Anticipating Something Special

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
January 22, 2023 — Year A
Readings: Is 8:23-9:3 / Ps 27 / 1 Cor 1:10-13, 17 / Mt 12-23
by Rev. Mr. Mark De La Hunt, Permanent Deacon

Pope Francis declared that the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the Word of God. He went on to say that this will be a fitting time for added focus on strengthening our bond with the Jewish people and to pray for Christian unity (Ordo pg 47). We will circle back to the last two in a bit, but let’s first dive into the scripture.

When you go bird watching, you are always looking with anticipation that you might see something special.  It is no different with scripture. The more you know about it, the more you want to see it and the more you start looking for something special to appear.

Applying the bird watching analogy to scripture, it helps to know what to look for. Look for two senses, the literal and the spiritual. The literal is what the human author intended for his audience in that time and place. The spiritual is what the Holy Spirit wove into it. The spiritual sense has three parts: 1) The allegorical – Where is Jesus in this? 2) The anagogical – What does this say about the end of time? and 3) the moral – What does this passage mean for me?

If you have been listening to Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Catechism in a Year podcast, you understand how much the Church cherishes the scriptures. In that podcast, he read paragraph 103 from the Catechism which states that, “…the Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord’s Body. She never ceases to present to the faithful the bread of life, taken from the one table of God’s Word and Christ’s Body (CCC 103 / Dei Verbum 21).” The catechism was quoting the Vatican II document on Divine Revelation called Dei Verbum.  Dei Verbum is Latin for “Word of God.”

Since the Second Vatican Council, the Church has rotated through the three gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke in annual cycles. It also added Old Testament readings to the Sunday missal. Before Vatican II, Sunday readings were all New Testament, except for the Easter vigil and Pentecost, the feast of the Epiphany and a few other times. These additional scripture readings were intended to help us become more familiar with the Bible. This Church year is Cycle A, which follow’s Matthew’s gospel (Matthew, by the way, is one of my favorite characters in The Chosen series).

Speaking of series, you know how when you haven’t watched your Netflix or Prime series or “The Chosen” in a while, you watch the opening summary of past episodes. It gets you ready to enter fully into the next episode, understanding what is going on. Let’s do that with today’s gospel.

Here is the opening summary. We are in chapter 4 of Matthew’s gospel. It is helpful to know that chapters 3-7 of Matthew focus on the Announcement of the Kingdom (Cavins 2). At the end of chapter 3 earlier this year, Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan. At the beginning of chapter 4, Jesus is led by the Spirit to fast in the desert for forty days and then is tempted by Satan. Last Sunday we heard John the Baptist declare that Jesus is the “lamb of God” and the “Son of God.” Now, today’s gospel starts with these words, “Jesus heard that John [the Baptist] had been arrested.” You can just feel it. Today’s episode is going to be a big one.

Jesus, lamb of God and Son of God, goes to Capernaum by the sea, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy from today’s first reading. “Land of Zebulun and Naphtali, the way to the sea…the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light…in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen (Mt 4: 15-16).” Capernaum, a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, is in the vicinity of where Zebulun and Naphtali were. Dr. Ed Sri points out that the Israelites in this area were the “first to experience the darkness of conquest and exile and now have become the first to see the light of God’s goodness in the Messiah (Sri 79).” And what does Jesus say to them?  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Mt 4:17).”

In this episode of Matthew, Jesus then goes to the Sea of Galilee and calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John, and they leave their jobs and family and follow Him (Mt 4:18-22).  He then starts teaching in synagogues and “curing every disease and illness among the people.” The cliff hanger for today’s episode comes in the verses right after today’s gospel, which state that “His fame spread” and that He cured those “racked with pain, those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics” and that “great crowds came from all over (Mt 4:23-25).”

When an episode ends, they show the trailer for the next one. In this case, next Sunday’s episode is Matthew chapter 5 where Jesus proclaims to those “great crowds” the good news of the kingdom of heaven in the iconic Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5).”  He will do so in an unprecedented way in human history. Not Buddha, not Confucius, and not Mohammed spoke the way Jesus did. The people listening were astounded because “…He taught as one who had authority (Mt 7: 29).” Fr. Mike Schmitz points out in the Catechism in a Year podcast that Jesus did not just quote the prophets.  Pay attention to all the times Jesus says, “You have heard it said, but I say…” The next four Sundays between now and Ash Wednesday are all from the Sermon on the Mount.

