Last summer, the Parish Scripture Commentary in our weekly emails examined St. Paul’s “Letter to the Romans.” This year, the Second Reading from next week to the end the summer will be from his “Letter to the Ephesians.” This is an interesting letter with many insights for today.
Category: Bulletin
Governance Committee for Parish Leadership Structure
Shape the future of our parish! We are recruiting volunteers to participate in an ad hoc Governance Committee to decide issues regarding parish leadership. In particular, the committee will meet just a few times on Zoom between now and September 30 to develop a plan regarding the number of members of the Parish Pastoral Council and Finance Council, the term limits of those members and our lay Trustees, and how to apply the limits to the current membership.
If you are willing to serve in this important, but not time-consuming, role, please contact the rectory by this Friday, July 2.
The Watermark: Open House Weekend
The Watermark at Brooklyn Heights invites us to tour its new spaces and learn more about independent living, assisted living and memory care.
To arrange a tour during open house weekend, please contact Ann Murtagh at 347-343-4900 or [email protected]. Tours will be offered between 10 AM and 6 PM on June 12 and 13.
The Watermark at Brooklyn Heights is located at 21 Clark Street.
About the Watermark at Brooklyn Heights
The Watermark at Brooklyn Heights is a historic landmark. Our modernized 1920s-era building features an art studio and gallery on the mezzanine, showcasing work from local artists; you’ll also find a theater, programs and activities from our award-winning Watermark University, a heated indoor pool; as well as a range of mind/body wellness programs at the fitness and wellness center.
7 PM Evening Mass resumes Sunday
Have a busy weekend, coming back home from out of town, or just want to start your week right? Brooklyn’s Last Chance Mass at 7 PM on Sundays is for you. It returns to St. Charles this Sunday on Corpus Christi, 6/6.
Trinity Sunday – Homily (Fr. Smith)
There are many things I will appreciate more post-Covid. Already, I have enjoyed seeing people’s teeth, especially their smiles. It is amazing how much a smile can bring to life. I appreciate what we are doing now: coming together to celebrate Mass, live, in person and able to exchange pleasantries on the church steps, something I would have taken for granted only a year ago. However, more important than these has been my greater appreciation of the Trinity.
Continue reading “Trinity Sunday – Homily (Fr. Smith)”7th Sunday of Easter – Treating All as Brothers and Sisters
Christ Taking Leave of the Apostles, Duccio di Buoninsegna, c. 1308 – 1311,
Museo dell’Opera metropolitana del Duomo (Siena)
Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Seventh Sunday of Easter
1 John 4:11-16
May 16, 2021
Paraphrasing an old Italian saying the 17th century French philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote: “Man is neither angel nor beast, and unhappily whoever wants to act the angel, acts the beast.”
John the Presbyter (elder) shares this concern. (For background on the authorship of John’s letters, see the commentary for April 11, 2021) We have followed him these six Sundays of Easter and saw that the community his great predecessors the Evangelist and the Beloved Disciple formed and inspired had become fractured and divided over the nature of sin and redemption. The differences had become so complete that he referred to his opponents as “antichrists.”
As we come to the end of our reading of the first letter of John, is there a lesson for us? Unfortunately, there is, and it is both timeless and timely.
Continue reading “7th Sunday of Easter – Treating All as Brothers and Sisters”5th Sunday of Easter – Actively Loving Each Other
Photo by Max Harlynking on Unsplash
Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Fifth Sunday of Easter
1 John 3:18-24
May 2, 2021
Have you ever been asked if you were “saved” and felt that you didn’t quite know the answer John the Presbyter (elder) who wrote the first letter of John will help us answer this from today’s reading.
If the person who asked the question is a traditional Protestant, he is assuming that to be saved means to have had a strong and unmistakable experience that God has chosen you for his own. If she has a good grounding in Calvinism, she knows that this reflects the belief that humankind is hopelessly corrupt and broken, and even God cannot make us holy and whole. Therefore, God accepts – saves – some people by ignoring their sins. They are not changed by God’s grace, it is a free and gratuitous gift of God. Therefore, after one has had this experience, a person cannot be unsaved. It is permanent. No wonder that it is called being “born again.”
There is a great truth here. No one can save himself; God’s action must come first and is absolutely necessary. Yet Catholicism believes that we are not totally corrupt. God’s grace – that is a relationship with Jesus – can change us so that we become more like Him. Therefore, although the church has an ancient and well-developed mystical tradition, no one experience of God is definitive. Although our actions cannot save us, they will show if we are in a right relationship with God. The Catholic question is “Is your conscience clear?” After examining our consciences, do we find ourselves free of Mortal – deadly – sin which would sever our relationship with God?
Continue reading “5th Sunday of Easter – Actively Loving Each Other”