Sunday February 28, 2010

From the Pastor: ( From In Conversation with God)

Immediately a cloud overshadowed them. It reminds us of that other cloud that accompanies the presence of God in the Old Testament: Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. It was the sign that was the guarantee of divine interventions. And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Lo, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever. Now on Mount Tabor that cloud overshadows Christ, and the powerful voice of God the Father is heard coming from it: This is my Son, my Chosen, listen to him.

And God the Father speaks through Jesus Christ to all men of all ages. His voice is heard in every age, in a particular way through the teaching of the church, who, continually seeks ways of bringing this mystery of her Master and Lord to humanity-to the peoples, the nations, the succeeding generations, and every individual human being.

This is the Jesus we have to find in our ordinary life, in the midst of our work, out in the street, in the people around us, in our prayer. We have to find Him when he forgives us in the Sacrament of Penance and, above all, in the Holy Eucharist where He is truly, really and substantially present. We have to learn to find Our Lord in what is ordinary, every day, and we must flee from the temptation of ever wanting anything extraordinary.

We must never forget that Jesus whom those three privileged men were with on Mount Tabor, is the same Jesus who is daily at our side. When God grants you the grace of feeling his presence, and desires that you should speak to him as your most beloved friend, tell him about your feelings with all freedom and confidence. ’She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her.’(Wis6:14) Without waiting for you to come close to him, he hastens towards you when you seek his love, and he presents himself to you, granting you the graces and remedies that you need. He only waits for one word from you in order to show you that he is beside you and wants to listen to you and console you. ‘His ears are toward their cry’ (Ps 33:16)…

Other friends, those who are friends in the world, have times that they spend talking together and other times when they are separated, but between God and yourselves, if you want, there need never be any time of separation.

Would our lives not be different this Lent if we were to make this presence of God a reality in the habitual things of each day; if we tried to say more ejaculatory prayers, more acts of love and reparation, more spiritual communions? Here is a point for your daily examination. Have I allowed an hour to pass, without talking with my Father God? Have I talked to him with the love of a Son? You can!

Sunday February 21, 2010

From the Pastor:

Jesus is led by the spirit into the desert. Lent commemorates the forty days Jesus spent in the desert in preparation for his years of preaching, which ended with the cross and resurrection. Today’s Gospel recalls Jesus’ battle with the temptations of the devil. It is the first time the devil intervenes in Jesus’ life, and he does so openly and Christ wills to be tempted for several reasons.

First, that he might assist us against our own temptations. Second, to warn us that no man, however holy he be, should think he is safe from temptations. Third, to give us an example how we should overcome the temptations of the devil. Christ was an example for us. Fourth, to fill and saturate our minds with confidence in His mercy. “For we have not a high-priest who cannot have compassion on our infirmities, but one tempted in all things, like we are, without sin” (Heb 4:15).

Why did He choose the desert? Christ wanted to face the devil in the desert to show how he would overcome the desolate obstacles. The devil is always more disposed to attack those who are alone. Christ went out into the desert, as one going out to a battle-ground, that there he might be tempted by the devil. St Ambrose says “Christ went into the desert for the express purpose of provoking the devil. For unless the devil had fought, Christ would not have overcome him for us.”

What did Christ have to overcome? The first temptation comes at the level of hunger. He had fasted for forty days and must have been very weak. He feels hunger like any other man. This is the moment the tempter chooses to come forward with his enticements. He will turn the stones around him into bread. Jesus, of course declines the food which his body requires and rejects the greater temptation to use His Divine power to solve His personal problem. He teaches us to be tough and to love work, but be aware when we are Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired—This spells HALT. Get things re-focused because the devil can use these weak moments!

The second temptation, the devil takes Him to the pinnacle of the temple and tells him to jump because He is God and He will be protected. Our Lord responds: “you shall not tempt the Lord your God.” It appears a very cunning temptation, if you refuse, you do not trust God completely, if you accept you oblige him to send His angels for your personal advantage. Our Lord refuses to be tempted to perform miracles for show. We too can reject the temptation to grab for human praise and fall into vanity. God asks us to accept our simple way of grace each day . We don’t have to keep asking him for proofs.

The last of the temptations, the devil offers Jesus all the glory and temporal power that any man could ever wish for. He offers him the kingdoms if he will only worship him. The devil always promises more than he can give. He makes the sin look good at first and then haunts us after the fall. This test of faith reminds us to not follow false Gods and power. How many presidents and other leaders lust for power only to come crashing down.

Let us reflect on how we handle temptations. We must become more aware of when they are happening. We must also be careful to avoid near occasions to sin. This means if we are around a person or place where we know we could fall into sin, avoid them and turn away. It is always good to pray during temptations that Lord help you through. And of course his Blessed Mother, Saint Michael and other saints are great defenders and help during temptations.

February 14, 2010

From the Pastor:

On this Sixth Sunday in Ordinary time the Lord challenges us to live of poverty. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord rather than human beings, material possessions and earthly satisfaction. When Jesus speaks with the people from Judea and Jerusalem, He first gives a series of blessings (the Beatitudes) and then a corresponding warning (the woes). There is an order to his teaching.

The first Beatitude tells us that you will find happiness in being poor. There are two meanings of poverty. First, when a person is poor in spirit, they are poor spiritually. They realize they are a sinner and humbly approach the Lord time and time again. Second, when a person is poor materially. They have a detachment from their material possessions. For the Lord says, “woe to you who are rich, you have received your consolation. In others words those who live by money will die by money.

How often today does money become the root of evils, dissension, fights, and greed. This attitude has entered the hearts of Christians who are more concerned about what’s in the bank verses trusting in God. We have made a false God out of our bank accounts and insurance. We have great difficulty because of pride to let go and let God.

The second Beatitude speaks about those who are hungry, presently they will be satisfied in the coming kingdom. The corresponding warning warns us that if you are glutton now you will starve later. If you take only what you need now you will be blessed later. Here is another lessons in detaching from the things of the world.

The third Beatitude speaks of a contrite heart. Happy will you be now if you weep for your sins, for someday your weeping will end with the joy of Heaven. But woe to those who laugh now, they will grieve and weep later. How many people want to be entertained with good times, pleasure, and jokes. This mentality is seen today when Catholics desire the mass to be entertainment and full of laughter. This is a slippery slope. Do we want our children to think religion is one big joke? Wouldn’t it be better to have a priest call us to repentance and save our soul?

Our presence as Christians becomes more evident when we look at the fourth warning, “woe to you when they speak well of you, for the false prophets were treated the same way.” Rather happy will you be when people hate you, and insult you, denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice for your reward will be great in Heaven. We shouldn’t be concerned whether we are hated because of Christ. In fact, when you speak of the conviction and love of Christ, you can plan on it. We are not to worry, but be holy.

God is asking us to detach from the desire to seek human respect. What really matters is not the materials, not the praise, not the success of this life but our love, faithfulness and desire to repent. If we always seek an attitude of repentance, we will remain humble and willing to follow our Lord. If we never desire to change and convert our hearts we risk loosing our souls and reaping what we have sown. This week let us reflect on this Sacred Scripture which will challenge each of us in many ways.

Sunday February 7, 2010

From the Pastor:

The reading from Isaiah once again helps us to understand angels. We remember that just over a year ago Fr Hincks came to our parish to share some wonderful insights. It is these insights which I will share with you in this weeks column.

First, from the prophet Isaiah we set the stage. He has a vision of the Lord, of the lofty throne and angels (seraphim) were stationed there. The angels prayer came forth, “holy, holy, holy is the Lord.” At this the house shook, Isaiah thought we was doomed from his unclean lips. The angel sweeps in with an burning ember to touch his lips. Now Isaiah is purged from sin and humbly says, “Here am I, send me.”

What a beautiful passage from Sacred scripture. We receive a glimpse into the life of angels. But how can we grow more in love with angels. There are so many self-help books, they are the how-to’s for everything. But rarely do they touch the understanding of growing closer to angels.

Fr Hincks gives us twelve steps in growing closer to our guardian angel. Twelve steps were used way before the AA programs. Saint Benedict proposed twelve steps to humility. Saint Alphonsus proposed twelve steps to holiness. Now, twelve steps with the help of Saint Paul to developing a deeper relationship with our angel.

1) Saint Paul exhorts us not only to believe in our angels but that they should form an important part of our faith. Angels were at the Resurrection and ministered to Christ in the desert.

2) Through the angels we do the will of God. The law was announced to Moses with angels. God gives us a guardian angel to guide and protect us.

3)There exists a heavenly hierarchy. There are in the world of angels, thrones, dominions, powers, virtues and princes. Saint Paul is caught up to the third heaven (paradise), where the choirs of angels dwell.

4) Our guardian angel will give power to our words. We get this understanding from Saint Paul who was caught in a storm. Paul tries to persuade the captain but it wasn’t until the angel appeared and assured him that his words had any effect on the captain.

5)Each city, nation, and individual has a personal angel. Saint Paul speaks of the angel of Macedonia.

6) First Corinthians says, “we will judge the angels.” This means that some men will be higher than some angels in the Heavenly kingdom. They will be closer to God.

7) Angels speak a special language. They have no need of lips or a body so it is more like mental telepathy, or mind to mind. Angels can put an idea in our minds, images into our imagination, feelings into our passions.

We must understand their role. They have limitations in that they are not God. In Colossians we hear that no one should delight in the worship of angels, worship is only for God.

9) Archangels will announce the final coming. Sacred Scripture tells of angels separating the sheep from the goats.

10) In Second Corinthians, we receive light about discerning the good spirits from the bad spirits, the good angels and bad angels. Therefore Ephesians says “put on your armor.”

11) There should be great reverence when in the presence of the angels.

12) Angels are attracted to us when we are in silence. For example, to Christ when He was in the desert and Moses when he received the law. No task is too great and the angels fly to our side to help us do the will of God. They are a means to the end and the end is GOD.

Sunday January 31, 2010

From the Pastor: (From In Conversion with God)

Saint Paul tells us which are the qualities that adorn charity. First he tells us that Charity is patient with others. In order to do good we have to know how to bear evil, renouncing in advance any signs of annoyance, bad temper or sharpness of manner.

Patience denotes great fortitude. Charity will often demand patience if we are to bear with serenity the possible defects, the hostility, the suspicion and the bad humor of people we have to deal with. This virtue will lead us to give to such trifles the importance they really have, and not blow them up out of proportion; it will incline us to wait for the appropriate moment if we need to correct them. Charity will help us to give the answer that will often enable our words to reach the hearts of those who are difficult to get on with so that they can improve. Patience is a great virtue which helps us to live in harmony with others. Through it we imitate God, who is so long-suffering with our many errors and always slow to anger. We imitate Jesus, who, although He was well aware of the malice of the Pharisees, lowered himself to be like them in order to win them over, just like good doctors who prescribe the best remedies for those who have the more serious illnesses.

Love is kind-that is to say, it is disposed to do good to everyone. Kindness can only find room for itself in a large and generous heart. What is best in ourselves must be for others.

Love is not jealous…Whilst jealousy is saddened by another’s good, charity rejoices in that same good. Many sins against charity flow from jealousy-scandal, for example, defamation, pleasure in another’s mishaps and chagrin at his good fortune. Often it is jealousy that causes friendships to collapse and fraternal ties to be broken. It is like a cancer that gnaws away at the harmony and peace among men. St. Thomas calls it the mother of hatred..

Charity is not arrogant or rude…Many of the temptations against charity can be summarised as attitudes of pride towards our neighbor. We can only serve others and concern ourselves about them to the extent that we forget about ourselves. Without humility no other virtue can exist, and particular there can be no love. The pride that prevents us from living charity can manifest itself in many ways…The proud person’s horizon is terribly limited: it stops at himself. He can see no further that himself, his own qualities, his virtues, his talent. His is a godless horizon. Love is not ambitious; It does not insist on getting its own way. Charity does not ask anything for itself. Not only is it not ambitious with an overriding desire for gain, but it does no even insist on its own way; it seeks Christ. Love does not rejoice at wrong; it does not compile lists of personal grievances. It endures all things…Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things. All things without exception.

There is much we can give; faith, joy, a little word of praise, of affection… We should never expect anything in return. We should not be upset if people do not reciprocate. Love does not insist on having its own way, on those things that, from a human point of view, we might think are owed to us. If we do not seek any thing for ourselves we will discover that we have found Jesus.

January 24, 2010

From the Pastor: (From In Conversion with God)

In today’s Mass we read the beginning of the Gospel according to Saint Luke, who tells us he has resolved to write down the life of Christ so that we may know the truth of the teachings we have received. Each of us, according to the unique circumstances of his life, has the obligation to know Christ’s doctrine in depth. This obligation lasts for as long as our path her on earth shall continue. The growth of the Faith and of the Christian life, even more in the adverse context within which we are living, needs from us a positive effort and the continuous exercise of our personal liberty. This effort begins when we have come to see our faith as the most important thing in our lives. From this consideration is born an interest in knowing and practicing all that is contained in our faith in God. This leads us to want to follow Christ throughout the complex and changing context of the reality of daily life. We must never allow ourselves to think we have had sufficient formation. We must never be satisfied with the amount of knowledge about Jesus Christ and his teaching that we have so far acquired. Love always seeks to know the beloved better. In professional life, doctors, say or architects or lawyers, though they may be good at their profession never think they have finished studying once they have qualified: They go on learning-always. And so it is with the Christian. We can apply Saint Augustine’s maxim to doctrinal formation: Did you say, ’Enough’? You have perished.

The so-called Plain man’s faith (‘I believe it all, even though I don’t know what it is’) is not sufficient for a Christian in the world who is confronted each day by confusing and a lack of light regarding Christ’s doctrine-the only doctrine that saves-and is daily encountering ethical problems, both new and old, at work, in his family life, and in the environment in which he lives.

A Christian needs to have the answers which enable him to counter the attacks of the enemies of the faith , and to know how to present them in an attractive way, (nothing humor), with clarity (without watering down important issues) and with precision (without sounding hesitantly uncertain.)