Now let’s reflect on Pope Francis’s request to focus on our bond with the Jewish people and to pray for Christian unity. Regarding our bond with the Jewish people, Isaiah’s prophecy that Jesus fulfilled in today’s gospel is one of over three hundred Old Testament prophecies that He and only He fulfilled (Kreeft). God announced the coming of His Son through the Jewish people in the scriptures that we call the Old Testament. Jesus was raised in a devout Jewish family and frequented the synagogue as a devout Jew. Our Catholic faith has many symbols and traditions that reflect the Jewish tradition our founder, Jesus Christ, knew well. Examples include the church seasons, candles, singing Psalms, incense, and the Tabernacle accompanied by an ever-burning candle.

The Second Vatican Council fathers summed up well how we should view our Jewish brothers and sisters. They wrote, “The apostle Paul maintains that the Jews remain very dear to God, for the sake of the patriarchs, since God does not take back the gifts he bestowed or the choice he made (NA 4; Rom 11: 28-29).” “Remembering then, its common heritage with the Jews and moved…by Christian charity, [the Church] deplores all hatreds, persecutions, and displays of antisemitism levelled at any time or from any source against the Jews (NA 4).” Sadly, these things are on the rise in our country, so keep our Jewish brothers and sisters in your prayers and defend them in word and deed when needed.

Regarding praying for Christian unity, remember what St. Paul said in the second reading. “I urge you…that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind… (1 Cor 1:10-13).” What mind? The mind of Jesus. Here is a way to respond to Paul’s exhortation. Our Christian brothers and sisters share the same twenty-seven books of the New Testament with us. Many recite the Nicene Creed and sing some of the same hymns we do. We work shoulder to shoulder with them at various charities in Bedford and Moneta, and in solidarity with them we share a love of God, family, and country. What we have in common is substantial. When divisive scripture and tradition debates pop up, humbly, patiently, and lovingly try to steer the conversation to what we have in common.

If they ask you if you have personal relationship with Jesus Christ, say yes, but that you also have a communal relationship with Him as a member of the Body of Christ. Add that your relationship is not just personal or communal, but that it is intimate. For through the priest, it is Jesus who baptizes (Mt 3:11; Acts 2:38), forgives sins (Jn 20: 22-23; 2 Cor 5 17-20), feeds us His Body (Lk 22:17-19; 1 Cor 10:16), confirms us in the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-17;19: 5-6), makes us one flesh in marriage (Mt 19:5-6), heals us through anointing (Mk 6:12-13; Jam 5:14-15), and sets apart men as deacons, priests, and bishops (Jn 20:22; I Tim 3:2 (Bishops); Acts 20:28; 2 Tim 1:6 (priests); Acts 6:6; I Tim 3:8 (deacons)). By the way, if you look at Holy Name of Mary’s website in two weeks you can look at this homily and see the scripture verses for these.

If they ask you if you have been saved, say yes. Jesus placed His Spirit in you at your baptism (Acts 2:38). That is the same Spirit that raised Him from the dead and so too will raise you from the dead (Rom 8:11). But then steer the conversation back to our shared beliefs and values: the Ten Commandments, the New Testament, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the commandment to love God and neighbor, the love of scripture and the need for Jesus our Savior. And maybe remind them who our shared enemies are; our sin and the evil falsehoods the lost try to teach others to believe. All Christians are united most especially by our Lord, but also by our shared values and beliefs, and our shared enemies.

If you do not remember anything else from this homily, remember what I am about to say. Remember the lesson of bird watchers? They learn about the characteristics and names of birds and then look around them with the expectation that something special might appear. If you read scripture daily, in prayer, God will occasionally speak to you in a special way. And what He says will change your life for the better. How does He do this?

He does so in an infinite number of ways, always suited to your specific needs. Here are a couple I have experienced. Sometimes a verse will seem to light up on the page, just stand out in some way. Sometimes you will read a verse and the meaning will be very different than what you know it should be, but when you read it again, that peculiar meaning is still there. When these things happen, stop. Write down those words and pray over and reflect upon them for several days until you understand how God wants you to respond. Seek spiritual direction if you are not sure.

Here is a closing image. We have a dad that we were separated from long ago. And we want to know more about Him so we can know more about ourselves and make sense of our lives and this world. Turns out, He has written us a book that tells us how much and why He loves us. In that book, He helps us make sense of our behaviors that confound us, pointing out our strengths and weaknesses. He shares His wisdom on how to live our lives. He tells us what makes Him proud of us. And He shares good news. He has built a home for us and in His book, He has given us a map that shows us The Way. Amen.

Citations:

Curtis Mitch and Edward Sri. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: The Gospel of Matthew. Baker Academic 2010.

Diocese of Richmond. Ordo- Order of Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours and Celebration of the Eucharist 2023.

Jeff Cavins. Matthew-The King and His Kingdom Great Adventure Bible Study. Ascension Press 2011.

Peter Kreeft. Food for the Soul – Reflections on the Mass Readings for Cycle A. Word of Fire 2022.

The Catholic Church. Nostra Atate: The Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions.

The Catholic Church. Dei Verbum: The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation.

Share the Abundance

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 25, 2022 — Year C
Readings: Am 6:1a, 4-7 / Ps 146 / 1 Tm 6:11-16 / Lk 16:19-31
by Rev. Mr. Barry Welch, Guest Homilist

The parable we heard today is certainly an indictment of the rich man.  But the rich man didn’t really do anything wrong.  He didn’t kill anybody; he didn’t harm Lazarus; he didn’t call the cops and have him sent away.  He didn’t really do anything wrong, but still he was indicted here, and he was indicted because of what he did not do.  In the beginning of the Mass, we recite the Confiteor:  Forgive me for what I have done and what I have failed to do.

When Jesus was giving this parable, the people who were present probably all had a rich man in their hearts – especially the Pharisees, because that’s whom he was directing His message to.  At the very beginning it says “He said to the Pharisees…”

Frankly, there is probably a little bit of the “rich man” in all of us today.  In this message, we have the “literal” or surface meaning:  It’s pretty clear that Jesus is calling out greed, self-importance, selfishness, gluttony, all of those things that are clearly ailments of our current society and culture.  That surface message is a strong lesson for all of us to pray about, meditate on, and to consider in our lives.

Also, this severe contrast between the very rich and the super poor spotlights God’s love for all human beings and also our role in bringing about His love and His kingdom.  I think the riches, the superabundance, the sumptuousness that we see on the rich man’s table in this story represent the grace of God, overflowing.  And it’s available to all.  But do we all know it?  Do we all sense it, feel it, and believe it?

Israel, the people of God, in a very special way were called apart and gifted with the knowledge of this grace of God.  God spoke directly to them; He walked with them, and talked with them, and brought them out of slavery in Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and eventually brought them to the Promised Land.  Ultimately, he made salvation available to everyone through the Chosen People, in the person of Jesus Christ.

The rich man had all of this showered upon him in his house:  the food, the abundance, the overflowing table representing God’s grace every single day – not just Sunday – and yet, he keeps it to himself.  He’s comfortable.  He’s fine.  He’s taken care of.  He’s secure.  Or so he thinks.  But we’re not called to gorge on God’s grace for ourselves.  We, too, have these things, like the rich man had:  We have Moses and the prophets; we have the Word of God; and we have the One who rose from the dead.  We also have the Church and her sacraments.

In the story, Lazarus was close to the feast.  He was right there: he could have picked up the scraps.  There are probably Lazaruses even here in this gathering space or at home on Facebook, poor in spirit and desiring but a small scrap, not really knowing Jesus and His love for them, but do we see them?  Do we even get close enough to know their names, the way Jesus knew Lazarus’s name?  Note that this is the only parable Jesus told in which someone was named.  In all the others, it’s “the father”; it’s “the women”; it’s “the blind man”; it’s “the virgin”.  In this one, Jesus named him, because it’s important.

Then there are those brothers.  There are those who are out there that may not be “close to the feast” of God’s grace:  our friends and family, children and grandchildren, co-workers, fellow students.  After we’re gone, it’s too late; we can’t reach them then.  They have the prophets, they have the Word, they have Moses, they even have someone who rose from the dead, but do they know?  It’s your job now — your job and my job.

We go through our lives in this material world and this Western enlightened culture with it baked into us:  individualism.  It’s all about me.  I have a right.  And consumerism.  I, me, mine.  I worked hard for this; this is mine.  It trains our brains toward selfishness, even with grace, and the knowledge of salvation and the forgiveness of sins.

But here we are, we’re called to come.  We’re here to worship.  We’re not here to worship the priest, or the deacon, or the choir, or the altar servers.  We’re not here to worship each other, or the architecture, or the décor.  Don’t get me wrong:  All of those are very, very important, because every single one of them either represents Jesus Christ or points us toward Him.  They’re all very important.

