Deacon Larry Jesmer

1ST READING:  WISDOM 18:6-9
2ND READING:  HEBREWS 11:1-2, 8,19
GOSPEL       LUKE 12:32-48

Seasons change and our plans anticipate that change. Fall is coming. Autumn is just around the corner. I am particularly distracted in the season of my upcoming retirement. Talk about trying to prepare!

Parents are now preparing for the upcoming school year. The buying of new school clothes for the kids and all that stuff they need for classes. Children are starting to dread the loss of vacation time. Business people are starting to make plans for the upcoming holiday season. Farmers are preparing for the fall harvest. We all look ahead, to plan, anticipate what is coming up in our lives. It is a part of our culture and our very being. …

19th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

1ST READING   ISAIAH 66:10-14c
2ND READING  GALATIANS 6:14-18
GOSPEL       LUKE 10:1-12, 17-20

I have always liked Father Rick’s opening welcome when he says; “We have the Good Health and Freedom to come from far and near to worship.” Freedom is a word I don’t take for granted. Freedom for Christians comes with one condition of which I’ll tell you a little bit later but for now, think of what freedom means for you and we will see if we come to the same understanding.

Our first reading from Isaiah was written after the return of the exiled Jewish nation from Babylon. In this powerful scripture passage God promises to send peace flowing over Jerusalem like a river. If this message sounds good to us in our times, think how good it must have sounded to the tired remnants of Israel, recently returning from the desert, from exile and the discouraging circumstances.

The image God inspired in Isaiah are all full of hope, from the river of peace to the consolation of the nursing child and the promise of fresh growing things in the springtime. These are healing words meant for broken hearts.

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14th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

1ST READING: 1 KINGS 17:17-24
2ND READING: GALATIANS 1:11-19
GOSPEL: LUKE 7:11-17

Mercy! What a powerful word. This word is so powerful that Jesus was compelled after seeing the mother in our gospel story mourning the loss of her only son, to reach out in action.

But why does Luke tell us about the raising of the son of a widow from Nain? Because this story tells us about Jesus and reveals an action of Jesus, who in his great love for us, is Mercy itself.

It is worth our time to get clear on exactly what mercy is, especially during this Year of Mercy that we have been mentioning so much and is shown on our church wall with the banner of “The Year of Mercy.” Already we have heard the word mercy many times since the start of mass and will hear more before the mass has ended.

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10th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

1ST Reading:  Acts 15:1-2, 22-29

2nd Reading:  Revelation 21:10-114, 22-23
Gospel:      John 14: 23-29

We finally arrived. My wife and I arrived at our destination tired and in need of nourishment, peace and silence. Yes, we had arrived at Mount Angel Abby in Oregon.

As we finished our initial class on our Marriage Encounter weekend, we realized what a beautiful place this is. Mount Angel, a beautiful hill in the middle of the country where the Benedictine monks reside and the seminary that trains men to become our future priests. This all sits at the top of this hill.

This hill is where we resided during our stay that weekend. As we gazed out our room window, which seemed to frame the beauty outside, we saw a panoramic view of the valley below. The first flowers making the announcement that Spring was just around the corner was in bloom. We were presented with the greatness and the majesty of God. …

6th Sunday of EasterRead More »

1st reading   Acts: 5:12-16
2nd reading  Rev: 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19
Gospel      John 20:19-31                  

The Cross of Christ! Who would have thought back at that moment in time what the cross would mean for all of humanity! This wooden cross-meant for torture and death. This cross-where Mercy in the flesh hung. This cross- where Jesus conquered sin and death because of the greatest love we could never imagine, the love of God for his creation, for us!

Divine Mercy Sunday comes at an appropriate time in our church year, the Sunday after Easter. In a way, through our reflections on the Triduum and Easter Sunday, we have been preparing for God’s Divine Mercy and the impact it can have on us as individuals and as a Church. …

Divine MercyRead More »