The plain man’s faith can perhaps save the most people in question, but in other Christians ignorance of the content of the faith generally means a lack of faith, it means negligence, a lack of love. Ignorance is often the daughter of laziness, Saint John Chrysostom used to repeat. It is most important in the struggle against a widespread lack of faith to have, as near as possible, a precise and complete knowledge of Catholic theology. This is why any child well instructed in the Catechism is, without realizing it, a true missionary. If we study the Catechism which is a true compendium of the Faith, and undertake the reading we are advised to do in spiritual direction, we will be able to combat the ignorance and error rife in so many places, and among so many people, and which can lay the way open to many false doctrines and teachers of error.

Sunday January 17, 2010

From the Pastor:

On this Second Sunday in Ordinary time we return to the wedding of Cana. This Gospel of John offers us several points for growth in our faith. First, Christ performs his first miracle at the beginning of His ministry. Second, He performs the miracle at a wedding. Third, the Blessed Virgin Mary is seen as an intercessor.

Why was it necessary for Christ to perform a miracle? Miracles are usually given to strengthen the faith of the individual. They may be allowed to spark someone’s faith back to life. They should not however, be seen as the norm. Jesus warned Thomas, “Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe.” Very often we would like Jesus to give us a miracle. However, He manifests His presence in a quiet way, un-visible and hidden in the Sacraments. Nevertheless, every now and then Christ performs miracles to shows us his power over nature. This miracle at Cana demonstrates this power in changing of water into wine.

Next we see He performs the miracle at a wedding. Picture the couple preparing for the Sacrament of Marriage and a miracle occurs. Did Jesus want to upstage the ceremony? Certainly not, but He did want to bless it with the miracle and the abundance of wine. Today Jesus continues to bless marriages. Couples still need the grace to love one another and raise a family.

Marriage must be defended. We would have never fathomed having to defend marriage between a man and a woman. But once again we can go back to the nature that God intended. Marriage between a man and woman are in harmony with the nature He created. Same-sex marriage goes against nature.

Finally, we see at the wedding of Cana, Mary’s intercession. She says, “They have no wine!” Note first her kindness and mercy. Because the Blessed Mother is full of mercy, she desired to relieve the stress of others. Note secondly, her reverence for Christ. It is because of our reverence for God that we can lovingly express our needs to Him. Third, note the Virgin’s care and concern. For she did not wait until they were in extreme need.

Ultimately, the wine signifies the abundance of good things God will give us if we are faithful to Him. “The charity of God was poured out into our hearts” (Rom5:5). Let us reflect God’s goodness in our lives and help others discover His Presence.

Bulletin for Sunday January 10, 2010

From the Pastor:

Today, we end the Christmas season with the Baptism of the Lord. Interesting to see how the Holy Spirit places Christ’s Baptism after His birth. Now, Christ did not need to be Baptized. He was God. And He wasn’t baptized in His infancy, but actually right before He started His ministry. He was thirty years old when He was baptized. Three years before His death.

Why then was Christ baptized? It was fitting for Christ to be baptized, first, because as Saint Ambrose says, “Our Lord was baptized because He wished, not to be cleansed, but to cleanse the waters for all who would be Baptized afterwards.” Second, as Saint Chrysostom says, “ although Christ was not a sinner, yet did He take a sinful nature and “the likeness of sinful flesh.” He was Baptizing His humanity for all people who would follow. He plunged the original sin of Adam in the water.” Third, He wished to be Baptized as Saint Augustine says, “because He wished to do first what He commanded others to do. In other words, he encouraged others by His example.”

Why is Baptism good for us? Because it gives us the grace of a new life with God. The day we were Baptized is the most important day of our lives. Just as parched land does not yield a crop if it does not get water, so too are we like dried sticks unless we receive the gentle and abundant grace from on high. Before we received Baptism we were outside the locked gates of Paradise, unable to bring forth the slightest supernatural fruit. Now, a life of goodness and the hope of Heaven are opened up to us.

Baptism is good for us because it cleanses us from original sin. We must rejoice in the cleansing of our souls from the stain of original sin, and of any other sin we may have committed before our Baptism. The Baptismal water operates in a real way, signifying what the use of natural water signifies—the cleansing and purification from every blemish or stain.

Baptism then becomes the door to grace and the rest of the Sacraments. Jesus said to Nicodemus:Truly I say to you that he who is not born again from on high cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: what is born of the flesh is flesh but what is born of the Spirit is Spirit. We receive the Holy Spirit at Baptism along with faith, hope and love. Let us not wait too long after birth to baptize our children. Let us each use the grace given at Baptism to follow Our Lord to the end.

Sunday December 27, 2009

This Sunday marks the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. “God set a father in honor over his children; a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons. Whoever honors his father atones for sins, and preserves himself from them. When he prays, he is heard; he stores up riches who reveres his mother. Whoever honors his father is gladdened by children, and when he prays, is heard. Whoever reveres his father will live a long life; he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother” (Sirach 3.) The Holy family gives us the model of love in the family. This love which starts between the husband and wife spreads to the hearts of the children. Today love must be re-discovered.

It is very often assumed that life should be without difficulties. Our Blessed Lord did not predict it so. He said in scripture that in this world you shall have tribulations. Even when one enters into a realm of love such as marriage there are difficulties. So let us call this homily, the things we do for love.

There are often two types of difficulties in marriage. First, when the love in marriage dulls. Second, when a spouce becomes what is sometimes referred to as impossible.

First, when married life dulls. This it does. Simply because everything in life dulls after a time. Love does not continue to be one abiding ecstasy. Simply because flesh is the medium of the love and it suffers the penalty. It becomes use to affection. As life goes on a greater stimulus is required to create an equal reaction to sensation. The eye can become use to beauty. The finger use to the touch of a friend. This intimacy that was at first so desirable could become at times a burden. Individuals may find they want to be alone or return to their parents.

These difficulties strip the eyes of rose-colored glasses. The heat of passion cools and love is in danger of walking out. The very habit of love becomes boring. Because it is a habit and not an adventure. It is conceivable to want a new partner. Then there comes with children multiplied accidents and diseases and all these real things brings one out of the clouds and into the real.

Sooner or later the affective emotional life is brought face to face with the question—Is love a snare? I thought there would be complete happiness. Yet it has settled down to a routine.

Now those who think we came from an ape and not man think another partner could supply what is lacking. That is not true. Emptiness does not come from the other person but from the nature of life itself. And here is the reason for that feeling. The heart is made for the infinite God. Only God can satisfy it.

The beginning honeymoon is to remind the couple that love was a gift, it came from heaven. They must discover it comes from God. Remember when the Lord first gave the people bread to eat for their stomachs. It was a taste of what was to come in the holy Eucharist. So too is human love an ignition switch in order that we might seek the flame which is God.

When married life becomes dull, this is not the bottom of life. One has only hit the bottom of pride. One has not hit the bottom of his soul, but the bottom of his instinct, not the bottom of his mind, but the bottom of his emotional life. The dreamy life then fades and the person learns in order to attain perfect love it takes effort. The seed needs to sprout. Children need to grow up and our love has to grow up. Therefore God remains quiet like a lamb. If he did not we would never push forward. Therefore every now and then he makes us run up against a brick wall.

This dullness which leads to a nothingness is not peculiar to marriage. It happens in spiritual life too. We who are dedicated to God as priests and sisters reach this crisis too. Prayers become dry and formal. There is danger that we may become use to the touch of the bread of life. There is not the same emotional thrill in praying the mass as at our first mass. There may not be the same excitement in preaching. So it becomes difficult for all. So we have our problems too. It is a problem of love.

How can I love better? By sacrifices. Just as in the dark night, the soul needs considerable purification through self denial in order to reach a deeper insight of love—-so too in marriage. Whenever there is discontent God is stirring the soul. Our love is looking for something not of this world

Sometimes the married life is said to be impossible. Marriage becomes a cross. The spouse might be a drunkard, cruel, a tyrant, bossy. What are we to do? Well, we said the other person is always gift from God. God’s gifts are sweet or bitter. Nevertheless, they are still a gift. If we are selfish we try to get rid of them. If we are Christian we take on the burden as something coming from the hand of God. Jesus says, “renounce yourself take up your cross and follow me.”

Usually we want to accept a cross we choose and very often say, I can’t take that cross. But God knows what’s best. Where a soldier is wounded for his country it is even more noble to be wounded for God. Besides you want the faithful partner to be saved on the judgment day and your merits will not go un-noticed by God. Greater love that his than to lay down one’s life for his/her Spouse. Once married the two are one flesh. God Bless!

December 20, 2009

The spirit of Advent largely consists in living close to Our Lady. During this time when she is carrying Jesus in her womb, we think of our whole life and that very moment when we will be with God forever. There is no better way to prepare for Christmas than by keeping Mary company, getting to known her and deepening our love and trust in her.

Mary imparts a great joy to our souls. She is the mediatrix of all graces. Mary also teaches us to hope. She proclaimed that, “all generations will call me blessed.” This would be rather unusual if someone to that these same words, but Our Lady knew her role in salvation. She wanted to be a Mother of hope. What a contract between Our Lady’s hope and our own impatience.

Blessed Jose Escriva says, “We call so often upon God to reward us at once for any good we may have done. For us, no sooner does the very first difficulty appear than we begin to complain. Often we find ourselves incapable of sustaining our efforts, or keeping our hope alive.”

Today many people are loosing hope and even hope in God. How does someone loose hope and become discouraged? Very often it is those who do not desire holiness and eternal life. They immerse themselves in an immediate hope like wealth, health, comfort and give up on the things of God. This attitude can be shaped by a lack of faith, lukewarmness, or laziness. Discouragement, if it is not remedied, paralyses any effort to do good and overcome difficulties. Sometimes, one’s failure to advance in the spiritual life come from a lack of will power, fear of the efforts that will be needed to maintain a life with God, or the fact that we might have to give up disordered attachments to the senses.

The hope is that whoever does things for the love of God and for His Glory never fails. It is the fourth Sunday in Advent and we only have a few days before we see Our Lord lying in the manager. From the stable of Bethlehem to the moment of his ascension into Heaven, Jesus proclaims a message of hope. Jesus himself is our only hope. He is the firm pledge that we will attain to the Heavenly kingdom which has been promised. Our greatest object of hope is the supreme happiness of the eternal possession of God.

We confidently hope that one day He will give us eternal blessedness, and pardon for our sins with the fullness of grace. Until then we are going to struggle against those lesser forms of despair which we experience as a loss of heart and dejection or excessive focus on material things.

Hope leads us to abandon ourselves in God and to do all that we can to choose the ascetical struggle. We will begin this struggle time and time again, but we must be constant and have patience in adversity. Let us this week trust more in the providence of God. In other words, He will work it out in good time. We just need to wait on the Lord and continue hoping in His mercy and for that keep company with Our Lady, Mother of Hope!

Sunday December 6, 2009

From the Pastor:

Saint John the Baptist proclaimed, “A voice of the one crying out in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths……” This weeks Gospel of Luke gives us direction in following the Lord. In order to make straight the way of the Lord, we need to be pure and blameless. This comes about through deeper prayer and the knowledge of what the Lord desires. One of those desires was that all confess their sins. This comes about in the Sacrament of Penance

What are the essential acts of Penance? First, you tell your sins. Second, you manifest a contrite heart. Third, you repair the damage done by your sins by making satisfaction. Sometimes people believe they can share their sins with others, no big deal. Many young people share their sins willingly online. It can be centered very much in pride—-look at me, what rogue am I. And often it has the intention to incite an emotional or passionate response. This is not the case in St Augustine’s book “The Confessions,” he did not tell of one grave sin. He said he wrote the book to tell of the mercy of God. When we tell our sins, we tell them to God in order to be healed, to have justice rendered, to receive grace and build character. But we must come with a broken heart.

Contrition means to break, to crush. We must break with our sin, crush it. It’s not a worldly remorse related to the past. We see the difference in the lives of Peter and Judas. Our Lord called Peter the devil and Judas was obsessed with the devil. Peter was later forgiven and Judas was not. Why? Because Peter repented unto the Lord. Judas repented unto himself. Contrition must be sincere. There must be sorrow. It is an interior disposition that admits the truth, “I have sinned against you Lord.”

Now there are those that say, “all you have to do is admit your sins and you will come out white as snow.” But that doesn’t complete the confession. A confession must be made with firm purpose of amendment or it is not valid. In other words, the absolution is not efficacious unless there is serious sorrow. Repentance is very important. Peter’s first sermon preached about it and of course John the Baptist emphasized it.

On the road to repentance Christians suffer more when they sin than those who do not know the faith. The faithful want to please the Lord and when they sin they break the relationship with Him. Nevertheless, though we suffer more, we never despair. We make an amendment not to sin again.

It interesting to look at the different levels of sorrow. Imperfect sorrow dreads the loss of Heaven and fears Hell. An example of this is the child that says to his mother, “mom I’m sorry, can I go to the movies.” Perfect sorrow is when we are sorry because we offended God. It would be expressed when a child throws their arms around their mother and says, “mom forgive me, I love you.” That is perfect contrition. While imperfect contrition is sufficient to receive absolution in confession, we actually acknowledge both sorrows in the act of contrition.

With sorrow comes our firm purpose of amendment not to sin again, to avoid the near occasion of sin. We once again face the world with God’s grace and choose to change and turn away from sin. This will complete our confession and once again restore us to God’s grace. Confession is beautiful, have you received it?

Sunday November 29, 2009

From the Pastor:

The readings for the first Sunday of Advent prepares us for the second coming of Christ. This is something we may not want to reflect on, most particularly because it sounds kind of frightening. We hear in the end there will be great signs on earth. People will have great anxiety in anticipation of Christ’s return. How are we to look at this reality? One could grow complacent in thinking that for 2,000 years Christ has not returned. Nevertheless, the scripture always tells us to be vigilant. Saint Paul in Thessalonians tells us to increase in love, strengthen our hearts and be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at Christ’s coming.

