Desert Experience

Second Sunday of Lent
March 17, 2019 – Year C
Readings: Gn 15:5-12, 17-18 / Ps 27 / Phil 3:17 – 4:1 / Lk 9:28B-36
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

In my first few years in the priesthood, I had the privilege to minister to the residents of a remote, small, country town in the Pacific. It happened to be within my parish jurisdiction, so I had to be there quite often. People who have never been there consider it to be a God-forsaken place because there are no hospitals, no department stores, and yes, no electricity. But the folks that live there are the happiest and healthiest people in that region. Those who happen to visit that place, usually by accident, often have a desert experience. As a side note, one hundred percent of the residents there are Roman Catholics. When they have difficulties, their only recourse is to turn to God, since they are miles away from modern civilization. (more…)

Let Go To Be Free

First Sunday in Lent
March 10, 2019 – Year C
Readings: Dt 26:4-10 / Ps 91 / Rom 10:8-13 / Lk 4:1-13
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

Although the beginning of Spring is still ten days from now, the fact that we have already made the “spring forward” of our clocks tells us that Spring is here. As you all know, Lent is the ancient word for Spring. This is the time when we members of the mystical body of Christ take a closer look at our relationship with our God and our neighbor. The good news is that even if we had a long hard winter in our spiritual life, our good and merciful God is always giving us a new springtime, so we can start all over and leave the past behind. (more…)

Be Changed

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
March 3, 2019 – Year C
Readings: Sir 27:4-7 / Ps 92 / 1 Cor 15:54-58 / Lk 6:39-45
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

Today is the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time. We have been in the same book of the Gospel of Luke for the past three weeks. This part of Luke’s Gospel is called the Sermon on the Plain, and it’s a parallel to St. Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. They share many similarities.

Let me refresh your memory on the gospels for the past few weeks. Two weeks ago, Jesus was talking about blessings: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are hungry, for you will be satisfied.” He goes on: “Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep.” (more…)

Free to Choose

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
February 3, 2019 – Year C
Readings: Jer 1:4-5, 17-19 / Ps 71 / 1 Cor 12:31-13:13 / Lk 4:21-30
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

Picture something in your mind. I want you to picture this word: kingdom. What comes to mind when you hear the word “kingdom”? Maybe it’s an image of a form of government where there is an absolute monarch placed to rule over all the people. And maybe you see this as a bad thing, as an oppressive thing, a negative thing.

Maybe you get images of knights on horseback, charging off to defend king and country. Maybe you get images of a grand castle, with a handsome prince and lovely maidens dancing in a ballroom.

Now picture this: What do you imagine when I say “the kingdom of God”? What are you thinking about? Are you thinking about some future joyous time, when there’s no death, and there’s no pain, and there’s no suffering? Is that what you’re thinking about? Because that’s right – to an extent. (more…)

Be Vigilant

First Sunday of Advent
December 2, 2018 – Year C
Readings: Jer 33:14-16 / Ps 25 / 1 Thes 3:12 – 4:2 / Lk 21:25-28, 34-36
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

We must have heard of, or even participated in, the celebration called “Christmas in July.” But in our Church, we celebrate the new year in December (or sometimes in November.) Today, the first Sunday of Advent, we begin a new year in our liturgical calendar. As the first candle in our Advent wreath is lit, we are reminded of the glad tidings of the new beginning in our lives as sons and daughters of God. In most Sundays in the next twelve months, the Gospel of Luke will be our guide on how to get to know the Lord Jesus better, so we can love Him more. Luke the Evangelist will show us the way to live a true Christian life. (more…)

Scoring for God’s Team

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 11, 2018 – Year B
Readings: 1 Kgs 17:10-16 / Ps 146 / Heb 9:24-28 / Mk 12:38-44
by Rev. Paul O’Donnell Duggan, Guest Celebrant

A couple of months after I was ordained, I was sent to New Zealand, down to the South Island and Christchurch, over to a wee town on the west coast called Hokitika. When I got there, the west coast of New Zealand had no soccer. So I introduced soccer to the west coast, and the team (I was the coach and the captain of the team) was called the Corinthians. I don’t recall why. There was always a little titter on a Sunday morning, when the lector would get up and say, “A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians.” (more…)

Moral Scope Creep

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 30, 2018 – Year B
Readings: Nm 11:25-29 / Ps 19 / Jas 5:1-6 / Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

Many of you know that I actually earn my living as a mechanical engineer; that’s my nine-to-five job. You may not know that the way I exercise my engineering degree is as a machine designer. I build custom machines. Customers come to the company I work for with a problem; we put together a solution; they give us a purchase order; and then we build a machine to solve their problem.

But invariably, during that design process, we’ll stumble across something that really wasn’t included in the quote. Maybe it’s some little problem that we didn’t foresee when we were preparing the quote, or maybe it was something that the customer didn’t convey fully to us. Quite often, these are just small things, maybe a fifty-dollar sensor and a five-dollar bracket takes care of the problem, and we just do it. (more…)

Connecting With God

Fifth Sunday of Easter
April 29, 2018 – Year B
Readings: Acts 9:26-31 / Ps 22 / 1 Jn 3:18-24 / Jn 15:1-8
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

The Lord Jesus was a master communicator. He could present something that is full of mystery in a way that even a little child in those times could understand.

In the gospel that we have just heard, when the Lord Jesus was telling His disciples, “I am the vine; you are the branches,” they must have been walking in the vineyard and seeing the vines all around them, hanging heavy with ripe fruit.

Understanding these words of Our Lord is not rocket science. Plain common sense tells us that a branch can’t remain alive just by itself, let alone bear fruit. (more…)

Justice and Mercy

Second Sunday of Easter (Sunday of Divine Mercy)
April 8, 2018 – Year B
Readings: Acts 4:32-35 / Ps 118 / 1 Jn 5:1-6 / Jn 20:19-31
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

Happy Easter! Amen, Alleluia! If you are thinking, “This isn’t Easter,” you’d be wrong. Easter is too big to be celebrated in one day, so we celebrate and celebrate and celebrate. These eight days from last Sunday are the Octave of Easter, this being the last day, but it doesn’t end there. We actually celebrate the Easter season for fifty days. It is the summit of our faith, celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Easter is why we are Christian, so we celebrate it appropriately. (more…)

Learn Compunction

Ash Wednesday
February 14, 2018 – Year B
Readings: Jl 2:12-18 / Ps 51 / 2 Cor 5:20 – 6:2 / Mt 6:1-6, 16-18
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

Happy Ash Wednesday . . . or is it Happy Valentine’s Day . . . or is it Happy St. Cyril and St. Methodius Day? I don’t know. Do you know? Have you ever wondered how we know what feast is on what day? How do we know whether it’s a feast, whether it takes precedence over something else? (more…)