Each year we are reminded in a special way about the love of the Lord for us in the solemnity of the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. The holy sacrifice of the mass and our participation in receiving the Body and Blood each Sunday is remembered and celebrated in a special way this day.
In the Catechism paragraph 1381 we hear from two great saints these words of wisdom about the Eucharist: “That in this sacrament are the true Body of Christ and his true Blood is something that ‘cannot be apprehended by the senses,’ says St. Thomas, ‘but only by faith, which relies on divine authority.’ For this reason, in a commentary on Luke 22:19 (‘This is my body which is given for you.’), St. Cyril says: ‘Do not doubt whether this is true, but rather receive the words of the Savior in faith, for since he is the truth, he cannot lie.'”
Our faith teaches that each time we come to mass, at the words of consecration, remembering takes place when we hear the words of Jesus repeated and reenacted in the sacrifice of the mass.
In the sacrament of the Eucharist Jesus gives us his love in a beautiful way by sacrificing his body and blood for us. This should mean so much to us as Catholic Christians that we should desire to receive the Eucharist as often as possible.
On Sunday we are able to receive the body and blood, and we should do so. We need to eat and drink each day, don’t we? So why not receive both species at mass as often as possible, when both species are available for us?
The Eucharist is also food and drink for our daily journey in life. Today we might wonder why some of our family members no longer come to mass and why they don’t realize what they are missing. Invite them back to mass and back to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus next Sunday.
We pray that today we will leave after mass, refreshed by what we have received and be more prepared than ever to share our faith in the Eucharist with everyone that we encounter this week and for the rest of our lives.
After Pentecost we get to celebrate the great mystery of the Feat of the Holy Trinity. This Feast once again challenges us to ask this question: “Who is God for us? What are his roles in our lives? One answer we do have from this celebration is that God is love; God is relation and community which is the only way he reveals himself to us. God can easily be known through and experienced in family, in the parish community and also in our group of friends because God is truly unity in the diversity. The true sense of the Trinity is being celebrated every day in our parish with the diversity of cultures confessing one faith and sharing one baptism in the Lord Jesus Christ. At this great Feast, we have been called to rediscover the presence of our God in our lives and to ask ourselves where exactly God fit in our lives. The first big project is the renovation of the Parish Hall. For those who have seen the Hall recently, it is very obvious that there is a great need to do some major repairs and upgrades and even to bring to code some areas. The hall is a great asset for the school and has been used for different purposes. For the restoration, the school was able to secure from two different Foundations an amount of $200,000.00. The total cost for the restoration will be $368,482.00 not including a new AC Unit and new furniture.
The second project is the installation of New Roofs at Four buildings: the Church, Cafeteria, Saint Joseph House (Old Convent), and the School Offices. All these roofs were damaged by hurricane Irma in 2017 and are covered under the insurance however our deductible will be $143,600.00. As stewards of your generosity, the finance council and I want to assure you of how careful we are in handling the day to day finances of the parish. For this reason, I decided to present to you today these projects that we are going to undertake and hope you can generously help us to cover part of the cost for the remaining balance we have to pay out of pocket.
Even though most of you might have an idea of our financial situation, it is imperative for me to assure you of my commitment to carry out my responsibility to the highest standards of accountability. I am very aware of the sacrifices you have made to provide generously for the parish in order to fulfill the corporal and spiritual works of mercy to the people entrusted to our care. I wish these projects will resonate with you since they are some type of urgency for our parish. I anticipate thanking you for your support and comprehension. I pray that God our Father will grant you and your families his countless blessing.
How beautiful it is to celebrate today the Feast of the Pentecost together with all of you. This celebration is a great reminder to each of us about the gift of the Holy Spirit that has been given to us for the benefit of the church community. As we look at the dynamics of our parish in this ambiance of Pentecost, we have countless things and achievements that we are very grateful for. But as you can imagine we never stop working to improve our facilities in order to be able to carry out our mission. On the occasion of the Feast of Pentecost, I want to take this opportunity to share with you some projects that are undertaken.
The first big project is the renovation of the Parish Hall. For those who have seen the Hall recently, it is very obvious that there is a great need to do some major repairs and upgrades and even to bring to code some areas. The hall is a great asset for the school and has been used for different purposes. For the restoration, the school was able to secure from two different Foundations an amount of $200,000.00. The total cost for the restoration will be $368,482.00 not including a new AC Unit and new furniture.
