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March 21, 2021 Fifth Sunday of Lent

3/11/2021

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Dear brothers and sisters,
                                                      The Hour and the Glory
 
The readings for this Sunday’s mass present us again with the paradox of the cross. For our reflection last week, we gazed on the crucifix, where we encountered the gory effects of our sins on the crucified body of Jesus. Concurrently, we experienced the grace of salvation through Christ’s absorption of our sin guilt through his liberating death. What a mystery of faith! In the liturgy of the word this Sunday, we hear Jeremiah speaks about the days in the future when God will forgive our evildoing and remember our sins no more (Jer. 31:34). The Letter to the Hebrews describes the fulfillment of this prophecy “when Christ Jesus in the flesh offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears” and “became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Hebrews 5:7-9). The moment, the day, the hour of glory is finally here for us to see. To see is to believe.
 
With the Greek converts who came to Philip, moved by faith, we seek to meet and know Jesus, who presents himself in the hour of his death as the source of salvation for all people, Jews and Gentiles alike. Using the metaphor of a grain of wheat that must fall to the ground and die to produce fruits, Jesus makes it clear that the way of the cross is the way to glory: no cross, no glory. Like a grain of wheat, Jesus will die, but he will be lifted up from the earth and “draw everyone to” himself. (John 12:32). We have come to see Jesus at the hour of his glory. We shall behold both his death and his glory when he is lifted up from the earth and draws all of us to himself.
 
Jesus shows us we are loved and forgiven by his death on the cross. In his death on the cross, he is glorified. We have come to see Jesus in his hour of glory. We have come to receive hope for a new life. At the same time, we are challenged to be like Christ, to die to self, like a grain of wheat, to fall to the ground and die, to lose our lives in him to gain eternal life. How do we plan to die to selves to become fruitful? Are we willing to enter into his hour to share in his glory? Think about these as we get ready next week for the celebration of the passion of the Lord.
 
                               Wishing you a Happy Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord this week.
 
Fr. Bernard, OP
 

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March 14, 2021 Fourth Sunday of Lent

3/4/2021

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Dear brothers and sisters,

                                                 God is Triple-L: Love, Life, and Light
 
Ours is God triple L God is love. God demonstrates his love for us by offering his only begotten Son as a sacrifice on the cross for our redemption. The cross is the place of perfect love. There, Jesus freely suffered death to bring about our salvation. Just as the brazen serpent raised up by Moses in the wilderness was a source of salvation from the serpent’s sting, from the venom of sin and death, so did Jesus raised up on the cross a means of redemption of believers from sin and death. Jesus' death on the cross is love in perfection. Jesus’ passion and death on the cross are what saved humanity from eternal death.
 
Therefore, God is life because we were dead in sin until he restored us to life through the life of His Son. It is his death and resurrection that restore us to new life, beginning with our baptism. Our soul is destined for eternal death as a result of sin. A believer would die eternal death due to sin but would gain eternal life due to God’s enduring love and abundant mercy.
 
And we say, God is light because His truth enlightens us on what is right and virtuous, showing us the right path to follow by his grace. We receive life in God through our belief and embrace of the truth of the Gospel. The revealed truth about God and his commandments are lights to guide us on the right path to God. We have the freedom to accept the light of truth or reject it by justifying our choice of falsehood or by the hardening of our hearts. The choice is ours. As St. Augustine says, God who made us without us won’t save us without us. It is our choice to respond or not respond to the grace of his light of truth.
 
In His relationship with His chosen people, the Israelites, God kept his promise to remain their God even after they freely rejected him and his messengers. God keeps his covenant with his people. God “had compassion on his people and his dwelling place.” Though his chosen ones mocked his messengers and despised his warnings which had consequences in the destruction of the temple and their deportation to Babylon, God never abandoned his people and used a pagan King Cyrus to rebuild his temple and his people (2 Chr. 36:14-16, 19-23). God is “rich in mercy,” and his love brought us to life with Christ by his grace ( Eph. 2:4).
 
Do you have Triple-A membership? By this, I mean, do you believe and accept the saving grace of God of love, life, and light? Would you find time during this Lent to contemplate and pray to God who loves us and brings us to life through the light of his truth in Jesus, his only begotten Son?
Have a happy St. Patrick and St. Joseph days this week.
 
In Christ Crucified,
 
Fr. Bernard, OP
 
N.B: Though the Solemnity of Saint Joseph falls on a Friday, March 19th  this year, there is no obligation to abstain from meat nor need for any dispensation for the day (see Canon 1251).
 
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Fridays: Closed



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Mailing Address:  
1840 Marshall Drive
Elizabethtown, PA 17
022

GPS Address:
904 Mill Road
Elizabethtown, PA 17022

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Phone: 717-367-1255
Fax: 717-367-1270

Email: bulletininfo@stpeteretown.org



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  • Home
  • From The Pastor
  • Online Streaming
    • Mass Archives
  • Parish Info
    • Welcome
    • Mass & Reconciliation
    • Sacramental Information
    • Register With Parish
    • RESOURCES
    • Parish Team
    • Photo Gallery
  • Education
    • OCIA
    • Guardian Angel
    • Religious Education >
      • RE Registration
      • RE Online Payment
      • Sacrament Information
    • Vacation Bible School
    • Catholic Education
    • SCRIP
  • Ministry
    • YOUTH MINISTRY
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    • CAMPUS MINISTRY
    • Parish Ministries
  • News
    • Parishioner News
    • DIOCESAN NEWS
    • Weekly Bulletin
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    • Monthly Look
    • Upcoming Events
    • St Peter Columbarium
  • Stewardship
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