Scriptual Commentary

Pentecost – Bright Tongues of Fire; Tighter Bonds of Community

| Fr. William Smith

Impromptu Gathering on Church Steps after the 9 AM Mass last Sunday

Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the First Reading
Pentecost Sunday
Acts 2:1-11
May 23, 2021

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Disciples is one of the determining events of Christianity, yet it is dramatized in four verses in the “Acts of the Apostles.” This certainly reveals Luke’s literary skill but also that he could rely on his readers or listeners recognizing the scriptural references and making a commitment to studying his work intensely and often. In preparation for Pentecost, we will rely more heavily on quoting from the scriptures, both the Old Testament and Luke’s Gospel, than usual to make it more understandable.

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Homilies, Videos

7th Sunday of Easter – Homily (Fr. Smith)

| St. Charles Borromeo

There is nothing more important in life than who we love, yet it has been well said that we cannot explain why we love someone. If a husband were to say that he loved his wife because she was beautiful, she might indignantly answer “What happens if I lost my beauty?” “Would you still love me?” If she however told her husband that she loved him because he was a good provider he could well respond, “Would you still love me if I lost my job?” Why we love is a mystery because there is simply too much meaning to express in questions and answers. It is the stuff of poetry and drama not philosophy and science and the best even the most subline literature can accomplish is the hinting at the fullness. 

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Events, Videos

Community Mass – 7th Sunday of Easter

| St. Charles Borromeo

Please join us to celebrate the 7th Sunday of Easter on Sunday, May 16th.

Our current Mass times are:

Today’s readings and hymns are available to download below.

2021-05-15 7EDownload

Bulletin

7th Sunday of Easter – Treating All as Brothers and Sisters

| Fr. William Smith

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.

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Events, Videos

Community Mass – Ascension Thursday

| St. Charles Borromeo

Please join us to celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord on Thursday, May 13th.

The Mass for today will be held at:;

View today’s readings on the USCCB website.