What about you? Since I've been here at St. Mary's/St. Joseph's [believe it or not, it's been over nine months now!], I have on a number of occasions made reference to one of my favorite Biblical verses: St. Matthew wrote that Jesus "said to his disciples, 'The harvest is rich, but the laborers are few; so ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers to His harvest" [Matt 9:37]. All too often Catholics complain that the Church does not have enough priests today; I'm afraid, however, that all too few of us Catholics are actually responding to Jesus' request, asking God our Father in prayer to send us more workers for the harvest in the Church. While it is true that these workers include not only priests, but also deacons, religious, lay volunteers, teachers, musicians and others, our need for more priests is especially pressing. Simply put, without priests, we cannot celebrate the Mass, have our confessions heard, or receive the anointing of the sick.

The message of the liturgy in proclaiming the passion narratives in full is to enable the assembly to see vividly the love of Christ for each person, despite their sins, a love that even death could not vanquish. The crimes during the Passion of Christ cannot be attributed indiscriminately to all Jews of that time, nor to Jews today. The Jewish people should not be referred to as though rejected or cursed, as if this view followed from Scripture. The Church even keeps in mind that Jesus, his mother Mary, and the Apostles all were Jewish. As the Church has always held, Christ freely suffered his passion and death because of the sins of all, that all might be saved.

Palm Sunday This feast of Palm Sunday is both joyous and sad.

It is joyous in that it recalls Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. He was accompanied that day by crowds who had come up with Him to the holy city of Jerusalem; the Lord rode a young donkey to fulfill the words of the Prophet Zachariah who had foretold that the true king of Israel would come riding on the foal of a donkey. A second crowd came out of the city to greet Him -- carrying palm branches, a Jewish sign of welcome for a great king. These were spread on the ground where Jesus would pass to drive home the point that it was He Who was such a king! The prayers with which we bless our Palms remind us and emphasize that we too are to welcome Jesus into our own lives and to bear faithful witness to both Him and to His Lordship. It is also a sad feast in that it is the beginning of

A Lenten Story: This little story was written as a commentary on the Prophet Isaiah's thoughts on fasting. I thought it'd be worth sharing with you all. First read this passage from Isaiah and then the little story that follows:

Isaiah 58:1-8: Cry aloud, don't spare, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and declare to my people their disobedience, and to the house of Jacob their sins. 2Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways: as a nation that did righteousness, and didn't forsake the ordinance of their God, they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God. Why have we fasted, say they, and you don't see? why have we afflicted our soul, and you take no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast you find your own pleasure, and exact all your labors.

From Father Kelly: Well Worth Reading!

As Catholics we need to be reminded that the Right to Life Cause involves more than just abortion. We need to be active in our efforts to preserve the sanctity of human life [from conception to a natural death] which is actively opposed by so many in our country.

Today, many Americans are rightly disturbed by FOCA [the Freedom of Choice Act] which President-elect Obama has promised to sign if congress passes it later this month. If FOCA becomes law, a veritable cornucopia of anti-life regulations could quickly follow including such things as (a) requir­ing all hospitals [including Catholic hospitals] to perform abortions upon request; (b) legalizing partial birth abortions with no limitations; (c) removing all parental notification of a minor’s desire to have an abortion; (d) requiring women to have abortions in certain situations (Down Syndrome babies, etc); (e) total tax-payer funding of abortion .... and who knows what else.

Eat Your Vegetables, Mow the Grass, Make a Visit

This article was written by Bishop Daniel Flores who until last year was a priest teaching at our Seminary. It's well worth reading by all our parishioners -- adults, kids, those who think they want to get married and those who think they might be called to be a priest or sister. While this was written to encourage religious vocations, it is equally applicable to all our youth. Bishop Flores wrote it for The Michigan Catholic, the Catholic newspaper of the Archdiocese of Detroit where he is now the Auxiliary Bishop. Personally, I was attracted by the title he gave the article! -- Fr. Kelly

Over the years, parents of young children have occasionally asked me what they can do in order to help their children consider a priestly or religious vocation. This is a very important question, and one that reaches to the foundation of what it means to create what Pope John Paul II called "a culture of vocations." Young children grow up before we know it. Parents hope and pray that as they grow into adolescents they will start thinking wisely about the particular kind of Christian life they want to lead as adults, whether it is marriage, the priesthood or the religious life.

From the Desk of Fr. Kelly: -- BIBLE CLASSES

Repeatedly since I had the great fortune of moving here to Grimes County and becoming a part of our two-church parish of St. Mary's and St. Joseph, people have been asking me if [or, more precisely, when] I would start having adult Bible classes. Since the beginning, I kept promising that I would -- once I got pretty well unpacked and settled. Well, since I'm getting that accomplished more and more, the time has now arrived!

There are many reasons, I want to start these classes.. Most importantly, I'm convinced that St. Jerome [the Patron of Scripture studies] was right on target when he wrote: "Ignorance of the scriptures is ignorance of Christ." This is the reason why both the Universal Church and our Archdiocese are encouraging all Catholics both to read and to study the Bible -- especially in this year of St. Paul. Hopefully, these lectures will help some participants love the Bible more and more as they come to see how just how right St. Jerome was.

This is not a new idea in the Church. Throughout her history, the Church has insisted that a proper interpretation of the Bible is very important for deepening both Christian life and Christian spirituality. For many this seems quite difficult since they presume the Bible is for­midable to read and to understand. To try to meet this problem, we're going to start this Spring with a series of four talks designed to "set the stage" for reading the Bible. Then next Fall, there will be a second series of four or five talks centering on St. Paul, his life and his letters in the New Testament.

To make it easier for people to attend these talks, each will be given twice -- first on Sunday after the Fellowship which follows the 10:30 Mass [12:45 to 2:00] and also on Thursday evening [7:00 to 8:15]. Each week's two presentations will be identical, covering the same material with the same handouts given at each. This will allow people to attend each week on the day that better fits their schedule -- perhaps Sunday one week and Thursday the next. When each pre­sentation is finished, folk may leave, but I will stick around to answer additional questions.

The four talks this Spring will be:
February 8th & 12th An Introduction to the Bible
March 1st & 5th The Bible -- God's Inspired Book
March 22nd & 26th Interpreting the Bible -- Understanding God's Word
April 26th & 30th A Catholic Response to Biblical Fundamentalism

As a part of these talks, questions like "What Bible should I read?" or "What books will help me understand the Bible?" and others will be discussed. In addition, there will be copies of various Bible editions and other resources available for participants to examine.

While we are going to advertise this series in other area parishes, it is my hope that many of our fellow parishioners will come and see the wonder of the Lord's Word in our Catholic faith.