Dear friends at Saint Mary’s and Saint Frances Cabrini Parishes,

The Lord shares with us the gift of his peace!
In the Gospel of Luke (25:35-48,) the risen Lord appears to the disciples, stands in their midst and says to them, “Peace be with you.” The disciples had just lived the difficult events of the crucifixion and, perhaps, were still trying to make sense of all that had just happened. Their hearts must have been troubled, some of them ashamed for having abandoned the Lord at the time of his passion. The risen Lord, however, comes and shares the gift of peace with his friends, whom he loves and forgives.

In Colombia, growing up, the word “peace” had generally the following connotation: the end of internal civil war between the guerrillas and the Colombian armed forces, the army more specifically. The guerrillas had entire towns under regimes of fear and violence. Peace, of course, was the dream of many people (and indeed that of the whole country) that for years had seen violence as a mechanism to control and to destroy.

The risen Lord shares the gift of his peace with his disciples, a peace that forgives and ends all fear and shame as well as the violence of revenge and retaliation.  He shows them the mark of the nails in his hands, bringing them back to the time of his passion. The Lord shows them his hands and his feet not to condemn them but so that they may believe in the gift of mercy and forgiveness that he is and that he brings: “Look… it is I myself” (Luke 24:39.)
In the sacrament of Reconciliation, the gifts of peace and forgiveness are closely linked together. When the priest recites the formula of absolution, he says: “...through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace…” Forgiveness heals and restores and, in the absence of division and chaos, there can be peace. This is why peace is not just the absence of war but also the healing and restoration of what sin has broken. The risen Lord restores his friendship with his disciples when he visits them and shows them the wounds in his hands and feet, which are healed and do not hurt anymore.

This coming Saturday, April 24th, six men from our Archdiocese will be ordained to the transitional diaconate. We pray for them and for all the ministers in our Church. The Lord said in the Gospel, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9.) All the baptized, ordained ministers and lay faithful are called to “share with one another the sign of peace” which, at the same time, is a call to be merciful and to forgive.  

The Lord has set an example for us to follow in sharing the gift of his forgiveness and his peace with his disciples. As we continue celebrating the risen Lord, may we share in the freedom that he enjoys and that he offers by forgiving and offering others the peace that comes from the Lord.

Readings for the week of April 18, 2021
Sunday:    Acts 3:13-15, 17-19/Ps 4:2, 4, 7-8, 9 [7a]/1 Jn 2:1-5a/Lk 24:35-48 

Monday:    Acts 6:8-15/Ps 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30 [1ab]/Jn 6:22-29

Tuesday:    Acts 7:51—8:1a/Ps 31:3cd-4, 6 and 7b and 8a, 17 and 21ab [6a]/Jn 6:30-35

Wednesday:    Acts 8:1b-8/Ps 66:1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a [1]/Jn 6:35-40

Thursday:    Acts 8:26-40/Ps 66:8-9, 16-17, 20 [1]/Jn 6:44-51

Friday:        Acts 9:1-20/Ps 117:1bc, 2 [Mk 16:15]/Jn 6:52-59

Saturday:    Acts 9:31-42/Ps 116:12-13, 14-15, 16-17 [12]/Jn 6:60-69

Next Sunday:    Acts 4:8-12/Ps 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29 [22]/1 Jn 3:1-2/Jn 10:11-18

Normal Mass Schedule
Sundays: 7:30am, 9:30am
12:00pm (Español)
Monday through Friday: 6:15am

Normal Confessions and Adoration
Thursdays from 5:30pm-6:30pm

Normal Parish Office Hours
Monday through Friday
8:30am-12noon

*Please note that there is a "mask-only Mass" 

option offered at Saint Frances Cabrini on Saturdays at 4:30pm.