My Dear Friends, This day will always be solemn for us. Even though 21 years have passed, the scars of this day still hurt us. We were wounded as a nation on September 11, 2001, yet we will never forget how our churches were filled that night and the following Sunday with people just simply …
Continue reading “September 11 – XXIV Sunday in Ordinary Time”
My Dear Friends, Who can know God’s counsel, or who can conceive what the LORD intends? (Wisdom 9:13) This opening question from today’s first reading is a perfect question for us to ponder during this long weekend. Discerning God’s will in our life is the essence of the spiritual life. What does God have planned …
Continue reading “September 4th – XXIII Sunday in Ordinary Time”
My dear friends, School has started, and we had a wonderful first week across the street at St. Theresa, and I know many of our young parishioners had wonderful first weeks at their respective schools. Now that classes have begun, parents are no doubt registering their children in all types of interesting activities like sports …
Continue reading “August 28th – XXII Sunday in Ordinary Time”
My dear friends, We are so blessed here in our parish. As school started this past week, we did not have to worry about whether the kids walking through our hallways came to us hungry because their parents couldn’t afford food or if they would go home to sub-standard housing. This is one of the …
My Dear Friends, With school beginning this week, I want to welcome many of you back from summer vacation. It is good that we are all gathered in the house of the Lord again to celebrate the Sunday Eucharist. With school getting under way, parish life begins to pick up even though the majority of …
My Dear Friends, There are saints among us. We don’t know their names, but they sit next to you in the pews during Mass. They’re saying prayers for you before you arrive at church and long after Mass is over. They do tiny acts of love for you here in our parish. Their good deeds …
My Dear Friends, As we continue the National Eucharistic Revival that began last month on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, we are blessed that our Holy Father, Pope Francis has gifted us with an Apostolic Letter on the liturgy for our reflection. The letter was released just a few weeks ago on the Solemnity of …
My Dear Friends, To say that we are living in historic times would be a severe understatement. This week our nation turns 246 years old amid an environment that seems to be moving as quickly as ever. Independence Day celebrates our common American values. Again this year, we are struggling to grasp how to live …
My Dear Friends, As I am away on vacation this week, I leave you Archbishop Wenski’s column, “No Vacation From Sunday Mass.” When I was a young seminarian, the rector, before dismissing us for our summer break, would admonish us: remember, guys, there’s no vacation from a vocation. This was certainly wise advice — we …