Be Prepared!

1st Sunday of Advent
November 29, 2015 – Year C
Readings:  Jer 33:14-16 / Psalm 25 / 1 Thes 3:12 – 4:2 / Lk 21:25-28, 34-36
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

Happy New Year! Today is the first Sunday of Advent, so it is the First Sunday of the Church’s year. And Happy New Year… the world is ending! How about that Gospel to start off the season of Advent?

I’m lucky that I have been able to be involved with Boy Scouting for the past 11 years. (more…)

Priming the Pump

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 8, 2015 – Year B
Readings: 1 Kgs 17:10-16 / Psalm 146 / Heb 9:24-28 / Mk 12:38-44
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

We all know that there is no such a reality as something for nothing. There is a term called “priming the pump” which literally means that we should pour some water into the pump to enable it to begin pumping more water. This is part of life’s reality. We have to give at least a little in exchange for something we would like to get in life. (more…)

Service and Greatness

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 18, 2015 – Year B
Readings:  Is 53:10-11 / Psalm 33 / Heb 4:14-16 / Mk 10:35-45
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

Not too long ago, I had an enlightening experience while at a car rental office in New York. It was a busy morning there, and all the rental associates were attending to customers when I arrived. After several minutes of waiting, a man, whom I saw earlier parking one of the rental cars outside the building, came into the lobby. Noticing how busy the place was, he asked if I had been taken care of. When I told him that I was just waiting for my turn, he said that he would help me. I felt comfortable with him because listening to the way he spoke – he was pretty much like me. English definitely was not his first language. (more…)

Holy Indifference

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 11, 2015 – Year B
Readings: Wis 7:7-11 / Psalm 90 / Heb 4:12-13 / Mk 10:17-30
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

The older I get, the more it astonishes me how wisdom can often be found in the strangest places. Even if you’ve never watched it, I’m sure most of you are aware of the cartoon that comes on by the name of The Simpsons. (more…)

The Elephant in the Room

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 27, 2015 – Year B
Readings: Nm 11:25-29 / Psalm 19 / Jas 5:1-6 / Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

Once upon a time there was a man. He went into the confessional, sat down and said, “Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. I used some horrible language this past week, and I feel absolutely terrible.” The priest looked at him and said, “Tell me about it, my son.” (more…)

Being Great

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 20, 2015 – Year B
Readings: Wis 2:12, 17-20 / Psalm 54/ Jas 3:16-4:3 / Mk 9:30-37
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

Last Thursday after we celebrated the funeral Mass for our brother in Christ, Tom Gilsinan, one of his friends described him as a great man. Those of who knew Tom would surely agree. He was great not because he had extraordinary achievements in life that should be recorded in history books or featured in national media, but because he was a man who was always willing to serve. He was the type who always showed up to be of assistance whenever help was needed. (more…)

Perfect Gift

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 30, 2015 – Year B
Readings: Dt 4:1-2, 6-8 / Psalm 15 / Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27 / Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

Yesterday in his homily at our sister parish in Moneta, Resurrection Catholic Church, Deacon Chris Barrett focused on his theological reflections related to the shooting that occurred at Bridgewater Plaza last Wednesday, taking the lives of Alison Parker and Adam Ward, and wounding the lone survivor, Vicki Gardner. Vicki is out of danger now. She is a parishioner at Resurrection, and we were able to talk to her yesterday. (more…)

The Whole Banquet

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
August, 9, 2015 – Year B
Readings: 1 Kgs 19:4-8 / Psalm 34 / Eph 4:30-5:2 / Jn 6:41-51
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

I want you to think for a minute and see if you can remember where you were and what you were doing on March 13, 2013. I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing. I was at work, sitting at my computer, working on a design for a new machine, when all of a sudden something caught my attention on my Twitter feed. White smoke had been seen over the Vatican, indicating that we had a new Pope. (more…)

Believing INTO Jesus

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 2, 2015 – Year B
Readings: Ex 16:2-4, 12-15 / Ex 16:2-4, 12-15 / Jn 6:24-35
by Rev. Richard Mooney, Guest Celebrant

My name is Father Richard Mooney. I am a priest of the Diocese of Richmond, ordained thirty-six years. My present work is to be the volunteer Catholic chaplain to four state prisons that are scattered in that enormous stretch of territory south of Petersburg and north of the North Carolina line. I don’t have a commitment to a parish on Sundays, which leaves me free to come and be with you today and to spend a little time with you with Chapter Six of the Gospel of John today, the Bread of Life chapter.

If you’ve never actually read the whole chapter from beginning to end, do that, because it’s really a challenging piece of work and full of teachings. (more…)

Rewards of Giving

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 26, 2015 – Year B
Readings:  2 Kgs 4:42-44 / Psalm 145 / Eph 4:1-6 / Jn 6:1-15
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

Just over 6 years ago, a girl about 8 years old regularly attended Mass with her grandparents in my former parish of St. Luke’s in Virginia Beach. None of us in the parish bothered to ask why she was living with her grandparents instead her own parents. We were just happy to have her there because we enjoyed her company. She had a way of making everyone around her feel special and important just by being herself. (more…)