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St. Mary’s is a Catholic school community that strives for academic, emotional, and spiritual growth for all students.
We welcome students of all faiths!
WHY
ST. MARY’S SCHOOL
Small Classes
Our 10:1 teacher to student ratio provides individualized attention with staff that are dedicated to each and every student’s success.
SPIRITUAL GROWTH & VALUES
SMS instills faith formation and values and provides many community activities and field trips outside of school.
Academic EXCELLENCE
Passionate teachers use creative lessons to inspire students to achieve beyond their expectations
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SUNDAY MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS![]()
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion![]()
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Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity – Sunday, June 4th, 2023![]()
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The First Reading - Exodus 34:4B-6, 8-9![]()
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Early in the morning Moses went up Mount Sinai as the LORD had commanded him, taking along the two stone tablets. Having come down in a cloud, the LORD stood with Moses there and proclaimed his name, "LORD." Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out, "The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity." Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship. Then he said, "If I find favor with you, O Lord, do come along in our company. This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins, and receive us as your own."![]()
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Reflection ![]()
The context of this passage is very important, and hopefully the celebrant will explain in the homily. This is not Moses’ first visit up the mountain. It is his return visit after the debacle with the Golden Calf. Moses had descended the mountain, interrupting his reception of the instructions for the Tabernacle, in order to regain control of the people, who were running wild in a pagan ritual in worship of the Egyptian bull god Apis. He now returns to the mountain to intercede for the people and plead for forgiveness and covenant renewal. God accepts his intercessions on behalf of Israel and agrees to forgive and renew the covenant, but Moses has an additional request: he wishes to see the face of God. God cannot reveal his “face” (unmediated revelation) to Moses in this life, but he condescends to show his “back” (mediated or indirect revelation) to Moses on the mountain. So God makes his presence pass before Moses while Moses is hid in a cleft in the rocks. While his presence passes by, the LORD proclaims his “name,” that is, declares what his essence is: “The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness (hesed) and fidelity (emeth).” The words used to describe God’s attributes here are significant, in particular the Hebrew hesed, which means not merely “kindness” but rather “covenant fidelity or covenant love.” In the Psalms it is usually translated “mercy.” A closely related concept is emeth, which means “truth,” especially in the sense of “being true to someone.” Hesed and emeth are relational terms. God is in His very being relational (the Trinity), and his greatest attributes pertain to the faithful and unfailing expression of love between persons. The overflow of this love forms the covenant that God continually offers to humanity (see Eucharistic Prayer IV). ![]()
Adults - What does it mean to you that mercy and fidelity are attributes of God?![]()
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Teens - If you are unfamiliar with the covenants of Salvation History, spend some time learning about them this week. ![]()
Kids - How can you show others the mercy of God? ![]()
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Responsorial- Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56 ![]()
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R.Glory and praise for ever!![]()
Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,![]()
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;![]()
And blessed is your holy and glorious name,![]()
praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.![]()
R. Glory and praise for ever!![]()
Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,![]()
praiseworthy and glorious above all forever.![]()
R. Glory and praise for ever!![]()
Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom,![]()
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.![]()
R. Glory and praise for ever!![]()
Blessed are you who look into the depths![]()
from your throne upon the cherubim,![]()
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.![]()
R. Glory and praise for ever!![]()
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Reflection ![]()
The revelation of God’s nature prompts praise from us, his people. The Church turns to the Song of the Three Young Men, the song of praise they sang while being sacrificed in the fiery furnace. The fiery furnace is an image of the burning love of God, which is more than our mortal nature can bear. Yet God sustains us supernaturally, so that we can praise him while plunged in his presence. The young men were being sacrificed because of their covenant fidelity to God expressed by their refusal to worship idols. Their willingness to be faithful to God to death leads to a greater knowledge and experience of God’s nature. How does faithfulness to God help us grow in knowledge and love of Him?![]()
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The Second Reading- 2 Corinthians 13:11-13![]()
