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Sunday, February 15, 2026
Hello folks,
The Lord be with you all!
We are living in the time of mercy! This mercy is a precious gift of Our Lord to us, but perhaps we misuse His mercy to facilitate a type of mediocrity among us too. We move from trusting in Our Lord’s Mercy to presuming upon it, and oftentimes under appreciating the importance both of the sins which He would forgive and, more importantly, the far greater and more excellent life that His Mercy opens up for us. In the Gospel today, Our Lord says that not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law until Heaven and earth pass away. Furthermore, He also frequently corrects the Pharisees’ and scholars’ and our own misunderstanding of the law. The law’s purpose is not about minimal external observance; He helps us recognize what it implies about our interior “heart,” where we are responsible for thoughts, words and deeds. I was recently speaking with a person who many years ago had had a so-called near death experience, and one of the many things that had struck this lady was the ability to communicate absolutely clearly in thought alone (something others have also noted in mystical experiences). So much of prayer is also a quite mental communication with God or with our guardian angel or with the saints. To be sure, we cannot control, nor are we responsible for, every thought that enters our head, but we can take responsibility for them and dispose of them (sometimes by handing them over to the Lord) or guide them to purposes in line with holiness and virtue (or excellence). A big part of conversion is the renewal of the mind. As we are about to enter Lent, let’s collectively and individually ask the Lord for this gift and excellence!
This coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. Although not a holy day of obligation, it is often better attended than most holy days! (Perhaps its wide observance can also point the way to moving beyond the minimum practices to remain in God’s grace, e.g. trying to attend the sacrifice of Mass more than just on Sundays and Holy Days, but also on any other day that it might be possible for us to do so…moving from “obligation” to loving…) See the full public schedule for Ash Wednesday Masses and services outside of Mass on page X. Please start asking the Lord about what He would like you to do during this Lent in terms of increased prayer, fasting and alms-giving, so as to help you to love holiness. Pay attention here: I am not asking so much what can I or you do to become holier, but rather what can we do to LOVE holiness! Sometimes, I fear we might confuse holiness with simply increasing what we think we should do, increasing “obligation” rather than increasing loving. Yes, love is not just a feeling, but hopefully our passions will become increasingly trained to pursue holiness and, in a sense, to enjoy it (even when it is tough…think about when you have endured a great difficulty to achieve a great end, and you “wouldn’t change a thing” about the struggle because the conclusion is so good).
Stations of the Cross will be starting up on Fridays and I also want to mention that the Knights of Columbus will have another family movie night on Saturday, February 21, in the hall beneath Saint Joseph’s following the 4pm Mass. They will be showing the 2025 animated movie (from Angel Studios) “King of Kings.” The two Lenten Fish Fries at Saint John’s will be on Fridays, March 13 and 27. Tickets are on sale after Masses.
Finally, your increased financial support is much appreciated. Both the heating and snow removal bills this year are way, way more than normal! For example, it’s not just that the ongoing cold means needing more heat, but several times we have had to set the heating far higher than normal in order to avoid the possibility of frozen pipes which are not just inconvenient but have led to insurance claims across the Archdiocese sometimes running into tens of thousands of dollars, which drive up our insurance premiums. Thanks again for your generosity!
God bless,
Father Maher
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