Announcements

April 12, 2026 2nd Sunday of Easter - Divine Mercy Sunday bulletin- see bulletin for this week’s message

April 5, 2026 Easter Sunday bulletin- no Pastor’s Desk message this week

March 29, 2026 Palm Sunday bulletin- Pride & Vainglory

Dear People of God,

The final of the 7 Deadly Sins are pride and vainglory. In the Eastern Churches, these are handled separately, whereas the tradition of the Western Church has always to keep them together. These sins were classically put at the end of the list to indicate that they are the hardest to vanquish. If someone could handle the other sins, that person would become prideful. If someone couldn’t handle the other sins, that person was likely motivated by pride. In a sense, pride is the most pervasive and difficult to eliminate as we all suffer from it. Humility is normally seen as the antidote, but sometimes when people think they are being humble, they are actually being prideful…hence the phenomenon of the “humble brag.”

We should strive for a view of self that is accurate and not distorted.

We should aim to put the needs of others above our own, while understanding that self care is necessary to care for others.

We cannot forget that everything that we have in this world is a gift from God.

We know that we cannot take anything with us when we die.

We must hold in mind that the things of this world will all pass away at the end of time.

Pride comes from the Devil who is fighting with God in a useless contest; we know how this will turn out from reading the Bible. Thus pride is only a tool to separate us from our God.

God bless,
Fr. Samuel Moses Brown

Queridos Pueblos de Dios,

El final de los 7 Pecados Capitales es el orgullo y la vanidad. En las Iglesias Orientales, estos se gestionan por separado, mientras que la tradición de la Iglesia Occidental siempre tiene que mantenerlos unidos. Estos pecados se colocaban clásicamente al final de la lista para indicar que son los más difíciles de vencer. Si alguien pudiera manejar los otros pecados, esa persona se volvería orgullosa. Si alguien no podía soportar los otros pecados, probablemente esa persona estaba motivada por el orgullo. En cierto sentido, el orgullo es el más extendido y difícil de eliminar, ya que todos sufrimos por ello. La humildad normalmente se considera el antídoto, pero a veces, cuando la gente piensa que está siendo humilde, en realidad es orgullosa... de ahí el fenómeno del "humilde fanfarronería".

Debemos esforzarnos por una visión de uno mismo que sea precisa y no distorsionada.

Debemos aspirar a anteponer las necesidades de los demás a las nuestras, entendiendo al mismo tiempo que el autocuidado es necesario para cuidar a los demás. No podemos olvidar que todo lo que tenemos en este mundo es un don de Dios.

Sabemos que no podemos llevarnos nada cuando morimos. Debemos tener presente que todas las cosas de este mundo desaparecerán al final de los tiempos.

El orgullo proviene del Diablo que lucha con Dios en un duelo inútil; sabemos cómo acabará esto leyendo la Biblia.

Así, el orgullo es solo una herramienta para separarnos de nuestro Dios.

Dios te bendiga,
Padre Samuel Moses Brown

March 22, 2026 The Fifth Sunday of Lent bulletin- Anger

Dear People of God,

This week we will look at anger which can also be called wrath. This sin might seem obvious, but it still has a way of getting to us. It is often placed after greed or after depression. The idea is that people become angry after not being fulfilled with food, lust, or things. People become sad before they are angry, or they may become angry then get depressed. It is also possible to experience anger and depression together.

Again, as noted before, the depression we are talking about here is not clinical depression which should be treated by health professionals. Anger causes us to act in ways that are sinful and is an offense against the human dignity of other people.

We must distinguish between reasonable anger in a specific situation versus anger in a generalized manner that can cause us to act out sinfully. A common place this is manifested is driving. Do you become irrationally angry because of how everyone else is driving? Do you think that you drive perfectly? Could you do better at managing your outbursts when driving?

When you are angry, what do you do? Is there another way you could behave instead?

When you are angry, how long does it take for the anger to leave you?

What helps the anger leave you? If the anger does not leave, consider an intervention to help it leave.

Some people report that some of these things are helpful: thinking about something else, going for a walk, watching a comedic show or movie, or going to the gym for lifting workout.

We have to redirect our thoughts away from things that are causing us to fall.