The second project is the installation of New Roofs at Four buildings: the Church, Cafeteria, Saint Joseph House (Old Convent), and the School Offices. All these roofs were damaged by hurricane Irma in 2017 and are covered under the insurance however our deductible will be $143,600.00. As stewards of your generosity, the finance council and I want to assure you of how careful we are in handling the day to day finances of the parish. For this reason I decided to present to you today these projects that we are going to undertake and hope you can generously help us to cover part of the cost for the remaining balance we have to pay out of pocket.
Even though most of you might have an idea of our financial situation, it is imperative for me to assure you of my commitment to carry out my responsibility to the highest standards of accountability. I am very aware of the sacrifices you have made to provide generously for the parish in order to fulfill the corporal and spiritual works of mercy to the people entrusted to our care. I wish these projects will resonate with you since they are some type of urgency for our parish. I anticipate thanking you for your support and comprehension. I pray that God our Father will grant you and your families his countless blessings.
This Sunday. we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord and Mother’s Day on the same day. What a great way to celebrate our faith with two persons that mean so much to us as Christians—Jesus and our mothers. Before the Lord ascended into heaven he told his disciples that he wanted them to share the good news, the gospel. He also told them that they needed to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. In other words, he wanted them to continue his mission around the world. We are also called to reach out to others and witness to them by our lives as Christians.
The awesome thing for us is that we have some great tools at our disposal, but are we using them to their fullest potential? Do we use Facebook, or Twitter, or email or texts to share the Gospel? If not, why not start today, for through these media we can reach the ends of the world, not just our local community.
Mothers have been called to be disciples and teachers within their families as well as examples to others through their lives as Christians. They have a great role model in the Blessed Mother. Motherhood is not an easy vocation, and some mothers are better prepared than others to do well as mothers. Whenever a mother feels inadequate, she should turn to Mary in prayer and ask her for help.
On this Ascension Sunday, may we reflect on the times that we have not been the best example to others and resolve to do better. Like the Apostles, we have received the gifts of the Holy Spirit and we have been given these gifts for a purpose. May we be encouraged for the rest of 2018 to use our gifts, to share the gospel with others, and be witnesses to the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ.
On this Third Sunday of Easter, we hear in our second reading from the first letter of St. John that Jesus is expiation for our sins and for those of the whole world and that we can know the Lord by keeping his commandments. St. John also says “those who say ‘I know him’ but do not keep his commandments are liars and the truth is not in them”. We need to keep the ten commandments and all the teachings of Jesus and of the Church in our minds and in our hearts as we lead our lives daily in this world. Saint John’s words are quite direct, but sometimes we need to hear such language to set us on the path of repentance and forgiveness.
Last week , we heard the gospel account from John 20 about Jesus’ appearance to the Apostles and disciples who were hiding for fear of the same fate as Jesus. Today we hear the account from Luke 24 and Jesus tells them that “repentance , for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations.”
Repentance and forgiveness are not always the easiest topics for us as human beings. Our conscience may tell us clearly that we have sinned, but we may be too stubborn to listen to our conscience and therefore too stubborn to repent and change our ways. God is always willing to forgive us our sins, we just need to repent and seek his forgiveness.
The Catechism, paragraph 1431 describes interior repentance as “a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil, with repugnance toward the evil actions we have committed. At the same time it entails the desire and resolution to change one’s life, with hope in God’s mercy and trust in the help of his grace.” This is what the Lord wants for all of us so he can forgive us and we can start anew.
P.S. I apologize for this being only in English this week.
“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture”. Jn 10: 9
On this 4th Sunday of Easter, Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd, the Messiah, ready to lay down his life for his sheep. He knows his sheep and they know him. This is all part of God’s plan of salvation. Jesus chooses to lay down his life in obedience to the Father’s plan. The people who hate him and persecute him are just part of the plan and the irony is that they do not even realize it.
The Lord is our shepherd, our leader. We, the sheep, the followers need to be tuned in to His voice and what he has to tell us, as Christians. The Holy Spirit guides our way and protects us from evil, just like the shepherds of old.
In the modern Church we have pastors who take care of their flock, their parishioners. They are leaders who are responsible for caring for the needs of their people—they are shepherds of people. The Bishop carries a crosier or staff that represents a “shepherd’s crook” –used by shepherds to save sheep that have fallen.
Our modern day shepherds have a great responsibility and we ask the Lord to guide each of them and protect them and keep them on the right path as His shepherds in His Church.
