April 13, 2025

Dear Parishioners,

Jesus was in the habit of sharing secrets with his closest friends. We see it at the Last Supper, when he unveiled his love for them by washing their feet and when he spoke of his relationship with the Father. We see it at the Garden of Gethsemane, when he shared the secret of his pain with Peter, James, and John, asking that the cup pass him by “yet not my will but yours be done.”

It’s something special when we unveil a secret to someone. And by ‘secret’ I don’t mean some juicy piece of gossip. I mean something very personal about ourselves that is hidden away in our heart, that we would only share with the most trusted friend or spiritual confidant.

This is a week of “secrets,” so to speak. I mentioned Holy Thursday. There’s also Spy Wednesday, which focuses on Judas betraying the secret of Jesus. Yes, this is the week of secrets, the week of love. Jesus desires to reveal more of his heart to you. Make this a truly holy week by letting Jesus speak the secret of his heart to you. Maybe you can speak the secret of your heart to him.

Allow me to speak one such secret of my heart. Granted, this isn’t all that personal, as I wouldn’t choose this forum to reveal one of my true secrets. The secret deals with the above picture. It is my favorite painting. For starters, I simply love the colors, the simplicity, the style.

Second, I love the painting because it is a combination, if you will, of the crucifixion and the Sacred Heart. You don’t often see the two together, and the Sacred Heart paintings typically have Jesus looking rather healthy and clothed and what not. Jesus here is dead, but his heart is still very much alive and pumping. The red at the top of the image is like his blood, his grace, flowing out to the world.

Third, this is a photo I took of the original, which is in a retreat house outside of Rome in a town called Castel Gandolfo. I was making a very significant retreat–the retreat only a month or so before I was ordained a priest–at this location and was so mesmerized by this painting that was in the chapel. It made me desire to pour my heart out to Jesus and his people. It made me not afraid to embrace the cross.

Finally, this image is a beautiful depiction of surrender. Jesus is totally surrendered–“Into your hands, Father, I commend my spirit,” is what he said before he died. He has let go. “Surrender” in spiritual terms has a different meaning than “surrender” in non-spiritual terms. Non-spiritual surrender is typically viewed negatively. Think of an army surrendering. But spiritual surrender is the most beautiful thing there is. It’s us stopping trying to play God and fix everything, and inviting the one true God, in trust, to control our lives. He wants to control it for us, and his way always leads to the best possible outcome.

We are journeying to Calvary this week. May we join Jesus on the back side of the cross and surrender as he did, for our salvation and the salvation of the world.

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This Sunday is the annual Blood Drive taking place from 8am until 2pm in the Parish Life Center (the gym). Walk-in donors are welcome. Thank you to the Holy Family Guild for organizing this effort. We’ve held this annual drive since 2002 and have collected over 1,000 blood donations, which equates to helping 3,000 lives.

This week is Holy Week, one of the most sacred times of the year. Please be sure to check our schedule this week, as the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday) has a different schedule. Remember there are no daily Masses in the morning during the Triduum. This Monday, April 14th there will be a Candlelight Rosary in the church at 7:30pm.

SPC school spring break begins this Wednesday. Enjoy your time away and a blessed Easter to you.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. James Wallace