This weekend is the 3rd Sunday of Easter. Let us listen as Jesus speaks to us in the gospel about being apostles of the good news. Let us rejoice as we hear from the bishop about the relaxing of some of our liturgical guidelines, based on pastor discretion at each parish. We will not be…

Fr. Gerard Lecomte, CJM This weekend is the Second Sunday of Easter or Sunday of Divine Mercy. The introduction to the liturgy of the day “Lord, have mercy” that we pray at the beginning of Mass calls upon the Lord to have mercy on us in our sinfulness. We celebrate that divine mercy, the mercy that…

Fr. Gerard Lecomte, CJM At St James-St Leo, we take part in a Lenten practice Operation Rice Bowl. This is a wonderful way to make connections between fasting and almsgiving. Children especially can benefit from such hands-on practices. Rather than simply being instructed to “give something up” for Lent, children can be formed into the…

We gather together, as we do each Sunday, as the body of Christ. Jesus called us to love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. This Valentine’s Day, we commit ourselves to nurturing that love for God and love for…

Fr. Gerard Lecomte, CJM Today, I will present you with a few important things on our liturgical calendar. First the big day: Monday, February 8th, is the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking. Each year, thousands of vulnerable men, women, and children are trafficked across our borders and then forced into slavery. Our Eudist…

A Note from the Pastor Fr. Gerard Lecomte, CJM The Baptism of the Lord is a Christmas feast, a feast of the epiphany of God in human flesh and blood. I hope we will sing at least some carols this weekend. At our baptism we were told, “you have become a new creation and have…

Be Prepared! In this time of pandemic, our bishop has granted the possibility of general absolution during Mass at Advent, since there will be no communal penance services. Our preparation for Christmas can and should be also a spiritual preparation. I invite our believers to get prepared for General Absolution by meditating on the wonderful text of…

A Note from the Pastor Fr. Gerard Lecomte, CJM Take time to reflect on how you will use the next four weeks to prepare your heart for Christmas. This weekend we begin the season of Advent, which marks the start of a new liturgical year for the Church. The readings for Sunday Mass are arranged…

Today Jesus tells the parable of the talents. Two of the servants use them to make more; the third buries his in the ground. As we celebrate the Eucharist today, let us consider how we use our God-given talents and how we could use them more beneficially.  I invite you to listen again to Dcn.…

Fr. Gerard’s Corner Sainthood would seem to be a very exclusive club, like the Hall of Fame or a group of Lifetime Achievement winners, but the communion of saints is actually much larger than just the saints formally recognized by the Catholic Church. John’s vision in Revelation of an uncountable multitude gives a good picture…