Divine Mercy Sunday

My dear brothers and sister in Christ, Christ has risen alleluia! As we rejoice in the resurrection of the Lord, I wish God’s blessings upon each and everyone. The Easter season is the most important of all liturgical times. This season begins with celebrating the resurrection of Our Lord from the dead and culminates in His Ascension to the Father and sending of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. The initial joy of the disciples in seeing the risen Lord extends for a period of eight days which is known as the ‘Easter Octave’. The length of the Easter season is fifty days and concludes on Pentecost Sunday. There is no evidence in any of the religions of the world that anyone other than Jesus Christ has died and come back to life on one’s own. Such an honor, glory, power and privilege belongs only to Jesus Christ who rose from the dead on the third day. Only Christianity has that greatest News to proclaim to the world! The witnesses to this supernatural event are the Apostles who saw the risen Lord after His resurrection. They ate and drank with him for forty days after He rose from the dead. All of the four Gospels mention the event of the resurrection. The first of the disciples to see the risen Lord was Mary Magdalene. According to the Gospels, she got up early in the morning to go to the tomb of Jesus to anoint His dead body. Little did she know that Jesus was not in the tomb. The tomb was empty. An Angel appeared and told her and the other women that Jesus was no longer in the tomb and that He was risen. Mary Magdalene ran to tell the good news to Peter and the other disciples who came to the empty tomb to see for themselves. Later on, the risen Lord appeared to the disciples. Peter the leader of the Apostles said that they are the witnesses of all these events. (Acts 10: The resurrection of the Lord brings us hope against hope. What is impossible for human beings, is possible for God. Everything seemed lost on Good Friday, but Christ’s resurrection on Easter morning was the saving grace for everyone. Let us not give up on anyone, on anything.  God will bring everything to fulfillment. May the risen Lord bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, This weekend we begin the Holy Week which is the most sacred of all the 53 weeks in this year 2026 because we celebrate the Passion, death and Resurrection of Christ known as the Paschal Mystery. The main events of the Holy Week are: 1. Palm Sunday We celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem seated on a mule mentioned in al the four gospels: Mathew, Mark, Luke and John. The crowds welcome Jesus spreading their cloaks on the ground ( equivalent of red carpet in our modern day language), waving palm branches shouting “Hosanna” and “Blessed is he who comes int the name of the Lord”. Palm Sunday is the beginning of the Hoy Week. During the Palm Sunday liturgy palms are blessed and distributed to the people. The mission of the Savior is to bring redemption to the people by his passion, death and resurrection. The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is in fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9: “See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey”. 2. Chrism Mass During the Holy Week the Bishop of a diocese concelebrates the Hoy Mass together with Priests from around the diocese and during which he consecrates the sacred Chrism and blesses the oils of the Sick and the Catechumens. The priests renew their commitment to serve the Lord as the cooperators of the Bishop in his Pastoral work. 3. Holy Thursday It is also known as Maundy Thursday or Thursday of the Lord’s Supper. It marks the beginning of the sacred Triduum. It is the commemoration of the Last Supper of the Lord during which he washed the feet of his disciples and gave the commandment to love one another by serving each other. It is during the last supper that Jesus gave the greatest gift of himself to us in the Eucharist under the species of bread and wine. He took bread, blessed it and gave to the disciples saying: “Take and eat, this is my Body”. Similarly he took the cup filled with wine, blessed it and gave to the disciples saying, “Take and drink, this is my Blood of the new and eternal Covenant.” He then told his disciples to do it in his memory. By this commissioning, he also instituted the Priesthood. After the Mass, the adoration of the Lord takes place in the garden of Gethsemane till late at night. In our Church here at Sacred Heart, the adoration concludes at 11 pm. 4. Good Friday We observe the death of the Lord on the Cross. It is a day of fasting and abstinence. There is no celebration of the Mass on Good Friday. However there is praying of the Stations of the Cross in our Church at noon and taking part in the Passion Liturgy at 3 pm. 5. Easter Vigil It is the greatest and most noble of all solemnities. It begins at sunset. On this holy night, the Church keeps watch, celebrating the resurrection of Christ in the sacraments and awaiting his return in glory. The whole liturgy begins with blessing of new fire outside the Church. The Paschal candle is lit from the new fire and the people process into the church with lighted candles lit from the Easter candle. During this awesome liturgy, the catechumens are baptized and confirmed. They would also receive the holy Communion. The new Catholics are known as the neophytes. May you be filled with the graces of the Holy Week. God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “ Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43). On the fifth Sunday of Lent, the Church gives us the powerful account of the raising of Lazarus by Jesus in the Gospel of John 11:1-45. The Samaritan woman who was forgiven of her sins (John 4:5-42), the man