November 2023 Newsletter – Everlasting Comfort

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort

In our Sunday Holy Mass for November 5th we heard a beautiful psalm (Ps. 131:2) in which King David quiets and stills himself with God. David likens the experience to a babe in its mother’s arms. There is David with his soul at peace and rest.

As we know, November is the Month of All Souls. Contemplating death and the seeming unknown is cause for no small amount of distress in our lives. Yet, the phrases of comfort and care found throughout scripture, especially in the work of Jesus, eliminates the unknown. Jesus told us what would happen and that gives comfort, assurance, and dispels distress. I look to the example of Dismas, the ‘good thief.’ He certainly did not live the best life. Yet, his faith led Jesus to proclaim: “today you will be with Me in paradise.”That is a confidence booster. The raising of the widow’s son, Jairus’ daughter, and Lazarus adds to that confidence. The joy the disciples experienced on Easter and afterward puts a fine point on the fulfilled promises of God – we have forever life in Jesus in paradise.

As the weather gets colder I have been contemplating old comfortable slippers and sweaters. Those things that wrap around us and make us feel safe and well cared for. So our faith in Jesus. When we contemplate His love and care for us, His holding us in the palm of His hand, and His eternal promise of life we too should feel like David – quiet and still. We should feel God’s warmth that removes all cold. We should proclaim With St. Paul: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us. Paul then says that as we are comforted by God, so must we comfort, reassure, and wrap others in that same care. Paul says God comforts us so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction.

Let us in our endeavors, our charity, and in all things both experience and share the comfort God provides. Let us show the reality of God’s care that drives out the cold.

November is here and we approach the end of the current Church year and ready for Advent. This month is dedicated to remeberance of and prayers for our dearly departed loved ones. 

On December 3rd at 4pm we will host our Prime Bishop for the blessing of our new organ and then enjoy an organ concert coupled with a fundraiser for our sister parish, Blessed Virgin Mary, to assist in their recovery from the arson fire which damaged their facilities and church.

Our winter clothing drive is underway as is the collection of foodstuffs for those in our local community. Please remember our Christmas Vigil Raffle – time is growing short. Check out our Thanksgiving prayer and the thanks we offer for for all the good around us.

Interested in pet pics with St. Nick? Online Cathechism class? Need a place to go for Thanksgiving? Check that and more out in our November 2023 Newsletter.

Annual Winter Clothing Drive

The United Young Men’s Society of Resurrection is conducting its annual clothing drive.

Let us be Christ to our community!

Needed: Articles of clothing to help dull the winter chill.

Your Reward: A good deed that reflects the love of Jesus.

Please help out by using either the pdf form or Excel file below to record items you are donating and take them to a charity of your choice. Use the Excel file to optionally automatically tally your donations. Turn in the forms at church. If you need help in delivering items, please let us know and someone will assist you.

Winter Clothing Drive PDF Count SheetDownload
Winter Clothing Drive Form FillableDownload

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Christian Family 2023

And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. 

Once again, we take a break from Ordinary Time to focus on this special Solemnity only celebrated in our Holy Church, the Solemnity of the Christian Family.

While taking this break we, in a very special way, continue to study and commit ourselves to the work of following, witnessing to, and sharing Jesus as His family. That is the essence of family, to be together as one in Jesus.

It may seem strange in our day; families are often separated by time, distance, and priorities.

In this separation, we tend to get caught up in the minutia. Certainly, some things are important like work and school, but when it comes down to it, there are plenty of opportunities to come together and strengthen the family.

We see this when the happy and tragic moments confront us. Someone is in the hospital, a baby or wedding shower, the wedding or christening, a funeral. A flood comes and we need to help our family. At these times you will surely find someone saying: We ought to get together more often, let’s have a reunion, let’s stay in contact. But then… missed opportunities. Strengthening each other requires more than occasional time together.

We heard that people were amazed at Jesus’ understanding and answers. In the various gospels we hear this theme repeated: 

Matthew 7:28: …the crowds were astonished. Matthew 22:33: …they were astonished at His teaching. Mark 1:22: The people were astonished at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority. Mark 11:18: …they looked for a way to kill Him. For they were afraid of Him, because the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.

This astonishment or amazement is rendered existanto in Greek. People were changed in encountering Jesus, they saw things in a new and previously unheard-of ways.

The same existanto is used for those times people met the first Christians. Those encounters changed their lives and relationships.

Things are different because we, the Christian family, get together to strengthen each other in Christ. Jesus understands our need and gives us this place and each other as strong family, both at home and in the wider Body of Christ, so to live differently because of Him and amaze those we meet.

