May 11, 2024 | Pastor's Weekly Message
Message from Fr. Mike
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TO KNOW GOD IS TO LOVE
(1 Jn 4:7-10)
6th Sunday of Easter
Dear friends in Christ,
Two weeks ago, was Good Shepherd Sunday and last Sunday was True Vine Sunday, today can be called Love Sunday. Even though love is the central teaching of Christianity and the reason for Incarnation, Love eludes us. Jesus said, “I do not call you slaves, I call you friend. Let us celebrate with our friend. He who loves us so much that he died for us.
HOMILY
There are two things that happened in the first reading. First: the vision of Cornelius and the vision of Peter. Cornelius was a Roman centurion but devout and God-fearing along with his family. His vision was to send for Peter (Acts 10:5-6). This vision was not easy to fulfil because Cornelius was gentile, uncircumcised, profane, unclean. and not part of those to be saved.
Peter’s vision was to respond positively to this invitation. He is not to call any person profane or unclean (Acts 10:9-16). In the vision, God directed Peter to accompany the centurion’s messengers without hesitation. “When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and, falling at his feet, paid him homage. Peter, however, raised him up, saying, “Get up. I am also a human being” (Acts 10:25- 26). Peter’s humility is a challenge to us when we demand appreciation or respect, or recognition. In Cornelius’ house Peter preached, “You know that it is unlawful for a Jewish man to associate with, or visit, a Gentile, but God has shown me that I should not call any person profane or unclean” (Acts 10:28). “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation, whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.” There was an immediate effect from Peter’s words. “While [he] was still speaking these things, the holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the word.” (Acts 10:34-35, 44- 46). The circumcised, the Jewish converts, those who insist on Jewish tradition were shocked by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the gentiles, the uncircumcised.
How do we get out of this box?
The way out of this box is the way of love. In the second reading, St. John writes, “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8). Therefore, to know God is to love. It seems that John is saying that the essence, the nature of God is love. In 1 John 4:12 he says, “no one has ever seen God”. How can you say that you know him when you have not seen him? The answer is simple. We know God by loving our neighbor. We cannot hate or resent each other and claim that we know God. God is love. Hate comes from lack of knowledge of God. God is love.
In the gospel, Jesus said, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you” (John 15:9). “This is the commandment: love one another as I love you” (John 15:12). Jesus repeated this command in v. 17, Jesus uses himself as an example. “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Love without sacrifice is like a balloon. It does not endure. We hear it often said that love is blind. That saying covers a lot of ground. Love is blind to injury, to hate, status, and is color blind. St. Paul writes, “Let your love be genuine; … love one another with mutual affection …” (Romans 12:9-10).
Here is a story that wraps these points up. A rabbi once asked his pupils how they could tell when the night had ended, and the day had returned. “Could it be,” asked one student, “when you see an animal in the distance and tell whether it is a sheep or a dog?” “No,” answered the rabbi. “Could it be,” asked another student, “when you can look at a tree in the distance, and you can tell whether it is a fig tree or a peach tree?” “No,” replied the rabbi. “Well, when is it then” demanded his students. The rabbi replied, “It is when you look at the face of any man or woman and see that he or she is your brother or sister. If you cannot see that, then no matter what time it is, it is still night!”
Fr. Mike Ume
Jul 1, 2022 | Uncategorized
Young Adult Ministry Wednesdays at 7:00PM at the Community Center
The Young Adult Ministry (YAM) is growing! We are back to meeting in the Community Center every Wednesday at 7pm for prayer, formation, and fellowship including dinner. There are also plenty of weekend activities to join.
Young adults, ages 18-39 are invited, including students, couples, singles, and young families. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @abvmyam
Oct 10, 2020 | Uncategorized
Although our church doors remain closed, Assumption has been very active. We have expanded our online presence, continued with outdoor Masses and a Communion Distribution, and our ministries continue to meet virtually. We continue to ensure that our parish remains operationally viable, especially while Mass attendance is still limited.
Your parish is dependent on your generosity which helps us to continue to reach out to those most in need. We need to keep the parish in solid working order and pay our bills that continue during this extended uncertain period. As a reminder, we introduced online giving via Faith Direct which provides a great benefit to our parish. Information is available on our website and there is no charge to you to give. We are most grateful for your continued giving and we look forward to serving you as we prayerfully move forward. Thank you to our 57 parishioners who have already signed up for Faith Direct.
The Coronavirus Relief Act Law expanded the charitable giving deduction to taxpayers who do not itemize and lifted the cap on annual contributions for those who itemize for the 2020 tax year. Please consult with your tax preparer for further details.
Maintenance & Repairs Report – Month of September
Donations through the green envelopes found in your monthly envelope packet, Maintenance & Repairs designated on the memo line of your check, and in Faith Direct, are restricted for use towards our Church Maintenance & Repairs. These donations remain 100% in our parish and are not subject to an Archdiocese assessment fee. These funds go directly toward paying for our church facility upkeep, maintenance and improvements, and the utility bills.
We had 3 fewer families participating this month versus August 2020. Previously, we had delayed some projects while donations were down due to Covid 19: however, we need to proceed on some much-needed repairs and maintenance. This past month, we repainted Msgr. Crean Hall which had not been painted in over 10 years. The pictures were in a previous bulletin.
Please consider donating to this much needed fund via online banking, Faith Direct, mailing, or dropping your donation through the mail slot of the rectory office.
Here is a look at the month of September 2020 Maintenance & Repairs collections versus our actual expenditures:
Funds collected from green envelopes $ 7,897
Repairs, routine maintenance, utility expenses $(19,056)
Shortfall for the month $(11,159)
Families Participating 118
(green envelopes, Faith Direct, or indicated on check)
Thank you for your continued donation!
Sep 4, 2020 | Uncategorized
Let’s go paperless!
Faith Direct enables parishioners to make church contributions through either a direct debit from your checking/savings account, or through your credit/debit card. It is very simple to do. Through the Assumption website and Constant Contact you can access the Faith Direct secure website. Pope Francis’ Prayer Intention for this month is “Respect for the Planet’s Resources.” Let’s follow his direction and go paperless!
Many of you are aware and take advantage of the convenience of electronic giving to our parish, and we are most grateful for your choosing this option. However, it is NOT paperless. Your bank mails us a check instead of you. So please reconsider and switch to Faith Direct. Let’s implement a positive action during this pandemic and save some trees in accordance with the Pope’s prayer.
Also, if you no longer need your monthly envelopes mailed to you, please notify the rectory office so we can reduce unnecessary related costs.
Thank you!
Jun 1, 2023 | Ministry Schedule
Attention EMs, Lectors, Altar Servers and Sacristans
Please do not forget to update your information and preferences on the scheduler program. The live schedule is on our website. Please feel free to contact Anne Au at annekpau@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Please be flexible! If you see that we don’t have enough Lectors(2), EM’s (2), or Altar Servers (2), please step up!