born blind who was healed (John 9:1-41) and Lazarus, who died and was brought back to life, are three solid witnesses who could not stop telling the people that JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD, THE MESSIAH! Jesus’ friendship with the three siblings, Martha, Mary and Lazarus, brought a lifetime of blessing to their family when Jesus brought his dead friend Lazarus back to life. The humanity of Jesus is expressed by the fact that Jesus cried when He heard about the death of Lazarus. This is recorded in the shortest verse in the entire Bible: “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) Before raising Lazarus from death to life, Jesus gave the Promise of Eternal Life to all those who believe in Him when He told Martha the following life-giving words: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” Friendship with God brings abundant blessings, not only in this life, but in the life to come. Become Jesus’ friend and your reward will be in heaven! Starting this Sunday until Good Friday the crucifixes and the images in our church will be covered as a way of helping us to enter into the memorial of the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ, so that we can rise with Him on Easter Sunday. I look forward to joining you in “polishing the parish” by cleaning and mulching the parish grounds on Saturday, March 28, 2026 at 9 am. Let us all join in this effort for God’s glory! God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “ I do believe, Lord, and he worshipped him.” (John 9:38) The fourth Sunday of Lent is traditionally known as ‘Laetare Sunday’ . It means rejoicing in anticipation of the resurrection of the Lord. The Gospel this Sunday is about the healing of the man born blind taken from the Gospel of John 9:1-41. The blind man who was healed of his physical blindness became a believer in the Lord. What a joy it must have been for him to see the beauty of the creation of God! Today the same Son of God who healed the blind man two thousand years ago, is the source of our joy as he is present in every Mass. Therefore, as soon as we enter the Church, we make the sign of the Cross with holy water which reminds us of our Baptism. Immediately, our gaze should be on the tabernacle where the Eucharistic Lord awaits us day and night. Acknowledging the presence of the Lord, we walk in silence to find a seat in the pews, preferably starting with the first pew. I want to walk you through the Mass as follows: 1. Introductory Rites: This includes the entrance procession, with the priest and altar servers approaching the altar as a hymn is sung, veneration of the altar by the priest by kissing the altar and incensing the altar during solemn Masses, beginning the Mass with the sign of the cross by the priest, greeting the congregation by the priest, penitential rite during which we ask God’s forgiveness, and concludes by glorifying God by singing the Gloria on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. The Introductory Rites conclude with the Collect which is the opening prayer said aloud by the priest. 2. Liturgy of the Word: The Word of God is proclaimed. The first lector reads the word from the Old Testament which is followed by saying or singing the responsorial psalm. The second lector proclaims the word from the New Testament from the Acts of the Apostles or the letters of St. Paul, St. Peter, St. James or the book of Revelation. After the Gospel acclamation, the Gospel is read either by a deacon, if present, or by the priest. Then comes the homily by the priest summarizing the readings with a message for the people. After the homily, the whole congregation professes the Faith by reciting the Nicene Creed led by the priest. The Liturgy of the Word ends with the Prayer of the Faithful. 3. Liturgy of the Eucharist: This is the major part of the Mass during which the miracle of transforming of the bread and wine into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ takes place. The gifts of bread and wine are brought to the sanctuary by the people, along with other gifts, and given to the priest. The priest then prepares the altar, inviting the Faithful to engage in prayer dialogue known as the preface. After that, the priest invokes the Holy Spirit to come upon the bread and wine to sanctify them so the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. The priest then pronounces the Words of Consecration as said by Jesus at the Last Supper over the bread and wine. The Words of Consecration are: Take and eat, this is my Body which will be given up for you. Take and drink, this is my Blood of the new and eternal Covenant poured out for you and for many…. Do this in memory of me. During the Consecration, the priest acts in the “person” of Christ. The passion, death and Resurrection of Christ are made present for us as the priest prays for the whole creation, the Church, the Pope, the Bishops, the Clergy and the Faithful. The Eucharistic prayer concludes with the doxology which is a glory and praise to the Trinity. The people respond with a collective “Amen.” Then the priest invites the Faithful to recite the Lord’s Prayer and exchange a sign of peace with each other. After that, the Lamb of God is proclaimed to the people as the priest invites them to receive the Lord under the appearance of bread and wine. After the distribution of Holy Communion, there is sacred silence. 