Abiding in the Vine: Growing in Christ’s Love As we journey through this great Easter season, our hearts are filled with the joy of Christ’s resurrection and the promise of new life in Him. In the Gospel that we hear proclaimed in Mass today, Jesus declares, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever … Continued

Your first, your last, your only Communion You may have noticed the kneelers in the center aisle at Masses since Easter Sunday. I wanted to address that, and offer an invitation. To mark the sacredness of their first Holy Communion, I set out kneelers for our 4 First Communicants at the Easter Vigil, and figured … Continued

Totally Eclipsed Dear All Saints family, I was very blessed to see the solar eclipse in August 2017, and from that day I began planning participation in the one we just had. At the time of this writing, I’m returning back to Georgia from witnessing the 2024 total solar eclipse and am again struck with … Continued

Divine Mercy Sunday Greetings in the Risen Lord! Friends, this second Sunday of Easter, the octave day of the Resurrection, we hear the Gospel of Jesus appearing to the Apostles and entrusting them with His power and mission to forgive sins.   Divine Mercy is the very heart of the Gospel message.  Christ came to save … Continued

THE LORD IS RISEN AS HE SAID, ALLELUIA!  HE IS TRULY RISEN, ALLELUIA! Dearest All Saints Parish Family, Let the Alleluias ring as we declare with the greatest of joys that Our Lord Jesus Christ has conquered the kingdoms of Sin and Death.  By His wounds, we have been healed; by His rising, we are … Continued

The Amazing Events of Holy Week It begins…the most solemn and sacred time of the entire year: Holy Week. These seven days cover the most significant period of time in all of human history: the God who became man not only offered Himself to take away the sins of the world and rose to new … Continued

There will be a Stench We are coming into the home stretch of Lent, as this 5th Sunday is the last “normal” Sunday in the season.  Next weekend is Palm Sunday and the start of Holy Week. And the Bible readings that will be proclaimed this weekend are all so clearly pointing us to the … Continued

On Catechumens and Candidates If you go to the 10:30 Mass, you will no doubt have seen our RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) catechumens and candidates.  These are people who have been inquiring about the Catholic faith and are preparing to be brought into full communion with the Catholic Church at the Easter … Continued

Why do we celebrate Lent? Have any of y’all asked that question (possibly as you smell the Chick-fil-a biscuits from across the street as you’re walking into Ash Wednesday Mass)? Lent is something that has become a sort of cultural event for Catholics; a part of us looks forward to receiving our ashes, enjoying a … Continued

Embracing the Transfiguration Dear All Saints Parish Family, As we continue our journey through the sacred season of Lent, we are invited to reflect this weekend on the transformative power of the Transfiguration of Jesus. This remarkable event, recounted in this Sunday’s Gospel reading (Mark 9:2-10), offers us profound insights into our 40 days of … Continued

Why Fast During Lent? Fasting has become more or less associated with dietary health, but it has a tremendously rich spiritual purpose.  Catholics are called to fast during Lent as a way of preparing spiritually for the celebration of Easter, which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a way of emptying ourselves out … Continued

Lent: A Journey of Renewal and Transformation Dear All Saints Family, As we approach the solemn and sacred season of Lent with Ash Wednesday this week, we are invited to embark on a profound journey of introspection, repentance, and spiritual renewal. Lent provides us with a precious opportunity to deepen our relationship with God, to … Continued

Lent is coming…FAST! It’s hard to believe, but the holy season of Lent is just around the corner, so I invite us all to prayerfully consider how we will enter in. Ash Wednesday falls on February 14, which is the traditional date of the feast day of St. Valentine.  I remind us all that, even … Continued

Praise God for Our Deacons In the 6th chapter of the book of the Acts of the Apostles, we read about the Holy Spirit inspiring the Apostles to invite certain men to help with the daily work of ministry, and calling them deacons (from the Greek word diakonia, which means “service”).  From that time on, … Continued

What is happening in the Vatican? Some saint said “There is a particular piety that comes from having no idea what the pope in Rome is doing.” But in this “information tsunami” age we live in, especially in a time where the nation, the world, and even the Church are experiencing great temptations to division … Continued

Patience is a Virtue One of the great spiritual lessons I’ve learned along the way is to hold on to moments of spiritual consolation for those times when spiritual desolation will inevitably come.  Consolation here means the experience of the goodness of the Lord, answered prayers, His closeness, the receiving of particular graces; desolation here … Continued

Holy Family “As the family goes, so goes the nation.” St. John Paul II St. John Paul II made this declaration in 1986 as he was speaking in Perth, Australia.  His original statement, truncated above, adds “and so goes the whole world in which we live.”  St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) once also famously … Continued

Dear All Saints Parish Family, Every seven years, when Christmas Day falls on a Monday, we have a short Advent. But it gives us the opportunity to draw close to the Lord twice in the same week, once for the very short 4th week of Advent, and again for celebration of the Nativity of the Lord. So … Continued

Why The Pink? Probably most of us are aware that the 3rd Sunday of Advent traditionally uses the color pink, or rose.  Some may know that the name of this Sunday is Gaudete Sunday, which translates to “Rejoice” Sunday. But do you know why the 3rd Sunday of Advent uses this liturgical color or why … Continued

Keeping Christmas in Christmas Pt. 2 For many of us, the “Holidays” are most readily recognized by the music of the season.  Is it really Christmas if Bing Crosby hasn’t crooned White Christmas? One of the best ways to keep Christmas in Christmas is to save those Christmas songs until we actually begin the celebration … Continued