Weekly insight and thoughts from Fr. Damian Zuerlein
Pastor’s Letter 4.19.26
Dear Friends, One of the most powerful expressions of friendship and mutuality is sharing a meal together. We normally eat with people we like and with people who are like us, but sharing a meal with a person we do not know is a great way to break down social...
Pastor’s Letter 4.12.26
Dear Friends, Pope Leo gave, as Popes normally do, a message to the world on Easter Sunday. The press seemed to think it was a message for Donald Trump and his administration but that is not the case. All that the press commented on was their perception that it was...
Pastor’s Letter 4.5.26
Happy Easter, Friends!!! I heard a story from one of our moms the other day. She said her daughter was surprised to learn how long the Easter Season lasts. She said, “Easter lasts for fifty days?” Her mom replied, “Yes. We fast for forty days and feast for fifty.”...
Pastor’s Letter 3.29.26
Dear Friends, With our celebration today of Palm/Passion Sunday, we begin our annual reflection on the Paschal Mystery. Lent officially ends with the beginning of the Triduum. I encourage you to join us at each of the three days of the Triduum: Holy Thursday Mass at...
Pastor’s Letter 3.22.26
Dear Friends,A couple of weeks ago, I gave a presentation to the people who will be joining Ixim on the annual mission trip to Huehuetenango in Guatemala. The presentation was on the virtue of solidarity, which is core to what we attempt to do on our mission trips. It...
Pastor’s Letter 3.15.26
Dear Friends,This week we celebrate the feast of St. Patrick. Poor guy always ends up with his feast day in Lent. This year, at least, it is not on Friday. His statue is in the niche on the southwest corner of the church.You may remember Patrick’s story; he was living...
Pastor’s Letter 3.8.26
Dear Friends,During their Lenten retreat at the Vatican, Pope Leo and the team at the Vatican heard reflections from Bishop Eric Varden. Some of these reflections were specific to the ministry of a bishop or a priest, but many of them provide great insights for all of...
Pastor’s Letter 3.1.26
Pope Leo and the staff of the Vatican were on a Lenten Retreat this week given by Bishop Eric Varden who is a Trappist. This was the second meditation he gave on the retreat:St. Bernard keeps us on our toes. He states: ‘I would have you warned: no one lives on earth...
Pastor’s Letter 2.22.26
Dear Friends, Pope Leo has given us a challenge for our Lent – to listen. Here is what he wrote: Lent is a time in which the Church, guided by a sense of maternal care, invites us to place the mystery of God back in the center of our lives, in order to find renewal in...
Pastor’s Letter 2.15.26
Dear Friends, I was in a conversation with some friends last week about one of those odd Catholic disciplines, the Lenten Fish Fry. Odd because we are to have a special fast on the Fridays of Lent, and we do that by eating and drinking a lot! Even in conversation with...
Pastor’s Letter 2.8.26
Dear Friends, As I mentioned the past couple of weeks, our Cabrini and Magdalene Communities are about tolaunch a new season in March. If you are not in a community, this is a great time to join one orto form one. Those of you who are already in a community know the...
Pastor’s Letter 2.1.26
Dear Friends, These are difficult and unsettling times for all of us living in the United States. They are especially challenging times for our brothers and sisters who are recent immigrants. We are hearing more stories in the parish office of people placed in ICE...