But why are we here?  We’re here to worship our Lord and Savior:  the One who willingly sacrificed and died on the cross.  We’re here to receive that abundant, sumptuous, overflowing grace poured out on this altar, on this table.  We feed on that sumptuous altar with the Word and the Eucharist.  And then we go out, and we take it out into the world where our brothers and sisters are.  That’s why, at the end of Mass, the very last element of the Mass is “the Dismissal”.  The Dismissal is so important that the Mass itself gets its name from the Latin word for dismissal.  The Deacon, when present, gets the privilege of executing the Dismissal: “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”  “Go in peace glorifying God by your life.”  “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord!”

Think about that:  At the end of every Mass, we’re given that Dismissal; that call.  Think about how important that Dismissal is.  Because we’re to take those graces – that overflowing abundance of graces – and not hoard them for ourselves but take that abundance and that love of Christ out into the world to our brothers and sisters to make them aware of the knowledge of salvation and the forgiveness of their sins.

There are lots of ways we can do it:  We can do it by words, smiles, hugs, encouragement, our actions, with our love and care for every human, with our charity, and with our prayers.  Please pray – It works!

Certainly, we can help – and we are called to help and assist – everyone in need with physical needs, material needs, medical needs, all of those things.  We’re always called to do that.  Always!  But foremost is to bring them the grace of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  They have Moses, and they have the prophets, and praise God, they have you.

We Are His Body

The Ascension of the Lord
May 29, 2022 — Year C
Readings: Acts 1:1-11 / Ps 47 / Eph 1:17-23 / Lk 24:46-53
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

The four gospels contain many parables of a master who sets out on a long journey and gives his servants charge of his estate until his return. In the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ, this parable becomes a reality. As we have heard in the gospel, Jesus departs to His Heavenly Father and leaves His disciples in charge of the affairs of His kingdom until His return in glory.

Each of the gospels ends with a scene in which Jesus finally takes leave of His disciples. These parallel scenes focus, not on describing the event in detail, but on the last words that Jesus leaves with His disciples. In fact, the very fact of a bodily ascension of Jesus into heaven is described only by Saint Luke.

It is Luke who wrote the Acts of the Apostles, from which we got our first reading today. A later ending of Mark also includes the Ascension. There are important similarities and differences between Luke and Acts, on the one hand, and Matthew and Mark, on the other, regarding the details of His farewell scene.

For example, in Luke/Acts, the ascension takes place in Jerusalem, whereas in Matthew and Mark, it takes place in Galilee. Both traditions, however, agree that it took place on a mountain.

In Luke/Acts, the ascension happens forty days after the Resurrection, during which period Jesus appears repeatedly to His followers. In Matthew and Mark, there is no indication of a time period between the Resurrection and the Ascension. Rather, the first appearance of Jesus to His disciples after His Resurrection is also the last.

So the gospel writers apparently were not aiming at accuracy in historical details. They were more concerned with transmitting a message. So now, the question is: What is the message? What is the charge that Jesus gives His disciples as he physically takes leave of them?

The message, if we look at the different gospels, is phrased differently in the Acts and also in the gospels. Let’s first look at the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:8).  It says: “But you will receive power, when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

In Matthew (Mt 28:19-20), it says: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The gospel of Mark (Mk 16:15-18) says, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name, they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them. They will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

So, brothers and sisters, these are the last words of Jesus, as recorded differently in the Acts of the Apostles, and in Matthew and Mark. But all of them are in agreement that Jesus gave His disciples a mission, a task to engage in until His return in glory. Second, He assured them of divine assistance in carrying out this mission.

The mission is to be a witness to the good news of Jesus to the ends of the earth, to go into all nations of the world, and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The universal reach of this mission is very clear. The message of Jesus is meant to be good news in the ears of all humankind, irrespective of nationality or culture.

Given the fact that, today, many nations have embraced other religions in preference to the Gospel, maybe it’s time to ask ourselves: Are these people rejecting the message of Jesus, or are they rejecting the messengers and the way they represented it? The air of superiority and triumphalism assumed by many Christian missionaries is a disservice to the Gospel and not part of the good news. Have we perhaps despoiled a good story in the telling?

At the beginning of the twentieth century, some mission-minded Christians started a periodical and called it “The Christian Century.” That title was an expression of their triumphalist belief that, by the end of the century, the whole world would have been Christianized. Today, we have hopefully grown wiser and humbler, as we realize that, in the twentieth century, not only did we fail to Christianize the whole world, but rather that we added two world wars to our record of “accomplishments.” To this day, there is still war and ongoing threats of war in other parts of the world.

