How to Pray

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 28, 2019—Year C
Readings: Gn 18:20-32 / Ps 138 / Col 2:12-14 / Lk 11:1-13
by Rev. Mr. Eddie Craig, Permanent Deacon

Picture this theatrical scene: a nice cul-de-sac in a quiet suburb outside of some city. There is a woman there, frantically running around. She is a Mom and she has been called home early from work because one of the children got sick at school. She’s running back and forth between the stove and the counter, where her laptop is sitting, because she had a very important meeting, which is going on now through Skype. She’s trying to participate in this meeting while fixing dinner for the family.

Suddenly, there is a sound. The father has gotten home from work. You hear the door open. You hear, “Hi Honey, I’m home.” The woman replies, “Hello, Dear, how was your day?” The man replies, “Oh it was just terrible, just awful. Everything was going wrong. I’m so tired and so hungry. Do you have dinner ready yet? I’ve got to sit down. I’m tired. Do you think you could bring me a beer? I have an important meeting tomorrow. Did you remember to take my suit to the cleaners? Great. And I noticed that the grass needed cutting as I pulled into the driveway. Do you think you could get to that tomorrow?” At this point, a frying pan comes flying into the room, clocks the guy in the head, and the scene fades to black. (more…)

Faith, Hope, and Blessings

The Ascension of the Lord
June 2, 2019 – Year C
Readings: Acts 1:1-11 / Ps 47 / Eph 1:17-23 / Lk 24:46-53
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

Each of us gathered here in front of God’s altar, who is old enough to have responsibilities at home or at work, must be carrying a cross on his or her shoulder, which means each of us has a problem or two. Welcome to the human family. As long as we are still breathing, we will have trials and difficulties. We all have a share of life’s ups and downs, but as God’s children we always move on and continue our faith journey. (more…)

Mother As a Shepherd

Fourth Sunday of Easter
May 12, 2019 – Year C
Readings: Acts 13:14, 43-52 / Ps 100 / Rev 7:9, 14B-17 / Jn 10:27-30
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

Deacon Harold of EWTN, one of the most sought-after speakers in men’s conferences, told this story. One day when his children were little, his wife was having one of those days where she just wanted to have a little rest after a whole day of running errands and taking care of the kids. So she asked him to take them out of the house. He took them to the park nearby, and they were having a great time until his little girl stumbled and cried, “Mommy!” He told her, “Don’t worry. I am here.” But she kept on crying, looking for her mom. (more…)

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…)

Trust the Lord

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
February 17, 2019 – Year C
Readings: Jer 17:5-8 / Ps 1 / 1 Cor 15:12, 16-20 / Lk 6:17, 20-26
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

In my first few years in the priesthood, I was assigned by my former bishop to a parish in the Philippines that has mountains, hills, and rivers throughout, and it was truly a privilege to see the beauty of God’s creation there. I asked myself, “What good have I done to deserve living in this beautiful place? This is heaven on earth.”

Until one day I had to say a Mass in the boondocks, which would require me to walk across a long hanging bridge. The chair of the parish council there, who met me at the foot of the bridge, told me to leave my motorcycle at a house nearby so that we could walk across to the church on the other side. (more…)

Friends of God

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
January 27, 2019 – Year C
Readings: Neh 8:2-4A, 5-6, 8-10 / Ps 19 / 1 Cor 12:12-30 / Lk 1:1-4, 4:14-21
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

It has been said that you know that a person is your friend if you wouldn’t hesitate to call him or her at 2 o’clock in the morning during an emergency. The first part of the gospel today is taken from the beginning of the Gospel of Luke, and the Evangelist addresses his narrative to a man named Theophilus.

The word “Theophilus” means “friend of God,” and this is who we are. In Chapter 15 of the Gospel of John, the Lord Jesus said, “I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from My Father.” (more…)

God Never Gives Up

The Nativity of the Lord – Christmas
December 25, 2018 – Year C
Readings: Is 9:1-6 / Lk 2:11, Ps 96 / Ti 2:11-14 / Lk 2:1-14
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

On December 6, a young mother from Orlando was taking her eleven-month old daughter to one of the children’s hospitals in Philadelphia. As was standard practice, the airlines allow families with babies to board first, that is unless you are in first class. First class always boards before business or economy class.

The mother was at the back of the plane trying to arrange her carry-on bags, along with the oxygen her daughter had to have at all times. She wasn’t even finished arranging her things, when the stewardess told her that there was a man in first class who wanted to give her his seat. He would then take her seat. The stewardess told her that there was more room for her things in first class. The mother was more than happy; she was in tears. (more…)

Let Your Kindness Be Known To All

Third Sunday of Advent
December 16, 2018 – Year C
Readings: Zep 3:14-18A / Is 12 / Phil 4:4-7 / Lk 3:10-18
by Rev. Paul O’Donnell Duggan, Guest Celebrant

I made a trip to New York to go out to Long Island City, which I hadn’t been to in thirteen months, for the annual Mass for deceased members of the New York Pentecostal Association. I don’t have GPS; GPS is up here (pointing at his head), and at my age, memory is not what it used to be. Oh yes, I remember that on the George Washington Bridge, I need to take the FDR. Now I’ve got to get over to that lane, and I see it. Oh, good, good, good. I take the exit; it’s the next exit. I took the wrong one. Take the wrong exit off George Washington Bridge in New York: L-O-S-T. Completely. (more…)

A Mother is Always There for Her Children

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
December 8, 2018 – Year C
Readings: Gn 3:9-15, 20 / Ps 98 / Eph 1:3-6, 11-12 / Lk 1:26-38
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

For today’s feast, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the gospel is about the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to the Blessed Mother with the greeting, “Hail, Full of grace, the Lord is with you,” announcing to her that she would be the mother of God. That’s the beginning of the Immaculate Conception of Jesus, when He was conceived in the womb of the Blessed Mother. We celebrate that feast on March 25th. From March 25th to December 25th is exactly 9 months.

But the Immaculate Conception of Jesus is not the feast that we celebrate today. What we celebrate today is the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Mother, when she was conceived in the womb of her mother, St. Anne. (more…)