God bless,
Fr. Samuel Moses Brown

Queridos Pueblos de Dios,

Esta semana vamos a analizar el coraje que también puede llamarse ira. Este pecado puede parecer obvio, pero aún así tiene una forma de llegar a nosotros. A menudo se sitúa después de la codicia o tras la depresión. La idea es que la gente se enfada después de no sentirse satisfecha con comida, lujuria o cosas. La gente se pone triste antes de enfadarse, o puede enfadarse y luego deprimirse. También es posible experimentar la ira y la depresión juntos. De nuevo, como se ha señalado antes, la depresión de la que hablamos aquí no es depresión clínica que debería ser tratada por profesionales sanitarios. La ira nos lleva a actuar de maneras pecaminosas y es una ofensa contra la dignidad humana de otras personas.

Debemos distinguir entre la ira razonable en una situación concreta y la ira de forma generalizada que puede hacernos actuar pecaminosamente. Un lugar común donde esto se manifiesta es conduciendo.

¿Te enfadas irracionalmente por cómo conducen los demás? ¿Crees que conduces perfectamente? ¿Podrías manejar mejor tus arrebatos al conducir?

Cuando estás enfadado, ¿qué haces? ¿Hay otra forma en la que podrías comportarte en su lugar?

Cuando estás enfadado, ¿cuánto tiempo tarda en desaparecer el enfado?

¿Qué ayuda a que la rabia se vaya? Si la ira no desaparece, considera una intervención para ayudarla a irse.

Algunas personas comentan que algunas de estas cosas son útiles: pensar en otra cosa, salir a caminar, ver un programa de comedia o una película, o ir al gimnasio para hacer ejercicio de pesas.

Tenemos que desviar nuestros pensamientos de las cosas que nos hacen caer.

Dios te bendiga,
Padre Samuel Moses Brown

March 15, 2026 The Fourth Sunday of Lent bulletin- Sloth & Depression

Dear People of God,

In this weekend’s bulletin we will look at sloth and depression together. We are not talking about depression in the clinical medical sense for which people should seek guidance from health professionals. Sloth and depression are also known as acedia. It is a deeper, restless discontentment. This sin has multiple names owing to different Christian writers listing them in different ways. Here follows a few considerations for how to defeat this sin:

Having a schedule and sticking to it can be very helpful. Try getting up everyday at the same time, even if you stay up late or it’s your day off.

Try asking yourself if you are being inactive because you genuinely need to rest, or because you feel like avoiding some work that you should do.

Try understanding if you are truly getting enough rest, if not, your body’s need to rest can feel like sloth when it is a real need.

Decide whether the work you are avoiding is something that really needs to be done, or if it belongs to someone else.

If you have work that truly needs to be done, figure out the real reason you are avoiding that work.

If you are feeling sad, try to figure out why. If we know why we are sad, we can start to address it and that is legitimate human emotion. If you are sad for no apparent reason, there may be something spiritual, physiological, or psychological happening in your life. It is important to analyze the situation to repair it.

If you feel like being inanimate and withdrawing from life, ask yourself why and examine how to physically move. Physical movement very often helps to alter the way we feel.

God bless,
Fr. Samuel Moses Brown

Queridos Pueblos de Dios,

En el boletín de este fin de semana veremos la pereza y la depresión juntas. No estamos hablando de la depresión en el sentido médico clínico, para lo cual las personas deberían buscar orientación de profesionales de la salud. La pereza y la depresión también se conocen como acedia. Es un descontento más profundo e inquieto. Este pecado tiene múltiples nombres debido a que diferentes escritores cristianos los enumeran de distintas maneras. A continuación, se presentan algunas consideraciones sobre cómo vencer este pecado:

Tener un horario y cumplirlo puede ser muy útil. Intenta levantarte todos los días a la misma hora, aunque te quedes despierto hasta tarde o sea tu día libre.

Intenta preguntarte si estás inactivo porque realmente necesitas descansar, o porque sientes que estás evitando algún trabajo que deberías hacer.

Intenta entender si realmente estás descansando lo suficiente; si no es así, la necesidad de descansar de tu cuerpo puede sentirse como pereza, cuando en realidad es una necesidad real.

Decide si el trabajo que estás evitando es algo que realmente necesita hacerse, o si pertenece a otra persona. Si tienes trabajo que realmente necesita hacerse, averigua la verdadera razón por la que estás evitando ese trabajo.

Si te sientes triste, intenta averiguar por qué. Si sabemos por qué estamos tristes, podemos empezar a abordarlo y eso es una emoción humana legítima. Si estás triste sin una razón aparente, puede estar ocurriendo algo espiritual, fisiológico o psicológico en tu vida. Es importante analizar la situación para repararla.

