March 22, 2026

Dear Parishioners,

I have been reading recently the poetry of Father Abram Ryan, an American who was ordained in 1860 and was known as “the poet priest.” His poetry has beautiful imagery and a melancholic tone (fitting for Lent, I think). It is deep too. For instance, look at this stanza from his poem, Sea Dreamings (1883):

Life, only life, can understand a life;

Depth, only depth, can understand the deep.

The dew-drop glistening on the lily’s face

Can never learn the story of the sea.

I could offer a whole reflection on just that stanza: about how our life experiences, particularly our sufferings, give us a depth that allows us to truly encounter God; how we should cherish our depths and sufferings.

But let me instead share with you another poem, Death of the Flower (1879), which I see as a nice metaphor for our Gospel today (the death of Lazarus):

I love my mother, the wildwood,

I sleep upon her breast;

A day or two of childhood,

And then I sink to rest.

I had once a lovely sister --

She was cradled by my side;

But one Summer day I missed her --

She had gone to deck a bride.

And I had another sister,

With cheeks all bright with bloom;

And another morn I missed her --

She had gone to wreathe a tomb.

And they told me they had withered,

On the bride’s brow and the grave;

Half an hour, and all their fragrance

Died away, which heaven gave.

Two sweet-faced girls came walking

Thro’ my lonely home one day,

And I overheard them talking

Of an altar on their way.

They were culling flowers around me,

And I said a little prayer

To go with them -- and they found me --

And upon an altar fair,

Where the Eucharist was lying

On its mystical death-bed,

I felt myself a-dying,

While the Mass was being said.

But I lived a little longer,

And I prayed there all the day,

Till the evening Benediction,

When my poor life passed away.

I spoke a couple weeks ago about the Samaritan woman at the well as a cut rose alongside Jesus, the eternal rose. Well, here we have again some more dying flowers: Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. They were plucked by God. They made the altar upon which they were laid beautiful. They glorified God.

You too are a flower plucked by our Lord. He is laying you upon the altar alongside his body. Your surrender to God, and your eagerness to be like St. Thomas (“Let us go to die with him”), makes all of our lives better. May we all one day be flowers together in the garden in paradise.

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We are excited to be offering a very special Shroud of Turin display this week in the Holy Family Chapel. The Shroud was the burial cloth that Jesus was wrapped in when he was taken down from the cross and laid in the tomb. It was the cloth that we hear was folded in the tomb following the resurrection, which Saint John saw when he looked inside the tomb. The actual cloth is in Turin, Italy, but we have a full replica of it here at St. Paul of the Cross, along with a display. Please stop by the HFC at some point to view it. It is a moving presentation. You’ll see the hours of the display on the flyer in the bulletin. At the end of the 10:30am Mass this Sunday, March 22 we will bless the Shroud and move it down to the HFC. A special thank you to Mike Einarsen and the Parish E-Team for hosting this event.

We are nearing the end of Lent. Next Sunday, March 29th is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. Please be sure to double-check the Holy Week liturgy schedule. Recall, there are no daily Masses on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Instead, Thursday evening at 7pm we will celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper; Friday at 3pm will be the Veneration of the Cross service; Saturday at 7pm will be the Easter Vigil.

Next Sunday, March 29 will be the annual parish Blood Drive in the gym. Thank you to the women’s guild for hosting this event and for all of you who are able to donate blood.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. James Wallace