My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Christ’s wonderful words to His disciples in this weekend’s Gospel reading seem particularly intended for us in these days. The reading comes from John 14:15-21. Please pay attention to this one verse (vs. 18):
“I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
In some of the older translations it read, “I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.” The scriptures speak, especially in the old law, about the widow, the orphan and the stranger who is among us, and these people were to enjoy the special love and care of God’s people because they were so alone and vulnerable. In these days, how many have started to feel almost abandoned because of our separation from those things that we love so much: Mass, the Eucharist, our fellowship together? “I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.”
Perhaps we’re even feeling very vulnerable to the various attacks of Satan against us, attacks that are told in our discouragement, our fretting for better days, our anger that things haven’t been handled well. “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
In these days, we can know such wonderful fellowship with the Lord if each day we find a little time to just quieten ourselves in His presence. In His presence we can pour out all of our griefs, pains and concerns. For his part, then, the Lord will fulfill His promise and come to us to give us the comfort we so deeply crave. “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
Even just writing this to you today brings such a peace to my own heart, and I hope that as you reflect on these tender words you will once again abandon yourselves into the powerful yet gentle hands of the Lord, knowing how deeply He cares for you. “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
Please, please go to our Diocesan website for a very important message from our Bishop which has just been posted today. The website is: www.diocesetucson.org There is a link at the top of the page concerning the reopening of our parishes. Again, this has just been posted, and I will be working to see if and how this can all be implemented for our parish. Not all parishes will be able to even do the limited things that are spoken of in the Bishop’s message, but I’m going to try every way that I can to make things work for us here at Cabrini. I beg your patience. Nothing that we will do will be perfect, but we can try to do the best we can do for all concerned. It is therefore most important that you frequently access the Diocesan website, our own website, www.cabrinitucson.org , and read the emails that I will continue to send each week.
As we hear so often these days, “We are all in this together.” As we work together for the good of all, I’m confident that we’ll come through these times as even greater people than we were when this pandemic surged across our land.
This is a brief message today, but I’m trusting that you’ll access the Bishop’s message mentioned above, and as they say, “Stay tuned to this station for further developments.”
Loving you all. Missing you all. Praying for you all!
Your brother in Christ,
Fr. Jay
Thank You Father Jay