The Good Shepherd Knows

Fourth Sunday of Easter
April 17, 2016 – Year C
Readings: Acts 13:14, 43-52 / Ps 100 / Rev 7:9, 14B-17 / Jn 10:27-30
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

About five decades ago, my uncle convinced my mom to allow me to spend a couple of days with his family in another province in the Philippine Islands.  I had a childhood experience that I will never forget, because that was my very first sleepover.  (more…)

Small Things With Great Love

Third Sunday of Easter
April 10, 2016 – Year C
Readings: Acts 5:27-32, 40B-41 / Ps 30 / Rev 5:11-14 / Jn 21:1-19
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

A little more than a decade ago, in my former parish, I was approached by a mother on her way out of the church, who asked me to offer a special prayer for her son.  She told me that she thought she was doing everything right in raising him to be nourished spiritually and grow up to be a good Christian.  She sent him to a good Catholic school.  They even went on a pilgrimage together to the Holy Land and visited several Marian apparition sites.  In spite of all this, he seemed to have lost his appetite for prayer and practically everything about God and the Church. (more…)

Power of Divine Mercy

Sunday of Divine Mercy (Second Sunday of Easter)
April 3, 2016 – Year C
Readings: Acts 5:12-16 / Ps 118 / Rev 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19 / Jn 20:19-31
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

Not too long ago, a Catholic priest told his congregation in one of his Sunday homilies: “This may shock some of you, but I’m going to tell you that Christianity is not a good idea.”  He added, “Christianity is not a great idea.  In fact, it is not even an idea.  Christianity is a personal relationship with our living God who loves us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to dwell among us, so He would be able to relate to us in a deeply personal way.” (more…)

Go, and Sin No More

Fifth Sunday of Lent
March 13, 2016 – Year C
Readings: Is 43:16-21 / Ps 126 / Phil 3:8-14 / Jn 8:1-11
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

Do you ever get distracted by a detail in a story?  That always happens to me.  Someone will be telling me a story, and they will throw in one detail; sometimes it’s barely related to the story, and my mind starts going over and over it.  I will have to consciously make an effort to keep listening; otherwise, they will get to the end of the story, and the only thing that I remember is the random detail that they put in. (more…)

Oasis of Mercy

Fourth Sunday of Lent
March 6, 2016 – Year C
Readings: Jos 5:9A, 10-12 / Ps 34 / 2 Cor 5:17-21 / Lk 15:1-3, 11-32
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

When Pope Francis announced the Extraordinary Year of Mercy at St. Peter’s Basilica, he said, “Let us not forget that God forgives, and God forgives always.”  Today’s gospel is a manifestation of this truth.  Today, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, the vestments of the deacons and  priests, as well as the linens, are colored rose,  because this is Laetare Sunday, or “Rejoice” Sunday. (more…)

Foretaste of Heaven

Second Sunday of Lent
February 21, 2016 – Year C
Readings: Gn 15:5-12, 17-18 / Ps 27 / Phil 3:17-4:1 / Lk 9:28B-36
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

From time to time, you see sales representatives in a store who ask to spray perfume on you.  They hope that you will like the scent and purchase some of the perfume.  It is also not uncommon in movie theaters, on TV and on the internet, that you are shown trailers of coming movies.  The theater owners and movie producers hope that giving you a foretaste of coming feature films will convince you to come back and see the entire movie. (more…)

God’s Way

First Sunday of Lent
February 14, 2016 – Year C
Readings: Dt 26:4-10 / Ps 91 / Rom 10:8-13 / Lk 4:1-13
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

During the season of Lent we remind ourselves that our prayers are most effective when they are accompanied by sacrifice.  At fourteen degrees outside, it’s surely a sacrifice to be here this morning.  If somebody tells you that he or she is tempted to walk to church this morning instead of driving, you will find difficulty in believing it.  But if you say that you are tempted to sleep in instead of coming to Mass, everybody will easily believe you.

This is what temptation is all about: taking life the easy way. (more…)

Winter to Spring Journey

Ash Wednesday
February 10, 2016 – Year C
Readings: Jl 2:12-18 / Ps 51 / 2 Cor 5:20-6:2 / Mt 6:1-6, 16-18
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

In the middle of winter, we may find it a little challenging to picture in our minds the season of Spring, with its colorful flowers and green leaves.  But we all know that in a few weeks, these seemingly dead trees around us will come to life again.  It will help us and make us feel better, if we remind ourselves and each other, time and again, that this particular season will pass and give way eventually to much warmer weather. (more…)

Embrace Change

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
February 7, 2016 – Year C
Readings: Is 6:1-2A, 3-8 / Ps 138 / 1 Cor 15:1-11 / Lk 5:1-11
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

This Sunday is not the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.  But with these readings, it very well could be.  These readings have a common theme going through them: the theme of God calling and people answering, plain and simple. (more…)

Seeing God’s Presence

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
January 31, 2016 – Year C
Readings: Jer 1:4-5, 17-19 / Ps 71 / 1 Cor 12:31-13:13 / Lk 4:21-30
by Rev. Louis Benoit, Guest Celebrant

Jesus goes to his hometown and proclaims the Good News of healing and liberation, and the people are impressed.  But then they begin to say, “Wait a minute!  Isn’t this Joseph’s son?  Isn’t he the carpenter’s boy? Where did he get all this?  We know where he comes from.”  They begin to question.  Jesus points out to them that sometimes people outside Judaism have greater faith than these people inside Judaism.  And this really gets the people riled up!  They want to throw him over the edge of the hill where the town is built, but he goes through their midst and is gone…

Of course, the tragedy is that Jesus, God incarnate in a human person, is among them and they don’t see it.  Their vision is too narrow, and they miss it. (more…)