Spreading the good news to all nations is not a goal that can be attained by dint of human mind and craft. That is why Jesus promises to empower His messengers from on high by His abiding presence, and of course, with the help of the Holy Spirit. The challenge of sharing the good news with all humankind should, therefore, begin on our knees, as we confess that we have often taken matters into our own selfish human hands, and promise to give the Holy Spirit a chance.

There is a story told about a small town in Germany that was severely blasted during the last war. Some years later the buildings were restored. One of the buildings was the town’s cathedral. When the renovation was completed, it was noticed that the large figure of Christ the King, which stood in front of the cathedral, was still unrepaired, when both hands had been blown off in the explosion.

When there was no sign of its being repaired, some parishioners went to their pastor to inquire if he had any plans to repair the statue. He surprised them all by saying that, no, he was going to leave the statue exactly as it was. He explained that, when Jesus ascended into heaven, He took His body with Him. He asked us to provide the body, which is the Church, and His Spirit would provide everything else. He would not replace the hands on the statue, to remind people that Jesus has no other hands but ours when it comes to continuing the building of His kingdom here on earth.

Let me end by quoting what Saint Teresa of Avila once said: “Christ has no body now but yours; no hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which He looks with compassion on this world. You are the feet with which He walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which He blesses all the world. Yours are the hands; yours are the feet; yours are the eyes. You are His body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”

My Lord and My God

Second Sunday of Easter
Sunday of Divine Mercy
April 24, 2022 – Year C
Readings: Acts 5:12-16 / Ps 118 / Rev 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19 / Jn 20:19-31
by Rev. Louis Benoit, Guest Celebrant

In the gospel for today, I think we need to be in touch with the apostles in that closed-off room on this first Easter Sunday night. The gospel tells us they were afraid; they were in there because of fear of the Jews.  Jesus had just been crucified, and they were His followers. The Jewish people could be after them for the same reason.

Besides fear, there was probably a great deal of confusion. Jesus had been crucified. What were they going to do? Where were they going to go? They’d heard news about the empty tomb, but they hadn’t seen Jesus or anything like that. They were probably very confused.

They probably had a certain amount of guilt, too. In Jesus’ hour of suffering, they slept through it, and when He was taken away, they ran away. So there was probably a certain amount of guilt.

Fear. Confusion. Guilt. They were huddled in that closed room with the locked doors. In the midst of that, Jesus ends up standing among them. The first thing He says is, “Peace be with you.” And He repeats it.

What is peace? Peace is when creation is ordered as God would have it. The tranquility of order; that’s peace. Those people He was standing among were in serious need of peace.

Then He tells them, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Jesus was sent, then He preached the Gospel of peace, justice, and love, against the reign of sin, evil, and death. And with His death and resurrection, it is now the responsibility of His followers to continue His mission. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

He doesn’t send them forth alone. He says to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” That’s another aspect of resurrection existence: The Spirit that animated Jesus in His lifetime, through His death and resurrection, is now passed on to His followers. And so they don’t go off alone to do the work of Jesus.  The very Spirit of Jesus is with them as they continue that work.

But before He says, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” the gospel says He breathed on them. That’s a symbol that could be easily missed. To understand that symbol, you have to go all the way back to the beginning: the Book of Genesis and creation. When God creates the human, He makes the human out of the mud of the earth. But the human only becomes human when God breathes God’s life into the human. And what that is a symbol of in Genesis is that the human is of the earth and of God. That’s how all human beings are: We’re of the earth and we’re of God.

The fact that Jesus breathes on His apostles is saying He’s breathing new life into them. They are a new creation in Christ Jesus. That’s the meaning of Jesus’ breathing on them.

He does that before He says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Thus they are commissioned to continue the work of Jesus.

The Bible is the living word of God for us today. So that’s not just written about the apostles on the first Easter; it’s written about us. Jesus says to us, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Those are words to us today. And “Receive the Holy Spirit.” We have received the Spirit of Jesus in Baptism and Confirmation. That Spirit is constantly being renewed in Eucharist. And so this gospel is not just about the apostles; it’s about us and what our responsibilities are.

