What Is Unseen Is Eternal

Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 10, 2018 – Year B
Readings: Gn 3:9-15 / Ps 130 / 2 Cor 4:13-5:1 / Mt 3:20-35
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

When we gather together here in Holy Name of Mary, we know that we are not in the company of strangers. We pray with the rest of our brothers and sisters who are also members of the mystical body of Christ, the Church, of which we are all a part.

In the gospel that we have just heard, Jesus, while looking at the people around Him, said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.” As we celebrate together this holy sacrifice of the Mass, the Lord is giving us an assurance of these same words, for we are all members of His family. (more…)

Wisdom and Courage

Pentecost Sunday
May 20, 2018 – Year B
Readings: Acts 2:1-11 / Ps 104 / 1 Cor 12:3B-7, 12-13 / Jn 20:19-23
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

If you are not one of the millions who watched the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, at least you must have heard that there was a royal wedding that took place in Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom yesterday.  The Most Reverend Michael Curry, who gave the sermon at the ceremony, quoted a Roman Catholic priest, the late Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, whom he considered one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century. (more…)

I Have Seen the Lord!

Easter Sunday
April 1, 2018 – Year B
Readings: Acts 10:34A, 37-43 / Ps 118 / Col 3:1-4 / Jn 20:1-9
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

It has been said that the greatest honor that others can give you is to imitate what you are doing and choose to believe what you believe.  Last night during the Easter Vigil, our family here at Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church received the honor of welcoming five new members into our church as they received the Sacrament of Initiation.  It was a glorious night, even attended by Christians from other traditions.  All the angels and saints were certainly rejoicing, but Satan was not. (more…)

Safely Home

Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 3, 2017 – Year A
Readings: Jer 20:7-9 / Ps 63 / Rom 12:1-2 / Mt 16:21-27
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

Last Monday, as flood waters were rising in northeast Houston, three brothers and two of their friends set off in a small boat to rescue anyone they could find. In their two trips, they brought two families to safety, but on their third rescue trip, they didn’t make it. Two of them, Yahir Vizueth and Jorge Perez, died in the process of helping save lives. (more…)

Get Out of the Boat

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 13, 2017 – Year A
Readings: 1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a / Psalm 85 / Rom 9:1-5 / Mt 14:22-33
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

When I looked at the readings for today, I was excited because this Old Testament reading happens to be my favorite one. There are many good stories in the Old Testament, but this is my favorite.

It will help to understand how great this reading is if you know some of the backstory. (more…)

A Sneak Preview

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord
August 6, 2017 – Year A
Readings: Dn 7:9-10, 13-14 / Ps 97 / 2 Pt 1:16-19 / Mt 17:1-9
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

The first fifteen to twenty minutes in a movie theater are a preview of coming attractions. Movie makers and theater owners hope that the preview will catch our interest enough to bring us back to see the whole film.

Wedding rehearsals, graduation ceremony practices and First Communion rehearsals are also forms of previews of exciting upcoming events. (more…)

It’s God’s Time For You

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 30, 2017 – Year A
Readings: 1 Kgs 3:5, 7-12 / Ps 119 / Rom 8:28-30 / Mt 13:44-52
by Rev. Mike Boehling, Guest Celebrant

Six years ago, John Christian was the very last person to apply to the seminary that year.  I remember that he was anxious, and as I met with him time and again as the Vocations Director, there was anxiety about taking the next step.  (more…)

Suffering and Glory

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 16, 2017 – Year A
Readings: Is 55:10-11 / Ps 65 / Rom 8:18-23 / Mt 13:1-23
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

Last month, when I was in the Philippines, I was commissioned by some of my relatives to convince my uncle to follow the doctor’s advice: that he should undergo a heart bypass, so he could continue to function for the remainder of his life. (He’s not really that old; compared to my Mom, who’s 102, he’s just a baby.) (more…)

Embrace the Mystery

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
June 11, 2017 – Year A
Readings: Ex 34:4B-6, 8-9 / Dn 3:52-56 / 2 Cor 13:11-13 / Jn 3:16-18
by Rev. Paul O’Donnell Duggan, Guest Celebrant

Are you familiar with Rabbi Harold Kushner? His son had the serious disease of premature aging which caused him to die at the young age of fifteen. So Rabbi Kushner wrote a book, Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?
(more…)

Courage to Witness

The Ascension of the Lord
May 28, 2017 – Year A
Readings: Acts 1:1-11 / Ps 47 / Eph 1:17-23 / Mt 28:16-20
by Rev. Paul O’Donnell Duggan, Guest Celebrant

Tomorrow is the hundredth anniversary of the birth of President John F. Kennedy.  To mark the occasion, the Post Office put out a beautiful stamp of Kennedy.  Of course, we all know his most famous statement.  If you ever visit Arlington National Cemetery, you’ll see the Eternal Flame and the words from his inaugural address in stone:  “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”  (more…)