Si sientes ganas de estar inanimado y retirarte de la vida, pregúntate por qué y examina cómo moverte físicamente. El movimiento físico muy a menudo ayuda a cambiar la forma en que nos sentimos.

Dios te bendiga,
Padre Samuel Moses Brown

March 8, 2026 The Third Sunday of Lent bulletin - Avoiding Greed
March 1, 2026 The Second Sunday of Lent bulletin- Avoiding Lust

February 22, 2026 The First Sunday of Lent bulletin- Abstinence & Fasting
February 15, 2026 The Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin- Cycle A - Gospel of Matthew (continued)
February 8, 2026 The Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin- Cycle A - Gospel of Matthew (continued)
February 1, 2026 The Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin- Cycle A - Gospel of Matthew (continued)

January 25, 2026 The Third Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin- Cycle A - Gospel of Matthew (continued)
January 18, 2026 The Second Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin- Cycle A - Gospel of Matthew
January 11, 2026 The Baptism of the Lord bulletin- Resolutions
January 4, 2026 The Epiphany of the Lord bulletin- Epiphany celebration

December 28, 2025 Feast of the Holy Family bulletin- Christmas-Epiphany seasons
December 21, 2025 Fourth Sunday of Advent bulletin- Advent - Isaiah
December 14, 2025 Third Sunday of Advent bulletin- Advent - Isaiah
December 7, 2025 Second Sunday of Advent bulletin- Advent
November 30, 2025 First Sunday of Advent bulletin- Advent

Please see these bulletins for messages from Fr. Brown in English and en Español:

November 23, 2025 bulletin- Thanksgiving
November 16, 2025 bulletin- Pray for the dead
November 9, 2025 bulletin- Liturgy (continued)

November 2, 2025 Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin- Liturgy (continued)
October 26, 2025 Twenty Nineth Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin- Liturgy (continued)
October 19, 2025 Twenty Nineth Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin- Liturgy (continued)
October 12, 2025 Twenty Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin- Liturgy (continued)
October 5, 2025 Twenty Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin- Liturgy (continued)
September 28, 2025 Twenty Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin- Liturgy (continued)
September 21, 2025 Twenty Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin- Liturgy (continued)
September 14, 2025 The Exaltation of the Holy Cross bulletin - Liturgy (continued)
September 7, 2025 Twenty Third Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin- Liturgy (continued)
August 31, 2025 Twenty Second Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin- Liturgy (continued)
August 24, 2025 Twenty First Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin - Liturgy (continued)
August 17, 2025 Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin - Liturgy (continued)
August 10, 2025 Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin - Liturgy (continued)
August 3, 2025 Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin - Liturgy (continued)
July 27, 2025 Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin- Liturgy (continued)
July 20, 2025 Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin- Liturgy
July 13, 2025 Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin- Ordinary Time
July 6, 2025 Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin- St. John Cassian, Desert Father
June 29, 2025 Solemnity of Saints Peter & Paul - Spiritual Awakening
June 22, 2025 Corpus Christi bulletin- Transubstantiation
June 15, 2025 Holy Trinity bulletin- Eight Deadly Thoughts - Vainglory, Pride
June 8, 2025 Pentecost Sunday bulletin- Eight Deadly Thoughts - Sloth
June 1, 2025 Ascension of the Lord bulletin- Eight Deadly Thoughts - Sloth
May 25, 2025 6th Sunday of Easter bulletin - Eight Deadly Thoughts - Anger
May 18, 2025 5th Sunday of Easter bulletin - Eight Deadly Thoughts - Anger
May 11, 2025 4th Sunday of Easter bulletin - The Blessing of Mothers
May 4, 2025 3rd Sunday of Easter bulletin - Acknowledgments for our Holy Week liturgies
April 27, 2025 2nd Sunday of Easter bulletin - The 8 Deadly Thoughts (continued)
April 20, 2025 Easter Sunday bulletin- Easter Sunday Message
April 13, 2025 Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord bulletin- Lenten Series VI
April 6, 2025 Fifth Sunday of Lent bulletin- The Eight Deadly thoughts - Lenten Series V
March 23, 2025 Third Sunday of Lent bulletin - The Eight Deadly Thoughts - Lenten Series III - FOOD
March 16, 2025 Second Sunday of Lent bulletin - The Eight Deadly Thoughts - Lenten Series II
March 9, 2025 First Sunday of Lent bulletin - The Eight Deadly Thoughts - Lenten Series I
March 2, 2025 Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time bulletin- Lenten Repentance - Fish Fry

To view previous bulletins, please go to the Weekly Bulletins webpage.

Pastor’s Desk