In order to be blameless we must return to looking at sin. Sin is a violation against God. It has three effects. It divides the person from himself because it make the soul a battlefield. It divides the person from his neighbor in that a man who is not at peace with himself is not at peace with his neighbor. Cain after sinning said, “am I my brothers keeper?” Finally, it divides us from God in that it blocks divine life.

According to scripture, personal or actual sin, is either deadly or not, mortal or venial. Mortal sin kills grace within us—-divine life is extinguished. Venial sin wounds us slightly. Where love exists there is no distinction between the two. It would be wrong to say, if it is mortal sin, I won’t do it. If it is venial sin, I will. Nevertheless, mortal sin is known in three ways, it consists in grave matter, for instance missing mass on Sunday and Holy Days. You know it is grave and you go ahead and do it anyway.

In the Sacrament of Penance, we submit to judgment. It is a Sacrament instituted by Christ. It did not exist through the Old Testament but throughout the O.T. there is an acknowledgment of sin before God. Adam is asked by God, has he eaten from the tree? Why did God need to ask him, God knows everything. He asked him in order to illicit a confession. It was the same with Cain. He asked him, where is your brother? Cain not wanting to confess and says, “Am I my brothers keeper?”

The Pharisees challenged Christ in forgiving sins on earth. They were right in saying only God can forgive sins. But God wanted to communicate that power through His Church. First, he gives Peter the keys and says, whatever you bind on earth is bound, whatever you loose is loosed. Later after the Resurrection, he appears to Peter and the Apostles, breathes on them and says, “receive the Holy Spirit, whose sins you forgive they are forgiven, whose sins you retain they are retained.” The Church then is to hear the confessions. If they did not hear the confessions, how would they know what to forgive and what to retain.

The Lord then wants to help us be saved. Sin paralyzes us. Similarly, in the natural order like a boil it has to be taken out or lanced. Our Lord will lance the souls and release the evil from within. Sin when confessed looses it power. If we suppress it comes out in many neurotic ways. God was merciful when he gave us the Sacrament of Penance. Are we ready to receive his mercy by going to confession regularly?

November 22, 2009

From the Pastor:

Today marks the Solemnity of the Our Lord Jesus Christ the King. When we think of a king we normally associate it with governance and authority. Jesus’ kingdom does not belong to this world.

In order to understand his kingship let us start with the example Archbishop Sheen uses of chickens. Have you ever noticed how chickens peck one another. Many studies have observed that there was a definite order amongst chickens. A 400 would be the perfect mark, the chicken who always got food. So chicken number 25 might be the one always on the wrong side of the tracks. Chicken 22 might peck 21 and then he becomes 21. This is known as the peck order. Monkeys were also known to have a peck order. It also exists in humans. We peck one another. We crush one another in business and relationships.

When the good Lord came to earth He did away with the peck order. Now the first shall be last and the most important servant will serve the rest in love and truth. We notice this in two instances of Our Lord.

First, on the night of the Last Supper, He took off his outer robe, took a towel and wrapped it around himself and washed their feet. Afterwards He said, “you call me Lord and Master and you do well. I am your Lord and Master, but if I washed your feet, you should wash the feet of one another. Even gentiles who lord it over another should be least. This is something new in governance—namely governance is for service, those the lowest and least.

Second, we remember that seven men were fishing, when the Lord appeared. John was the first to recognize Him, Peter swims ashore to greet Him. When they are together back in the boat, Our Lord gives Peter the authority over the Church. He now makes him a shepherd.

What is the condition of this authority? What did Jesus ask of him before giving this authority? Before He said “feed my lambs,” He said, “do you love me?” The Greek word Peter used was even a lesser love. Almost implying that Peter didn’t want to be in a jam. The point is that authority is exercised when one loves.

Now Jesus wanted to take this authority to the end of time. He always exercised His authority through His human nature. When He taught He used his lips to sanctify with words. His body was the instrument. As each person is part of Christ’s mystical body, He continues this authority through His Pope and Bishops today.

The Bishops as a college are called to teach and sanctify their priests and laity. They are consecrated first for the world then their diocese. They are directly under the Vicar of Christ, our Pope. If we want to be in communion with the Catholic Church, follow the line. It goes back to Peter.

Now, some might think—authority! Why obey? It’s hard to obey another human being. Yet, inside is the hand of Christ. Nevertheless, it should console us that when we obey the Church we obey Christ. Right is right when nobody is right. Wrong is wrong when everybody is wrong. Today we need a Church that stands in the right, particularly in our world where many things are wrong.

November 15, 2009

From the Pastor: (From In Conversation with God)

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; thou holdest my lot. I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also dwells secure, For thou dost not give me up to Sheol, or let thy godly one see the Pit. In the Acts of the Apostles St Luke interprets today’s Responsorial Psalm as referring to Christ and the events of his Second Coming. The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup. He has taken my side. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also dwells secure, now and till the end of time. Then Christ will be seated at the right hand of God.

Our Lord describes the last days in today’s Gospel:And then they will see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. Though his Incarnation and Passion took place in historical time without any great splendor, his Second Coming will astound the heavens and the earth. As has been earlier foretold by the Prophet Daniel, Jesus states: The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. He will come as the Redeemer of the world, as King, Judge and Lord of the Universe. The Fathers of the Church have taught us that he will not make a new judgment. He will summon to his tribunal those who judged him on earth. He who remained silent at that time will refresh the memories of his persecutors who deigned to insult Christ on the Cross. He will say to them; ’You did this to me yet I held my peace’.

There on Calvary, Christ taught mankind the meaning of mercy. At his Second Coming all men will be obliged to submit to his reign, whether they want to or not…This is why we pray in the creed that we believe in him who ’ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end’. He will manifest his glory to his faithful servants and also to those who have denied him or persecuted his followers. All humanity will be there to see the Lord as He is: Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Then we shall fully understand the transcendental importance of our daily struggle to follow Christ. What a treasure lies in those small details of service that we perform day after day for God and our neighbor! Jesus will reward those who prove faithful to the end. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also dwells secure. The true growth of the Kingdom of God consists in an ever-deepening knowledge of the unfathomable riches of Christ, in ever-stronger hope of eternal blessings, in an ever more fervent response to the love of God, and in an ever more generous acceptance of grace and holiness by men.

Bulletin for November 8, 2009

From the Pastor:

The readings for this Sunday’s Mass show us the value of almsgiving through the lives of two holy women. In the first reading the Lord sends Elijah to Zarephath in Sidon to be cared for by a widow. Even though the region was suffering from a great famine, the widow gave food to the Prophet. She trusted in the promise of Elijah. In the Gospel, we find Jesus seated in the Temple watching people put money in the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums, the poor widow puts in two copper coins. Jesus pointed her out to the disciples. She gave more than all those contributing. They contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living.

Jesus loves the cheerful giver. Jesus looks at the disposition of the heart of the giver more than the gift received. St John Chrysostom says, He looks not only on the amount given, but into the very heart of the donor.

Almsgiving is a work of mercy that is most pleasing to the Lord. Authentic almsgiving springs from a merciful heart. We feel moved to provide some relief to those in need, the upkeep and expansion of the Church, to support whatever good works benefit the common good.

Almsgiving has become very misunderstood in recent times. Where in ancient times, harvested wheat, wine, oil, and other substantial foods were brought to the Church for distribution, today it is given in the form of money. This particular form of giving can sometimes tempt us to reduce the spiritual to financial. In fact, a question to ask would also arise with taxes. Do we give because we want a tax write-off or do we give because we want to please the Lord? Recent threats against the Church have brought forth the issue of tax exemptions. As one Bishop said, “take the tax exemption away, it doesn’t matter, we will see the true Catholics.”

Giving to the Church, built on Christ, attracts the blessing of God and produces abundant fruits. It can heal the wounds of sin. But our hearts must have the right intention. Our heart must be directed to God much as in the case of the poor widow in the temple. We ought to be generous even with the things that are most dear to us. Over and above the material value of our gifts is the importance of our interior disposition.

We must remember, we give first and foremost to please God. Yes, he will reward us. Yes, it will open our hearts to be less selfish and prideful. But love gives without counting the cost or counting the return for your money. St Augustine knew of this, in one of his sermons he said, “Thus says the Lord:…You gave me a little, I returned to you a great deal. You have give me temporal goods and I responded with celestial goods. You gave me things that will perish, I gave you what is eternal.

Let us ask our Lady to give us a generous heart. Let us not be miserly with our time, our wealth, our energy. The lord beholds our compassion like the widow in the temple. He loves us both. Thank you to all this week who gave their time and energy in cleaning the Church. Thanks also to those who have donated to our many parish projects this year.

November 1, 2009

All Saints Day presents us with an extraordinary feast. This celebration offers us a special day where we remember our brothers and sisters who kept the word of God alive in their hearts. These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.

We should be clear about what this day means for us Catholics! There are still Catholics who question the role of the saints. The Church we remember has the three levels of members extending from earth to Heaven. The Church militant fighting the good fight on earth. The Church suffering are those suffering for their sins in purgatory. The Church triumphant, are those who have made it to Heaven. The sacred word from Ephesians 2:19-22 shows us this unity: You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. We are all made part of God’s family (1Tim 3:15), children of God (1 John 3:1), joint heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17). This family communion of Saints is known to Catholics as the Mystical Body of Christ.

Therefore, asking saints to pray for us is not a necromancy (summoning forth spirits from the underworld in order to converse with them). The saints are in Heaven and alive and with God. He is not God of the dead, but of the living (Mk 12:26-27). The saints in Heaven are more alive than we are. They are free from all sin. They are flooded with God’s presence, and they care more about us now than they did on earth.

Saint Paul asked fellow believers (saints) to pray for him (Rom 15:30; Col 4:3). Now we can ask Saint Paul and others saints in Heaven to pray for us. We are not cut off from each other at death, rather we are brought closer through the communion we share in Christ.

Some might say that prayer to the saints is against 1 Timothy 2:5 which says there is only one mediator between God and man, that being Christ. Timothy must be understood in light of 1 Peter 2:5, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Christians share in the one eternal priesthood of Jesus Christ by their baptisms. Therefore to share in Christ’s priesthood means we all are mediators, both on earth and in heaven. Saint Paul ask Christians to participate in Christ’s unique mediation by offering prayers and intercessions for all men: this is good and pleasing to God.

So the saints in Heaven hear are prayers and intercede for us as part of God’s family. They can hear all prayers from different people because Heaven has no space or time. Everything appears to God as one eternal present moment. Thus, let us pray and learn from the saints to follow them one day into the joys of Heaven.

Sunday October 25, 2009

From the Pastor:

For some Catholics their experience of their priests brings forth good memories. The priest they remember baptized their baby, witnessed their marriage, administered the healing sacrament of anointing, or gave them counsel to help their spiritual growth. For others, their experience of their priest was negative. His preaching failed to engage them. He may have manifested some character flaws they didn’t like. He may have treated them uncharitably or unkind. What is for sure is that every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He himself is beset by weakness and makes a sin offering for himself as well as for his people.

Despite his weakness, he is called to lead the people closer to God. He is called to help others carry their crosses. For they who belong to Christ have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires (Gal 5:24). Saint Augustine said there is no need to look outside oneself for sheep to offer to God. Each has within him that which he can crucify.

Could it be that one reason for the lack of vocations is that we have not shown forth Christ crucified for them. Will not those young men who feel called to a life of sacrifice draw back when they see their ideal is not realized in us. The young do have a sense of sacrifice and we often underestimate it. They want a mission with a challenge!

There are young men in this world looking for the priesthood. Studies have shown what kind of priests inspired young men to become priests. First, it was missionary priests. Second, a priest that worked with the poor. Third, a priest that worked hard. The point is that the young prefer the heroic and sacrificial priest. One survey found that 60 percent of the seminarians were inspired to enter the seminary by contact with a hard-working saintly priest.

Where do priestly vocations begin? Vocations are grown in the family. Most particularly, it is the role of the father to take his sons to the altar. The son sees the marriage of his father and mother, and may even desire to be married but offers it up for the higher calling of priesthood. What is the secret to fostering vocations? 1)the young must first hear the call of God. God does not shout a vocation. He whispers it. 2) After hearing the call, the hands must be put into action to serve at the altar, to help the sick and the poor. 3) Vocations prosper through discipline, for the priest must walk the narrow path to salvation, not the broad way to destruction (Lk 13:34).

Priests and parishes also foster vocations. The priest should be a visible man of prayer, work and sacrifice. Parishioners must have a healthy sense of the great fruits from the holy priesthood. We have vocations when we are centered on Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and Mary.

October 18, 2009

From the Pastor: ( From In Conversation with God)

As we seek to imitate the Lord we Christians should be ready to give cheerful service to God and other people without expecting anything in return. We should serve even those who do not appreciate our help. Many will not understand our cheerful attitude of self-denial. We should be content in the knowledge that Christ knows full well the efforts we are making on his behalf. The pride of the Christian is precisely in this dimension: to serve as the Master served. Yet we learn how to serve only when we are close to Jesus.

When you start out each day to work by Christ’s side and to look after all those souls who seek him, remember that there is only one way of doing it: we must turn to the Lord. Only in prayer, and through prayer, do we learn to serve others. Prayer will give us all the strength and humility we require to serve others.

Our service to God and others should be characterized by our humility. We can think of ourselves as the little donkey that had the honor of carrying Jesus through the streets of Jerusalem in triumph. We always have to keep in mind the importance of rectitude of intention. In the words of Cardinal Luciani, later Pope John Paul I: When I am paid a compliment, I must compare myself with the little donkey that carried Christ on Palm Sunday. And I say to myself: If that little creature, hearing the applause of the crowd, had become proud and had begun—jackass that he was—to bow his thanks left and right like a prima donna, how much hilarity he would have aroused! Don’t act the same! We should help others in such a way that they do not even take note of our attentions, if that is possible. Our only compensation will then be the loving glance of Christ. Surely that is the highest payment possible!

