Rector’s Reflections

March 22, 2026

Dear People of God,                           

We are all sinners. We’re all imperfect. Our imperfection is the crack in the armor, the “wound” that lets God into our hearts and lives. As Master Eckhart wrote almost seven hundred years ago: “To get at the core of God at His greatest, one must first get into the core of himself/herself at their least.”

To truly be followers of Jesus — to be His disciples — means we reach out and be Christ to all our sisters and brothers. As we continue our Lenten journey, the following story poignantly captures the importance of reaching out from where we stand in life.

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy.

“Mister,” he said, “I want to buy one of your puppies.” “Well,” said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck. “These puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money.”

The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then, reaching deep into his pockets, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer.

“I’ve got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?” “Sure,” said the farmer.  And with that, he let out a whistle. “Here, Dolly!” he called. Out of the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly, followed by little balls of fur.

The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight.

As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly, another little ball appeared, this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then, in a somewhat awkward manner, the little pup began hobbling towards the others, doing its best to catch up.

“I want that one,” the little boy said, pointing to the runt. The farmer knelt down at the boy’s side and said, “Son, you don’t want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you as these other dogs would.”

With that, the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one of his trouser legs. In doing so, he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg, attached to a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, “You see, sir, I don’t run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands.”

This Lenten journey, open your hands in love and forgiveness — the same way our Lord Jesus opens His hands in love and forgiveness to touch us.

And spend some time each day reflecting upon these wisdom thoughts: 

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred and learn to forgive.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Live for others in Christ and try to walk in their shoes.

In a reflective Lenten mood, 

Fr. Greg

P.S. First, thank you to all those who have completed our Parish Survey. To everyone else, I need your support! Every 3 years, we invite you, our Faith Community, to complete the Disciple Maker Index (DMI) Parish Survey to measure how well we support your faith journey. Every parish in the ARchdiocese participates in this survey. 

The survey closes on Tuesday, March 31, so the deadline is only days away. Your input provides important information that determines the priorities for the Cathedral staff and me. Please take the 15-20 minutes to complete the survey: go to tinyurl.com/HNCdmi or scan the QR code.