28th Sunday-Year A Is. 25:6-10 Ps. 23: 1-6 Phil. 4:12-14, 19-20 Mt. 22:1-14 Enhancing God’s Vision for the World Beloved in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of our patron, St. John XXII, and I wish you a Happy Feast Day! Please wish me something. We thank God for the gift of St. John XXIII for our parish. Thank all of you, our dear parishioners, for the Sacrifices you have made over the years to build such a welcoming and wonderful parish. In a special way, I thank all who are involved in different ministries here at our parish. Please join me say thank you to all of you pari ..read more

  11th Sunday-Year B Ez. 17: 22-24 Psalm 92 2 Cor. 5: 6-10 Mk. 4:26-34   Be a Seed Planted in Christ   Beloved in Christ, last week Monday, After the Noon Mass, one of our Parishioners, Bernie, approached me and congratulated me for taking very good care of some tomatoes plants she had given me two weeks ago to plant in our parish garden. And I with the tomatoes seed. When she praised me, my face fell because I had forgotten to plant the tomatoes and they had died. So, knowing I could not lie to her, I told her I was sorry, but I forgot to plant what she had given me, and the pl ..read more

  6thSunday of Easter-Year B Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48 Ps 98 1 Jn 4:7-10 Jn 15:9-17   Can Anyone Withhold the Water for Baptizing these People? Beloved, today's readings remind me of a story that one of my friends in Germany recently shared with me. A priest and a pastor of a protestant church in Germany planned to hold a prayer service for Christian unity. To make their service ecumenical, they decided that they would select prayers that members of both churches would know and then, in the end, distribute Communion that each of them had already consecrated. Their plan was that at ..read more

  5thSunday of Easter-Year B Acts 9:26-31 Ps 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32 1 Jn 3:18-24 Jn 15:1-8   God: The Vine Dresser One of my most favorite passages in the Bible is Jeremiah 29:11, when God tells us, “ I know the plans I have for you, …plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” I can tell you that inasmuch as I love this passage, there have been many moments in my life that I have asked: “God, is this also part of your plan? What good can come out of this pain?    In our gospel today, Jesus talks about how God brings the best out of us and mak ..read more

  4thSunday of Easter-B Acts 4:8-12 Psalm 118 I Jn. 3:1-2 John 10:11-18   Open the Door to the Church Beloved in Christ, I don’t remember many of the things I learned in high school, but one thing that stuck with me was something we read in my religious studies class. We were studying the similarities and differences between Christianity and other religions. In that class, we read that one reason why the Prophet Mohammed started a new community of believers was that the Christians in his area at that time did not want anything to do with him and his family. How I wish that those Chri ..read more

  3rdSunday of Easter_Year B   You are beloved sons and daughters of God Beloved in Christ, besides Jesus, who is the most favorite child of God? You! Each Christian should be able to answer, I AM the most favorite child of God. This is the truth that Jesus came to reveal to the world that each of us is the most favorite child of God. Ignorance of this is what makes our hearts restless and makes us chase after other things we think will bring us peace and make us happy.    The second reading tells us who Jesus is. The reading says Jesus is the solution to sin and every prob ..read more

    2ndSunday of Easter-Year B (Divine Mercy Sunday) Acts 4:32-35 1 Jn 5:1-6 Jn 20:19-31   God Wants to Have Mercy Through YOU   Beloved in Christ, two years I was traveling back from China, and I happened to sit by a woman on the flight, and we had a 12-hour conversation about how difficult it is to live our Christian calling in our world today.    Beloved in Christ, how do you respond when your loved ones betray you? How do you respond when you feel abandoned by people who promised to be there for you? How do you respond when you have been unjustly treated? Toda ..read more

        Easter Vigil Mass: Holy Saturday Gn 1:1—2:2 Ex 14:15—15:1 Rom 6:3-11 Mark 16:1-7   Jesus is Alive! He is not Done! Things will get Better!   Alleluia! Alleluia!!, Alleluia!!!   Beloved in Christ, What a Happy Night! I wish you A Happy Easter! Our Lord Jesus has Risen, Alleluia! On Good Friday, I gave a homily that convicted me. It was about living the passion of Christ by reaching out to somebody you find difficult to love. I was very convicted by that homily and decided to call one person whom I found very difficult to forgive. I finally pr ..read more

  5th Sunday of Lent-Year B Jer 31:31-34 Psalm 51 Heb 5:7-9 Jn 12:20-33   How Much Does Your Covenant with Jesus Mean to You?   Beloved in Christ, my sister has a very good friend who is a pilot. Last year, he gave my sister a surprise of a lifetime. My sister was flying from New York to Ghana, about a 10-hour flight, and her friend happened to be the pilot that day. Guess what happened? One first-class seat was empty because a passenger did not show up. So this friend asked my sister, who was sitting in the economy seat, to be upgraded to the first-class seat. My sister was so ..read more

  11th Sunday-Year B Ez. 17: 22-24 Psalm 92 2 Cor. 5: 6-10 Mk. 4:26-34   Be a Seed Planted in Christ   Beloved in Christ, last week Monday, After the Noon Mass, one of our Parishioners, Bernie, approached me and congratulated me for taking very good care of some tomatoes plants she had given me two weeks ago to plant in our parish garden. And I with the tomatoes seed. When she praised me, my face fell because I had forgotten to plant the tomatoes and they had died. So, knowing I could not lie to her, I told her I was sorry, but I forgot to plant what she had given me, and the pl ..read more