Parish Blog

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In the Gospel today we heard the story of Jesus giving new life to his friend who had died. It is a real and miraculous fact, and it shows us what Christ wants to do with each one of us. He wants to give us life, abundant life. He wants to give us a Life that triumphs over all forms of death within us: sin, hatred, egotism, lies, violence, and injustice. This is what it means to celebrate Easter: to conquer death within us so that we can share the Life of God in us more each day.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today, the Fourth Sunday of Lent — also called rose or “laetare” (rejoice) Sunday— the entire liturgy invites us to experience a deep joy, a great exultation, because Easter is getting nearer. Jesus was the cause of great joy for the man who had been blind from birth, and who received his eyesight from Him along with the gift of spiritual light.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Christ's encounter with the Samaritan woman is a model of what our Christian life should be. In her we see represented all those who wish to know Jesus. We also see the two sides of every path to conversion: on one hand there are man's desires: "give me something to drink;" and on the other hand, Jesus' proposal: "if you only knew the gift of God."

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

As Dr. lan Murphy elaborated so well at his parish mission last week, it starts with God's love. God created us out of love, redeemed us, and never stops pursuing us for an ever-closer relationship. Though we stray from Him, he never stops calling us back to Him.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we begin the season of Lent, we also begin Year Two of Via Fidelis: Understand the Faith. Last year was a year to reflect upon the kerygma, the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Now our call is to deepen our understanding of that faith. The focus this year will be on catechesis. Catechesis is the term that we use in the Catholic faith for religious education or faith formation.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

After proclaiming the beatitudes to the vast crowds in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us how to apply it to our lives: His followers should be faithful to God's Law and treat their neighbors in a way guided by love. Jesus did not come to abolish the laws, but to fulfill them. Jesus is no revolutionary fanatic, who came to rock the established order. Jesus did not mince his words and always called a spade a spade: He says "No!" to sin and disobedience, and "Yes!" to the law of God. Jesus invites us to reject mere formulism and purely external observances of the law, such as the Pharisees practiced. Jesus speaks with a new kind of language; He says, "fulfill the law out of love for God and for neighbor."

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Our Lord always desires to bless us with His grace. Indeed, we read in John 10:10b, "I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly." We should constantly be alert for God's grace in our lives either in a subtle way or a dramatic way.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The first discourse preached by Jesus makes his listeners worried. On the one hand he speaks to them about happiness as the dream they are all looking to fulfill; on the other hand, he tells them they cannot achieve it using the means the world offers. People think the rich, the powerful and the famous are the happy ones; but Jesus tells them, "Blessed are the poor, those who weep, those who are persecuted. "The true path to happiness is described to us in the Beatitudes.