The Psalmist encourages us in this regard: Serve the Lord with gladness! This ideal should be our guide even in the more unpleasant aspects of daily life. Such sacrifices make social and family life much more pleasant. We should resolve to really excel in our spirit of service to others, always with a cheerful disposition. We will find abundant opportunities to live out our resolution in family life. When we behave in this manner we will come to understand that to serve is to reign.

We can learn from Our Lady how to be helpful to others, how to have an eye for their needs, how to make their lives pleasant on earth, how to gently point their sights towards Heaven. She gives us the best example: In the middle of the rejoicing at the feast in Cana, only Mary notices that they are short of wine. A soul will notice even the smallest details of service if, like her, it is alive with a passion for helping its neighbor, for God. When we practice this life of service we will be blessed to find Jesus in our midst. He will tell us: Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.

October 11, 2009 bulletin

From the Pastor:

The rich young man asks Jesus the greatest question, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He is looking beyond this world to the next and although he has sinned, Jesus tells him with God all things are possible.

Heaven is closer than we think. The problem is we very often don’t ponder and understand eternity in Heaven. In order to understand it we must use time. Heaven is outside of time. We are in time.

If you could take a pill to live to 400 years, would it take away all your problems? Would you get rid of the all the sorrows you experience? Would you be preserved from disease or a tragic accident? It might end up that live longer becomes a curse and you wish you would have never taken the pill.

Eternity then is in the mind. We are always looking for something to end. Like a note that completes a song, if it stands alone it is nothing, but together it completes the melody. Like the song, our life has an ending.

What will happen at the end of our life? So many today try to immunize themselves against thoughts of eternity. They put on a God-proof raincoat so that the drops of grace will not go through it. They shut out eternity. T.S Elliot wrote a poem about men who keep themselves busy with everything in time, but never give a moment to the stranger, Christ.

We live in time. It makes happiness almost impossible. You look back or forward always wishing the grass were greener on the other side. Happiness maybe the moments when we are not conscious at all. The moment recalled when we enjoyed time with God, our family, a great concert or loving experience.

Heaven must be outside of time. But we use time to understand heaven. We often think of heaven as way out there, pictures of heaven are mostly unreal. Heaven is not way out there it begins right here (in your heart). There is no such thing as dying and going to heaven or dying and going to hell. You are beginning to live it right now. I’m sure you have met someone who is already living in hell or living in heaven.

Heaven is already here. Look at the child at first communion, love at the altar of marriage, the missionary nun. Heaven is not a long way off, it begins here. It is determined not by one act but the habits we have chosen. The Lord said to the apostles at the Last Supper, in my Fathers house there are many mansions. He would prepare a place for us.

Why were we not made for heaven and made for earth? Sin spoiled the earth but God came down to redeem it and after redemption gave us heaven. So we got all this earth and heaven too!

Heaven is social fellowship. It is referred to as a country because of its vastness, a city to suggest the number of its people, a kingdom to suggest order and harmony, paradise to tell of its delights, a father house to indicate its permanence in love and peace.

Think of some great moments you have had in time. Now raise that thought to eternity. The great moment where you experienced being loved and giving your love to another. Our relationships we have had on earth will continue in heaven. In heaven, I would like to see Jesus, Mary, Aristotle, St Thomas and I would like to see you too.

October 4, 2009 Bulletin

From the Pastor:

“God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” Marriage is at the forefront of this weeks first reading and Gospel. Jesus responds to the Pharisees and explains the essence of marriage. Marriage after all is at the heart of our Church. For the baptized persons, moreover, marriage invests the dignity of a sacramental sign of grace, inasmuch as it represents the union of Christ and of the Church. Jesus is the head and the Church His Body. The two are bonded in love just as the husband and wife are bonded in love.

This love is first of all fully human, that is to say, of the senses and of the spirit at the same time. It is not then a simple transport of instinct and sentiment, but also and principally, an act of the free will, intended to endure and to grow by means of the joys and sorrows of daily life, in such a way that husband and wife become one only heart and one only soul, and together they attain their human perfection.

Then, this love is total, that is to say, it is a very special form of personal friendship, in which husband and wife generously share everything, without undue reservations or selfish calculations. Whoever truly loves his marriage partner loves not only what he receives, but for the partner’s self, rejoicing that he can enrich his partner with the gift of himself. Love is faithful and exclusive until death.

Love is destined to continue in raising up new lives. Marriage is ordained by its nature toward the begetting and education of children. Children are the supreme gift of marriage. The husband and wife must have an awareness of their mission of “responsible parenthood,” which today must be exactly understood.

Responsible parenthood according to “Humane Vitae,” means: a) respect for the biological process of the human body b) dominion of reason and will over instinct and passions. C) a deliberate and generous decision to raise a numerous family, or by the decision, made for grave motives and with due respect for the moral law, to avoid for the time being, or even a indeterminate period, a new birth.

Human life is sacred says Blessed Pope John XXIII and as we begin this Pro-life month, we believe that artificial means of birth control is always wrong in that it kills life, goes against nature and reduces the sacrifices of marriage and children to mere pleasures. Most of all sin damages our love for God and neighbor. This week let us reflect on the Churches teachings on marriage and life!

Sunday September 27, 2009

From the Pastor: ( From In Conversation with God)

Charity is the bond of unity and the foundation of the apostolate. Whatever form our apostolate takes and whatever reception it gets, charity must always inform our activities. The Lord made this very clear when he said: By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

When St. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians and recalled his visit with them, he made a point of reminding them: For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. Each one of you, he writes. Every one. The Apostle did not limit himself to preaching in the synagogues and public places as was certainly his custom. He made sure that he paid attention to each and every individual in the Christian community. He gave friendly encouragement and guidance to every single one. This is how we should behave with our neighbors at work, at home, in the classroom, in the community. We should become good friends with those around us. Friendship is the basis of all apostolate. We should really care for our neighbors, even though this may take some effort at first. Defects should not be a cause of alienation. The ministry of evangelization requires of the evangelizer a fraternal and ever-increasing love for those whom he is evangelizing. We have to see in each person his or her value as a child of God. This realization will lead us to a true esteem for our neighbor which will be stronger than any defects or difficulties.

We who have received the gift of faith should feel the need to share it with others. This effort should be the prime motivation of our life. The apostolic mission is not exclusively the responsibility of the clergy and religious, or of specially-commissioned and ad hoc groups. It is the task of every Christian. With the lives of the first Christians as our model, we should examine the actuality of our apostolate in the middle of the world. Let us not forget those moving words of Jesus from today’s Gospel: For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward. What will be the Lord’s reward for us if we bring many souls to him?

Sunday September 20, 2009

From the Pastor:

Where do wars and conflicts among you come from? All divisions start from within. It is from our passions that envy grows and where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable……And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.

God created us to live in a state of perfect order and holiness—-meaning our desires would be fully in harmony with the truth. Original sin however, upset this balance and one of its effects was the new motive to desire things; envy. Envy can lead to a whole host of other sins, theft, calumny, jealousy, slander and even murder.

Several saints wrestled with the sin of envy. Saint Martha who buried herself in work. But the Lord commended Mary in her silence and prayer. He was telling Martha not to be envious of Mary but to join her. Saint Peter was given three chances to redeem his love. He did so with humility and contrition but then seems to have fallen into the trap of envy. Peter after hearing the way he would die, noticing John says, “Lord, what about this man?” The Lord rebukes him and implies that Peter was having a case of envy.

Envy is the desire to have what someone else has, instead of being content with what is our own. It is very imaginative and brings about division and jealousy. Of course, it like all sins stems from pride. St John Vianney warned, that “whoever is envious is proud.”

It is very important one overcomes envy and jealousy for those who avoid these sins and follow the truth will cultivate peace. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called Sons of God. This peace Saint Leo says does not derive from any casual agreement or from any and very kind of harmony, but it pertains to what the Apostle says, Be at peace before the Lord, and to the words of the prophet: Those who love your law shall enjoy abundant peace; for them it is no stumbling block.

Even the most intimate bonds of friendship and closest affinity of minds cannot truly lay claim to this peace if they are not in agreement with the will of God. We must separate ourselves from the world. Those who keep God ever in their hearts, and are anxious to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, never dissent from the eternal law as they speak the prayer of faith. Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Then the peacemakers are bound together in holy harmony and are rightly given the heavenly title, the sons of God, coheirs of Christ.

How does this apply to our parish as a family of God? Are we united under the will of God? If our faith and unity is based on clear teachings and the truth, we will have a holy harmony that keeps us united with God. We are at peace because we submit our wills to the truth of God. It is the truth that will set us free and it is the truth that will help us to become a family of God.

September 13, 2009 Bulletin

From the Pastor:

I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting (Isaiah). The Son of Man must suffer, be rejected, killed and be raised. Peter doesn’t want to hear this and corrects Jesus. Jesus calls Peter the devil for thinking as man and not as God. Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. (Mark)

Once again our readings come back to the cross. Saint Justinian says that the death of Jesus was the most bitter and painful of all the deaths that human beings ever died, since Jesus died without any alleviation of suffering. God sent his only Son to die like us in flesh and free us from sin. It was out of pure love that God gave us His Son, for God so loved the world. And what greater love could God the Father have given us than the condemned death of His innocent Son that saved us miserable sinners.

Saint Andrew says if you only know the mystery of the cross you would abandon all your possessions and earthly hopes, in order to give yourself wholly to the love of your savior. How often today we run from crosses. So many think of suffering as something bad and have great difficulty in acceptance. With Christ I am nailed to the cross. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. (Saint Paul)

Recently, a woman called me to tell me that one by one her brothers and sisters had been diagnosed with Lou Gerhrig’s disease. The late Msgr. Schwartz spoke of his sufferings of Lou Gerhigs in his book, “Killing me Softly.” He gives this account: There are many similarities to my ALS and the pain of Jesus on the cross. Jesus was disabled and immobilized rigidly fixed to the tree. My condition is now the same. I am totally disabled and cannot move. His position on the cross gave him great difficulty in breathing. My breathing is below 50 percent of normal, more likely I will die of suffocation. Jesus had overwhelming fatigue. I, because of lack oxygen and sleep, am also fatigued. Jesus spoke only seven words from the cross. Most ALS patients when they die have lost their ability to speak. Jesus was stripped of his clothes and dignity. Each day I have fresh and new humiliations.

Why do we complain even at the slightest difficulty? Our love of God should be strengthened more to face the crosses and not give up. Saint Athanasius, a fourth century Bishop, whose great opposition to the Arian Heresy remained firm even when many Bishops, priests and lay people wavered. His steadfastness defended the faith even after being exiled five times for seventeen years. Saint Vincent De Paul, says, “If today we have had a power to overcome one difficulty, tomorrow and the day after we shall surmount others that are much greater.” The Blessed Mother accepted her cross and lived what Jesus lived at the cross. She stood at the foot of the cross, never gave up and never lost hope. She endured the cross because she loved Him!

September 6, 2009

From the Pastor:

Thus says the Lord: Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be Strong, fear not! Here is our God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing.

In these difficult times when there appear divisions within our country, the world, the Church, we must be strong in our faith. Otherwise, fear will enter and confuse even the best of Catholics. We must remember that our Church has undergone great difficulties. During the Arian heresy, three-quarters of the Bishops were in error. However, God allowed orthodox Bishops to remain true and they helped open the eyes and ears of the faithful.

We must keep our eyes and ears open to Jesus. In today’s Gospel of Mark, Jesus cured the man so he could hear and speak. We also know he cured others of blindness. We too, can be blind in many ways. How often we are blind to what God wants to tell us. How often we don’t listen to him speak to us. We should want to become poorer so that Christ can lead us through these times.

Saint Ignatius when writing to Saint Polycarp gives us some practical guidelines for living our faith. a) Give yourself to prayer continually.. Why is prayer so important? It is through prayer that our faith becomes real. Our faith remains formal unless we pray. For example, the mystery of the Assumption is a doctrinal teaching that we must believe. Yet, it will continue to remain a formal teaching unless we ask God to reveal it to us. Lord, show me the mystery of the Assumption and how I can live of it. b) Exhort all men to salvation.. speak to each man individually, following God’s example, bear the infirmities of all, like a perfect athlete of God. God wants us to speak and help Him save souls, even those who are most distant. c) If you love only your good disciples, you gain no merit; rather win over the more troublesome of them by kindness. Our approach toward others must always be in charity. This is not easy since it takes practice to remain in love when someone attacks you. d) Do not be overwhelmed by those who seem trustworthy and yet teach heresy. Remain firm. The good athlete must take punishment in order to win. Some Catholics may surprise us with actions opposed to the Church, but clear study of the Word, our tradition, and the Saints will guide us. e) Do not neglect the poor, help the widows, guard them. We must always be defenders of the poor. Corporal and Spiritual works of mercy must always be a part of our life. It is there we follow Christ in his good action.

May we never be discouraged and doubt our faith. The one who knocks has the door opened. The one who searches the

Scripture and Tradition finds answers and will be lead by the Holy Spirit.

Sunday August 30, 2009

From the Pastor:

This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. The heart of man is the battlefield for goodness and evil. Jesus wants us the have the inside of the cup washed as much as we wash the outside. In other words, if a person would put more time to the beauty of his soul than the beauty of body and looks, he may discover a new outlook on life and eternity.

Jesus says from within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile. Since the heart is very vulnerable to the promptings of evil, we must be aware and focused on how to protect our hearts and save our souls.

We receive a light on understanding from St Paul in the second reading. Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. Humility is a key virtue necessary for living the Christian faith. No truth and goodness will be able to root itself in our souls, unless we have humility.

What is humility? Humility is living in truth. We realize we are second and God is first. We see ourselves as God sees us with all our weaknesses and all our gifts. We acknowledge the gifts that God has given us but also see the gifts of our neighbors. Thus we can humble ourselves before our neighbors for God’s sake. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another (1 Pet 5:5).

