September 25, 2011

Readings for The Twenty-sixth Sunday in ordinary time: Ez 18:25-28; Phil 2:1- 11; Mt 21:28-32…

Continue

July 17, 2011

Readings for The Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time:

Wis. 12:13, 16-19; Rom 8:26-27; Mt 13:24-33…

Continue

July 3, 2011

Readings for The Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Zec 9:9-10: Rom 8:9,

11-13; Mt 11:25-30

 After the reign of King Solomon in 597 B.C. the kingdom of Israel fell into civil war and broke into two different countries.  The Northern wealthier territory retained the name Israel while the Southern poorer area where Jerusalem was located was named Judah after its most predominate tribe.    In 721 B.C. the Northern Kingdom was invaded by the…

Continue

June 26, 2011

Readings for this Sunday of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ:

Dt 8:2-3, 14b-16a; 1 Cor 10:16-17; Jn 6:51-58

Recently I was conversing with a young lady who was interested in the Catholic Church, and when I began to attempt to explain the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, she responded, "Why not?  Why couldn't the God who created the universe choose to make himself present in His Body and Blood in the Eucharist?"  This is…

Continue

June 12, 2011

Pentecost Sunday Readings: Acts 2:1-11;

1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13; Jn 20:19-23

As I write this pastor message we are expecting extraordinary thunder storms during the month of June.  I have always been amazed and a little fearful of the power and beauty of thunder and lightning.  I realize that science is able to explain this phenomenon, but it reminds us  of the unseen power that is present in the universe and world that we are a part of.  For the…

Continue

June 5, 2011

Sunday Readings:

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord: Acts 1:1-11; Eph 1:17-23; Mt 28:16-20

 The Preface of the Eucharist Prayer for major feast often provides a good summary of the Church’s Teaching for the given day.  It is always a prayer that helps us express our gratefulness to God and today, on the Feast of the Ascension this is especially true.  It reads as follows: “Father, all powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere…

Continue

May 29, 2011

Sixth Sunday of Easter: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17; 1 Pt 3:15-18; Jn 14:15-21.

In her book, Living in Courage, Debra Oakland listed 144 qualities of love: Acceptance, Accountability, Activity, Adoration, Allowance, Attention,  Authority, Awareness, Balance, Beauty, Blessedness, Boldness, Boundless, Bravery, Calmness, Caring, Centered-ness, Charity, Clarity, Command, Commitment, Community, Compassion, Concentration, Confidence, Consciousness, , Consideration,…

Continue

June 19, 2011

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity: Ex 34:4b-6, 8-9; 2 Cor 13:11-13; Jn 3:16-18

 One of the great mysteries of the Ancient world was the origin of the Nile, the longest river in the world.  In ancient Greece, the source of the Nile was considered one of the earth’s most compelling mysteries, written about extensively by the 460 BC historian Herodotus, who believed the river sprang from between two massive mountains. Later, the Emperor Nero ordered his…

Continue

May 15, 2011

Fourth Sunday of Easter: Acts 2:14a, 36-41; Ps 23: 1-3a, 3b4, 5, 6; 1 Pt 2:20b-25; Jn 10:1-10



There is an old story about a famous actor who after performing soliloquies for a dinner gathering read as an encore Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd”. The audience was very impressed and gave him a standing

ovation. When they finished he spotted an elderly priest in the crowd and invited him to come and recite the same psalm. With a weak voice and true heart the… Continue

May 22, 2011

Readings for The Fifth Sunday of Easter:

Acts 6:1-7: 1 Pt 2:4-9; Jn 14:1-12

Directions were always very difficult when I

was studying Spanish in Guatemala

twenty-three years ago. Not because I did not

understand the language, Izquierda, derecha, derecho (left, right,

straight). The problem was that when you asked for simple

directions people would often point with their hands and say,

“go that direction and turn left, then go down a way… Continue

     In my first assignment as a priest I regularly visited an elderly man in his nineties, Jose Holguin. Jose insisted on playing a little jazz piano after I would give him communion. At his age he could not hit all of the proper keys on the piano, but you could still recognize the tune and understand that once this was a very good musician. One day, I was called to the hospital to anoint Jose before a serious operation. When I arrived he was being wheeled into the operating room. The…

Continue