Early on the morning of Easter Monday, Our Lord Jesus called His Holiness, Pope Francis, Jorge Bergoglio, home to Himself. Waking up that morning this news struck a cord in my heart and the mourning for my, our, Spiritual Father commenced. There is nothing like the feeling that floods the soul upon the death of a Pontiff. Everything in the Church, it seems, must stop and all our eyes should be fixed on Rome. Of course, things go on and we pray, each in our own parish and mission, city and hamlet, town and village, for the blessed and happy repose of the Holy Father and for our brother Cardinals who will elect out new Pontiff.
Pope Francis, in his Pontificate, challenged us to grown in our faith, to put our faith into action, to live the creed we believe. He never shied away from calling us to be bold missionary disciples. This was my favorite expression of his, though I always had a little issue with it. To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is, by nature, to be a missionary. What he did, and what I appreciate about his term “missionary disciple”, is that he highlighted, drew forth, that essential and necessary part of being a disciple! We are a missionary people! If we call ourselves disciples of Jesus Christ, we MUST be missionaries. This doesn’t mean we all have to go to the farthest reaches of the earth in the jungles of the Amazon or the plains of Africa. Though it does mean that we go out to those who are not like us, who don’t think like us, look like us, smell like us, live where and how we live. What it means is that you and I bring Jesus to everyone we meet – in the grocery store aisle, in the way we play baseball, in the way we run our investment company. The Challenge that Pope Francis gave to us is to do just that! So, I ask you as he did, as a father does: do you consciously bring Jesus with you into every space, every meeting, every encounter, every at bat, every business decision? Pope Francis challenged us to bring Jesus to the outskirts and to those on the periphery. This does not mean merely the materially poor and needy. It means, most of all, to those who are spiritually poor and needy. Do you do this? Do I do this?
Pope Francis was buried on Saturday, April 26, 2025. The Universal Church will have 9 days of mourning (Novemdiales) beginning on the day of burial. During those days, memorial masses will be said for him. (We had a mass offered for the repose of his soul on Thursday, April 24th. It wasn’t a memorial mass because we are in the Easter Octave and we can’t have a memorial mass for the dead during that time.)
After the Novemdiales ends, the Conclave begins. During the intervening days, the Cardinals of the Church gather in Rome for Consistories (meetings) to discuss the needs of the Church, the world, the Curia (the offices in Rome), and the personality traits needed of the next Pontiff, the next Bishop of Rome. Please keep our brothers in your prayers!
DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY
This Sunday we celebrate Divine Mercy! We will have a little liturgy at 3:00 PM to pray the Chaplet and give thanks to the Everlasting and Unfathomable Mercy of Almighty God!
LOURDES
In the summer of 2023, because of your generosity, my parents, my sister, my brother, and I went on pilgrimage to Lourdes, France. There at the Sanctuary and Grotto I experienced such great peace and my heart was filled with gratitude for you and all those who supported me and loved me in that first year of my cancer battle.
This year, in fact, this week, I will be leaving for another pilgrimage to Lourdes with the Order of Malta (a few parishioners of ours are members) as a Chaplain. I am going to serve those who are ill and minister to them. What an honor it will be to be with them! These people, old and young, are in much more precarious positions regarding their health than am I. The Lord Jesus has given me strength and energy through your prayers, love, and support! Y’all make it possible for me to serve and continue to minister to you and to those entrusted to my care. It is a privilege to go to Lourdes this time not for myself but for others. Secretly though, I am expecting the Lord to do wonders in me! Because that is how he works! When we do things for others, very often, we are the ones who blessed, healed, and uplifted! Please pray for the malades (the sick coming with us), the volunteers, and the chaplains during this pilgrimage! My next Pastor’s Corner will come to you from the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in Southern France at the foot of the Pyrenes!
May the Lord Jesus abundantly bless you and your families this Easter Season! A Blessed Easter to you all!
Christ is Risen!
He is truly risen!
St. James the Less, pray for us!
~ Fr. Daniel Firmin