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Brothers and sisters, rejoice. Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the holy ones greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.![]()
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Reflection - Our Second Reading gives us a more explicitly Trinitarian text. Although the doctrine of the Trinity is not explained in detail in the text of the New Testament, the reality of the Trinity must be presumed in order to make sense of the assertions and statements of the apostles and other sacred writers. For example, in the concluding blessing of this short passage of St. Paul, it would be inappropriate to put the “grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” and the “fellowship of the Holy Spirit” in poetic parallelism with “the love of God” unless all three realities were of equally dignity. If Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit were mere creatures, they could not be the source of “grace” and “fellowship” on par with the “love of God.” Furthermore, the term “grace” is particularly freighted, as elsewhere Paul develops the concept as a divine attribute. Benedict XVI explained that dogmas are nothing other than authoritative interpretations of Scripture. Another way to look at them would be as “truths one must assume in order to make sense of all the Scriptural data.” The doctrine of the Trinity helps us make sense of this threefold blessing in 2 Corinthians 13 and many other passages as well.![]()
-Try to learn more about the doctrine of the Trinity this week.![]()
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The Holy Gospel according to John 3:16-18![]()
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God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.![]()
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Reflection Love is the essence of the Trinity. The Trinity tells us that God is not a monopersonal individual who had only himself to love before creatures were made. Self-love is an imperfect form of love. Therefore, God would have needed creatures to love in order to achieve perfection of love. God would have been imperfect in himself. Self-giving love is the highest form of love: “Greater love has no man than this: that he lay down his life for his friends.” From all eternity Father and Son exchange their Life for each other. Therefore, the gift of the Son by the Father to the world, and the Son’s gift of Himself for the world and for his Father, is nothing other than an invitation for the world to enter into the circle of love that defines God’s essence. ![]()
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Adults - How do you live self giving love in your daily life?![]()
Teens - How can you model self-giving love?![]()
Kids - Say a prayer of thanksgiving to God for His great love for us!![]()
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LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK! - Why the miracle The feast of the Most Holy Trinity may well be regarded as the Church's Te Deum of gratitude over all the blessings of the Christmas and Easter seasons; for this mystery is a synthesis of Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost. This feast, which falls on the first Sunday after Pentecost, should make us mindful that actually every Sunday is devoted to the honor of the Most Holy Trinity, that every Sunday is sanctified and consecrated to the triune God. Sunday after Sunday we should recall in a spirit of gratitude the gifts which the Blessed Trinity is bestowing upon us. The Father created and predestined us; on the first day of the week He began the work of creation. The Son redeemed us; Sunday is the "Day of the Lord," the day of His resurrection. The Holy Spirit sanctified us, made us His temple; on Sunday the Holy Spirit descended upon the infant Church. Sunday, therefore, is the day of the Most Holy Trinity. -Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Good morning St. Mary's family! There has been a change to our calendar for next year. Our teacher institute day has been switched from October 6th to October 13th. We will now be in school on the 6th but not on the 13th. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Our updated calendar can be found here:
smsrockets.org
+JMJ+![]()
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SUNDAY MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS![]()
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion![]()
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Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday – Sunday, May 27, 2023![]()
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The First Reading - Acts 2:1-11![]()
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When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.”![]()
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Reflection ![]()
There is an intimate relationship between this event and Babel (Pentecost is the Un-Babel) and Sinai (Pentecost is the giving of the New Law of the New Covenant). It is important to note that the congregation gathered around the apostles comes not only from a wide variety of nations of the earth, but also consists of “Jews and converts to Judaism.” In other words, there are both ethnic Jews and ethnic Gentiles here: those who hear the apostles are truly a representative cross-section of humanity.![]()
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Adults - The Lord loves the whole human family - do you see all people as your brothers and sisters?![]()
Teens - Reflect on the fact that, as a Catholic Christian, you are a member of the true, universal, and worldwide Church instituted by Jesus Christ. ![]()