Humility is not easy to attain? There are recorded instances of saints who struggled with the virtue of humility. St John once said we saw a man casting out demons and we forbade him (Mk 9:38). Jesus gently corrected him, explaining that all people who do good in His name should be united to love and acceptance. St Thomas Beckett struggled with humility. Knowing his weakness, he order several clergy to warn him of any faults for as he said, “four eyes see more clearly than two.”

Humility is necessary because it keeps us from falling into pride, which is one of the Seven Deadly sins. It was pride that caused the fall of Lucifer, one of the greatest angels. St Anthony of the Desert had a vision in which he saw the entire world covered with Satan’s snares and traps. In great sadness, he cried out, “O my God, who can ever hope to escape all these snares, for they are everywhere?” A voice came from Heaven: “the one who is humble.” In Heaven, there are saints who never gave alms, their poverty justified them. There are saints who never mortified their bodies by fasting, their infirmities excused them. There were saints who were not virgins, their vocation was otherwise. But in Heaven there is no Saint that was not humble.

Humility allows God to enter our heart for the word to take root, for the faith to grow. Jesus needs nothing but your humility and your confidence to work marvels of purification and holiness. Your confidence will be in proportion to your humility. Because we realize our need of Jesus, we have recourse to Him and recognize our unworthiness before Him.

St. Mary\’s Faith Events and Fraternal Gatherings

Bulletin for August 23, 2009

From the Pastor:

It’s about saving souls! As Christians we must be convicted that our faith is essential. We must help everyone we meet to find Christ and salvation. We can be thankful that God has allowed us to have the gift of faith and to believe in Him in the Holy Eucharist.

Many of Jesus’ disciples who listened to His words “eat my body, drink my blood” said, “ This saying is hard; who can accept it” (Jn 6)? It was hard for the Jews because Jesus appeared to be making Himself God. It was hard for the disciples because they were earthly minded and incapable of understanding it.

Who can accept this? Saint Thomas says, they said this as an excuse. They had followed Him to this point and should have accepted what He said. But because He was not teaching them things that were pleasing to them, they were waiting for an occasion to leave Him: “A fool does not accept words of wisdom unless you tell him what he desires” (Prv 18:2).

Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe...The book of Sirach tells us that “All things were known to the Lord God before they were created”. Scripture tells us also “All do not have faith” (2Thes3:2), “All do not obey the Gospel” (Rom 10:6).

Therefore, faith is a gift. No one can come to me, through faith, unless it be given by my Father. St Augustine takes this scripture to mean, that the act of believing itself is given to us from God. Does everyone receive this gift? It would appear God in His mercy grants all an opportunity to respond to His goodness but some turn away. Why?

We see the stubbornness of the disciples, even though the Lord challenged them and gave them reasons, they still would not believe. Thus scripture says, “From this time on, many of His disciples turned back.” They turned back from the faith which they had in a virtuous way, cut off from the body of Christ they lost life. Augustine says some turned back in a final way, that is, those who followed the devil. In I Timothy we read, “some turned back after Satan” (5:15).

When we think about saving souls, we must do our best to helps others find Christ and avoid satans snares. It is necessary to speak of hell occasionally so that the person has an understanding of this place of torture. Saint Faustina explains in her diary how she was led by and Angel to the chasms of hell. It was a place of great torture (paragraph 741).

Our Lord continues to examine the ones who stayed with Him. Do you too wish to leave? He wanted them to be free to choose to be with Him, out of love.

If we are convicted of our faith in Jesus, we should not waste anytime in helping others find salvation. Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. As our life here on earth is short we should always set our sites on where we will spend eternity.

August 16, 2009

From the Pastor: (From In Conversation with God)

The Second Vatican Council teaches that Holy Communion is a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is eaten, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us. This eternal glory is not only for the soul, but for the body, for the whole person. The Lord made reference to the whole person when He promised that whoever should eat His flesh, would live in Him and would never die, but would rise with Him on the last day. The Eucharist proclaims the death of the Lord until He comes again at the end of time, when our earthly bodies will be resurrected and united with our souls. Therefore those who enter into the joy of God forever will do so in both body and soul.

Jesus is the Life, not just of eternal life, but also of the supernatural life of grace that works in the souls of people still on earth. When Jesus arrives in Bethany to raise Laszarus from the dead, he says to Martha: I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. The Lord repeats in Bethany the teaching He had given earlier in Capharnaum, the teaching we find in today’s Gospel: he who receives Him will not die.

The Fathers of the Church call Communion the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, the means to live always in Jesus Christ. The Eucharist acts as the seed of future glorification for the body, making it incorruptible for eternity. The Eucharist sows within the human person the germ of immortality, since the life of grace is more per-durable than death.

Saint Gregory of Nyssa explains that man took in the food of death (with original sin), and therefore should take the medicine which will work as an antidote. This medicine is none other than the Body of Christ, who has overcome death and is the fount of Life.

If at any time we should become depressed at the thought of death, we should fill ourselves with hope in the knowledge that death is a step on the road to everlasting life. Our soul will live on, to be later reunited with our glorified body. It is like someone who, abandoning his home during a catastrophe, is consoled by the thought that he is on the way to a better dwelling, one that he will never again have to quit. The Holy Eucharist is not only an anticipation, it is a sign that acts as a guarantee of the promise the Lord has made to us: he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

Ecce Panis Angelorum, factus cibus viatorum, vere panis filiourm: behold the bread of Angels, made into the food of travelers, truly the bread of the sons. Give us, Lord the strength to travel with human and supernatural dignity along our way upon this earth, our eyes fixed firmly on our goal.

August 9, 2009

From the Pastor: (From In Conversation with God)

I am the bread of life…Jesus tells us in the Gospel of the Mass. If anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.

Today our Lord forcefully reminds us that we need to receive Him in Holy Communion in order to participate in the divine life, to overcome temptations, to foster and nourish the life of grace born in us through Baptism. Whoever receives Communion in a state of grace participates in the fruits of the Holy Mass and obtains benefits that are proper and specific to the reception of the Sacrament. He receives Christ Himself, the source of all grace, really and spiritually. Thus, the Holy Eucharist is the greatest sacrament, the center and summit of all the rest. The true presence of Christ in this sacrament gives it an infinite supernatural effectiveness.

There is no greater joy in this life than to receive our Lord. When we wish to give ourselves to others we often give them something that belongs to us, or something we know to symbolize a deeper attitude of affection, of love. But we always encounter some limitation to our self-giving. In Holy Communion, divine power surpasses all human limitations: under the Eucharistic species, Christ gives himself to us completely. Love achieves her ideal in this sacrament– complete identification with the person loved and longed for. When two pieces of wax are put into the fire, they melt and become as a single thing. Something similar occurs when we participate in the Body of Christ and in his Precious Blood. Truly there is no greater joy or greater good than to receive Christ himself in Holy Communion with dignity.

The soul cannot but be grateful when, fighting off all routine, we frequently consider the richness of this sacrament. The Holy Eucharist is for the spiritual life what food is for the life of the body. Just as food strengthens us and prevents weakness and death, so the Holy Eucharist frees us from venial sins which weaken and debilitate the soul, and preserves us from mortal sins which cause its death. Through frequent of daily Communion spiritual life becomes fuller and the soul is enriched with virtues. The person receiving Communion receives a sure sign of eternal life. Just as food is needed for the growth of the body, the Holy Eucharist increases our sanctity and consolidates our union with God, because participating in the Body and Blood of Christ transforms us into that which we receive.

Communion helps us to give of ourselves in family life; it moves us to work with joy and with perfection; it strengthens us to bear with human and supernatural elegance the difficulties and errors of ordinary life.

The Master is here and He calls you, we are told every day. Let us not ignore the invitation. Let us go with joy and well prepared to meet him. We have everything to gain from the encounter.

Sunday August 2, 2009

From the Pastor:

The Lord said to Moses, “I will now rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion; thus will I test them, to see whether they follow my instructions or not.” Once again our readings return to the Holy Eucharist. We hear in the first reading the manna symbolizing the Holy Eucharist and in the Gospel of John, Jesus declares He is the “bread of life.”

We can never speak enough about the Holy Eucharist. In fact, the Holy Father Pope Benedict in his encyclical “Sacrament of Charity,” offers more wisdom for our journey. He says, “ Through the sacrament of the Eucharist Jesus draws the faithful into His “hour”; He shows us the bond that He willed to establish between Himself and us, between His own person and the Church. …The Eucharist is Christ who gives Himself to us and continually builds us up as His body.

Not only does the Church unify around the Holy Eucharist but it creates a powerful bond of unity with other Churches. Sometimes we don’t recognize the importance of the Holy Eucharist. The Second Vatican Council recalled that “all the sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up in the Eucharist and are directed toward it.” It is the source and summit of the Church’s life and mission.

Likewise, this is an intrinsic relationship between the Eucharist and the priesthood which emerges from Jesus’ own words in the Upper Room: “Do this in memory of me” (Lk 22:19). On the night before He died, Jesus instituted the Eucharist and at the same time established the priesthood of the New Covenant. No one can say “this is my body and this is the cup of my blood” expect in the name and in the person of Christ, the one high priest of the new and eternal Covenant (Heb 8-9).

Therefore, we cannot stress enough the importance of the Holy Eucharist and our worship. The Synod of Bishops reflected at length on the intrinsic relationship between Eucharistic faith and Eucharistic celebration, pointing out the connection between the lex orandi and the lex credendi. This simply put means that the way we pray and worship is the way we will believe. The beauty of the liturgy is part of this mystery.

It gives us a glimpse of heaven on earth, beauty, then is not mere decoration, but rather an element of liturgical action, since it is an attribute of God Himself and His revelation. These considerations should make us realize the care which is needed if the liturgical action is to reflect its splendor.

The Holy Fathers encyclical gives us more understanding of the Eucharist. We follow closely his words here at Saint Mary’s: the importance of restoring the beauty of the Church; the importance of reverence; the importance to music and words; and the importance of silence. Basically, putting Jesus in the Eucharist first and giving his Blessed Mother her due honor. Let us this week reflect on the beautiful gift of Christ’s presence in the Holy Eucharist.

Sunday July 26, 2009

From the Pastor:

Along the shores of the Sea of Galilee people from surrounding villages gathered to hear the Lord. The people were caught up in seeing the signs he was performing on the sick. No one had given thought to the hours the people had been without food and provisions. They were hungry but more captivated by the words of the Lord. Nevertheless, Jesus still had the needs of his audience in mind. He took pity on those exhausted people, who had been following him for a number of days. He worked the splendid miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. But before working the miracle he puts his disciples to the test. He said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” Philip who was looking strictly at the materials available, forgot about Jesus’ previous power in similar situations. Andrew also found a boy with five barley loaves and two fish but thought it would not be enough.

What can we learn from the words of Jesus given to us in the Gospel? The first necessity is that Jesus responds to our hunger. Our hunger spiritually must be fed by his word, his presence in the Holy Eucharist and by the truth that we face each day in our vocation. Today many people hunger to hear the truth. I hear from others who want to hear more about Christ and His Church, but are continually bombarded with social and money issues. This watering down of the word kills the hunger for Christ in the hearts of the people of God. In fact, in some areas of the Church, it has been so long since they have heard the truth they hardly recognize it.

Another necessity to learn from this Gospel is that Jesus will also put us to the test. But why would the loving Lord put us to the test? That doesn’t sound very loving. Well, love demands sacrifice, and in love you need to go to the end for the other. Jesus wants to see that we will persevere with Him through life. He wants us to trust and work with Him. When Jesus worked the miracle of the loaves and fishes He expected Philip and Andrew to do their part. God doesn’t come down and tie our shoes each day. He wants us to respond to Him in love, perseverance and trust.

Why is this so difficult today? Because we want everything immediately. When it doesn’t happen in our time, and our way, we begin to complain to the Lord. There may be doubts, and anger towards God. We say to Him, “This is hard, very hard, and you’re not looking!” Simply put, we do not trust God enough. We do not think He is going to work it out.

Worldly fears get in our way to letting God work out His plan. Will the banks close? Will our insurance be there for us? Will we have enough food in the future? Will our government remain the same? These are the fears of our world today, but let us remember God is in control. He won the victory at the cross, and we live of this through our perseverance and trust in Him.

July 19, 2009

From the Pastor:

Christ reconciled all things with the Father, offering peace to those who were far off. By His Blood on the cross, we now have access in one Spirit to the Father. We grow near to the heart of Christ when we show him we want to please Him. One essential part of our relationship with Christ is reconciliation. Through confession we show Christ we desire to restore the relationship that was hurt by sin. The Sacrament of Penance heals our wounds brought on by sin. But we should go not because we have, to but because we want to please Him.

What is the Sacrament of Penance? The Sacrament of Penance brings the Christian God’s merciful forgiveness for any sins committed after Baptism. Jesus gave His Apostles the power to forgive sins on earth. Through the priest, Jesus grants forgiveness to the sinner. The sinner should be truly sorry for his sins; firm in his resolve to avoid them; and desire to repair the damage done.

How does Jesus see sinners? We hear clear words from the Father speaking to Saint Faustina, “My heart overflows with great mercy for souls, especially for poor sinners. If only they could understand that I am the best of Fathers to them and that is for them that the Blood and Water flowed from My Heart as from a fount overflowing with mercy. I desire to bestow My graces upon souls, but they do not want to accept them. ……Oh, how indifferent are souls to so much goodness, to so many proofs of love! My Heart drinks only of ingratitude….They have time for everything, but they have no time to come to Me for graces.”

What are some obstacles people experience when going to the Sacrament of Penance? Pride once again takes many away. They allow themselves to be blinded into thinking they have no sin or their sins are not great. Ignorance of not knowing how sin corrupts or that our salvation may be at stake is sometimes the case. One woman in Texas was told by her priest, who was in error, there is no problem with same-sex relations. An orthodox priest later told her the truth and now she thanks God for confessing this sin in truthfulness. Fear is also a common obstacle. Fear of what the priest will think. Fear of not knowing how to confess. Fear of mentioning your sins to another.

