Weekly messages from our Pastor

It’s true, Jesus suffered and died for our sins once and for all. But, he continues to suffer in you and me, his church, the Body of Christ.

This brings me to last week’s ‘Question of the Week,’ “How do you experience Jesus in the midst of your family? Your parish? Your community?

As a priest, I’m invited to experience the ‘suffering Christ’ every day in my ministry. For example, the parishioners I stop in to see at the hospital continue to humble me by their simple lives of faith. As I encounter the suffering Christ in our parishioners, I feel I’m on sacred ground, because at that particular time and place I realize, “the presence of God is becoming real in this room today, this is true faith!

As people of God, we experience the ‘suffering Christ,’ but we’re also called to experience the ‘resurrected Christ!’ Recently, after celebrating morning Mass, I must have looked a little preoccupied or tired. Anyway, after Mass, a number of people came up to me and told me they were praying for me, and not to worry about anything, that everything would be fine. What a great morning, to receive Jesus in the Word, and in the Eucharist, and to continue to experience him in his Church, in the Body of Christ. In the support, the hope, the encouragement,

I truly experienced the ‘resurrected Christ’ that morning.

I’d like to end this letter with a word on prayer. If we expect to experience Jesus in our daily life, we need to set aside a few moments each day to be with God to reflect on our daily experiences. A little time and a simple question, “when did we experience the presence of Jesus today?” This little practice will pay dividends beyond our wildest dreams.

God bless you,

Fr. John Murray, C.Ss.R.