Weekly Message from Fr. Bob

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