None of these should cause us to avoid the Sacrament of Confession. If we say in the Creed, “We believe in the forgiveness of sin,” we should practice frequent confessions and receive absolution. Confession could be a great opportunity for grace and therefore we must not loose hope.

Despairing soul: what gives joy to the enemy is not so much your faults, as the depression and the distrust in the mercy of God which they produce in you. “This,” says Saint Columbiere, “is the greatest evil which can come over a creature. While one is able to fight against this evil, there is nothing which cannot be converted into good and from which some advantage cannot be gained…All the bad things you have done are nothing compared with what you do if you lack confidence. Hope until the end. I command this…” Let us practice the Sacrament of Penance!!

Sunday July 5, 2009

From the Pastor:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness ”(I Cor 12:9). The second reading from the 14th Sunday in Ordinary time gives insight into grace. The Sacraments gives us grace and this week we take a look at the Sacrament of Matrimony. It is the grace of this Sacrament that will help the couple to overcome the weakness of sin.

Who instituted the Sacrament of Matrimony? God Himself instituted marriage at the very beginning of the human race when He created Adam and Eve. “Therefore, a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife and they become one flesh” (Gen 2:24). Marriage was instituted by God for two reasons: a) For the procreation and education of children. b) For mutual holiness and love fulfilled by the husband and wife.

Who marries the couple? They marry one another in the presence of the priest. This mutual consent to each other produces an indissoluble bond. Now they are instruments of God’s grace for one another, imitate the love Christ has for His Church. Marriage is the best human example of love, because in it, we see a reflection of the deep and faithful love of Jesus for his followers.

What are some obstacles facing marriage today? Many marriage problems begin before the day of matrimony. Often they are living together before marriage in an impure relationship. Couples using contraception reduces their chances to stay married and base the relationship on pleasure rather than sacrifice. Some couples because there is a lack of catechesis put more emphasis on exterior looks rather than the interior grace given from the Sacrament of Matrimony. Pride in both spouses presents a real problem in the communication of love. Love demands we think of the other person first. One of the biggest difficulties is that many couples don’t understand true love.

How then does the Church assist couples in the Sacrament of Matrimony? Couples need to have extra preparation for the Sacrament of Matrimony. That is why we ask they notify us 6-8 months prior to the desired marriage. Previous marriages need to be reviewed or sought for annulment before the freedom to marry is granted. Couples must sincerely desire the truth of the Church. The Church only wants to help aid the couples in the grace of this Sacrament. Prayer, purity, modesty, humility and honesty must be integral parts of the couples life. The priest is there to guide them toward the altar and help young people to enter the Sacrament of Matrimony where grace abounds for their journey on earth.

Sunday June 28, 2009

From the Pastor:

The Gospel of Mark gives us a clear passage for the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. Jairus ask Jesus, “Please come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live” (5:23). Today there are many misunderstandings about this Sacrament. The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is administered to anyone who is seriously ill and those who are in danger of death due to old age. Jesus showed great love and compassion for those who were sick and suffering.

The priest continues the work of Christ through the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. This sacred anointing was instituted by Christ our Lord as a true and proper sacrament of the New Testament. It is alluded to indeed by Mark, but is recommended to the faithful and promulgated by James the Apostle.

These are the essential parts to this Sacrament. The Sacrament consists in the blessing said by the priest and holy oil. The priest anoints the sick person on the forehead and tops of both hands. It can be received more than once in times of serious illness. It gives the sick special graces that enable them to have a deep sorrow for their sins. This sorrow is required to have sins forgiven. It may restore the person to health. Often the person can receive not only a physical healing but a spiritual healing also.

Today some Catholics shy away from receiving the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick because they feel if the priest anoints them death will follow immediately. This Sacrament is good for us because it helps prepare us to see Our Lord. Catholics should never put off calling the priest at the last moment. It is always best to call the priest soon when there is a serious health issue. Priests today live a busy life and may not be able to get there for some time.

What then does the Church ask the sick to do? The Church asks the sick to help their fellow Christians by offering their sufferings in union with the sufferings of Christ. It doesn’t do any good to let suffering go to waste. We should use our suffering for the good of souls. In turn, we receive grace for our own salvation.

The Anointing of the Sick prepares us for eternal life, if it is our time to die. It also promotes healing and the restoration of health, if it is God’s will that we serve Him still longer here on earth. We can contribute to the welfare of the Church, not only by repairing the damage done by ours sins, but also my meriting grace for the Holiness of the people of God. This week let us examine the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.

Sunday June 21, 2009

From the Pastor:

This weekend marks the beginning of the year of the priests and is also Fathers day. Both are fathers and leaders in unique ways. The Priest is called to live of his ministerial priesthood by forming himself to Christ the first priest. Fathers are called to live of the royal priesthood (sacrificing for their families). Both are called to lead as fathers as head of the Church or head of their families. Jesus is the head of our Church and He lead the Apostles. In today’s Gospel we hear that Jesus was sitting in the stern of the boat. The stern is where the ship is guided. The rudder is there and it is typically the domain of the captain.

Priests also set in the stern of the boat. They are to be spiritual leaders for their people. As we begin the year of the priest, we reflect on the sanctity and role of the priest. Pope John Paul II said, “we don’t need more priests, we need holy priests.” Holy priests will be spiritual fathers for the natural fathers of their parish. Where there are good holy priests the Church and nation flourishes. This in turn produces good holy families in the Church.

The problems plaguing many priests today comes from the loss of fatherhood. In fact, many of the priests involved in clergy abuse had no father. It is the father that forms a son to be a man, father, or a priest. The priest must be a father in his church otherwise the sheep are divided.

True leadership is sought in the hearts of many today. I have been in several situations recently where the people next to me spoke of their school or business lacking leadership. People need the help from strong leaders.

The priest should be a strong leader. “You did not choose me, no, I chose you and commissioned you to go out” (Jn15:16). The priest is called to share the responsibility of the mission of Christ. The Congregation for the Clergy says, “the priest holds a necessary and indispensable role.” He is the teacher of the Word, proclaiming the Gospel under the authority of Christ. He is a minister of the sacraments. By celebrating the sacraments, he acts as a minister of Christ, and through the Holy Spirit, participates in his priesthood in a special way. The priest forms himself to Christ the good shepherd. He is called by the Church to reveal the Fathers love in charity, according to the truth, and with docility to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. He leads with love and strength.

This mystery of the holy priesthood has been lost in modern times. Hopefully, the year of the priest will help us re-discover the goodness of the holy priesthood and why it’s so essential. With the help of the Church we can rebuild spiritual and natural fathers and mothers for the next generation of faithful.

June 14, 2009 Bulletin

From the Pastor:

“Take it; this is my body…..This is my blood..” (Mk 4:22-26). This weekend we celebrate Corpus Christi (the Body of Christ). Once again from the side of Christ at the cross came forth his blood. This signifies the Holy Eucharist and this week we continue with an in depth look at the sacraments. The Holy Eucharist is called by Pope Benedict in his latest encyclical, “the sacrament of love.”

The Holy Eucharist is both a sacrament and a sacrifice. Until recent years Catholics were familiar with the expression “the sacrifice of the Mass.” Today although the mass is referred to as “liturgy” or a “meal,” we must re-discover that it is preeminently a sacrifice which is a source of fruitfulness of the sacramental meal. The Last Supper was not just a religious meal but Jesus instituted the rite of sacrifice, offering to the Father his body.

Christ renews this Eucharistic sacrifice through the ministry of His priests on behalf of the Church, so that “through Him, with Him, in Him” she might share in the fruits of his redeeming passion and death.

In each mass, the priest who stands in the person of Christ offers himself as the sacrifice as priest and victim. The Mass then is a renewal of Calvary in the sense that is makes present the bloody sacrifice in a sacramental way.

What does it do for all present? It repairs the damage done by all sinners. It strengthens them to fight against sin and discover holiness. The true Christian does not pray for his own needs but offer his prayers for the whole world.

Since the mass is the renewal of the sacrifice of Calvary, it fulfills a four-fold purpose.

1)Adoration-Our Lord is the only member of the human race who can offer to the Father an adoration that is adequate. Even in the priest, the principal celebrant is Christ. One mass we know gives more glory to God than all the saints and angels in Heaven.

2)Reparation-Because we all sinners, we have an obligation to repair the damage our sin does against God. The value of the Mass is infinite. The countless Masses celebrated in the world appease God’s wrath, and hold back His hand.

3)Petition-We offer our prayers of petition to the Father through Christ, who is renewing His redeeming sacrifice, and offering again the merits and love of His Passion. When our prayer are in His will, He is very much pleased.

4)Thanksgiving-We are so indebted to God for his benefits both natural and supernatural—His own divine life of grace, the Holy Eucharist, the countless time He has forgiven us, his Mother Mary, etc. Eucharist means “thanksgiving and there is no better way to say thanks to God than in Holy Mass . Let us love the Holy Eucharist in Mass until the end of time. The prophet Malachi foretold that “from the rising of the sun to the setting a sacrifice, a pure offering would be offered in the Lord’s name” (Mal 1:11).

Faithful Catholics must insist Catholic Institutions live the Faith Consistently

May 31, 2009

From the Pastor:

“When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together” (Acts 2). Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Mary and the Apostles. This is the beginning of the Catholic Church. The Holy Spirit works in the hearts of all baptized to bring about love and unity. Jesus emphasized the Holy Spirit when he said in his priestly prayer, “O Father most holy, protect them in your name which you have given me, that they may be one, as we are one” (Jn 17). Jesus was concerned for the unity of the Church right from the beginning. He knew it would be difficult for some to accept the truth found in Him. Judas, one of the first twelve priests would betray him. Peter, the first pope would deny Him and all except John would run away during his most trying moment at the cross.

Sometimes we have an unrealistic view of the Church—- that if we are baptized Catholic everything will be perfect. But divisions have always been there in our sinful humanity. The early Church had it’s share of them and Paul warns us that divisions will even come from within the Church. “Keep watch over yourselves, and over the whole flock the Holy Spirit has given you to guard. Shepherd the Church of God, which he has acquired at the price of his own blood. I know that when I am gone, savage wolves will come among you who will not spare the flock. From your own number, men will present themselves distorting the truth and leading astray any who follow them. Be on guard, therefore!” (Acts 20).

What does it take to sort through this division in our times? The recent division at one of the nations prominent Catholic Colleges brings to light a division that has been happening for some time. The recent vote of Catholics for a pro-choice President also reflects a divided flock. One thing is for sure, faithful Catholics will know the truth of Christ. Only those who pray will be able to discern the errors of our times. When we read the Word of God and Catechism we form our conscience to the truth of Christ and His Church. We must also keep updated with recent Papal writings and documents. Another way to be fed with the truth is Catholic Periodicals like “Catholic World Report,” verses “National Catholic Reporter” who continues to publish dissent.

These are difficult times in the Church but nothing that we haven’t already faced in the previous times. As our young people graduate and go out into the world, we pray that the Father protect them in the truth. May our families here at Saint Mary’s be vigilant in living their Catholic faith and always pray and study to know more about our Church which we believe is guided by the Holy Spirit.

May 17, 2009 Bulletin

From the Pastor: (From In Conversation with God)

During this forty-day period between Easter and the Ascension of Our Lord, the Church asks us to keep our eyes on Heaven, our final dwelling place, to which Our Lord is calling us. This invitation becomes more pressing as we approach the day on which Jesus went up to the right hand of his Father.

Our Lord had promised his disciples that in a little while he would be with them forever. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Our Lord has kept his promise in this period when he stays close to his loved ones. But this presence will not end when he goes up with his glorious body to his Father, because, by his Passion and Death he has prepared for us a place in his Father’s house, where there are many mansions. I will come again, he tells them, and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

The Apostles, who had been saddened by the prediction of Peter’s denials, are comforted by the hope of Heaven. The return to which Our Lord is referring includes his second coming at the end of the world, and the meeting with each soul when it leaves the body. Our death will be just that: a meeting with Christ, whom we have tried to serve throughout our lifetime. He will bring us to the fullness of glory, the meeting with his Heavenly Father, who is also our Father. There in Heaven, where we have a place prepared for us, Jesus awaits us, the same Jesus who is with us, who awaits us in prayer and with whom we have often been in intimate friendly conversation.

From our regular conversations with Our Lord is born the desire to be with him. Faith sweetens much of the bitterness of death. Our love for Jesus completely changes the meaning of that last moment which comes for everybody. Those in love try to see each other. People in love have eyes only for their love. That’s logical, isn’t it? The human heart feels this need. I would be lying if I denied my eagerness to contemplate the face of Jesus Christ. I will seek your countenance, O Lord.

The thought of Heaven will help us to be detached from the things of this would and to over come difficult situations. We make God very happy when we foster that theological virtue of hope, which is united with faith and love. There will be times when we need it a lot. At the time of temptation think of the love that awaits you in Heaven: foster the virtue of hope-this is not a lack of generosity. It will be likewise at moments of great sorrow and trial, and when we find it very hard to be faithful or persevering in our work or apostolate. The reward is a big one, and it is just around the corner, not long from now.

Meditating on Heaven, which is our destination, ought to spur us on to be more generous in our daily struggle, because hope of the reward comforts the soul unto doing good works.

The thought of that final meeting of love to which we are called will help us to be on our guard in big things and in little things, giving them the finishing touch, as if each one were to be the last before going to meet our Heavenly Father.

Sunday May 10, 2009

From the Pastor:

“Let not your hearts be troubled” (Jn 14:1). Our Lord wanted to comfort His disciples about several things. One, that He would go through the passion. Two, what fears they would have in the future and the troubles which would come upon them. After comforting them, He presents a certain picture, the vine, the vinedresser; the vinedressers concern for the branches of the vine.

