Trust that God's love will carry us forward and bring us to something better than we've known before...even if there is a long Passion between now and then.
No Greater Commandment
May 15, 2020
In today’s gospel we hear the well-known line “Love one another as I (Jesus) have loved you.” These are daunting words. There are many sacrifices going on, from many people, to keep one another safe these days and we should keep this always in mind. Some of us are feeling the brunt of this burden while others of us are merely inconvenienced. It is a time to keep one another in prayer and to hold one another charitably.
Veneration of the Cross
Good Friday 2017
I chose the song “O Love” by our choir. This recording is from one of our Good Friday Venerations of the Cross liturgies (2018). If you listen carefully, you may hear some bustle in the background. That would be people moving through the church to touch and contemplate the cross of Jesus. It is one of the most powerful ritual moments of our year, and one to which we are connected in these days.
For me, the musical atmosphere created by this melody and wonderful harmonization, allows the words “O love that will not let me go” to resonate deeply in our hearts. I hope it provides you with a moment of deep beauty in these all too quiet times. I hope the gospel allows you moments to see the sacrifices we make in these days as profoundly connected to the suffering Jesus that centers our faith.
God bless,
Fr. Pat
Hands and hearts full of love at Mass.
A reminder that I have set up a special email account where I’m asking parishioners to send photos. Of course, I would ask that any photos or videos you send are ones that you are OK with us using. Unless you specifically would like, we are careful not to use names with the photos (this has been deemed especially protective for children’s photos). I would also ask you to use the system that I’ve explained below to help us sort. It’s very simple.
And so here is the system: I would ask you to send all of these photos or videos to fpdden@gmail.com and in the subject line simply put one of the following depending on which category of the ones above you think they would fit into:
- For shots of anything that is sacrament or worship oriented: “MPB prayer”
- For shots of other parish activities (formation, outreach, music, etc…): “MPB parish life”
- For any photos of home family gatherings or daily life the subject line would be “MPB family life"
- For any of you photographers with nature, cityscapes or architecture shots that you really love, simply use: “MPB photographers”
- And if your file is too large to send, just send us a note with the “would have been” subject line and we can get you a link to a shared space to drop it.
Thanks to all of you who can participate in this!
Fr. Pat
Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Jesus said to his disciples:
“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.”
“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.”
"O Love"
MPB Music Ministry singing a favorite by Elaine Hagenberg during the 2018 Good Friday Liturgy's Veneration of the Cross.
Lyrics by George Matheson
O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thy ocean depths it's flow
May richer, fuller be.
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thy ocean depths it's flow
May richer, fuller be.
O Joy that seeks me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.
MPB Livestream Mass Continues!
- Join us for our Livestream Masses every Saturday at 4:30pm.
- All parishioners are invited to be a part of the "safer-at-home" virtual assembly. Sign up by Fridays HERE and you will be sent a Zoom videoconference link and instructions by Saturday morning. "Seats" are limited to 450 households per Mass. NEW! You may share the SignUpGenius link with one friend or family member that would love to be a part of the virtual assembly. But please do not send out the Zoom link so that we can ensure room for all and better communicate important information.
- Watch the weekend Mass on your own once it's posted online (by Sunday morning) for the remainder of the week.
Please send any questions to tstone@mpbdenver.org.
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