Weekly Message from Fr. Bob

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) On this 17th Sunday in Ordinary time we hear our Lord telling us two parables about the Kingdom of God from the gospel of Mathew 13:44-52. He compares the kingdom to a treasure buried in a field which a person finds and sells all he has so that he could buy that field. He also compares the Kingdom to a merchant who sells all that he has in order to buy fine pearls. It shows how precious the Kingdom of God is! It reminds me of St. Francis of Assisi who gave up his family inheritance to follow the Lord. THANK YOU, ALICIA SILLEN: On behalf of our Parish, I thank our outgoing Administrative Assistant Alicia Sillen for her dedicated service to our parish in the last one year. She has filled our office with her sweet and gentle nature while dealing with the parishioners. John Bard, the head of our maintenance, and Alicia worked hard during the move of the Office/Rectory buildings in April of this year. As she is expecting her first child, we wish God’s blessings upon her, her husband Brandon and their whole family on both sides as they await the birth of the baby. God be with you, Alicia!  THE THEOLOGY OF THE EUCHARIST: I hope you had a great time walking through the Mass with me by reading a little bit about it each weekend. Now our focus is going to be on the very teaching of the Church on the Eucharist. Our intention of the study is to cultivate a deeper understanding and appreciation and devotion to the holy Eucharist. Only when children fully understand the sacrifice of their parents, they will be ever grateful to them; or else they will take them for granted. In the same way if we fully grasp the Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross, our Churches would be so full every Sunday. Let us begin by refreshing the definition of the sacrament of the holy Eucharist according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church # 1324: “The Eucharist is the Source and Summit of the Christian life”. The other sacraments and the Apostolic works are oriented towards the Eucharist. For, in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch. The Eucharist is the source of all graces. This is the sacrament in which the ordinary bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ which is the origin of all graces. A summit is understood as the pinnacle or the highest point. As the summit, the Eucharist is the highest act of worship. It is the sacramental offering of Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross made present on the altar. It unites the Faithful on earth with the heavenly world of Angels. It is only in the Eucharist that these two worlds: earth and heaven meet. There is no other prayer or liturgical celebration that supersedes the Eucharistic Celebration. Please try to remember the above mentioned one line definition of the Eucharist by heart. 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) On this 16th Sunday of Ordinary time, the Lord told us three parables in the gospel of Mathew 13: 24-43: The parable of weeds and the wheat The parable of a mustard seed The parable of yeast The theme of divine Justice is highlighted here. The weeds represent those who do evil deeds while the wheat symbolizes good people who love God and their neighbor. At the end of our lives we all will be standing before our merciful Judge our Lord Jesus Christ. The Kingdom of God will continue to grow and grow till the Lord returns. Let us do our part in building up the Kingdom of God. EVENING MASS ONCE A WEEK: I was pleasantly surprised when a young couple approached me with a request for having Mass in the evening once a week for the sake of those who work during the day. Starting in the middle of August, we will be having an extra Mass on Thursdays in the evening. The daily morning Masses will continue as usual. I hope and pray that our parishioners who work during the day will be able to attend the evening Mass once a week. POSTURES AND GESTURES AT MASS: Having completed the walk through the Mass last week, we now concentrate on the postures and gestures which are incorporated in the celebration of the Sacrifice of the holy Mass. It indicates that our whole Being: body, mind and soul is involved in the worship of God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, no.1097 says: “In the liturgy of the new Covenant every liturgical action, especially the celebration of the Eucharist and the sacraments, is an encounter between Christ and the Church”. Some of the postures and gestures at Mass are: Making the Sign of the Cross by touching the forehead, the heart and the shoulders with the right hand at the beginning of the Mass to express our faith in the Triune God. Striking our breast during the Confiteor to express or sorrow. Bowing during the Creed at the mention of the Birth of Christ and at the name of Jesus. Making the sign of the cross with the thumb on the forehead, on the lips and on the heart before the gospel is read to signify that we understand the Word of God, proclaim it with our lips and believe with our hearts. Standing: At the start of the Mass, during the Mass and at the end of the Mass. Sitting: During the Liturgy of the Word, we sit down and listen to God’s Word in the first and the second readings, at the time of offertory and after receiving the hoy Communion. Kneeling: The Faithful kneel during the entire Eucharistic prayer and after receiving the holy communion to thank the Lord in silence. Genuflecting: As a sign of Adoration, we genuflect by bending our right knee to the floor as we enter and leave the Church. The priest genuflects after showing the Body and Blood of Christ to the Faithful after the Consecration. Orans: The priest extends his hands to his sides slightly elevated. This is an ancient prayer posture of the priest indicating praying. Singing: We bring our voices together in unison as sing the praises of God. Praying in Unison: By praying together the same prayers, we become one Body united in Christ through the sacrament of Baptism. Silence: By observing silence during the Mass, we reflect upon the word of God, and to open our hearts to the mystery celebrated. The Church sees in all these postures and gestures at Mass an ambiguous witness that we are indeed the Body of Christ, united in body, mind and voice. 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 we celebrate the 15th Sunday in Ordinary time. The Lord through the parable of the Sower and the Seed, is teaching us to be receptive to God’s Word, meditate upon it, cherish it and live it out in our daily lives. The evil one will cause temptations, trials and tribulations to scare us away. Our loving God will give us the grace and the Courage to be strong against the tactics of the evil and bear fruit for the Lord abundantly. Let us fall on our knees and humbly beseech the Lord for his protection. BROWN SCAPULAR ENROLLMENT: On July 16th we celebrate the feast of our Lady of Mount Carmel. In honor of that feast I will be happy to enroll anyone who likes to be enrolled into the Confraternity of our Lady of Mount Carmel, also known as our Lady of the Brown Scapular after all the Masses this weekend. It is a brief ceremony during which the Priest blesses the brown scapulars, and puts them around necks of the members. Enrollees share in the spiritual graces offered through the prayers of the Carmelite priests and Nuns. They are assured of the never failing maternal protection and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. WHAT HAPPENS AT MASS?: A WALK THROUGH THE MASS: This weekend we highlight the last part of the Mass: The Concluding Rite. It consists of Prayer after Communion, Announcements, second collections for specific purposes, final Blessing by the priest and the dismissal of the people either by the priest of the deacon. The Faithful respond to the dismissal by saying: ‘Thanks be to God’. It is important to pay attention to the words of the dismissal: "Go forth, the Mass is ended" or "Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord" or "Go in Peace, glorifying the Lord by your life." When the priest or the deacon dismisses the Faithful by one of the above mentioned formulae, we are being sent forth into the world to proclaim the Good News of Jesus. There is a sending forth at every Mass. We are called to put into action what we celebrate at the Mass.  As St. Gregory of Nazianzen said: “Let us become as Christ is, since Christ became as we are”. We are sent forth from the Mass to be the hands and feet of Christ to this hurting world. My first Pastor in the USA, Fr. Fausto Stampiglia, SAC, the former Pastor of St. Martha Catholic Church, Sarasota, FL always used to remind the people at the end of the Mass to be nice to each other in the parking lot. Our mission of spreading the love of Jesus begins right outside the front door of the Church. The Mass concludes with the recessional hymn led by the choir. The priest and the altar servers process back to the sacristy. 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 we celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the Independence of our Country: The United States of America. On July 4, 1776, thirteen colonies declared their independence from England which paved the way for the formation of the United States of America as a free and independent Country. Today there are 50 states in the USA. On June 11, 2026, the Bishops of the United States consecrated our Country to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on the occasion of the 250th Anniversary of the declaration of Independence. The Consecration was inspired by Pope Francis’s encyclical ‘Dilexit Nos’ (He loved us) on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In our catholic Faith, Consecration means to set something or someone apart for a holy, divine purpose. Our country now belongs to the Sacred heart of Jesus. Since the day (6/11/2026) the Bishops consecrated the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the image of the Heart of Jesus hovering over our country has been imprinted in my mind. I will cherish that image all through my life. Wow!!! What a Blessing to be consecrated to the Sacred Heart! God bless the United States of America! WHAT HAPPENS AT MASS?: A WALK THROUGH THE MASS: This weekend we come to the fourth part of the Mass: The Communion Rite . After the great Amen, the whole congregation stands and at the invitation of the priest, prays the Lord’s Prayer. The prayer ‘The Our Father’ is called the Lord’s Prayer because it was taught to the disciples by our Lord himself. After the Lord’s prayer, the priest prays for peace in the Church and asks the Congregation to exchange a sign of peace in the form of handshake, or a nod or a hug. It is a fitting follow up to the Lord’s prayer. After the exchange of peace, the congregation looks forward to receiving the Lamb of God Jesus Christ who is the prince of peace. The title ‘Lamb of God’ or in Latin ‘ Agnus Dei’ calls to mind the moment when John the Baptist pointed to Jesus at the Jordan river and exclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God!”. (John 1:29) It is so enriching to dig deeper into the old testament reference to the Lamb of God. Abraham tells his son Isaac that God himself will provide the lamb (Genesis 22:8) for the sacrifice after the angel ordered Abraham not to offer his son Isaac as the sacrifice. After many centuries, God gave His own Son Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God whom we receive during the holy Mass. At the Last Supper, when Jesus gave himself to his disciples under the species of bread and wine, He replaced the lamb which was slaughtered by the Jews and eaten during the seder dinner as a thanksgiving sacrifice to God for delivering their ancestors. After saying the silent prayer, the priest raises the consecrated host over the chalice filled with the precious blood and says: ‘Behold, the Lamb of God. Behold Him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those who are called to the supper of the Lamb.’ The Faithful respond saying: ‘Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed’. These are the words spoken by a Roman Centurion to express his humility before Jesus. (Mathew 8:8)  After the priest and the deacon receive the holy Communion, the altar servers and the Eucharistic ministers receive Communion. Then the priest, the deacon, and the Eucharistic ministers distribute Communion to the Faithful. One should be a practicing Catholic, in the state of grace to receive Communion. The rule of one hour fasting before the Mass is to be observed except for health reasons. Few moments of silence are to be observed after receiving the holy Communion for personal prayer of Thanksgiving. God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine