Notes from the Pastor

Despite the many advances that have been made in modern technology over the years to help farmers increase the productivity of their fields, they still face some of the same challenges and obstacles that were faced by the farmers of Jesus’ time and even earlier. One of the most significant challenges is the weather, which seems to defy human abilities to accurately predict or control. In our First Reading (Isaiah 55:10-11), Isaiah compares the farmer’s efforts to yield a bountiful harvest with that of the preacher or prophet attempting to sow the seeds of God’s word so that faith may result in the hearts of believers.

Today’s Gospel contains one of the most encouraging invitations Jesus ever issued – “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” What an offer! Yet, in a society such as ours that fosters individualism and independence, even believers sometimes fail to take advantage of Jesus’ offer. Sooner or later, every life encounters labors and burdens. They can be in the form of health problems, family disharmony, or financial difficulties. They can arise from past evils that still haunt us, from the present worries that distract us, or from insecurities about the future that immobilize us. In whatever form or at whatever time they appear, Jesus shares this invitation with us - “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”

In Chapter 7 of the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus warns his followers to be on guard against following false prophets. He cautions: “You can tell a tree by its fruit.” (Matthew 7:20) In a sense, Jesus is including all of us in this teaching, saying that the fruit of our lives will reveal our true nature. Are we truly His sheep, or are we wolves in sheep’s clothing? Are we doing our part to carry out the Church’s saving mission and share the Gospel message through our words and the way in which we live our lives? Will the fruit that we bear with our lives show us to be followers of Jesus, or will it contradict what we claim to believe in?

In every age, Christ and his Church have been persecuted. Despite his message of love and compassion (or perhaps, because of it), Jesus was taunted by people of his time – by both religious authorities and ordinary people alike. Even his death on the Cross and his victorious Resurrection did not convince every person that he was the Son of God; the promised Messiah. Some of his own followers abandoned him. His Apostles faced ridicule and death. Countless early Christians were martyred for their faith.

Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). This is a time to celebrate – in a particularly focused way – what we celebrate and believe every time we gather at Christ’s altar for Mass. That is, we profess the Real Presence of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the elements of, and under the appearance of, bread and wine in the Most Holy Eucharist.

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity – our belief that there are three Divine Persons in One God – the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As the fundamental mystery of our faith, the Most Holy Trinity permeates our identity and prayer.

n the Scripture Readings for today’s Mass, we hear two accounts of the Pentecost. The more dramatic of the two occurs in our First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1-11) where the Holy Spirit descends upon the Apostles, empowering them to speak in different tongues so that the Jews from different lands who had gathered in Jerusalem could hear the message of Jesus proclaimed in their own language. The second, and perhaps less dramatic account is found in today’s Gospel (John 20:19-23) where the Risen Jesus, himself, appears to the Apostles on Easter Sunday, breathes the Holy Spirit upon them, empowers them to forgive sins in his name, and commissions them to go forth and continue the mission of announcing the coming of the Kingdom of God.

There have been many changes in the past week. I am writing this column on Monday, May 18th, and there may be even more changes before you receive this bulletin at the end of the week. The Governor’s public health order currently in effect allows for houses of worship to hold services at up to 25% of their occupancy capacity as determined by the fire marshal. Here at Our Lady of Fatima, we have resumed our normal weekend Mass schedule which includes Masses at 5:30 pm on Saturday, and 7:30 am, 10:00 am and 12:00 noon on Sunday. The occupancy restrictions limit us to a maximum of 178 people in the church at each Mass. We were well within those limits this past weekend. In the event that on future weekends we reach the maximum allowed attendance at a Mass, we have set up the gym to accommodate the “overflow” with a second Mass being offered at the same time in the gym.