Hello St. Mary Magdalene,

Today we celebrate the Presentation of the Lord. This celebration is steeped in salvation history as the firstborn son was offered to God in the temple; harkening back to the firstborn son being offered in Egypt as the price of deliverance from slavery. Thus, the firstborn is “redeemed” ritually by this offering and that’s what brings Mary, Joseph, and Christ to the temple today. They are fulfilling the obligations of the religious ritual law (even though Mary and Christ have no sins, they still faithfully observe ritual law) as they bring the forty day old Jesus.

Hello St. Mary Magdalene, Merry Christmas!

Today is the feast of the Epiphany and a wonderful feast where we see God manifesting Himself. A Greek word meaning “manifestation from above,” the feast of the Epiphany celebrates Christ as the Son of God via the magi who come and offer precious gifts to Jesus that both testify to Him as King and what He will do 33 years later. Yet, we’re also told about the wise men’s visit that they paid homage to Christ indicating that their greatest gift to Christ was them!

Hello St. Mary Magdalene,

The name for today’s feast actually comes from the introit of this Sunday’s Mass, “Gaudete in Domino semper, iterum dico, Gaudete” which comes from Philippians 4:4 (“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, ‘Rejoice’”). What’s fascinating about this verse is that “Gaudete” is an imperative (command) form of the verb to be joyful. Put another way, the Church is commanding us to be joyful! Hence we see some new symbols in our liturgy including the rose colored candle and vestments worn by the priest.

Hello St. Mary Magdalene,

It is with great joy that we resume a format of the bulletin that enables us to include regular articles and catechetical/evangelical materials for your reference. To kick this off I want to reflect on the season of Advent.

Advent is too often overlooked, it’s sometimes viewed as a “mini Lent” a time of penance in preparation for Christmas. Yet, that’s not actually what Advent is about; it’s about hope, joy, and expectation at the coming of Christ.

As the patroness of contemplative life, converts, glove makers, hair dressers, penitent sinners, people ridiculed for their piety, perfumeries, pharmacists, sexual temptation, tanners, and women, St. Mary Magdalene stands as one of the notable saints and an example of God’s mercy and grace. The Gospels agree that Mary Magdalene was a great sinner caught up in the culture and the world of the Gentiles. Upon meeting Jesus, He cast seven demons out of her, freeing her from her sinful lifestyle. She began following Christ very soon after and was a prominent character during His life, death, and resurrection.

Hello St. Mary Magdalene,

I pray that the joy of this Easter season and the Resurrection of our Lord abides deep in your heart!

I write today as a bit of a follow-up to my February 2, 2024, State of the Parish address (you can find that video here: youtu.be/4DFV41k4gm4). In that video I gave a brief overview of our financial status and how we are doing as a parish. As a result of that video, I had two families approach me wanting to help our parish by pledging to match financial gifts. The first family has pledged to match gifts up to $15,000 to help our parish’s general fund.

Dear parishioners and visitors of St. Mary Magdalene,

Happy Easter everyone! We give thanks this day as Christ frees us from the captivity of death. It is truly a time to rejoice, especially after our long Lenten journey. I pray that this season is a blessed one full of joy and new life in Christ for you and your families. In his Easter homily in 2012 Pope Benedict wrote these words which powerfully summarizes the great joy of this blessed day, “Easter is the feast of the new creation. Jesus is risen and dies no more. He has opened the door to a new life, one that no longer knows illness and death. He has taken mankind up into God himself.”

In my daily prayer I meditate on the words of Zachariah… “He has raised for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David.” We welcomed our Lord just a little more than a month ago. The Word made flesh is God coming to dwell in this world, undoing the effects of sin and turning it into what it was meant to be. From his fullness we have received grace and truth from our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Recently I had a skin rash, and it was awful. (Please don’t tell anyone.) I am embarrassed to admit that I didn’t handle it well. Complaining, whining, begging for sympathy, and crying were my responses to the merciless itching and burning. In the aftermath, a silver lining emerged. I feel a new heartfelt sympathy for all those vexed with chronic skin problems. If you’ve ever had a seemingly unending skin problem, you know how that sympathy flows up from deep inside.