Reflection for the Solemnity of the Resurrection 2017

A whole
year.

Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.”

Raised just as he said. Suddenly all else Jesus said, the full impact of His words, was realized. This came home to me as I prepared the foods for our Easter basket.

I had filled the salt shaker to the top and sealed it, only to realize I hadn’t placed a piece of saran wrap over the top to prevent spillage. As I unscrewed the top to apply the wrap, well there it all went. Salt all over the floor.

The immediate import of the Lord’s words came to me: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” This salt was indeed under my feet and was being trampled into the linoleum. It was useless.

Look at this beautiful drawing completed by our youth (and a few adults). It is various styles of homes. We have square, rectangular, and round homes. We have monochrome and multicolor homes. We have traditional style homes and very contemporary style homes.

If you look very closely at the very first home on the block, there is a sign in the window. Traviss placed a sign in his window that shows a wisdom beyond that of any philosopher or theologian. His house proclaims, “Easter Year.”

That is what this day is all about. This is the sudden and remarkable change this day brings to us. Today gives us Easter forever.

The world offers all sorts of alleged salt and light; none of it lasting. Its salt loses its flavor quickly and is never truly satisfying. Its light is a momentary flash quickly returning us to darkness.

On this most sacred of days it all changed. We went from living day-to-day, grasping after the limited and unfulfilling, and became people of eternal salt and light. We received the power of His eternal promise. Just as He said.

The Lord, in His rising, gives us the opportunity to not only live a year of Easter, but a lifetime of Easter. The wonder of this Easter Sunday is that it made every Sunday this Sunday. Every Sunday throughout the years, decades, and centuries are Easter. We own the perpetual Easter just as Jesus said – days filled with God ordained hope, the perpetual renewal and re-flavoring of our lives.

The sudden and remarkable begun this day has changed us. This day gives us the grace to be the real salt that never loses flavor, that never becomes worthless. The full reality of all Jesus said is real, ours, every day Easter – a sign for our homes – a sign to live by.

Earth Day in Mont Pleasant, Schenectady

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. — Genesis 2:15

In celebration of Earth Day, Saturday, April 22nd, Holy Name of Jesus is hosting a community clean-up of the Mont Pleasant neighborhood. Please join us in caring for our community and cleaning up the streets.

Share with your friends or get a group together to join us. Even one hour of your time can do a lot! All supplies will be provided. Wear green if you feel festive!

Bible Study for Holy Week 2017

Memory verse for this week: For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. — John 6:38-39

Pray the week: Lord, grant that with you as my model I may ever do the Father’s will.

Reflection for Palm Sunday 2017

Acceptance today.
The gift of glory.

But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit.

We walked through Lent and have reflected on God’s conviction from all sorts of angles.

We started by reflecting on the necessity of choosing differently. Confronted by our conviction, we recognize that the natural outcome of our choices is a judgment of guilty and certain death. Yet, if we chose differently, with Jesus as our model, we are acquitted and receive the abundance of grace and the gift of justification.

We learned that our acceptance of conviction leads to moving from the conviction of guilt to conviction in righteousness. That acceptance and the righteousness that comes from it, allows us to move mountains, change the world, bear much fruit, and be truly victorious.

We know that God waits to meet us. That encounter offers the opportunity to accept our conviction – something that is never compulsory. If we accept our conviction we obtain immediate salvation and begin bearing the fruits that come from that acceptance. We witness and draw many to Jesus.

We found that in Jesus, wherever we come from or whatever we have done is of no account once we accept conviction. We move from who we were to being His children of light. The only reality that matters.

We realized that encounter and conviction, if accepted, provides a gift of faith so deep and powerful that not even death can diminish it. Not death, not disappointment, nothing! We develop a powerful ‘even now’ faith that actively trusts.

This Lenten journey and exploration begins its ending today. As we reflect on the road to the cross and grave we see many seeming to work contrary to God. We see a parade of human sinfulness and its apparent consequences. Those who failed to accept conviction held onto their alleged power. Judas, holding onto the purse, betrays Jesus. The disciples holding onto their perceptions of love and faithfulness, run away because their opinions do not stand up to challenge. The religious leaders hang onto external acts of religion over deep internal change. Pilate and the Roman soldiers hold unto political power, a power that only lasts for a time. The crowds hold unto whatever opinion is popular now. Jesus alone – the one who could never be convicted – accepts conviction.

Jesus submitted to the Father’s will, took up the cross, and staggered through a parade of non-acceptance powerfully displaying total acceptance. He fulfills His mission, opens the door for our ability to accept, and our entry into the powerful and glorious future we live today.

