Our Relationship With Jesus Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Today we hear St. Peter say to the leaders of the people and the elders, “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” Jesus said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven”. He said, “unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no life in you”. He told His apostles, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” This past week, one of the Gospel reading in daily Mass asked the question, “W ..read more

Called To Witness Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Today’s Gospel reads, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” The Apostles were witnesses, but so are we! We, the present-day disciples of Jesus, are called to witness the joy and promise of the Resurrection to our modern world. Much of the western world is rapidly abandoning a Christian worldview and embracing a materialistic and r ..read more

Divine Mercy Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,                  Happy Easter! On this Sunday in the octave of Easter, the Church celebrates Divine Mercy Sunday. Our parish will have a Divine Mercy Holy Hour on Sunday April, 7th at 3pm in the church. Confessors will also be available from 2pm until the beginning of the 5pm Mass.                  St. Pope John Paul II established this feast for the whole of the Catholic Church on the o ..read more

Alleluia! He is Risen! Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,                  Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia! Happy Easter! He is risen! The whole Church rejoices as we celebrate the most hope-filled truth of our Christian faith. God so loved the word that he sent his only begotten Son to save us from the eternal consequence of sin. Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, through His saving sacrifice on the Cross has reconciled humanity to God. In rising from the dead, Jesus became the principle and source of our own futur ..read more

Holy Week Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,                  Today we begin the holiest week of the liturgical year; we call it “Holy Week” and its roots go back to the earliest centuries of the Church.  Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion when the Church commemorates Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.  Even to this day, Christians from around the world travel to Jerusalem to reenact, with the waving of palm branches, Christ’s jubilant procession into t ..read more

A New Covenant The Old Covenant, the covenant that God made with Moses at Mt. Sinai, involved a long list of external practices that were meant to change how people lived, to turn them from the ways of the world to God’s way.  As the “chosen people”, the Jews were supposed to give witness to the world of justice and righteousness, so that all the nations might be drawn to the God of Israel.                  St. Paul tells us that the Old Covenant Law revealed man’s sinfulness and lack of fidelity to the Lord ..read more

Laetare Sunday – Rejoice Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, On this 4th Sunday of Lent many priests exercise the option of wearing rose colored vestments to commemorate Laetare Sunday. The title comes from the Latin word that begins the entrance antiphon for the Mass today, “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exalt and be satisfied at her consoling breast.” This change in vestment color indicates a brief reprieve from the rigors of Lent (for example flowers are allowed on the altar on this day) and offers a glimpse of the joy that awaits us at Eas ..read more

Zeal for What? Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, On this Third Sunday of Lent the Church reflects on the Old Testament reading from Exodus concerning the Ten Commandments and on the Gospel account of the Lord’s so called “cleansing” of the temple by overturning the tables of the moneychangers.  There is a line in the Gospel that quotes from Psalm 69, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”  Jesus’ zeal for His Father’s house stirred up righteous indignation in Jesus.  He was upset that His Father’s house, the place of Jewish worship and the place where the Jews believed the p ..read more

Baptismal Identity Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, The season of Lent is an important time for all the members of the Church to examine their lives and commitment to living their baptismal identity with renewed vigor. But for some people, the Catechumens, Lent has a particularly intense character. Catechumens are those In the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (R.C.I.A.) who are preparing to be baptized. Lent is called the period of purification and enlightenment. It represents the weeks before baptism when the catechumens intensely prepare to renounce evil in their lives and to pro ..read more

Repent and Believe in the Gospel Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Today’s first reading recounts the covenant with Noah that God established after the great flood. The Old Testament account of the great flood prefigures baptism, which St. Paul says, “saves you now.” In the waters of baptism, we receive the blessings of Jesus’ death and resurrection. St. Paul says, “Christ suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God.” Paul goes on to say that baptism “is not a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God for a clear conscience ..read more