4. Concluding Rites: The Concluding Rites contains the prayer after Communion, the announcements, the final blessing and the dismissal of the congregation to go out into the world to proclaim the good news. During the recessional song, the priest and the altar servers go back to the sacristy. God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “ But whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14-15) This weekend the Gospel of John 4: 5-42 gives us the account of the conversion of the sinful Samaritan woman after her dialogue with our Lord at Jacob’s well. The conversation, which was initiated by our Lord casually asking the Samaritan woman for a drink, ended up with the grace and the miracle of her repentance and conversion from her sinful life. Returning to her village of Samaria, she shared the good news of her conversion and boldly proclaimed that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah. Thus, she became an Apostle by proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ in her village and the surrounding areas. We are also called to be Apostles and to proclaim Jesus to the world by our love and service. Let us ask the Lord to continue to bless us to fulfill our Apostolic mission. The following are a few things I want to bring to your attention: 1.This weekend our parishioner, Larry Plunkett, the leader of Stewardship Committee, will be giving his witness regarding the Catholic Ministry Appeal (CMA) at all Masses. Please be generous to this diocesan wide appeal. 2. This week we begin the first scrutiny for our elect, Robert Escamilla, who will receive the Sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist at Easter Vigil on April 4, 2026. 3. Please come to praise and worship the Lord with song and music in the Eucharistic Adoration on Monday, March 9, 2026 from 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm. Please bring your children and youth to introduce them to Adoration. 4. On Wednesday, March 11, 2026, we will have our parish Lenten Penance Service at 6:30 pm. Please come and be reconciled to the Lord. 5. Next weekend we will have teaching Masses during which I will be explaining the different parts of the Mass during the Eucharistic celebration. This way we all can have a deeper understanding of the sacrifice of the Holy Mass. 6. Finally, I thank you for your prayers, wishes and gifts to me on the occasion of my 60th birthday. Whether I look 60 or not, my life belongs to the Lord and I want to make it all about HIM. God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light” (Mathew 17:2). On this Second Sunday of Lent, the Church takes us to Mount Tabor where the transfiguration of the Lord occurred. The normal appearance of Jesus was transformed and the glory of the Lord surrounded Him. The light was so bright that the core group of disciples, including Peter, James, and John who accompanied Jesus up the mountain, could not see Jesus’ face. They heard the voice: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”. These are the same words which were heard at Jesus’ Baptism. The Disciples with Jesus saw Moses and Elijah talking with our Lord. Peter felt so uplifted that he didn’t want to leave and go down the mountain. The Transfiguration of the Lord is only a glimpse of the glory that is awaiting us in heaven. With His transfiguration, Jesus intended to strengthen the faith of the disciples in the face of His Crucifixion so that they would not be scandalized or shattered, but would continue to believe and spread the message. Today, the Lord is telling us that our trials and tribulations are only temporary. With courage and strength from the Lord, let us carry our daily crosses. With this message, please continue to follow the Lenten penances that you have taken up. Even if they become difficult, they are worthwhile. As St. Paul said: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18) This weekend I will be enthroning the most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary during all the Masses. I invite our parishioners and all those who attend the Masses at our Church, to come to the parish hall after each Mass to enjoy a slice of the local kumquat pie to celebrate the enthronement of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary and also to celebrate my 60th birthday. I am so grateful to the Lord for the gift of life to me and for choosing me as His priest and bringing me to the United States of America to serve Him and His People here. Please pray for me so that I will continue to be His faithful Servant until the end of my life. The kumquat pies are sponsored by my mom. Thank you, mom! God bless you! Fr. Bob Romain

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned” ( Psalm 51:3 ) Throughout the season of Lent the mercy of God is echoed in all our prayers and penances. On the first Sunday of Lent, the Church is asking us to meditate on the temptations of Christ based on the gospel of Mathew 4:1-11. After praying and fasting for forty days and forty nights, Jesus became hungry. The devil thought that our Lord was vulnerable as hungry he was to yield to his temptations. Little did the evil one know the power of our Lord who refuted all his temptations. It is a lesson for us to be aware that the devil is wicked and cunning. He tempts us when we are weak and vulnerable. Let us seek the help and the mercy of God in times of temptations of body, mind and soul. After Jesus triumphed over the temptation of the devil, the angels came and ministered to him (Mathew 4:11). God sends the angels to assist us in our struggles. So let us keep up the good fight with the evil. With God’s grace we will be victorious.  