Holy Week and Easter 2017

Please join us as we walk with the Lord. Our schedule for Holy Week and Easter:

  • Palm Sunday, April 9: Holy Mass at 9:30 and 11:30am.
  • Holy Monday, April 10: Holy Mass for Healing at 6:15pm.
  • Holy Tuesday, April 11: Clergy Conference. Holy Mass of Chrism (Cathedral in Scranton).
  • Maundy Thursday, April 13: Holy Mass, Procession, Stripping of the Altars, 7pm.
  • Good Friday, April 14:
    • Cross Walk at 11am,
    • Private Devotions at 2pm,
    • Bitter Lamentations at 3pm,
    • Liturgy of the Presanctified and Opening of the Tomb at 7pm.
  • Holy Saturday, April 15: Liturgy of New Fire, Renewal of Baptismal Promises, Blessing of Easter Baskets, 4pm.
  • Solemnity of the Resurrection/Easter, April 16: Solemn Procession and Holy Mass at 8am and Holy Mass at 10am.

April 2017 Newsletter – On the Road

That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus.

We begin April in Passiontide and end up on the road with the Risen Lord. Isn’t that the way life often goes? We live unfulfilling passions, both attractive and sad, until we find the joy and fulfillment of Jesus. As time passes, old and new passions emerge and sometimes we forget our resurrection joy. We find ourselves in passiontides. This month we rediscover the amazing news of the resurrected Lord. Easter is here. More than just a day in April, it is a present continuous moment. We are called to continuously remove the passiontide veil, see Jesus among us, and live on Jesus’ amazing, eternal, and glorious road. His present Easter!

Join us in completing our Lenten walk with Jesus and join us in rejoicing in His resurrection. Check out our Passiontide, Holy Week, and Easter events, participate in directed giving, reflect during these days, and then commit to doing great things throughout the fifty days of Easter.

You may view and download a copy of our April 2017 Newsletter right here.

Bible Study for the 1st Week of Passiontide 2017

This week’s memory verse: I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. — Philippians 4:12-13

Pray the week: Lord, grant that my faith may ever increase. Allow no obstacle or challenge to overpower what I have in You.

Reflection for Passion Sunday 2017

Even now
I trust.

Martha went to meet Him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”

As we enter Passiontide we continue our focus on conviction and the kind of faith that shows we have not just accepted conviction but have been changed to people of deep faith.

Remember Jesus’ earlier encounter with Martha and Mary. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, listening to Him teaching, filled with faith. Martha was busy in the kitchen and was annoyed – her sister wasn’t helping. Martha complained to Jesus and Jesus told her straight out that Mary had chosen the better part. Mary saw the opportunity of God’s presence while Martha was convicted for busing herself with less important things.

Now Martha’s brother is dead. He’s been placed in the tomb and the tomb is sealed. They had sent word to Jesus while he was still alive, but He didn’t show up. Now Jesus is approaching.
The woman who busied herself in the kitchen, who missed Jesus’ teachings, who chose the lesser part, comes running out …but Mary sat in the house. What happened?

What happened is that Martha got something deeper from that earlier encounter and conviction. She received a gift of faith so deep and powerful that not even death could diminish it. Not death, not disappointment, nothing!

In running out to Jesus and in speaking with Him Martha proclaims the depth of that faith gift. Listen carefully: “Lord, even now I know…”

Even now… Despite, nevertheless, notwithstanding. No matter what has happened, even now I know You are Lord.

The key is that Martha recognized there was nothing more powerful than God. Faith demanded that she lay aside all mistrust. While Mary listened to Jesus, what did she take away from that listening? Was her trust increased? How was her faith at her brother’s tomb?

Martha believed Jesus could have healed her brother – same as Mary. Yet her faith differed. She exercised a much more powerful ‘even now’ faith. She saw more deeply because she knew Jesus could see her heart. She trusted Jesus completely because He revealed what her true concern should be – not in the kitchen, but in faith. She accepted the gift and made faith active.

If we look closely, Martha did not think Jesus would raise her brother. She knew he was dead She even told Jesus – look, he’s dead, he’s rotting already. And that is the power of her even now faith. She is our example. Everything hasn’t worked out, yet even now I trust in You, Lord.

Parents Day Out

A free adult only event for parents/guardians of Schenectady City School District middle school students on Wednesday, April 12th from 8:45am to 3pm at the Glen Sanders Mansion, Scotia, NY. Transportation is available.

The event includes breakfast, interactive workshops, lunch, community resources, and great raffle prizes. Visit the World Café, an opportunity for conversations among parents, decision makers, and community leaders about ways our schools and community resources can better support our youth. See the day’s agenda here.

Register now. A completed registration form is required by April 10th. You can return the registration form to your child’s school Guidance Office or E-mail them to Laura LaFontaine. Laura can also be reached at: 518-669-3286.

Bible Study for the 4th Week of Lent 2017

Memory verse for this week: The desire of the righteous ends only in good; the expectation of the wicked in wrath. — Proverbs 11:23

Pray the week: Lord, grant that I may set aside all personal expectations and place full trust in Your will for me.