We are in the second week of Lent. Before we notice, this graced season will once again be behind us. We must therefore make the most of it. Lent is about deepening our relationship with God who enters into a covenant with us. This relationship, nurtured by prayer, would result in the transfiguration of our hearts and minds as we would be permeated by the light of the Lord, who himself is our salvation. This week I invite you to reflect a little on the Second reading for this weekend. [Click to read more]

Every year, on the First Sunday of Lent, the church gives us the opportunity to reflect on Jesus’ desert experience. Immediately after his baptism the Spirit leads Jesus into the desert where after fasting for forty days and forty nights he was hungry, and was tempted by the devil. Imagine for a second what forty days’ worth of hunger might feel like. The devil comes in Jesus’ most vulnerable moment and tempts him with what he needed the most at that time, food...

As we begin to prepare for Lent, I want to invite us to a different way of approaching this season. Whereas we tend to think of Lent as a season to give up something, like chocolate, I want to invite us to think of it in terms of becoming someone different and better. Who do I want to become? What type of man or woman do I want to become this Lent? What kind of spouse or parent do I want to become? What kind of children do I want to become? How can I deepen my prayer life such that prayer is not a chore or an imposition but a loving relationship with a God who first loved me, and loves me into eternity? How can I become more loving and available to be Jesus to my brothers and sisters? How can I grow in solidarity with them in their experiences whether good or bad? How will I allow God, through my fast, to satisfy the deepest hunger and thirst of my heart for God?

The dominant theme for this weekend’s liturgy is Mercy. Mercy supersedes the Law. Were we to always receive our deserts, I wonder, like the psalmist, how many of us would survive (Psalm 130:3). But thank God, we do not always get what we deserve but what God in his magnanimity chooses to give us. We sing in our responsorial psalm, “The Lord is kind and merciful.” Mercy and kindness are two of the attributes of God. The attributes of God are integral to his identity. That means we cannot imagine God apart from his attributes. This is not so for you and me. We might do good deeds under certain circumstances, and not-so-good deeds under certain other circumstances. The David who resists violence is the same David who arranges for the killing of Uriah to serve his lust for Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. It seems easy to love those who love and treat us well, and maybe in some circumstances, those who dislike or despise us. This is not so with God. God does not just perform kind or merciful acts some times, God is mercy and kindness. These attributes are synonymous to God’s nature. So, to imagine a God who is unkind or not merciful would be to imagine something other than the God revealed to us in Jesus Christ. 

This weekend we celebrate National Marriage week as we commemorate St. Valentine, who is an icon for committed and sacrificial married love. I want to thank all married people who are doing their best to live the vows that they made to one another. You are a shining example for our world, and we are grateful for your witnessing. I commend to the powerful intercession of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph all whose marriages have come upon hard times and are struggling to keep the storm from taking control of the ship of their marriage. My prayers are also with families that have experienced painful separation or divorce. May the Lord heal their pain and be their support. I pray also for the many young people who are dating or discerning marriage, that they will be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit as they make decisions for married life...

Beloved parishioners, ​​​​​​​Some time ago I referenced in a homily a saying on a note I had received from parishioner Kathleen Ferrone. The titanic was built by expert engineers, but the Ark of Noah was constructed by amateurs. While there is something to be said for expertise and technical know-how, this logic does not work in every situation...

This coming week’s daily Masses feature two special liturgical blessings that I urge you to avail yourselves of...

The call of Jeremiah and the ministry of Jesus in the Gospel offer us some glimpse into some of the challenges of a prophet. Jeremiah could be seen as a foreshadowing of the ‘Suffering servant’ of Isaiah, and a type for the Messiah. Although not a royal figure as the Davidic Messiah spoken about in Isaiah, we see in Jeremiah’s life a lot of similarities with the life of Jesus. Both Jeremiah and Jesus were called and anointed by God before they were born, to be a prophet to the nations...

Have you ever read or heard any passage of Sacred Scripture read to you that brought you to tears?  What happened afterwards? Have you ever heard a homily that spoke directly to you, calling you to make difficult life style changes not previously thought about? Do you come to Mass with the openness of heart, and the expectation to be transformed by the Good News that you hear? Or are your expectations to be intellectually stimulated and no more? What do you look for in a homily?

Greetings my beloved parishioners, Hope your year is off to a good start. In the spirit of continued gratitude, I want to thank all of you who made my Christmas a memorable and graced one. Your participation at the Christmas liturgies, your prayers, words of support and encouragement, baked goodies, cards and gifts are deeply, deeply appreciated. Be assured of my prayers for you and your families. A priest never forgets his benefactors...

Do you remember your birth date? Have you ever forgotten your birthday? Do you celebrate your birthday? How? Are you baptized? Do you remember your baptism date? Do you ever celebrate your baptism day? If so, how? If not, why? The above questions come to mind as we celebrate today the Baptism of the Lord. This feast marks the end of the Christmas Season, and we return to Ordinary Time in the Church’s Liturgical Calendar. The Baptism of the Lord marks the end of Jesus’ early and hidden life and the beginning of his public ministry. Jesus’ baptism is unlike our baptisms, because he had no need of baptism since he is God, and without sin. He was not made clean by the waters of the Jordan, instead, by going down into the waters he makes the waters of baptism holy and efficacious to remove sin. By his Incarnation, Jesus chose to take something of ours in order to give us something of his.

Merry Christmas! It is the Octave of Christmas and the Church celebrates today the Epiphany of the Lord. The word “Epiphany” comes from a Greek root, which could be rendered as ‘manifestation,’ ‘to reveal,’ ‘to unveil.’ It is the revelation of Jesus Christ as the light to the nations. When scripture speaks of nations, it refers to the whole world apart from the Jewish nation. This includes everyone else who is outside of the original promise made to Abraham and his descendants. That includes you and me...

Christmas is about Jesus! It is about the incarnation, the enfleshment of the divine and eternal Son of God. It is about God entering into our chaos and restoring it from within. He who is outside of time enters into time to redeem it...

We have come to the final week of Advent, and Christmas is right around the corner. We thank the Lord for a blessed Advent, and like John, we leap for joy as we welcome the fruit of Mary’s womb, our long expected Messiah. From the 8th century Christians have expressed this hope in the coming of Christ by proclaiming what today is known as the “O Antiphons.” These are antiphons that introduce the Magnificat canticle of Evening Prayer from December 17-23. These antiphons are very appropriate for these last days of Advent because they connect the coming of Christ with the fulfillment of the prophecies about the Messiah which we have been reading about in our liturgies...

The Third Sunday of Advent is always celebrated as “Gaudete Sunday” or “Rejoice Sunday.” This comes from the first word of the Introit or Entrance Antiphon for today’s Mass: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near” (Phil 4: 4-5). We are reminded of the imminence of the Lord’s coming and our closeness to the feast of the Lord’s Nativity, which Advent anticipates. These words also open our Second reading for this weekend...