Fr. Greg

Happy Easter! This Sunday is the eighth day of the Octave of Easter, so it is still considered Easter Day itself. So keep celebrating. This Sunday is also known as Divine Mercy Sunday.

This Sunday, April 27th is Divine Mercy Sunday. In a series of revelations to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s, our Lord called for a special feast day to be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. Today, we know that feast as Divine Mercy Sunday, named by Saint Pope John Paul II at the canonization of St. Faustina on April 30, 2000. 

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.” (Psalm 118:24). This verse is a big theme for Easter. Easter is our day! The Lord rises and makes a new day, a new world, by conquering the powers of sin and death. And we rejoice! We are Easter people!

In light of our recent changes to the reception of the Eucharist at our Masses here at Prince of Peace, I have decided to rerun an article that I wrote back in November of 2024; along with the necessary changes we implemented last weekend.

Recently, I have received several questions regarding different aspects of receiving the Eucharist at Mass, from the communion fast, to posture, to the number of times allowed in a day. So let's get to it!

This next week begins Penance Service week here in Johnson County. With that happening, I think it would be great for us to examine how to make a good confession, and best practices in the confessional.

Laetare Sunday! Rejoice! This Sunday is the 4th Sunday of Lent, known as “Laetare” Sunday (Latin for “rejoice”). We add elements of joy into our austere Lent this Sunday. The optional color of “Rose” (which looks like pink) can be used this day, flowers can adorn the altar, and the music can be more joyful. Lent is past the halfway point this Sunday.
 

In Lent, the question commonly asked is “so what did you give up?” Oftentimes we tend towards giving up ice cream, chocolate, or deserts all together. What many people do not realize is that the Church actually invites us to do 3 things during Lent: to pray, to fast, and to give alms. Many of us tend towards just the one: fasting.

As we finish our series on Marriage, we will this week cover Convalidations. But first, let's look at what makes a marriage one more time.

As we continue our look at the Sacrament of Marriage, this week we will focus on what an Annulment is. An annulment is not “Catholic divorce” as I have heard some people refer to it is. Divorce is a civil reality (as we covered last week). An annulment is simply saying that the marriage itself never took place. An annulment takes a look back at the day of the marriage to examine whether both parties intended what they said. When we take on an annulment case, we are looking for the 4 things that make a marriage. Here is a reminder:

As we continue to examine the topic of Marriage, this week we will look at what a civil divorce is.

Over the next couple of weeks, we will be covering some areas relating to the Sacrament of Marriage. Before we get into some of those hot topics, it is important for us to understand what a Marriage is.