I’m BAAAACCCK!
 
Hi everyone,
 
It is great to be back in the parishes with all of you, again! My time up in Essex for the past two months have covered the entire gamut of emotions—it has been exciting, extremely busy, fun, difficult, joyful, lonely, informative, and extremely boring, among other things. Needless to say, I am ready to get back into familiar territory.  A BIG thank you to all of you who sent me notes, well-wishes, and prayers during my time up there!  It was definitely a very new and sobering experience, and I truly appreciated your support as I navigated these strange waters.
 
Some important updates:
 

1. I want to thank Fr. Rensch for filling in for me during these past two months.  When I caught wind that I would be called up on active duty to help with the Covid-19 Response, I was most worried about how I was going to take care of all of you. I prayed a lot about it, and the Holy Spirit guided me to this solution of having Fr. Rensch step in.  He did an amazing job, and I cannot thank him (and his pastor, Msgr. Bourgeois) enough for agreeing.  I also believe it was a good learning experience for him to be on his own for these past two months, learning the many different things that a pastor needs to do that most people do not see.  We talked multiple times over the phone during these past two months regarding practical things happening in the parish, as well as how to scan, file, and pay bills—the fun stuff! I actually wish I had had these two months before I stepped into being a pastor last September. Thank you ever so much, Fr. Rensch, for serving my flock; I am truly grateful.

 

2. Please note: the Bishop has still lifted the obligation for Sunday Mass, so if you or anyone you know is still afraid to be in a setting with others at this time, you do not incur any sin by staying at home and praying through the readings.  Continue to make the Lord’s Day holy by finding silence with Him, praying with your loved ones, watching Mass online if you can, and avoid doing work in order to rest with Him on the Sabbath.

 

3. Sunday Mass Sign-up: In order to adhere to the Governor’s 25% capacity rule, I have created an online sign-up for this Sunday’s Masses: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e094fafae2fa6fd0-holy
   1. Just click the link above
   2. Click “sign-up” next to the Mass you wish to attend
   3. Then scroll down and click “Submit and Sign Up” at the bottom of the page
   4. Then enter your name
   5. Finally, click “Sign Up Now”
   6. If anyone has any problems with this, just let me know and I will try to fix it.

 

4. Masses/Adoration are officially public again. You can find the weekly schedule here: https://ourladyvt.org/mass-times
5. Since Masses are public again, I do not plan to write daily reflections anymore, but I realize that many still do not feel comfortable leaving their homes right now (and may not for quite some time). Thus, I am considering live-streaming daily Masses so people can enter deeper in the Heart of Christ and hear my homily on the daily readings.

 

6. Our churches will still be unlocked during the day—this is something I wanted to begin before the pandemic occurred, and something I hope to continue into the future!

 

7. We have many slots open for Mass intentions for the rest of the year, so if you would like to have Mass said for your loved ones (both living and deceased), just let me know.

 

8. Thank you to everyone who has helped support our parishes financially during this time.  Many parishes are not faring as well as we are, and that is due to the great generosity of many of you.  If you would like to continue helping support the parishes, you can always donate online: https://ourladyvt.org/online-giving

 
 
N.B.
Holy Mass was celebrated on Saturday for Wayne Johnson on his birthday (by Mary Johnson)
Holy Mass was celebrated on Sunday for the Repose of the Souls of the Gallagher Family (by Peg and Phil Mollitor) and for all of you, the Parishioners.
Holy Mass was celebrated this morning for Mary Porter (by Patricia Reynolds)
 
 
Reflection:
 
Since I did not live-stream the Mass this morning, I will give a quick reflection.
 
It is the feast of Our Lady, Mary, Mother of Church!
 
There were many options for readings this morning, but I went with Genesis Chapter 3 (where God searches for Adam and Eve after they have disobeyed God’s command) and John 19 (where Mary is standing at the Cross with John, and Jesus gives each of them to the other as Mother and son).
 
I chose these readings for two reasons:

1. I love the stories from Scripture because I see so much of my own brokenness in the key players, and it is never more apparent to me than with the mistakes of Adam.  We see Adam and Eve hiding from God in this moment.  They have disobeyed His precepts, they know something is wrong, and what do they do: they hide.  I find that human beings do this a lot.  We make mistakes, we try to cover them up, or we simply avoid talking about them.  We want them to be “swept under the rug”, and we want to move on, rather than face the painful reality of emotional and spiritual growth.  How often do we find ourselves not just hiding from the “scary” things of life, but hiding from God, Himself?  I notice this even in myself as a priest at times: I can be in the church, attempting to pray, with a million cares and worries in my mind, and instead of locking my gaze onto His, I am as far away as I can be in my heart. I hide to avoid His gaze. I search for something else to fix in my mind, or I try to fix things on my own so that I won’t have to deal with the “disappointment” or anger of God.  That is one reason why I have scheduled Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament before or after every Mass.  I do this because I need to have at least an hour of silence with God in prayer every day, but also because I cannot hide from His gaze in Adoration. Just as He is exposed and vulnerable on the altar, so, too, am I exposed to Him. I cannot hide from Him. My gaze cannot turn from Him.  I have to let Him look deep into my soul, and I am always the better for it! This day may we not be afraid to run to the loving arms of God.  We do not need to hide as Adam did, for Jesus Christ has come to save us from our sins, to heal us, and to intercede on our behalf to the Father.  We do not need to hide; we need only run to His embrace.
2. I chose this Gospel because it is a reminder that Mary, too, has been given to us.  We see this painful moment of Jesus’s agony, where He gazes upon His Mother and His friend that was beloved to Him.  He gives them to each other, asking that they take care of one another.  Mary was given to all of us, individually and as Church, to help us along the way.  Pope Francis gave a beautiful homily last year about the loving and tender gaze of Mary, and how she looks at us just as Jesus does. He explains that our eyes are our windows to the souls (as is mentioned in Scripture multiple times), and her soul is so focused on her Son, Jesus, that when we lock eyes with her, we cannot help but be led to her Son.  We have been given a powerful guide along this journey of life, and her name is Mary, our Lady, our Mother.

 
Each day, with all of the tumult and anger and violence in the world right now, there is only one thing that makes sense to me. It is Jesus Christ on the altar. He doesn’t have all of the answers to the world’s problems. He IS the answer to all of the world’s problems.
 
May we not run away from the loving gaze of our God amidst all of the darkness within and without.  No! May we run to His open arms. May we see the loving eyes of Jesus and Mary looking upon us and spurring us on.  And may we unite ourselves to the Holy Eucharist in an intense way, this day—because it is the only thing that makes sense in this world. Indeed, it is what will save us in the end!

In the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our Mother, I am yours,
 
Fr. Gratton