Christ says He is the true vine. He says, I am the true vine. Christ is the vine producing fruit. “His fruit was sweet to my taste” (Song 2:3). Christ is the true vine in that He is the head of the Church. He implies this when He mentions the vinedresser, who is the Father. He says, and my Father is the vinedresser.

The vinedresser cultivates the vine. Now to cultivate something is to devote one’s interest to it. God cultivates us to make us better by his work, since He roots out evil seeds in our hearts. As Augustine says, He opens our heart with the plow of His words, plants the seeds of the commandments, and harvests the fruit of devotion.

But we cultivate God, not by plowing but by adoring, in order that we may be made better by Him: “If any one is a worshipper,” that is a cultivator, “of God and does His will, God listens to him” (Jn 9:31). God will guard and preserve him.

However, God who is the vinedresser cuts off the bad branches and prunes the good branches of the vine so it can bear more fruit. It is the same with us. For if we are disposed to the good and united with God, yet scatter our love over many things, our virtue becomes weak. We become less able to do good. That is why God, will frequently remove such obstacles and prune us sending us troubles or temptations, which make us stronger.

He urges us to persevere. Because you are cleansed by baptism, the word, faith and sound doctrine, now abide in me, by charity. St. Thomas gives four reasons to be united to Christ. First, Christ sanctifies those who are united to Him; Secondly, those not united are punished—he is cast forth. Thirdly, those who are united to Him have their desires satisfied—and it will be done for you. Fourthly, it glorifies God—by this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. Our journey is to bear fruit from Christ the vine and His Father the vinedresser. When we abide in God we begin to bear fruit in three ways. The first is that we avoid sin. Secondly, we are eager to accomplish the works of holiness: “the return you get is sanctification” (Rom 6:22). Thirdly, we are eager for the progress of others: “The earth will be filled with the fruit of your works” (Ps 104:13). A fourth fruit comes forth in eternal life: “He gathers fruit for eternal life” (Jn 4:36). Eternal life is the last and perfect fruit of our labors: “The fruit of good works is glorious” (Wis 3:15). Let us this week abide in the Good Lord.

May 3, 2009

From the Pastor:

The gospel reading of the Good Shepherd gives us much to reflect on during this Fourth Sunday in Easter and the 46th World Day of Prayer for vocations. What does Jesus tell us? “I am the good shepherd.” Jesus wants to immediately emphasize charity for no one is a good shepherd unless he become one with Christ by love, and has become a member of the true shepherd. Therefore, the office of the good shepherd or priest is charity; thus he says the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

It should be noted that there is a difference between a good shepherd and an evil one. The good shepherd is intent upon the welfare of the flock and the evil one is intent upon himself. Saint Thomas says they differ in three ways.

First, by their intentions this is implied by their names. The good shepherd feeds his flock. The evil shepherd is a hireling. The good shepherd seeks the benefit of the flock, while the hireling seeks his own advantage. Therefore, the good priest should lead his people to Christ and the Church. He should lay down his life for them.

Second, they differ in attentive care and protectiveness. The good shepherd sees the sheep as his own and cares for his people: “I hold you in my heart” (Phil 1:7). The hireling who doesn’t own his sheep has no care for them.

Third, they differ in their affections. For the good shepherd who loves his flock, lays down his life for it. He exposes himself to dangers that affect his bodily life. But the evil shepherd sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep and flees.

Here the wolf is understood in three ways. First, as the devil tempting “what fellowship has a wolf with a lamb? No more has a sinner with a godly man” (Sir 13:17). Second, the wolf stands for the heretic who destroys: “beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matt. 7:15). Third, it stands for the raging tyrant: “Her princes in the midst of her are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain” (Ez 22:27).

For the good shepherd there is relationship with the people. “I am the good shepherd, I know mine and mine know me.” This is the true nature of a spiritual father. He is close to his people and the order of the parish is complete.

In reflecting on the holy priesthood and the consecrated life let us take note of the words of our holy father Pope Benedict, “the vocation to the priesthood and consecrated life constitutes a special gift of God which becomes part of the great plan of love and salvation that God has for every man and woman and for the whole of humanity.” Jesus exhorts us in this year of priests “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Mt 9:38).

Bulletin April 26, 2009

From the Pastor: ( From In Conversation with God )

Sunday is the Lord’s Day. On Sundays there is an assembly of all who live in towns or in the country…This is the first day , on which God transformed darkness and matter and made the world: the day on which Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead. The Jewish Sabbath gave way to the Christian Sunday from the very beginning of the Church, and from then on, every Sunday we celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection.

Sacred Scripture everywhere presents a lofty and noble idea of the Sabbath. It was the day established by God so that his people might devote to him public cult, and the complete dedication of the day to this purpose appears as a grave obligation. The importance of this command is also deduced from its repetition in Scripture. Sometime the prophets point out as a cause of God’s punishments the fact that people have not kept the Sabbath.

The feast days of Israel, and particularly of the Sabbath, were a sign of the Divine Covenant and the people’s way of expressing their joy at being God’s property and the object of his election and his love. That is why every feast day was linked to a salvation event.

Holy days must not be interpreted as a simple doing nothing, a mere passing of the time, but rather as a positive involvement in something which enriches the personality in different ways. There are many ways of resting, and it is important not to take the easiest way out, which often is not the one that rest us most in any case. If we know how to limit the use of television on feast days as well, for example, we will not be repeating so much the false excuse of not having time. On the contrary, we will see that during those days we can spend more time with our family, look after the education of our children, develop social relationships and friendships, make a visit or two to people in need, or to those who are alone or sick.

In general terms one must know how to have one’s whole day taken up with a flexible schedule in which, besides the daily norms of piety, an important place should be given to rest, which we all need, to family get-togethers, to reading, and to time set aside for an artistic or literary hobby or any other worthwhile pastime. We live poverty by filling the hours of the day usefully, doing everything as well as we can, and living little details of order, punctuality and good humor.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

From the Pastor:

“Urge all souls to trust in the unfathomable abyss of my mercy” (God to Saint Faustina). Divine Mercy Sunday once again leads us to strengthen our knowledge of mercy. Just as Thomas doubted Jesus in faith so do many Catholics doubt God’s mercy. Why is mercy misunderstood today? What may be the causes? Maybe it hasn’t been preached enough. Maybe it needs to be repeated so we learn. Maybe our minds have been overrun with justice and we fail to experience mercy.

What is mercy? We read in the responsorial psalm, “His mercy endures forever”! Mercy is a great mystery. The word blinds us in fact. Mercy goes beyond reason. Where justice says “punish”, mercy says “forgive”. Where justice says “this is a debt”, mercy says “dismiss the debt”. Real mercy is costly. It goes to the end without counting the cost. It is Jesus in the parable of the lost sheep. Sheep are easily lost. They don’t go in circles like goats they walk straight. If you want to find them you need to go after them. When you find them you bring them back to the flock. Jesus wants to bring us back when we stray through sin. His mercy is always there to forgive and dismiss the debt. For mercy goes beyond justice, but does not do away with it. Your are just with God after you receive his mercy in the sacrament of penance.

Jesus laid down his life for us so that we would have mercy. We must live at this level, “blessed are the merciful for they will find mercy”. How is our life blessed when we live of mercy. 1)It is blessed by God in this life every time we extend ourselves in mercy— “it is more blessed to give than receive”. All who are merciful to others in this life are blessed by receiving mercy from God. 2) Mercy is also blessed from humans in this life. Everyone loves a giving person. The unjust steward in Luke dismisses the debt of his creditors and obtained their mercy. People are merciful to the merciful. 3) Mercy is also blessed by God in the next life. God’s heavenly rewards for our earthly mercy are natural and necessary. We will be judged if we are unmerciful, “For the judgment is merciless to one who has not shown mercy: mercy triumphs over judgment”. God cannot give mercy to a human who has a hardened heart. 4)Finally, we will receive mercy from our brethren in the next life. Christ clearly taught in the parable of the unjust steward: “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations”. In other words, our brethren in the next life will express gratitude to us for our mercy.

Therefore, unless we forgive, we fight. We must decide to live by mercy. We cannot fulfill the law of justice except by going beyond it to mercy, forgiveness and charity. God’s demand of mercy and love drives us to only one possible end: Christ himself.

Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009

From the Pastor: (From “In Conversation with God”)

The Lord has indeed risen, alleluia. Glory and kingship be his for ever and ever.

‘When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalen and Mary, the mother of James, and Salome brought spices with which to go and anoint the dead body of Jesus.’ Very early on the following day, just as the sun is rising, they come to the tomb. And on entering it they are dismayed, for they cannot find the body of our Lord. A youth, clothed in white, says to them: ‘Do not be afraid. I know you seek Jesus of Nazareth: nonesthic, surrexit enim sicuit dixit- He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.’

He has risen! Jesus has risen: He is not in the tomb. Life has overcome death.

The glorious resurrection of the Lord is the key to interpreting his whole life, and the ground of our faith. Without this victory over death, says St. Paul, all our preaching would be useless and our faith in vain. Furthermore, the guarantee of our future resurrection is sacred upon the resurrection of Christ, because although we were dead through sin, God, full of mercy, moved by the infinite compassion with which he loves, gave us Christ…and He raised us with him. Easter is the celebration of our Redemption, and therefore the celebration of thanksgiving and joy.

The Resurrection of the Lord is a central reality of the Catholic faith, and has been preached as such since the beginning of Christianity. The importance of this miracle is so great that the Apostles are, above all else, witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection. They announce that Christ is alive, and this becomes the nucleus of all their preaching. After twenty centuries this is what we announce to the world: Christ lives! The fact of the resurrection is the supreme argument for the divinity of Our Lord.

Jesus Christ lives. And this crowns us with happiness. This is the great truth which fills our faith with meaning. Jesus, who died on the cross, has risen. He has triumphed over death; he has overcome sorrow, anguish and the power of darkness… In him we find everything. Outside of him our life is empty.

He appeared to his most holy Mother. He appeared to Mary of Magdala, who is carried away by love. And to Peter and the rest of the Apostles. And to you and me, who are his disciples and more in love than Mary Magdalen… the things we say to him!

May we never die through sin: may our spiritual resurrection be eternal…You have kissed the wounds in his feet…and I, more daring– because I am more a child– have place my lips upon his open side.

And we ask to be raise up forever from all sin, to remain in intimate union with Jesus Christ. Let us resolve to live this Easter period very close to Our Lady.

Sunday April 5, 2009

From the Pastor:

“They took out their palm branches and went to meet him, and cried out: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel”(Jn12:12). The people were excited to see Jesus. The palm branches signify the expectation of

a king over their occupying Romans. Jesus is entering Jerusalem to bring peace and forgiveness to the world by taking the sin upon himself spiritual king. He enters the Passion for us!

How can we enter more deeply into the passion in 2009? Let us look through the eyes of St Leo the Great as he gives his sermon.

True reverence for the Lord’s passion means fixingr the eyes of our heart on Jesus crucified and recognizing in him our own humanity.

No one however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the cross. No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ. His prayers brought benefit to the multitude that raged against him. How much more does it bring to those who turn to him in repentance.

The Christian people are invited to share the riches of paradise. They can return to their native land from which they had been exiled. Unless they close off for themselves the path that could be opened before the faith of the thief.

The business of this life should not preoccupy us with its anxiety and pride, so that we no longer strive with all the love of our heart to be like our Redeemer, and to follow his example. Everything that he did or suffered was for our salvation:He wanted his body to share the goodness of the Father.

He took on our nature while remaining God, “the word became man.” He left no member of the human race without a share in his mercy. Can we not recognize Christ in our own infirmities? Who would not recognize that Christ’s eating and sleeping, his sadness and his shedding tears of love are marks of the nature of a slave?

It was this nature of a slave that had to be healed of its ancient wounds and cleansed of the defilement of sin. For that reason the Son of God became the Son of Man. He was to have the fullness of human nature and the fullness of God.

The body that lay lifeless in the tomb is ours. The body that rose again the third day is ours. The body that ascended above the heights of Heaven and sits the right of the Father is ours. If then we walk in the way of his commandments, and not ashamed to acknowledge the price he paid for our salvation in a lowly body, we too are to rise to share his glory. The promise he made will be fulfilled in the sight of all: “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I too will acknowledge him before my Father who is in Heaven.”

A Blessed Palm Sunday and Holy Week!

From the Pastor:

Is there something written within our hearts that helps us to know right from wrong? Yes, the law of God! “I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God and they will be my people.” Right from the core of our creation comes His law written within us. He has made a covenant with us and desires we be with Him and someday return to Him. For now our prayer must be, “create in me a clean heart O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me.”

Life is a journey of conversion. In the Gospel of John, we hear of the Greeks that came to the Feast of Passover. Actually, they were converts. Their devotion to Christ is shown by their desire to see Him. Christ personally preached to the Jews but he preached to the Gentiles through the apostles. That is why they did not come to Christ first but went through Philip. Philip means, “the mouth of the lantern.” Preachers are the mouth of Christ and Christ too is the lantern. The Greeks who were Gentiles converted from worshipping pagan Gods to becoming believers.

Therefore, “Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew went with Philip and they told Jesus.” Seeing these Gentiles coming to see Him and understanding that many more would convert, brought forth the imminence of His passion. Since the Gentiles want to see Him the hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. Because the Gentiles will not be converted before His passion. Jesus will be glorified in His passion, resurrection and ascension and by the conversion of the Gentiles.

He then says, “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone.” A seed must die in the ground, loose its strength and then be changed into something else. Christ is saying, I have come as a seed, to bear fruit. Unless I die their will not be the fruit of conversion for you to follow. “Without the shedding of blood there is not forgiveness of sins” (Heb 9:22).