October 2023 Newsletter – Earnest Love

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

Welcome to October! We see a wonderful theme for this month carried on from our celebration of Brotherly Love in September. It is this, a theme of deep focus on sacrificial love. Peter reminds us of our Christian duty to sacrificial love in 1 Peter 1:22 as quoted above: love one another earnestly. How do we grow in love?

October is the month of the Holy Rosary. We must ensure, of course, that we keep the rosary in perspective as a methodology for concentrated prayer and not as some sort of magical mystery thing. The rosary takes us on a tour of the glorious, joyful, and sorrowful moments (called mysteries in the rosary) in the life of Jesus. What we see in each moment of His life and that of Mary is their living out the sacrificial love that marks the gospel way of life. They give of themselves totally to do as God the Father asks. By their example and our focusing on that example, we discover new ways to share our love. We pause to recollect how we might imitate Jesus and follow His call to love as the Father asks.

Also in October we celebrate the Christian Family in a special way. The family, as designed by God, is the seed bed for developing a life that conforms to St. Peter’s guidance – foremost by obedience to the truth. The family relationship, the smaller model for the wider Church, is the place we learn true self-sacrifice, whether it is giving up our time or treasure to serve another member or in giving up our dreams to bring the aspirations of the other to fruition. Further, the truth of God and our obedience to it is also self-sacrifice founded in love. No, we must not meander through life just doing whatever we please if we call ourselves Christian. We set aside our urges to do as we please in order to follow Jesus’ way of life and the Father’s call to us.

To love one another earnestly means we place our whole selves in the service of love. We privy ourselves by obedience to God’s truth and with sincerity follow Jesus, imitate Mary, love on our families, and take a back seat to the other.

Fall is here and we are busy. The blessing of pets will occur at Holy Masses on Sunday, October 1st. We celebrate the month of the Holy Rosary with regular prayer on Fridays at 3pm and we honor the Christian Family with a special Solemnity on October 8th. We cover the unfortunate occurrences (debacle) in the Polish Catholic Church in the Republic of Poland. Read up on the PNUA transition to the PNA.

We look forward to the months ahead replete with activities including our Seniorate Thanksgiving celebration. Fr. Jim will offer online catechism classes starting October 11th. That and so much more to read up on.

Check it out in our October 2023 Newsletter.

Reflection for the Solemnity of Brotherly Love 2023

‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’

Thank you for joining today as we continue our journey focused on listening to, obeying, and witnessing to Jesus.

Our Holy Church drives this listening, obeying, and witnessing home in very particular ways through special Solemnities celebrated throughout the year.

Today listening, obeying, and witnessing is stressed through our call to love. This Solemnity of Brotherly Love was instituted a long time ago, in 1923, when members of our Church were persecuted for their faith.

Yes, our people faced a hatred that resulted in beatings, firings from jobs, homes being foreclosed on, and even murder. 

They, the Church, decided they would not respond in-kind, they would not fight back with fists and clubs, but would focus themselves on Jesus’ teaching on love toward all.

Was that the past? It seems many have not listened to Jesus: ‘Go and do likewise.’ 

Love is harder to find, hate is far easier to see. Sometimes alleged Christians are right up front in fermenting something quite different from Brotherly Love. Let’s use a real-life example. Perhaps you have seen Deuteronomy 28:43-44 quoted in social media: Aliens residing among you shall ascend above you higher and higher, while you shall descend lower and lower. They shall lend to you but you shall not lend to them; they shall be the head and you shall be the tail. Of course, we should fear immigrants.

This scripture was from the listing of curses against Israel if they were unfaithful to God’s law. Everything they would do would fail. They would lose their crops, children, and nation. 

All this was set forth in a ceremony to be performed by the entire nation, so that they would understand the gravity of their choice whether to actually walk in the ways of God.

In the blessings and curses God warns in several places related to foreigners (see Exodus 22:21, and 23:9) and most particularly in Leviticus 19:33-34 “‘When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself.” 

Brotherly love is a choice, an eternal choice. We must choose to stop for the stranger, to love all people totally, or face God’s consequences. What must I do? Love!