It’s also significant that we have the doubting Thomas in the gospel. Thomas who doubts: He’s not there when Jesus comes. They say, “We have seen the Lord.” And he says, “I’m not going to believe until I touch Him, until I feel the wounds in His hands and touch the wound in His side.  I’m not going to believe.”  A week later, Thomas is there, and Jesus comes. Thomas sees Jesus’ wounds, and he touched the wounds, and he makes the comment, “My Lord and my God.”

A lot of scripture scholars say that this Easter appearance to the apostles was the conclusion of the Gospel of John; the appearance by Jesus at the Sea of Tiberius was a later addition to the gospel. And so Thomas’ professing, “My Lord and my God,” is the apostles’ coming to full faith. Thomas is speaking, but it’s in the name of all the apostles, proclaiming the risen Jesus: “My Lord and my God.” It’s a culmination of their faith. It’s the final profession of their faith in the presence of the risen Jesus: “My Lord and my God.”

Of course, as we are called to continue the ministry of Jesus, we are called (“As the Father has sent me, so I send you”), with the grace of the Spirit we have received, to give the spirit of Jesus to others, and we can say like Thomas, “My Lord and my God!”

Spiritual Deafness

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 5, 2021 — Year B
Readings: Is 35:4-7a / Ps 146 / Jas 2:1-5 / Mk 7:31-37
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

Once there was a little old man.  His eyes blinked, and his hands trembled.  When he ate, he clattered the silverware distressingly; missed his mouth with the spoon as often as not; and dribbled a bit of his food on the tablecloth.

He lived with his married son, having nowhere else to live, and his son’s wife didn’t like the arrangement.  “I can’t have this,” she said. “It interferes with my right to happiness.” (more…)

What, How, and Why to Preach

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 11, 2021 — Year B
Readings: Am 7:12-15 / Ps 85 / Eph 1:3-14 / Mk 6:7-13
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

There is a story about St. Peter, who, one day was very busy at the gate of Heaven due to the numerous newest arrivals, most of whom were farmers and poor people.  As he was about to admit them, he saw a politician in the group.  He motioned for the man to step forward, then escorted him inside.  As the man entered, a marching band came to meet him, and a red carpet was spread out. (more…)

Focused on the Light

Fourth Sunday of Lent
March 14, 2021 — Year B
Readings: 2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23 / Ps 137 / Eph 2:4-10 / Jn 3:14-21
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

This, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, is also known as Laetare Sunday, from the first word of today’s antiphon: Laetare! which means Rejoice! Holy Mother Church, in her wisdom, gives us this special Sunday right in the middle of Lent. Lent tends to be a little bit somber: We’re fasting; we’re giving things up. Today, we’re called to take a break from that. It’s an opportunity to refocus, to reevaluate, to ask ourselves, “How are we doing?” (more…)

Connecting With the Lord

Fifth Sunday of Lent
March 29, 2020 – Year A
Readings: Ez 37:12-14 / Ps 130 / Rom 8:8-11 / Jn 11:1-45
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

Ever since I have had a Facebook account, I usually deactivate it during the season of Lent. Three years ago, after the forty days of Lenten season, for one reason or another, I just didn’t bother to reactivate it. So my Facebook account was practically dead for about thirty-six months. (more…)

We Are Salt and Light

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
February 9, 2020—Year A
Readings: Is 58:7-10 / Ps 112 / 1 Cor 2:1-5 / Mt 5:13-16
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

Today is one of my favorite gospels. It is short, concise, to the point, but overflowing with insight into the Christian life. Specifically, it has two wonderful images of the Christian life that are filled with meaning and lessons.

The first one is salt. Simple substance, extremely common in the world; but it points us to some things that are important about the Christian life. For one thing, it is white, and white is the symbol of purity. Father Sal and I and the altar servers all wear white albs. It is a symbol of our baptism, when we were cleansed of original sin and made one with the Body of Christ. But salt is also effective. It has a purpose – it preserves and enhances. We are called to do the same; to preserve the Christian faith and to enhance the lives of those around us. (more…)

Jesus’ Leaders

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
February 10, 2019 – Year C
Readings: Is 6:1-2A, 3-8 / Ps 138 / 1 Cor 15:1-11 / Lk 5:1-11
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

God’s ways are indeed different from what our human intelligence tells us is the right way. The entire history of salvation gives us examples of people whom God has chosen to be leaders, when by human standards, they would not make the cut. This is simply because God can see the whole picture.

I’m going to give you examples of three well-known men in history who were leaders during their time. Perhaps if each of them would run for office today, you could tell which of them would be considered good leaders based on the particular qualities and characteristics they have. (more…)