From the Desk of Fr. Tony...
Pastor
Fr. Tony Stubeda
Fr. Tony Stubeda
“A Restless Sharing of the Gospel”
Spring, in my experience, is a restless time. After being closed up inside all winter we are ready to be outside to enjoy the warmer and longer days and to soak up the sunlight that has been so scarce since last October. We are shedding layers of clothes and shaking off the doldrums of a black, white and gray winter. We are caught up in a
restlessness that invades our work days and makes our night less restful. Something inside of us wants to get up, to move, to change and to break free of what has closed us in. By the time you read this, the religious education programs for our parishes will have ended, three of the four first communions will have been celebrated and we are
preparing for Mother’s Day, senior recognition and graduation. Students in our schools are more likely to know how many days of school are left than to know their weekly spelling words, and we are all looking forward to summer.
This natural restlessness and anticipation is just the jolt our celebration of Easter needs. The beautiful flowers that adorned our churches for Easter Sunday have seen better days and are quickly being removed from church, yet we continue to celebrate.
Easter should be a restless and anxious time. The good news of Jesus’ victory over sin and death has invaded our souls and we feel a need to share the news with others. In our first readings each week we hear how the Gospel is spreading. Uncertainty and doubt are fading and the Gospel is beginning to reach out. Not even persecution can
quiet the loud shout of the Gospel, but rather it becomes the reason to bring the message of Jesus to new people and places. In his letters, St. John proclaims the overwhelming love that the resurrection of Jesus has freed in our midst. Darkness and fear have no room in hearts filled with the joy or the resurrection.
Our Gospel today reminds us that just as a vine gives life to all its branches, so our connection to Jesus becomes new life surging through our very beings. The fruit of our faith in the resurrection is a restless proclamation of the joy of faith in the power of Jesus over sin and death. We move from celebration to celebration bathed in the light of a new creation established by God himself. The obstacles and struggles that daily come our way are challenges to find new ways to proclaim the Gospel.
Jesus tells us today that God is glorified in our bearing much fruit and becoming disciples of the Lord. Let us become true disciples, true followers and students of the Lord, and proclaim with joy and confidence that the Lord is risen and we are still celebrating.
Fr. Tony Stubeda
Spring, in my experience, is a restless time. After being closed up inside all winter we are ready to be outside to enjoy the warmer and longer days and to soak up the sunlight that has been so scarce since last October. We are shedding layers of clothes and shaking off the doldrums of a black, white and gray winter. We are caught up in a
restlessness that invades our work days and makes our night less restful. Something inside of us wants to get up, to move, to change and to break free of what has closed us in. By the time you read this, the religious education programs for our parishes will have ended, three of the four first communions will have been celebrated and we are
preparing for Mother’s Day, senior recognition and graduation. Students in our schools are more likely to know how many days of school are left than to know their weekly spelling words, and we are all looking forward to summer.
This natural restlessness and anticipation is just the jolt our celebration of Easter needs. The beautiful flowers that adorned our churches for Easter Sunday have seen better days and are quickly being removed from church, yet we continue to celebrate.
Easter should be a restless and anxious time. The good news of Jesus’ victory over sin and death has invaded our souls and we feel a need to share the news with others. In our first readings each week we hear how the Gospel is spreading. Uncertainty and doubt are fading and the Gospel is beginning to reach out. Not even persecution can
quiet the loud shout of the Gospel, but rather it becomes the reason to bring the message of Jesus to new people and places. In his letters, St. John proclaims the overwhelming love that the resurrection of Jesus has freed in our midst. Darkness and fear have no room in hearts filled with the joy or the resurrection.
Our Gospel today reminds us that just as a vine gives life to all its branches, so our connection to Jesus becomes new life surging through our very beings. The fruit of our faith in the resurrection is a restless proclamation of the joy of faith in the power of Jesus over sin and death. We move from celebration to celebration bathed in the light of a new creation established by God himself. The obstacles and struggles that daily come our way are challenges to find new ways to proclaim the Gospel.
Jesus tells us today that God is glorified in our bearing much fruit and becoming disciples of the Lord. Let us become true disciples, true followers and students of the Lord, and proclaim with joy and confidence that the Lord is risen and we are still celebrating.
Fr. Tony Stubeda