My Dear Brothers and Sisters, Hope is not always easy especially in a broken world, yet our faith calls us to be agents of hope to unite, heal and transform our world. In the most challenging times, when it is easy to lose heart, there is always an invitation to witness hope knowing that God …
Continue reading “January 19th – II Sunday in Ordinary Time”
My Dear Friends: As we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord today, I wanted to focus on one aspect of this sacrament in which we are called by name because it adds a personal dimension to this great mystery. At the very beginning of the rite of Baptism, the very first question the priest or …
Continue reading “January 12th – Feast of the Baptism of the Lord”
My Dear Friends: Happy New Year and Happy Epiphany! It is so wonderful to greet all of you in this new year which happens to be a jubilee year not only for the Universal Church, but this September we begin a year of jubilee for our parish centennial when our school turns 100 on September …
My Dear Friends: Merry Christmas! We welcome those who are visiting our beautiful church this Christmastime. We pray that you will find here the warmth, the peace, and the presence of the Christ Child born in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago. In the days leading up to this Feast of our Redemption, our Carmelite …
Continue reading “December 29th – Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph”
My Dear Friends: On Christmas Day, we will hear the great news from the angels: “For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.” (Luke 2:11) Years ago, I received a Christmas card with this brief poem from the Christian writer and pastor, Max Lucado. It …
My Dear Friends: The other night I walked into Comber Hall to visit our school alumni and school children who are putting on a production of “The Sound of Music” in February. As they were rehearsing, they sang “My Favorite Things.” That song often comes up in Christmas albums. Our young people did a magnificent …
Continue reading “December 15th – III Sunday of Advent – Gaudete Sunday”
My Dear Friends: Advent is a season of great expectations. From the moment Thanksgiving ends, sometimes sooner, we start making all these grand plans for Christmas that we cannot possibly accomplish. Of course, these plans are material or secular and will not lead us any closer to Christ. This is why we began a spiritual journey last …
My Dear Friends: This Sunday we begin the beautiful season of Advent. It is a time of waiting and hope. Waiting: because we wait for the newborn Christ who will bring light to the darkness of this world. Hope: because this child is the promise of salvation of the Most High. The Advent wreath is …
My Dear Friends: Twenty years ago, I started an exercise with my 8th grade students that soon became a hallmark of my observance of Thanksgiving Day: write down in no particular order, and in a prayerful and sometimes playful way, the 100 things I was thankful for. My students would write theirs during class or spend …
Continue reading “November 24th – Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe”