Pastor’s Corner — July 20th, 2025
Starting Monday: Divine Mercy Chaplet and Rosary Before Daily Mass
A couple of weeks ago I announced that on Monday July 21st we will start praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet before each weekday 8:30am Mass. The Rosary will begin at 7:50am and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy will immediately follow.
The world needs mercy now more than ever and it is my strong hope that our parish will play a greater role in imploring God the Father to pour out his mercy on everyone, especially those who most need it. I am happy to be the Pastor of a parish that embraces two of the most revered and powerful devotions together before Holy Mass: the Holy Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet. To this end, I am also grateful for all of our parishioners who can and do come early to pray before Mass. What a witness that is!
2025 Encounter Conference (July 16-18)
Today (Tuesday) I’m leaving for the 2025 Encounter Conference this week in Toledo, OH. Sold out at 4,000 in-person attendees, 175 priests and 5 bishops and hundreds more attending online, this is the largest conference we’ve ever had. The conference is always a family event with tracks for kids and middle-schoolers, but it also is a time where we can be renewed in the Holy Spirit and inspired about what’s possible in the Christian life. I strongly believe the Holy Spirit is truly blessing the Church through this conference each year. Being a Jubilee Year, I believe the Lord is going to pour out even more grace on those who are present. Please say a prayer for all the conference attendees and entrust the conference to the intercession of Our Lady.
Why does the Church not admit divorced and remarried Catholics to the Eucharist?
Father Mark Rutherford, a priest of the Diocese of Lansing and Judicial Vicar of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA recently answered this question in Faith Magazine. It was very well done and it’s worth republishing here:
“Divorce and civil remarriage present significant pastoral challenges within the Catholic Church. In his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul states, “Whoever … eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner … eats and drinks judgment upon himself.” (1 Cor 11:27-29) These warnings and prayers highlight the profound reverence required of anyone who approaches the Eucharist.
Therefore, one’s eagerness to receive may never exceed proper reverence. At the same time, Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia reminds us that the Church must avoid presenting marriage and family life as an abstract ideal disconnected from the often-messy situations faced by real families. While upholding the truth of the indissolubility of marriage, the Holy Father urges a compassionate, case-by-case pastoral accompaniment that respects the dignity and conscience of the faithful, but in a manner that is consistent with the truth. A conscience inconsistent with the truth is called an unjustified conscience, and requires formation.
The Church teaches that anyone conscious of grave sin must go to confession before receiving Holy Communion. (cf. c. 916; CCC 1385) Divorce itself does not automatically bar a person from Holy Communion — unless there is unconfessed grave sin directly tied to the divorce. (CCC 2386) When a divorced person remarries without a decree of nullity, its dissolution, or lack of canonical form, the Church presumes the original marriage bond remains intact. (CCC 1650) A new civil union is thus considered “irregular,” and the Church is unable to allow them to receive Communion. (CCC 2390)
Nevertheless, the Church exercises maternal care for those in difficult marital situations. Pastors are called to walk patiently with them. The following, outlined by Pope St. John Paul II in Familiaris Consortio (84) is to be followed under the direction of one’s pastor:
• First, seek a tribunal’s guidance on whether the original marriage might be null or dissolvable, or, if you or the other party were Catholic at the time of the marriage contract, whether it lacked canonical form.
• Second, if the first marriage’s validity is not overturned, a pastor can offer spiritual direction, explaining the Church’s teaching with compassion.
• Third, couples who are divorced and remarried may remain together, for grave reasons, but must refrain from marital relations (“live as brother and sister”).
• Fourth, in confession, repent for violating the marriage covenant and commit to continence. Repentance and continence, open the gate, so to speak, to the Eucharist.
• Fifth, return to the Eucharist. A divorced and remarried Catholic committed to the brother-sister clause may again approach Holy Communion.
By combining reverence for the sacrament with sensitive accompaniment, divorced and remarried Catholics can find hope, healing, and — ultimately — a path to reception of the Body of Christ.
I’m proud of the fact that we have had so many people at St Pats in these situations, seeking annulments and reconciliation with God and the Church. In fact, we’ve had many couples reconciled with the Church, obtain annulments and get married in the Church through a convalidation. (A convalidation is a wedding, a new consent in the Church).
If you know anyone who is divorced and remarried and struggling, please encourage them to reach out to Fr Joshua or me and we can walk with them through this process.
HVAC Issues in the Church
Here’s an update from Ryan Nardozzi regarding our HVAC system and the temperature in the Church:
We are aware that on some occasions, it has been warmer than usual in the Church and gathering space. We are currently experiencing some dysfunction with a couple of the units which are having difficulty keeping up with the extra hot weather we’re having. We are currently looking at options to repair and/or replace these units. We appreciate your patience as we continue to troubleshoot. Thank you!
Ryan Nardozzi,
Director of Operations
Your servant in the Lord,
Fr. Mathias