Kids - Jesus loves all people. How can you help the people you love know that Jesus loves them too? ![]()
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Responsorial- Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34 ![]()
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R.Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.![]()
Bless the LORD, O my soul!![]()
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!![]()
How manifold are your works, O Lord!![]()
the earth is full of your creatures;![]()
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.![]()
May the glory of the LORD endure forever;![]()
may the LORD be glad in his works!![]()
Pleasing to him be my theme;![]()
I will be glad in the LORD.![]()
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.![]()
If you take away their breath, they perish![]()
and return to their dust.![]()
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,![]()
and you renew the face of the earth.![]()
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.![]()
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Psalm 104 celebrates God’s glory revealed in his creation, which is brought forth, maintained, and renewed by the Spirit (compare Genesis 1:2). At Pentecost, the Wind that blew over the waters of the young earth blows again over the believers gathered around the Apostles. The Church is the foretaste or first-fruits of the New Creation, since Christ’s resurrected Body is our food. As St. Paul says, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation!” (2 Cor 5:17). Reflect on the Holy Spirit’s role in creation.![]()
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The Second Reading- 1 Corinthians 12:3B-7, 12-13![]()
Brothers and sisters: No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. ![]()
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Reflection - What does it mean to say “Jesus is Lord?” Remember that Jews like Paul did not pronounce the divine name but substituted adonai in Hebrew and kurios, “Lord,” in Greek. The fullest sense of proclaiming “Jesus is Lord” is to identify him with the God of Israel who revealed himself to Moses. Further, Paul’s statement that “No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit,” reminds us that Pentecost, while an extraordinary event, is not the first bestowal of the Spirit on mankind. The Spirit has been active since Creation. Particularly, a careful reading of the infancy narratives of Luke 1-2, to mention just one example, shows how active the Spirit was even before the earthly ministry of Christ. St. Paul’s statement implies that the Spirit was already active in some way upon certain individuals who confessed Jesus as Lord in the Gospel narratives (e.g. Matt 15:22, John 20:18,28). -Remember that all three persons of the Trinity have been present for all time. The Holy Spirit has always been, He did not come into being at Pentecost. ![]()
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The Holy Gospel according to John 20:19-23![]()
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On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”![]()
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Reflection Sometimes this is called the “Johannine Pentecost,” but it would be incorrect to pit these two events against one another, as if John was of the opinion that the Spirit was given at one time, and Luke of the opinion that it was dispensed at another. In the Christian life, there are certainly definitive giftings of the Spirit (for example, in Baptism and Confirmation), but the Spirit comes to us continually, not just once. In fact, Luke does record the same event we find detailed in today’s Gospel Reading, although the fact is frequently missed. In Luke 24:49 Jesus says, “Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you.” The Greek is present tense: Jesus is giving the Spirit as he speaks, which is the event recorded in John 20. The rest of Luke 24:49 says, “But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from high.” So Pentecost is not the first time the Apostles receive the Spirit. Rather, it is a special dispensation, it is a “clothing with power from on high.” We should understand it as an extraordinary empowerment with authority, gifts and charisms that they will need for their apostolic ministry. As the Second Reading emphasized, there are many gifts and forms of ministry inspired by the same Spirit.![]()
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Adults - Look up the Papal lineage of the Catholic Church, and read how the unbroken line of Pope’s leads us back to Saint Peter himself!![]()
Teens - We too are clothed with power from on high - how do you use your gifts to build up the Body of Christ?![]()
Kids - Say a special prayer to the Holy Spirit today!![]()
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LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK! - Why the miracle of tongues? In answer, recall the story regarding the tower of Babel. Puffed up by pride, men attempted to build a tower that would touch the heavens. To punish their sin, God confused their speech. Sin causes confusion and division. Now Christ came to gather all men into His Church and thereby to unite them to Himself. This should result in creating but one family of nations again. To this blessed state the miracle of tongues points.![]()
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Yes, even we as individuals have a gift of tongues which all men can understand. It is the gift of love infused into us by the Holy Spirit. Love unites, love is a common language, by means of love we can speak to all nations. -Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch