How else can we best welcome the one who is coming in glory and power at the eschaton unless we first receive him in the lowliness of the manger on bended knees? How do we best prepare for the birth of the Messiah, the one to whom the choir of angels sing, than by daily lowering ourselves so that he might increase in us? [Read more]

When you hear the title “King” what comes to mind? What themes does this title elicit for you? For some of us it might be themes of Kingdom, power, dominion, authority, subjugation, the list goes on; depending on the experiences of some, it might also suggest tyranny. For many western and modern minds, the idea of a king, who is a sovereign, and who reigns over a kingdom might be alien. But it is not strange to some from developing or even theocratic countries as some of these countries currently have kings. Our celebration of the Kingship of Jesus this weekend acknowledges first that Jesus is king. However, it contrasts the reign of Jesus with those of earthly rulers. Whereas earthly kings only rule for a time, Christ’s kingship is an everlasting one, and has no end. Whereas human Kings might rule by means of brute force, Jesus rules not by means of force but by love. His is a kingdom of peace, truth and justice. And all of us who long to be in that kingdom some day are called to embrace these values of the kingdom.

We are at the penultimate Sunday in our current Liturgical Year. And the end of a liturgical season is a great time to ponder on the end of time, as well as our own end. The cosmic events spoken of in our First and Gospel readings this weekend are not intended to generate or even validate speculations as to the hour when these would happen, but to call us to focus on Jesus who is the Lord of history, and in whom human history has been and is being redeemed. Whereas the first reading from Daniel speaks of events during the tyrannical reign of Antiochus IV, and the gospel could have been a prediction of events to precede the destruction of Jerusalem, they both serve to encourage the people that God is Lord of history, and that he is at work even in the worst of situations.

Charity and obedience are on display in the First Reading for this weekend’s liturgy. The widow, a poor person by the standards of the day, one who had little means to care for herself and her son, becomes for all ages, an example of selfless generosity. She was charitable to the prophet, perhaps because he was a prophet. But the Lord rewards her generosity of spirit. The jar of flour did not go empty and the jug of oil did not run dry, as the Lord had foretold through the prophet. When we act charitably, we must do so with all our hearts...

In every report on Whatsoever You Do Outreach, we thank you for your generosity. But hearing today’s Gospel proclaimed and hearing the words – “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” – we are reminded to tell you that by your generosity you are doing just that, loving your neighbor as yourself...

November is here again. We are gradually approaching the end of our calendar year. November also brings us close to the end of this liturgical year, with the celebration of Our Lord Jesus Christ the Universal King. On November 1st we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. This is the church of all known and unknown saints who have been through the great tribulation and have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14). This is the Church Triumphant. They now enjoy the beatific vision. Their heroic life is both inspiration and challenge for us, the Church Militant, as we journey on our pilgrimage through life. On November 2nd we commemorate, and remember in our prayers the souls of our departed brothers and sisters, whom the Lord has called back home...

The request of blind Bartimaeus was simple but direct: “Master, I want to see.” He had no time for stories, but went straight to the heart of his desire. He gives us an example for our own prayers – be simple, but straight to the point! Like Bartimaeus, we all have desires that have been planted in our hearts by God. And we are all crying out to Jesus to be the fulfillment of our desires...

This weekend’s Second Reading from the Letter to the Hebrews suggests that it is Jesus’ human experience of suffering that puts him in full solidarity with the rest of humanity, and especially qualifies him as mediator. Because Jesus felt hunger, he is able to relate to our struggle with our own hunger or the hunger of our world; because Jesus felt rejection, especially from his own people, he is able to relate with us when we cry to him about how rejected, unloved, and unwanted we feel. We certainly have a God who does not stand aloof or apart from our experiences; he enters into the very depth of our mess and becomes one like us in everything, though without sin. There was a saying that stuck with me when I was studying to become a healthcare chaplain: “you do not heal what you do not feel.” This saying seems to suggest that unless one has felt hurt one couldn’t really understand how another who is hurting feels.

We have given up everything and followed you… Peter’s question to our Lord in the latter part of our Gospel reading for this weekend echoes a series of questions that many of us might have asked when a request is made of our time, talent or resources. It is not difficult to hear people ask, “what is in it for me?” You invite me to help out at the food pantry, what do I gain from it? Will my children acquire service hours by helping at a parish event? Would participating in a retreat be worth my time? What would I benefit from hours of work on a parish project, or serving in a committee? How would my life be improved by coming to Mass every weekend, or even daily? What is in it for me? These questions, as common as they are, express the human desire for validation...

I want to first express my gratitude to all our parishioners for your participation in the events marking our celebration of the feast day of our heavenly big sister, St. Thérèse, the Little Flower of Jesus. Thank you also to members of our Accompaniment team led by Kerry Wallace, our parish staff, and the Knights of Columbus of our council for their work in making the feast a memorable one. May St. Thérèse continue to intercede for us all, and for our parish, and bring us roses of answered prayers from God’s garden in heaven. Amen...

Fr. Julius shares about National Migration week and our call as Christians to welcome strangers and migrants, our upcoming celebrations of St. Therese's Feast, and the Annual Bishop's Appeal.

Greetings to you my beloved parishioners! The First reading for this weekend paints a picture of some scheming by evil people against one perceived as the just one. According to these unnamed wicked, the just one’s manner of being opposes theirs, reproaches them for transgressing against the law, and convicts them of violating their training. As such he rouses their ire. Instead of changing their conduct, they plot the downfall of this just one by mocking his high opinion of himself and testing his reliance on God. This, unfortunately, seems to be classical human behavior. How often do we get jealous when we see a brother or sister who is trying to live her or his Christian faith in all sincerity? Some of us even go to the extreme of maligning this seeming righteous brother or sister or even calumniate them because they chose to be different in the practice of their faith. Instead of humbling ourselves and praying to be true to our faith like this brother or sister is we prefer to assassinate their character or look for any weakness with which to undermine their genuineness. We see holy people as threats because they make us more conscious of our own sinfulness. And instead of humbling ourselves and asking God for mercy, we try to justify or rationalize our wrongdoing by painting these holy people as bad or less than they really are...

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world (Gal. 6:14) The above words come from our Gospel acclamation for this weekend. My intention in choosing these words for our reflection is to call attention to suffering in the life of Christ as fundamental to our own embrace of our sufferings. Many people who reject God or in their rejection of organized religion refuse to affiliate with Christianity ask why there is so much suffering in the world if there is a good God. It would seem that by their questioning they hold God responsible for suffering in the world, while exculpating human beings of any responsibility for the evils in the world.

Greetings to you my beloved parishioners, We thank God for the gift of human labor, which beautifies creation and provides for human needs. We pray that the unemployed and underemployed would find gainful and meaningful employment, and that the dignity of workers would everywhere be respected. I wish you all a blessed and restful Labor Day weekend, and safe journeys to all who would be traveling to visit with families and loved ones...

The tension in the relationship between Jesus and the religious leaders of his day is once again highlighted in the Gospel reading for this weekend. In the question addressed to Jesus, the Pharisees ask: “why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” Given their disposition to Jesus, we could argue that they were not seeking for information as to why his disciples did not wash their hands before eating. They were essentially challenging Jesus’ ministry...