Chasing Happiness?

January 29, 2017 |by HNMWebmaster | Comments Off on Chasing Happiness? | Discipleship, Faith, Father Salvador, Grace, Homilies, Hope, Joy, Ordinary Time, St. Matthew

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
January 29, 2017 – Year A

Readings: Zep 2:3, 3:12-13 / Psalm 146 / 1 Cor 1:26-31 / Mt 5:1-12a
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

We all know that everybody wants to be happy. The courses on the science of happiness are becoming more and more popular in colleges and universities when, not too long ago, they were not even part of the curriculum. The song entitled “Happy” by Pharrell Williams was number one on the billboard charts for many weeks. It was downloaded more than a million times, and was used in music videos and animations. All these are confirmations of the fact that happiness is indeed a basic human desire. (more…)

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Called to Be Holy

January 15, 2017 |by N W | Comments Off on Called to Be Holy | Baptism, Commitment, Discipleship, Family, Father Salvador, Grace, Ordinary Time

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
January 15, 2017 – Year A
Readings: Is 49:3, 5-6 / Ps 40 / 1 Cor 1:1-3 / Jn 1:29-34
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor
 

As part of our Catholic tradition we use a lot of signs, symbols and colors in our church.  For instance, when our priest’s and deacon’s vestments, altar cloths, and the rest of the art and environment in our sanctuary are mostly colored green, we are in the season that we call “Ordinary Time.”  In fact, it is anything but ordinary, because all of the liturgical seasons are extraordinary, supernatural, and spiritual.  This period is given to us by our Holy Mother Church so that we can reflect on the meaning of discipleship.    (more…)

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Shine Like a Star

January 8, 2017 |by HNMWebmaster | Comments Off on Shine Like a Star | Deacon Eddie, Discipleship, Evangelization, Homilies, Light, St. Matthew

Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
January 8, 2017 – Year A

Readings: Is 60:1-6 / Psalm 72 / Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6 / Mt 2:1-12
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

I have a question for you. How many of you have family stories? I think you probably know what I am talking about. They are those stories that are told by your father, or your grandfather, or maybe your uncle, about some event that happened in your family’s past. Maybe it’s about the time so-and-so hiked up the mountain on a hunting expedition. I will bet that over the years those stories have morphed and evolved. Maybe the mountain got taller and steeper, maybe the weather got colder, maybe the fish got bigger. But this shouldn’t surprise you because this very thing happens in every culture. If you’ve ever studied mythology, you’ll see this happening. For instance the story of King Arthur – that story evolved and changed over time. (more…)

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Us and Them

September 25, 2016 |by HNMWebmaster | Comments Off on Us and Them | Compassion, Deacon Eddie, Discipleship, Family, Forgiveness, Generosity, Healing, Homilies, Love, Ordinary Time, Service, St. Luke

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 25, 2016 – Year C
Readings: Am 6:1A, 4-7 / Psalm 146 / 1 Tm 6:11-16 / Lk 16:19-31
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

At first glance, our Gospel today seems pretty straightforward. The question is: Why did the rich man go to Hell? The obvious answer is: Because he did not feed the poor. (more…)

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Being a Prophet

August 14, 2016 |by N W | Comments Off on Being a Prophet | Deacon Eddie, Discipleship, Generosity, Saints, Self-Reflection

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 14, 2016 – Year C
Jer 38:4-6, 8-10 / Ps 40 / Heb 12:1-4 / Lk 12:49-53
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

The readings today are about being a prophet and what is liable to happen to you if you are a prophet.  We have to be sure that we don’t confuse ‘prophet’ with ‘prophecy’.  A ‘prophecy’ is a prediction about the future.  And while many prophets will prophesy, that’s not their primary function.  (more…)

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The Better Part

July 17, 2016 |by N W | Comments Off on The Better Part | Discipleship, Father Salvador, Saints, Self-Reflection, Service

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 17, 2016 – Year C
Readings: Gn 18:1-10A / Ps 15 / Col 1:24-28 / Lk 10:38-42
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

From the time we get up in the morning until the time we sleep at night, we have to make decisions, and we hope and pray that we will always make the right ones.  Sometimes decision-making is as easy as choosing between eating the food that we love and not eating the food that we hate.  In that case, the choice is obvious.  But there are moments in our lives when making a decision is not so simple, because we perceive the choices as equally good, yet we still want to choose the better option. (more…)

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You Are Needed

July 3, 2016 |by N W | Comments Off on You Are Needed | Commitment, Discipleship, Father Salvador, Mission, Service, Strength

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 3, 2016 – Year C
Readings: Is 66:10-14C / Ps 66 / Gal 6:14-18 / Lk 10:1-12, 17-20
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

Anyone who has been involved in the pastoral care ministry of our church, either giving Holy Communion to the homebound or visiting those who are in hospitals, can attest that it is a very rewarding ministry.  When I thank them for giving their time to those who are not well enough to be with us in the Mass, they usually reply that they get more out of it than they give. (more…)

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The Pitch

April 24, 2016 |by N W | Comments Off on The Pitch | Commitment, Deacon Eddie, Discipleship, Evangelization, Mission, Saints

Fifth Sunday of Easter
April 24, 2016 – Year C
Readings: Acts 14:21-27 / Ps 145 / Rev 21:1-5A / Jn 13:31-33A, 34-35
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

As I get older, I become more and more impressed with how inspiration can come in the strangest places. As I was preparing to preach today, I read over the readings, starting with the gospel.

I read the gospel and I thought, “OK, love one another.”  Got that.  Then I went back to the first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles.  Acts of the Apostles is the early history of the fledgling Christian church.  As I read it, it occurred to me that it sounded like a baseball card. (more…)

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Changed by the Spirit

April 22, 2016 |by N W | Comments Off on Changed by the Spirit | Discipleship, Guest Celebrants, Holy Spirit, Mission, St. Luke

Confirmation
April 22, 2016
by Msgr. Mark Lane, General Vicar

Before I do anything tonight, I have one request of the young people about to be confirmed:  Breathe.  You’re not breathing.  Unless you breathe, you’re going to fall out.  And while in the charismatic renewal movement and within the gifts of the Spirit there is such a thing as being “slain in the Spirit,” tonight is not the night for being slain in the Spirit, I can assure you. (more…)

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Small Things With Great Love

April 10, 2016 |by N W | Comments Off on Small Things With Great Love | Discipleship, Family, Father Salvador, Love, Mission, Prayer, Service

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…)

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