ABVM PARISH COMMUNITY

  DON’T BELIEVE THE LIES The state of Delaware recently joined some twenty other states in the Union, including New Jersey, in legalizing the recreational use of marijuana.  This despite its proven negative physical and mental health effects.  Study after study indicate that recreational use of marijuana is unhealthy and potentially dangerous.  Too many governors and state legislators are ignoring them.  For whatever reason, they are listening to the promoters of marijuana who have a vested interest in profiting from the legal sale of pot.  Some pro-pot politicians have even spoken of the favorable effect on tax proceeds which will be gained by legalizing pot.  These lawmakers do not deserve to remain in office.  The United States Department of Health and Human Services warns of the many risks from using marijuana: permanent non-reversible IQ loss – as much as 8 points in young people; increased levels of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and psychotic episodes.  The Department w

  JESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD The herding of sheep was one of the most common professions in the ancient world.  People understood how important a shepherd was to the sheep.  Without him, they were helpless.  At times a good shepherd had to risk his life to protect them.  He had few possessions and lived with the sheep in the fields.  The shepherd was important not only to the sheep but to the population in general.  If the sheep were not nourished and protected, they would not be a steady source of food and wool.  Moreover, sheep were essential to the most important religious ceremonies of Israel, especially Passover.  The ritual sacrifice of a healthy, one-year old male lamb, and its consumption by the family or families that offered it, was the heart of its observance.  At the beginning of the establishment of the kingdom of Israel and the end of the reign of the judges, some good and some bad, God chose a shepherd to lead his people.  King Saul had proven to be unworthy, and so God

  CHANGE IS COMING Change is not always welcome.  We have our routines to which we have become accustomed and when they are interrupted it can be annoying.  I can speak from personal experience; in the past, the most difficult for me have been changes in priestly assignments; leaving what I know, people I care about, having to put into someone else’s hands projects I might have planned or started, and the whole hassle of moving.  But through every change God has been with me and has helped me to grow.  The change which many of you have experienced is much more traumatic than my changes in assignment.  Perhaps you have experienced a terrible medical diagnosis, the loss of a spouse or child, divorce, the loss of a job, etc.  All these events which so many experience initiate unwelcome change.  It is difficult, but as followers of Christ we have great support.  We have the Church to help us by her prayers, the sacraments, and brothers and sisters in Christ.  The one to whom we have de

  DIVINE MERCY Pope St. John Paul II designated the Second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday on April 30, 2000.   This was the fruit of the request of St. Faustina Kowalska (d.1938), the visionary nun who promoted devotion to the Divine Mercy. Mercy is an important theme throughout the Bible.   There are two Hebrew terms, ḥesed and raḥămîm , which are translated into English as mercy or love .   As mercy, ḥesed is received as a gift from God.   It is not earned.   It is an essential element in any loving relationship with God, and it requires reciprocity from the one who is loved in order to bear fruit in one’s life.   God revealed this to Moses after giving him the Ten Commandments.   Exodus 34:6-7 recounts that “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy and faithfulness, keeping merciful love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear

  PROOFS OF THE RESURRECTION I believe that there is solid evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  First, there were many witnesses.  St. Paul writes to the Corinthians that after his appearance to Cephas (Peter) and the apostles “he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep” (1 Cor 15:6) .  We know that Paul wrote his letter sometime between AD 55 and 57, only twenty years after the death of Christ.  His letter was quickly copied and passed around to Christians in Greece, Asia Minor (Turkey), and Palestine.  If what he wrote was false, it would have easily been discovered and condemned. Many Jews in Jerusalem came to believe in Christ on and after Pentecost, after hearing the preaching of Peter, the apostles, and others who had seen him alive after his death.  The same men who had run away when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane were now boldly proclaiming that he had risen from the dead!