In May, we honor our Blessed Mother. We invite you to join us in praying a novena to the Our Lady of Fatima. If you haven’t joined in before, novenas consist of short prayers and will last less than 10 minutes. They are wonderful ways to orient your day to God.
The novena will be said on nine consecutive days at 5 PM starting on Sunday, May 16 through Monday, May 24.
The novena will be said on the parish Zoom channel. Instructions on how to join are available here.
St. Peter Baptizing the Centurion Cornelius, Francesco Trevisani (1656-1746)
Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Sixth Sunday of Easter
1 John 4:7-10
May 9, 2021
One of the most beloved verses in Scripture is John 3:16:
For God so loved the world
(Jn 3:16)
that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him
might not perish
but might have eternal life
It is very beautiful and moving but somewhat vague.
The lines that follow can be easily misinterpreted as meaning that we be saved, receive eternal life, by mentally acknowledging the mission and divinity of Jesus.
For God did not send his Son into the world
(Jn 3:17–18)
to condemn the world, but
that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him
will not be condemned, but
whoever does not believe
has already been condemned,
because he has not believed
in the name of the only Son of God
Some readers of John the Evangelist, the author of the Gospel, would have interpreted this passage in this way. (Please see the commentary for April 17, 2021 for an explanation of the different people to whom we apply the name John.) Love is important in every time and place, but the word has many different meanings. A twentieth century theologian wrote that love has run through our times like a greased pig. Love always makes itself felt but the meaning is hard to grasp onto. Most people would define love as a feeling and often merely being polite and “nice.”
Continue reading “6th Sunday of Easter – Knowing God, Loving As Jesus”Please join us to celebrate the 6th Sunday of Easter on Sunday, May 9th.
Our current Mass times are:
Today’s readings and hymns are available to download below.
Please download the worship aid to participate in tonight’s evening prayer, which will begin at 5 PM.
Instructions on how to join are available here.
Jesus walked before he talked. By this I mean that he saw his world up close and slow before he began his preaching and teaching. His use of biblical imagery is particularly effective because he knew the physical realities of growth and rot, care and neglect, competence and incompetence from personal experience. This is particularly important for understanding today’s gospel.
Jesus lived in Nazareth but as a general contractor – a better choice for the Greek word we usually translate as carpenter – he would have worked mostly in the Greek speaking town of Sepphoris It was about a 4 mile walk and there were many fields with sheep and many vineyards with grapes and olives. When he calls himself the good shepherd, he has seen the dedication of good shepherds but understands why the scriptures use bad, self-serving, shepherds as the most potent image of corrupt leadership. He brings his experience to give this image greater effect. So too today with the vineyard.
Jesus saw vineyards grow or decline on his walk to and from work. After an evening storm he would have seen branches that were separated from the trunk of the tree looking good and healthy on the morning walk to Sepphoris but they would have been obviously decaying on the way back to Nazareth and dead the next day. They were fit only to burn.
Dear St. Charles Parish Family and Friends,
I regret to inform you of the death of Ray Guidone, a faithful parishioner and a member of our parish’s Finance Council. He was a professor of computer systems technology at New York City Tech for many years.
There will be a wake at the Church (19 Sidney Place) in the narthex, beginning at 10 AM on Thursday, May 6, followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 11 AM.
We extend our condolences to his family and friends.
May he rest in peace.
In Christ,
Fr. Bill
Please join us to celebrate the 5th Sunday of Easter on Sunday, May 2nd.
Our current Mass times are:
Today’s readings and hymns are available to download below.