Additional Scriptural references:

  • Exodus 22:21
  • Exodus 23:9
  • Leviticus 19:33-34
  • Leviticus 25:23
  • Numbers 15:15
  • Deuteronomy 10:19
  • Deuteronomy 23:7
  • Deuteronomy 24:14
  • Deuteronomy 24:17-22
  • Deuteronomy 27:19
  • Ezekiel 22:7
  • Ezekiel 22:29
  • Ezekiel 47:22
  • Zechariah 7:10
  • Matthew 25:31-46

September 2023 Newsletter – Christian In Every Way

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

At this year’s Central Diocesan Clergy Retreat we were drawn into a deep discussion on living holy and consecrated lives as bishops, priests, and deacons and our obligation to call our people to holy lives. Our retreat master reminded us that our baptism into the Body of Christ, our regeneration, was not a one- and-done event but rather entry into an ongoing process of relationship to Jesus and His Body, the Church. As Christians we need to be constantly becoming.

An important question to ponder over, to reflect on for a holy life, is whether or not we have really united ourselves with Christ Jesus. Is Jesus our center and our all-in-all or does He take a back seat to other priorities? Worse yet, do we put Jesus in the trunk and only fish Him out when we feel we might need Him. I know He’s back there somewhere… maybe under the blankets…? If we are united with Jesus we work daily at our becoming. Jesus is part of our day, minute-by-minute. If that is so:

  • We pray in all things, before we step out the door, cook, drive, go to work and go home, and eat, and we end all tasks with a prayer of thanksgiving. Moreover, we do not hide that fact. We do not make a show of it of course, but neither do we hide our intentionality. Note – it is especially important for our families to see and participate in this prayer.
  • We worship regularly – at a minimum each Sunday.
  • We commit to the work of the Church and our parish by active participation, for the family of God is the best hangout possible.

Jesus has great expectations of us. If we reflect and find ourselves falling short we can start with this question: Can I invite Jesus to come along with me? If I cannot, I need to discover why and then fix that issue. If I can invite Him, why might I not be doing that in each thing.

Mr. Eddie Gibbs wrote a book, In Name Only: Tackling the Problem of Nominal Christianity. Our call is to be more than a person labeled Christian, but to be so in every way.

Welcome to our September 2023 Newsletter. September opens a whole new season in the life of our parish. There are so many great things coming up..

We reflect on this summer’s activities, prepare for Back-To-Church Sunday, honor all workers on Labor Day at Good Shepherd Cemetery, Remember 9-11-01, and continue to look ahead with eager expectation (who knows – you might be a winner in this year’s Vigil Dinner raffle).

Please join us for the Solemnity of Brotherly Love on September 10th — we are the only Church that has a special day set aside to reflect on and reinforce our obligation to love — and remember to invite and bring someone new to church on September 17th.

Check out all that and more in our September 2023 Newsletter.

July/August 2023 Newsletter – On the Faithfulness Track

And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me

Balaam’s ass is one of two animals in the Bible that can speak. She is also one of two who are a blessing to their human companions. I encourage you to read the whole story found in Numbers, Chapters 22 through 24. This story has much to tell us about our walk of faith.

Baalam was a soothsayer or magician. The King of the Moabites had called on Balaam to curse Israel who were coming out of Egypt into his land. At first Balaam would not go, listening to God, but later relented under much pressure. All along God tells Balaam not to go, but he later chooses to go, agreeing to say only what God tells him. Along the journey Balaam’s ass bows humbly and will go no further. Balaam beats the animal three times. Finally the ass speaks and asks Balaam why he has hit her. He gets angrier and tells her he would kill her. Then God opens Balaam’s eyes and he sees the Angel of the Lord with sword drawn standing in the road. The angel tells Balaam: Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me: And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.

This is a story of faithfulness and of weakened faith. The Angel (of course) and the ass are absolutely faithful to God, and in terms of the ass, to Balaam. This loyalty failed in Balaam. He chose to neglect God’s command, preferring to try making a deal with God so he could please the King of the Moabites. He also chose to hit his animal. Balaam’s disloyalty causes God to show that He is the One in charge. He can send angels and cause animals to speak. Balaam (and we) are reminded that we must follow God’s instruction. We cannot double-deal. We cannot bargain out of doing as God asks without consequences.

Our walk of faith is to be a life of loyalty to God’s command, His Word Who is Jesus, the Holy Spirit’s work in the Church. Let us not veer!

Welcome to our July/August 2023 Newsletter. We are enjoying the hot summer days and are engaging in many wonderful activities that grow our faith, serve our community, and foster our fellowship as the family of God in Schenectady.

Read a report from the Men’s Spiritual Retreat. Join in the great activities offered for our youth, musicians, and parish. We have replaced our organ – take a look. Our Food Bank partnership is underway and CarePortal is serving those most in need (23 requests met, 67 children served, and an economic impact of over $32,800).