Is this any different for us? Do we not need to die to our self in order to produce fruit? We must go through the sorrowful mysteries in order to reach the glory of Heaven. We really only know ourselves by our sufferings. Our sufferings bring forth the real person. How often we would rather run from the cross instead of embrace it? But Jesus knows what is best for us whether he takes a soul as an infant or at a great age. Someday all of us must die. Death where is your sting; the beauty of a soul letting go of this world to enter the next, the beauty of a soul finding God after holding onto a life of pride and control.

Jesus wants us to surrender and abandon ourselves to Him. Our sinfulness shows us we are weak without Him. We must die to our ways and repentant of our sins. Death will come to us all. The Church will offer us a funeral mass to pray that our soul may go to Heaven. In the meantime, may we remain with a clean heart and steadfast spirit taking up our cross on the road to glory.

From the Pastor:

“For 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” (John 3:16). This famous passage is popularly quoted and has deep meaning for us Catholics. It is core to our Catholic faith in that we must believe in Christ to be saved. Faith is something to be nourished and fed, it doesn’t come easy. And in the journey of faith we all run the risk of being tempted in sins against faith.

The Church has traditionally taught that we can sin by unbelief, doubts of faith, failure to cultivate and perfect faith, heresy and apostasy. The second Vatican Council said, it is quite likely that one can sin against faith by deliberately withholding assent to the teachings of the Magisterium without due cause, by dissenting in a calm and ordinary manner (it’s no big deal to follow the Church’s teachings) or in an extraordinary manner (I verbally and rebelliously dissent from the teachings). Let us clarify what these sins are all about.

Unbelief-Simple unbelief may spring from causes within a person for which they may or may not be responsible. When faced with the Gospel for the first time many refuse the gift of faith because they don’t want to give up their lifestyle, power, riches, sex, self indulgence. They sin because they reject the truth, living in the darkness of sin and not wanting to leave it. Sometime, unbelievers are excused because they are ignorant due to a minister of the Gospel being unclear and confusing, or they are simply overwhelmed by the bad example of other Catholics. Some find it too hard to renounce the cultural conditions of their family, friends, country and they cannot give it up at the present time.

Doubts of Faith-Once one accepts the faith, he may find himself confronted with doubts of faith caused by emotions. These are not sinful as such, e.g. leaving the confessional doubting the priest forgave you. Normally one can resist these doubts by making acts of faith in God. Failure to do so, however, could lead one into the sin of heresy.

Heresy-Heresy is a very grave sin against faith because the truths of the faith bring us into contact with God. To reject a truth of faith is to spurn God. Heresy is very much related to the sin of Pride and arrogance about one’s own intellectual abilities.

Apostasy-is the renunciation of faith, a grave sin where someone withdraws from the Catholic faith and more seriously rejects the gift of faith. However, many who left may not be apostates because they hardly knew their faith. Others withdrew because they simply refused to live by the moral standards of the Church, e.g. contraception.

Today many have formed their consciences alone failing to seek the teaching of the Church or not being properly taught. Faith is a free gift, but it can be sinned against and lost. We must nourish it in prayer and loving trust all the teachings of the Church even when some teachings are not easy to live or popular with our culture.

Sunday March 15, 2009

From the Pastor:

On this Third Sunday in Lent, we visit once again the ten commandments. What are the Ten Commandments, ten suggestions. Does God really think we can come to the point of loving them? Aren’t they supposed be given for our good?

What does it take for us to love the commandments? Humility, humility, humility says Saint Bernard. We must surrender to God’s will. Socrates once said, there only two kinds of people in the world: the wise who know they are fools, and fools, who think they are wise. Just as the wisest philosophers admit they are fools, so the greatest saints admit they are sinners. Thus there again are two types of people: saints who say they are sinners, and sinners who think they are saints.

Today we’ve lost the importance of the ten commandments. The urgency to confess sins has diminished and with that the fear of the Lord. Saint Hilary says, “we must look for the wisdom in the commandments and search for it. Then we must understand the fear of the Lord.”

Fear in the ordinary sense happens differently. We are afraid, or are made afraid, because of a guilty conscience, the rights of someone more powerful, and attack from one who is stronger, sickness, suffering, evil in any form. This kind of fear is not taught, it happens because we are weak.

True fear of the Lord is taught, come my children, listen to me, I shall teach you the fear of the Lord. It does not arise from our fearful nature but is acquired by obedience to the commandments, by holiness of life and by knowledge of the truth.

Therefore, in order of us to be obedient to the commandments we must have a true fear of the Lord, but also a repentant heart. God is continually allowing his hand to work in bringing people to repentance. Let us take a look a the suffering cycle through history. See if this applies to your own life. The stages go like this: 1)Suffering-Suffering has throughout history lead to repentance. Only after suffering do people turn back to God. 2)Repentance-People change their hearts. Suffering opens the heart to repent. Repentance leads to Blessedness 3)Blessedness-Once repentance happens we are right with God. God is the source of all that is good. But Blessedness doesn’t last long and we fall into luxury. 4) Luxury– As fallen creatures we soon loose interest in following God, our blessedness becomes a luxury, searching for comforts. Luxury then leads to pride. 5) Pride-We get full of ourselves. Pride tell us we can control. Pride though goes before the fall. Disaster strikes. 6) Disaster-Overstepping our bounds, we fall off the cliff into the abyss. This brings us back to suffering again and the cycle repeats itself.

Let us reflect on this suffering cycle and repent often of any sin we may have committed. We don’t know when death or disaster may come.

Sunday-March 8, 2009

From the Pastor:

If God is for us who can be against us? Our confidence then should be in God saving us. He wants us to stay close to him and know that He will protect us. Let us leave all our fears behind. He indeed is the shield of all who make Him their refuge. He girds me with strength and makes the path safe before me. We should know that God will save us from many dangers. We shouldn’t enter into excessive fear. Fear is always of a future evil. Today the media produces much fear in the heart of man. Most fear comes from the people of the world and is very imaginative. This can paralyze Christians unless we realize there is nothing man can do to your soul. God wants us to be focused on Him and not our temporary time in this world. He will save us from our enemies. You saved me from my furious foes. You set me about my assailants. You saved me from violent men, so I will praise you.

In the Gospel of Mark, Christ gives us more hope this weekend. He reveals His glory in the presence of chosen witnesses. He shines in splendor with a face like the Sun and garments snow-white. Why did He do this? The greatest reason of the transfiguration was to remove the scandal of the cross from the hearts of His disciples and to prevent the humiliation of His voluntary suffering from disturbing our faith. He also provided a firm foundation for us to hope in Holy Mother Church. As members we could look forward to sharing in His glory.

This transfiguration was also a way for Christ to show the apostles the fullness of knowledge. Moses and Elijah, the law and the prophets appeared with the Lord in conversation. Here the two Testaments both the old and new foretell of this mystery. The law was given to Moses, and grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Thus in preaching the Holy Gospel all should receive a strengthening of their faith. No one should be ashamed of the cross of Christ. No one should fear to suffer for the sake of justice. No one should lose confidence in the reward that has been promised. The way to rest is through toil, the way to life is through death. If we are steadfast in our faith in Him and in our love for Him, we win the victory that He has won, we receive what He has promised.

This week as we continue on our journey through Lent, let us reflect on Christ’s transfiguration. He gives us a glimpse of glory to ease the pain of sacrifice and help us along the road of suffering. When we persevere we set our sights on the final goal to be with Christ. May the Blessed Mother help us on our journey.

Sunday March 1, 2009

February 22, 2009

From the Pastor:

“In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers, the people I formed for myself” (Is 43). In the first reading from Isaiah we hear the Lord calling us into the desert. He compels us to follow Him. As we begin Lent this week we will experience the abandonment of the desert, leaving all things behind for Christ.

For Lent I would like to give you some spiritual pearls from Saint Thomas Aquinas’s homily, “the Grace and duties of Lent.” First, he says this will be an acceptable time for eight reasons. (1) Because it is time for seeking the Lord: “It is time to seek the Lord, till He come and rain righteousness upon you” (Hosea 12). (2) Because it is a time for reconciling the Lord: “My prayer is to you, O Lord, in an acceptable time” (Ps 24). (3) Because it is a time for correcting your ways: “until the time of reformation” (Hebrews 9). (4)Because it is a time for restraining superfluities and vices: “the time of pruning is come” (Canticle 2). (5) Because it is a time of receiving the Divine compassion: “For the time to favor her, yes the set time has come” (Ps 13). (6) Because it is the time for suffering tribulation: “It is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it” (Jer 30). (7) Because it is the time of acquiring salvation: “Refrain not to speak in the time of salvation” (Ecc 4). (8) Because it is a time for doing good: “It is time for the Lord to work” (Ps 119).

This day of salvation exhorts and invites us by eight ways of holiness (1) The Holy Scriptures which are read at this time invite us to prayer, fasting and almsgiving, to just dealings and repentance, a time to do good. (2) The Creator who made the world invites us to not be neglectful to perform some good act for God who is all good and has done many good things for us. (3) The creatures of the world even invite us to this time. “the stork in the Heaven knows the appointed time” (Jer 8). (4) The example of Christ invites us to well-doing, who at this time brings many good things. Saint Bernard says, “He who made me by a word, regenerating me. He the one who said many things, did many miracles and endured many hardships”. (5) The ordination of the Church invites us all to confession and fasting and frequenting the Church. He who does not do these things breaks the precepts of the Mother Church, “Forsake not the law of your mother” (Prov 1). (6) The incitement and habits of many beginning to perform good works should make any ashamed to remain alone (Heb 12). (7) There is an abundance of Divine grace in these days that God will pour forth upon us. (8) The expectation of the great Easter ought to exhort us to good. He who expects a great festival ought to keep vigil where the Church now sings.

Let each of us this week reflect and examine ourselves, so to eat His Body and Drink his Blood worthily celebrating Lent with the expectation that we shall come join him someday in the Heavenly banquet.

Wisdom for Lent

Sunday, February 8, 2009

From the Pastor: (From In Conversation with God)

In this endeavor of ours to spread the Faith, whilst we treat everybody with respect and consideration, it is useless to transmit mere half truths for fear that the fullness of truth and the demands of an authentic Christian life may clash with ways of thinking currently in fashion, and with the easy-going attitude of so many people. There can be no half-measures where truth is concerned, and love which is prepared to make sacrifices cannot admit of settling for less or be the object of compromise. The condition for all apostolate is fidelity to doctrine, even though in some cases it may be difficult to fulfill this condition and even call for behavior which is heroic or at least filled with fortitude. We cannot omit themes such as generosity when it comes to having a large family, or the demands of social justice, or a full dedication to God when He calls someone to follow him…We cannot expect to please everybody by diluting the claims of the gospel so as to satisfy conventional wisdom… We speak, Saint Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, not to please men, but to please God. Claiming to make the Gospel easy, keeping quiet about (or watering down) the mysteries we are to believe and the norms of conduct by which we are to live, is not the way to go about obeying Christ’s command. No one has preached, or ever will preach the Gospel with greater credibility, energy or attractiveness than Jesus, and even than there were those who did not follow him faithfully. Neither can we forget that today, as always, we preach Christ crucified, and stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God. Nevertheless, we must always make an effort to adapt ourselves to the capacity and circumstances of the person we want to take to Christ, just as He taught us throughout the Gospels that He made accessible to everyone.

Fidelity to Christ leads us to transmit faithfully and effectively what we have received. Today, just as in the days of the first Christians, when the evangelization of Europe and of the whole world was beginning, we must announce to our friend and acquaintances, to our colleagues…the Good News of divine mercy, the joy of following Christ very closely in the midst of our daily occupations. That announcement brings with it the need to change one’s life, to do penance, to renounce self, to be detached from material things, to be chaste, to seek God’s forgiveness with humility, to correspond with what He has wanted from each of us from all eternity.

Love for God will lead us to feel the urgency of the apostolate, and not to waste any opportunity that arises. Everyone is searching for you…The world hungers and thirsts for God. Our friends and acquaintances, including those who are furthest away, also need and want God, although often they do not show this. More importantly still, God is searching for them.

Let us ask Our Lady to give us the same concern for the apostolate and proselytism as the Apostles and first Christians

February 1, 2009

“If today you hear His voice harden not your hearts (Ps 95).” God’s voice is something we should be in tune with throughout the day. In order to listen to God we must enter into silence. Silence helps our heart to listen to God’s voice. Our soul needs to be fed by the Word coming from God but if there is too much noise, the word gets drowned out.

Silence is the way to God. Silence opens us up to the angels. Silence helps us to develop the characteristics of listening, being poor, being pure, faithful and obedient. The early Christians were noted for their tranquil demeanor, their modesty in dress and their music. They lived in the world but not of the world. Many left the cities of Rome and Greece for the deserts. These early Christians wanted to find God not in the noise and bustle of the world, but in the silence of the still small voice.

Noise can be an enemy of God. Our modern culture is constantly being bombarded with noise. The exterior noise of the media, music and sounds are constant in today’s society. This can however, make it difficult to hear the Word of God. In order to receive the Word without distortion we need to hear God silently speak to us. Mary, first conceived the Word in her heart and then the body. In order for the Word to be received it must find fertile ground.

Today noise has entered many religious worships and our Masses. Some people base the Mass on how much movement and noise there was, rather than silence and reverence. The first masses were very contemplative and silent. Therefore, we need to rediscover silence, it will nourish the soul.

As we look to Lent we can be thinking of some ascetical ways to be in silence. One way is to be silent in speech-speak less with creatures and more with God. Silence is not merely having no sound whatsoever, but a new way of listening to God and speaking to Him. Words united with God become more powerful when we ponder. Jesus wanted us to use few words. In the Gospel today, the first word in speaking to the unclean spirit was, “quiet.” St Ignatius said, “say few words but when you speak, speak as if the whole world were listening.”

While words are necessary to show friendship, love, or correction, we need to listen more. Even when you go to an opera, the place must quiet down in order to listen to the music, it’s the same with God. This week let us examine ourselves and to see how we recognize and desire silence. God is waiting for us to stop, turn from the noise and listen to Him in silence.

January 25, 2009