News - February 2020 RSS Feed

Every year on the First Sunday of Lent, the focus is on temptation. Adam and Eve are tempted by the serpent in the garden of Eden. Jesus is tempted in the desert by the devil. Though temptations in our life may not be as dramatic as those in Genesis or the Gospels, they may be just as powerful. As we journey together this Lenten season let us pray to God for strength to resist temptation and ask for mercy when we fall.

As we continue from the Sermon on the Mount from Saint Matthew’s Gospel, today, Jesus challenges us to turn the other cheek and to love our enemies. We know that is not our initial instinct—to love our enemies; instead, we would rather take revenge on our enemies. We get angry, we get upset, and we want to do or say something to express that pain and rage. As we approach the season of Lent, let the example of Jesus inspire us to respond to hurt and conflict with mercy and forgiveness.

Over the next two weeks we will hear an extended passage from Saint Matthew’s Gospel in which Jesus reinterprets the law for His disciples. He challenges His disciples to take it one step further, to do more than just follow the letter of the law. Jesus’ teachings are not primarily about the joys and easiness of the Christian life, but rather about the commandments that our loving Father gives to us for our freedom and good.

Today is World Marriage Day. It is in conjunction with National Marriage Week which runs from February 7th through February 14th. World Marriage Week is an annual campaign to promote the benefits of marriage and it’s happening in more than twenty countries around the world. National Marriage Week started in the United Kingdom (UK) and has spread to other countries.

Catholic Schools Week concludes here at St. Peter with the annual St. Peter School Alumni Mass and Gumbo. I am always impressed how many alumni of St. Peter School turn out to celebrate the Mass and eat a delicious bowl of Gumbo. It is a good way to reconnect with classmates, friends, and other alumni.