On the first Sunday of Lent (2/22/2026), our OCIA director David Goswick and I will be presenting our catechumen Robert Escamilla to our Bishop, Most. Rev. Gregory Parkes during the Rite of Election at St. Jude’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg. During the ceremony of the Rite of Election, the Bishop gives his approval to all the catechumens from various parishes in our diocese to go forward towards the reception of the sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist at Easter Vigil. I thank our parishioner Anavictoria Campos who went out of her way to teach Robert the tenets of our Catholic Faith. My gratitude goes to Anna Swiderski, Robert’s sponsor and his would be mother in law, Sarah, his fiancee and her whole family for their support to Robert in his journey to Catholic Faith. During the forty days of Lent, I will be happy to come to your homes to officiate the enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the immaculate Heart of Mary in your homes. Please call our office to schedule the time and the date of the enthronement once you have the images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary ready. We have the most beautiful round shaped stained glass windows of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the back wall in the sanctuary. They capture our attention as we enter the church. They date back to the first Church building. We will do the enthronement of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate heart of Mary in our Church next Sunday. God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it”. ( Psalm 118:24) This weekend I would like to prepare all of us, in a gentle and prayerful way, to enter into the season of Lent which begins on Ash Wednesday, February 18, 2026. The Lord, in the Gospel of Matthew 5:17-37, gave a new dimension to the old Mosaic Law as a way to advance towards perfection. It is an invitation by the Lord to all of us to grow in holiness day by day. Let us accept the Lord’s invitation and enter into Lent with the hope of becoming better disciples. The Lenten season consists of forty days based on the Biblical reference to the forty days and nights of floods at the time of Noah (Genesis 7:4), the forty years the People of Israel wandered in the wilderness before entering the promised land (Numbers 14:33), the forty days and nights Moses spent on Mount Sinai before receiving the Ten Commandments (Exodus 24:18) and the forty days of fasting and prayer by our Lord Jesus Christ in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2). The number “40” in the Bible symbolizes a time of testing, trial, purification and preparation for something new and better—a higher transformation. In the Church, we have the tradition of giving up something during this time or making a pledge to do something positive such as spending extra time in prayer or doing additional works of charity. Please use this Lenten season to focus your time and attention on the Lord and what He asks of you. Let us all make the best use of this time of Lent to prepare ourselves for the glories of Easter. On a personal note, I would like to share that in 2023, I gave up Facebook during Lent. The grace from that Lent is that I now have no desire to get back on Facebook. I use the added time towards the holy hours which I do for different intentions. Praise the Lord!!! Our Parishioners Roger and Kelli Crabb have purchased 230 copies of the book ‘The Seven Pillars of Catholic Spirituality’ by Matthew Kelly for our Lenten reading. Please take one per family. We thank them for their generosity to our Parish. I highly recommend that parents talk to their children about the seven pillars of Catholic Spirituality. It will strengthen their faith. Finally, I want to invite you to look forward eagerly to Lent not as a somber or negative time, but as an invitation to each of us to come close to the Lord. By the end of the day and by the end of our lives, all that matters is GOD! God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24) This weekend, the Lord is asking us, through the Gospel of Mathew, Chapter 5, to be the “…salt of the earth and the light of the world.” Before laying out the ways and means to follow his direction, let us first thank God, as a Parish, for His blessings to us this last year. Last year, the Lord blessed us with Eucharistic Revival in the form of having video lessons with Bishop Robert Baron on different parts of the Mass. We were blessed with brown scapulars enrolling our parishioners in the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. We started silent Eucharistic Adorations every Friday after the 8 am Mass and Eucharistic Processions annually to conclude the Christmas season. We held a Ministry Fair and established 50 ministries and groups. With the cooperation of the Jubilee Committee, we organized the veneration of the relics of various saints. The repair committee supervised the various repairs to the Church after the two hurricanes. The entrance of our Church looks fabulous with new doors and a historic plaque displaying the history of our Church on the wall. We thank God for His many other blessings to us as individuals and families. Now the way for us to be salt of the earth and light of the world is by taking part in the CATHOLIC MINISTRY APPEAL of the Diocese of St. Petersburg. By participating in this Appeal, we are cooperating with our Shepherd, the Most. Rev. Bishop Gregory Parkes, to continue the works of charity and mercy established by the Diocese. Through the Catholic Ministry Appeal, pregnant mothers are helped to protect and care for the babies in their wombs, the poor students in our Catholic schools are given tuition assistance, the poor and those economically struggling are helped through Pinellas Hope and Hillsborough Hope, and the seminarians of our Diocese are supported in their training to be future priests. We reached our goal last year. This year our goal is $56,314.00. I have completed my pledge. I encourage all the members of our Parish to please participate in this Diocesan-wide Appeal. Together we can do so much good. The Lord said:  “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” Mathew 25:40 God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine