Dear Parishioners,

In the movie Groundhog Day a man is cursed to live the same day over and over again. Everything is exactly the same. I’m sure we are feeling that way, too. I know I have fallen into a routine that does not change day to day. I could someone to update the white board for me everyday: Today is Wednesday, the month is April, the season is Spring. Even the report from Maryland on virus cases seems to be the same everyday: up by 500-700 cases, hospitalizations up 100-200 patients, etc. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some pleasant spring weather? Even that seems to be the same every day, chilly, windy, rainy.

In the midst of all this, we hold fast to our faith, knowing that the Risen Lord is with us. One way to break the routine is with our weekly outdoor adoration. We may have to do it on Saturday rather than Sunday. Sunday’s weather forecast is, you guessed it: chilly, windy, rainy. I will send out an e-mail on Friday with the schedule for Adoration. The weather forecast should firm up by then.

Today’s Gospel begins with the well known passage from John 3:16 that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that anyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life. John 3 sets forth the mission of the Christ: that our fallen world is in need of a savior. John 3 is really a prelude to the public mission of Jesus, why he is doing what he is doing. It may seem strange that in this time after the celebration of his resurrection we go back to the beginning of John’s Gospel. But, chapter 3 lays out the mission of Jesus and also, the mission of the Church, that is, to bring divine light into the world fallen into the darkness of sin.

God bless you all, Fr. LaHood