BASKET SOCIAL – hurray!!!

This and so much more within our January 2021 Newsletter.