Please join us for our parish/community picnic on the church grounds on Sunday, August 20th after the 10am Holy Mass.

BTW – we still need help in getting our funeral candlesticks refinished. Let Fr. Jim know if you have the skillset to help. 

Check out all that and more in our July/August 2023 Newsletter.

Reflection for the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time/Word of God Sunday 2023

Trust!

Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by His life.

Thank you for joining today as we complete this short time wherein we consider the mysteries of God and His action to save us. This includes the Mystery of the Trinity (two Sundays ago), of the Body and Blood of Jesus (from Thursday the 8th through Thursday the 15th), and the power of God’s Word (today).

From June 4th through today each of these topics is put before us, not so we get some academic explanation of them, but so we can learn of God’s awesome love, His desire for us, His self-revelation, and finally His desire that we trust and love Him in return.

Throughout this mini season we have focused on the connection between mystery and trust and how the Christian life must rejoice at God’s revealed mysteries. Trust is key to our relationship with God.

As you well know, our Holy Church has defined the Word of God proclaimed and taught as a sacrament, and our Church sets aside this first Ordinary Sunday after Lent, Passiontide, Easter, Pentecost, and this mini season as Word of God Sunday. We are called as clergy to make extra effort to enshrine and honor God’s word as an expression of what the Word of God means to us.

First, I would like to recommend that you do something special concerning the Word of God at home tonight, whether it is dusting off an unused Bible, or taking up that one you use regularly to share a special verse with the rest of your family. Perhaps you will think of something else beautiful for yourself and your household. Do it.

Beyond that, on this special day, consider the power of God’s Holy Word and how His Word has instructed us, has brought us into intimacy with Himself. That’s what the 12 were sent to proclaim.

The mystery we consider is defined for us in John 1:1, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. We are told that Jesus is God’s Word, existing eternally and focused on interacting with us.

Jesus, the Word, is God’s self-revelation. We know God through Jesus. The unknowable, unsearchable mystery of God’s life becomes our possession and in knowing Him we are invited into union with Him. As St. Paul tells us, the Word came at the Father’s command to reconcile us, to save us, because it was impossible to do anything of ourselves.

Paul says: how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by His life. This is not something Jesus once did and left the room. Rather He has left us His word to continue to teach us, to help us strive for full on gospel lives, and ultimately trust in what He taught, all documented in His Holy Word.

April 2023 Newsletter – In All Things New Life

The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one

The short excerpt above is from John 17:22, part of the Last Supper narrative between Jesus and His disciples, near the end of it. Whereas in the other three gospels Jesus actually eats a passover meal before He dies, in John’s gospel He doesn’t. The Last Supper is actually eaten before the beginning of Passover. So, the sequence of events leading up to the actual crucifixion are very different in John’s gospel. John’s gospel account records Jesus’ extended teaching (see John 13– 17). Although John does not retell Jesus giving the bread and the cup and instituting the New Covenant in His blood, the symbols and words used in the Lord’s Supper are abundant in John’s Gospel. While Jesus does not mention the new covenant in His blood in John, He does give the new commandment centered in that covenant (John 13:34), “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

Jesus’ teaching in this narrative are instructive to us as we move through our lives. As on Palm Sunday for Jesus, we experience times of glory and triumph. As on Maundy Thursday evening, we experience times of fellowship and bonding. As on that night and Good Friday we experience times of great sorrow and seeming defeat. Because Jesus fully understood and experienced our human condition, our joys, fellowship, pain and sadness, He wanted us to know what we have in Him.

Easter reminds us of the glory Jesus’ Father gave Him which He has now given us. This not just for the sake of having God’s glory, but so we may be one in that glory.

Easter reminds us of our new life in Jesus. It reminds us as our status as family to God and each other. We have an opportunity each day to live in this new life, so we see even our sufferings and trials in a much different way. They are not permanent. God’s love and life and our fellowship in Him overcomes even death forever. Happy Easter!

Welcome to our April 2023 Newsletter. We begin April in Holy Week and arrive quivckly at the Easter Season, reveling in the joy of Jesus’ resurrection which is also the promise of our resurrection. 

Join us throughout Holy Week and walk with Jesus through His passion, death, and burial so to arrive at His resurrection. One set of events cannot be understood without the other.

Our newsletter contains our full calendar of events, reminders of upcoming events, including the ever popular Basket Social on April 30th.

We look forward to seeing you.

Check out all that and more in our April 2023 Newsletter.