What God Has Joined Together

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 3, 2021 — Year B
Readings: Gn 2:18-24 / Ps 128 / Heb 2:9-11 / Mk 10:2-16
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

Someone once said that, when a person gets into deep trouble, he or she is surrounded by close friends and family.  And he continued by saying, “If you don’t believe this, just take a look at your wedding pictures.”

Brothers and sisters, from time to time, we tell jokes about married couples, but that is not at all to belittle the sanctity and permanence of marriage.  In today’s gospel, Jesus is very clear and emphatic: “Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”  Marriage is forever and for always. (more…)

The Beauty of Confessing

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 26, 2021 — Year B
Readings: Nm 11:25-29 / Ps 19 / Jas 5:1-6 / Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48
by Rev. Mr. Mark De La Hunt, Permanent Deacon

My hope in today’s homily is that all of us might leave today with one temptation and sin in mind that we are going to root out of our life with an intentional plan of attack that includes changes in our behavior and Jesus’ grace in the Sacrament of Confession. (more…)

The Real Presence

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 8, 2021 — Year B
Readings: 1 Kgs 19:4-8 / Ps 34 / Eph 4:30 – 5:2 / Jn 6:41-51
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

There is a story I heard when I was in the Philippines:  A young boy from a very remote province went to a city to look for a job. One day he posted a picture on Facebook. He was leaning on a very expensive car, a Lamborghini. His mother saw the picture and posted a comment, “Oh, son, I’m glad that you were finally able to get a job, and that you got such an expensive car.”  But the son sent a private message to his mom, “Mom, I have to lean on the car or else I’ll pass out, because I have not eaten in days.” (more…)

Miracles Then and Now

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 25, 2021 — Year B
Readings: 2 Kgs 4:42-44 / Ps 145 / Eph 4:1-6 / Jn 6:1-15
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

A well-known pastor and faith healer traveled around the country, going to various places, and doing revivals.  He came to town and he set up shop in a local church, and people came from all over the countryside, because they had heard of him.  He started his service, and people lined up to experience the healing that this man purportedly offered. (more…)

Our Shepherd Cares for Us

Fourth Sunday of Easter
April 25, 2021 — Year B
Readings: Acts 4:8-12 / Ps 118 / 1 Jn 3:1-2 / Jn 10:11-18
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

At this morning’s first Mass, baby Theodora, whom I baptized a few months ago, was a little uneasy during the liturgy. Her Mom, as all mothers do, knew exactly what to do to calm her down. She knew what she wanted every time she was uncomfortable. It is such a privilege, if you are in the company of someone who knows you like a mother knows her baby. (more…)

Divine Mercy — We Believe

Sunday of Divine Mercy
April 11, 2021 — Year B
Readings: Acts 4:32-35 / Ps 118 / 1 Jn 5:1-6 / Jn 20:19-31
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

A number of years ago early in my priesthood, when I was an assistant pastor in a big church in Manilla, I was having a pastoral conversation with my pastor, Monsignor Jose, and we heard a commotion and shouting on the second floor of the church’s pastoral center. The building was adjacent to the rectory where we lived.

I ran to see what was going on, and Monsignor followed me, just walking slowly. When I got there, I saw a middle-aged woman shrieking and screaming with her mouth foaming, and being pinned down on the floor by seven men and women, but she seemed to be a lot stronger than all of them. I was reminded of one of the scenes in the movie, The Exorcist, when I saw her. (more…)

Forgiven and Forgotten

Fifth Sunday of Lent
March 21, 2021 — Year B
Readings: Jer 31:31-34 / Ps 51 / Heb 5:7-9 / Jn 12:20-33
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

All of us who have attended funerals in the past where there is a eulogy know that the friends and members of the bereaved family will always say all of the good things that the deceased has done. If ever the person being eulogized has done something wrong, all those things are forgiven and forgotten. But of course it is unfortunate that most people only do this to the dead and very seldom to the living. The great news for all of us is that we have a God who forgives and forgets. (more…)

The Miracle of Grace

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
February 14, 2021 — Year B
Readings: Lv 13:1-2, 44-46 / Ps 32 / 1 Cor 10:31-11:1 / Mk 1:40-45
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

Today, we have another of Jesus’ early miracles—the healing of the leper. The idea of miracles can be a contentious topic. A lot of people have a hard time believing in miracles. It’s not just something that is going on in our day and time. Famously, Thomas Jefferson had a problem with it, so much so, that he took a razor blade and cut out from the Gospels any hints of Jesus’s divinity or anything to do with miracles. (more…)

Come to Me

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 5, 2020 – Year A
Readings: Zec 9:9-10 / Ps 145 / Rom 8:9, 11-13 / Mt 11:25-30
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

For more than one hundred years now, the Statue of Liberty, which reminds us of our freedom, has been watching over the New York harbor. Millions, including me, visit this statue each year. At the base of this statue there is a tablet where the words of Emma Lazarus are inscribed, the first line of which is “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” (more…)

Faith, Our Antidote for Fear

Fourth Sunday of Lent
March 22, 2020 – Year A
Readings: 1 Sm 16:1B, 6-7, 1-13A / Ps 23 / Eph 5:8-14 / Jn 9:1-41
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

This morning I had the chance to talk with my relatives in New York and California. Because of this coronavirus, we now have more time, not only to reconnect with our relatives and friends in other parts of the country and the world, but also many of us have rediscovered our relationship with our God. And this is indeed a silver lining in the dark cloud of this COVID-19 pandemic. (more…)