Weekly insight and thoughts from Fr. Damian Zuerlein
Pastor’s Letter 3.26.17
Dear Friends, I was talking with an Orthodox Christian this past week and moaning a little bit about what I had given up for Lent. He had no empathy for me. He tried to explain to me how much fasting and abstinence took place in the Orthodox Church. It was news to me....
Pastor’s Letter 3.19.17
Dear Friends, You may have noticed a lot of activity around the new parish center this past week. The new windows and doors for the parish center have arrived and are being installed! The windows and doors presently in the building are the originals from 50 years ago....
Pastor’s Letter 3.12.17
Dear Friends, How are you doing on your Lenten journey? Did you make it through the first full week of Lent without surrendering to temptation? Are you continuing to fast and pray? Did you accomplish some of the good things you had planned to do this week? I...
Pastor’s Letter 3.5.17
Dear Friends, Our Lenten liturgies are filled with powerful stories. They are stories that unveil the mystery of our God. They are stories that reveal our deeper selves and our journey of faith. We may not always like what they reveal, but if it tells a story of...
Pastor’s Letter 2.26.17
Dear Friends, This week we embark on our Lenten journey to deepen our friendship with Christ, to experience, as Pope Francis has said, the richness of grace through the poverty of Christ. That concept may sound confusing to some of us. How can the poverty of...
Pastor’s Letter 2.19.17
Dear Friends, Lent begins next week. Now is the time to start making your plans for spiritual growth during the Lenten season. The Liturgy Committee of the parish has followed Pope Francis’ example in coming up with our parish focus for Lent 2017. Our focus will be...
Pastor’s Letter 2.12.17
Dear Friends, On one of my first days, here in the parish, I encountered an image of a saint I had never heard of before – Sr. Josephine Bakhita. From the framed image, I knew she was a woman from Africa but I did not know her story. There are just too many saints to...
Pastor’s Letter 2.5.17
Dear Friends, There has been quite a bit of uproar this past week concerning President Trump’s decision to temporarily ban people from coming to the United States from seven countries (most of which have been violently torn apart by war). The Catholic Church has stood...
Pastor’s Letter 1.29.17
Dear Friends, During my recent vacation in Palau we snorkeled almost every day. There was a reef right off the beach of the resort we were staying at which was filled with wonderful fish. Four times we went out in a boat to snorkel at one of the more than 200 islands...
Pastor’s Letter 1.22.17
Dear Friends, I just returned from spending two weeks in Palau with a couple of other priests. You will probably notice that my skin has turned a darker shade of tan, but you may not quickly notice the change which came from the process of being forced to slow down...
Pastor’s Letter 1.8.17
Dear Friends, I am on a little vacation with Fr. Boes and Fr. Lordemann. We are doing a bit of snorkeling and sitting in the warm Pacific sun. To give you some spiritual warmth this week I am offering you a homily about the Incarnation given by Pope Benedict a few...
Pastor’s Letter 1.1.17
Dear Friends, Happy New Year! May the new year be filled with wonder and blessings. Pope Francis is always challenging us to see and hear the gospel message in a way that calls us to change our stance. His Christmas homily is an example of that. I want to share part...