For those of you who are fans of the Marvel Comic movies – most notably the final two movies of the Avengers series (Infinity Wars and Endgame) – you certainly know all about Thanos and the Gauntlet . If you are not a fan, no worries, here is synopsis:
- Thanos – universal bad guy. Thinks the universe is overcrowded, half the populations of the universe has to be gone, so he collects all the Infinity Stones, mounts them in a “glove” called the gauntlet, snaps his fingers (literally) and half of the universe’s population vanishes.
- Avengers – the good guys who only have a 1-in-1,400,604 chance in defeating Thanos. They need to get the gauntlet to save the universe.
- …and… well, long odds indeed, but I don’t want to spoil any endings.
The Ascension of the Lord is a great celebration of the Church. It commemorates the bodily ascension of Jesus into heaven. According to St. Luke it occurred 40 days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:3). It is a feast of great antiquity with liturgies and art of the 4th century already addressing it as a norm of the Church. In the Eastern Church this feast is known in Greek as Analepsis, the “taking up,” and also as the Episozomene, the “salvation from on high,” indicating that by ascending into his glory Christ completed the work of our redemption.
Monday, May 27 our nation will celebrate Memorial Day. Lots of people confuse it or conflate it with Veteran’s Day. It is the latter which honors all the men and women who have served our nation in the military. It is the former that remembers and honors all those who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. 
Occasionally, people will ask me “What order are you?” and other questions that eventually lead to the inquiry, “Where are y’all from?” I have noticed that people not native to the South have picked up that Southern expression. But it leaves me in a dilemma. I wonder if the one I am speaking with understands there is a difference between “y’all” and “all y’all”. So, I am not sure if they are asking where I am from (y’all having, in some cases, a singular use) or they are asking where all we friars are from (all y’all would have been clearer in use and intention). The answer to the question “Where are all y’all from?” might well be “Holy Name Province.” 
A part of our Catholic tradition includes appearances (apparitions) of the Blessed Virgin Mother, most famous of the many are Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Fátima, and Our Lady of Guadalupe, to name a few. These appearances can be approved as “worthy of belief” by the local bishop or by the Vatican. The Church does not require belief in any apparition or other private revelation. However, she does exercise her maternal judgment for the protection of the faithful in declaring some apparitions to be inauthentic, others to be “worthy of belief.” Investigations into alleged apparitions are rigorous, and not done lightly. 
This year is a year of transition for the parish. There are things we do so very well – such as our Lenten, Holy Week, and Easter celebrations. I have been around 12 years now, and these really were the best ever. We have had so many people make a point of sharing how moved they were by the celebrations. One person came up to me after Holy Thursday and simply said, “Wow, wow, wow…” What makes it so moving for people? Everyone is different, but what is constant is the behind the scene work of dedicated people and their ministries: the Décor and Environment Committee, Readers, Eucharistic Ministers, Altar Servers, Ushers, Choir, Faith Formation/RCIA, the Knights, the parish staff, volunteers who pass out palms, greet people and a million other things. So many people are moved by the Eucharistic Procession on Holy Thursday – behind the scene are staff who recruit TPD for traffic safety, who go to the Franklin Street businesses to let them know, who visit the hotels to make sure they know our Holy Week schedule – so many little things – all that make the big thing the amazing thing. 
From time to time some Christians tell other Christians that their baptism was not valid because it was not done by full immersion, the only way Jesus authorized people to be baptized. The claims sometimes go on to claim that “sprinkling” was an invention of the Catholic Church in the 4th century when people began to flood into the church and it was just more efficient that the required full immersion. 
Jesus answered and said to [Nicodemus], “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” (John 2:3)
friarmusings 