OUR PARISH PRIEST

WE ALL NEED THE SHEPHERD 16th Sunday If there is one psalm that never fails to move hearts, that must surely be Psalm 23, “the Lord is my Shepherd”.  I remember growing up and hearing weekly the song on this theme at Mass, with its beautiful melody and yet more uplifting message.  Christians of all traditions, Catholics and Protestants, are united in the spirit of this refreshing psalm. This week, this is how God comes to us.  He comes as the Shepherd we all have need of.  In Jeremiah 23, God knew in his heart that the nation must be led to safe and green pastures.  In the Gospel, Mark 6, Jesus offers himself as the shepherd to a people in search of direction and meaning in their lives.  And Psalm 23 captures the benefits of walking alongside the shepherd. Nations need shepherds and are often frustrated that the earthly shepherds they get almost always neglect them.  People need shepherds because we are helpless and blind withou...

THE LORD IS THE SHEPHERD OF OUF LIVES

WHAT A MOVING PRAYER OF TRUST IN THE LORD WHO NEVER ABANDONS HIS CHILDREN.  HALLELUIAH!!!

PROVIDENCE OR PROVISIONS This gospel (Mark 6:7ff) easily resonates in the heart of people who have felt God’s call and chosen to follow the attraction of his voice.   This month I celebrate 16 years of responding to God’s call to the priesthood, certainly not without trials and difficulties.   My journey is more a surprise of God’s faithfulness rather than my own. Let us break open the message of the Lord… Jesus called his disciples and sent them out.   What is noteworthy in this mission are the words that accompanied it:   take no food, no sack, no money in your belts.   The mission is daunting and complex and no least simple.   To bring the Good News there is no assurance of encountering listening and open hearts.   But the Lord seems to make it more difficult by depriving his disciples of comfort. Without food, the disciples will go hungry.   Without a sack, they are clearly told not to cling to belongings.   W...

  A PILGRIMAGE TO THE FLOWER OF CARMEL Homily at Novena in my Home Parish 2012 I thank you that every year, you invite me to celebrate this novena for the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. It is always a pleasure to return to my home parish and give thanks to the Lord and His Blessed Mother.   It is always a pleasure to feel the scapular not only around my neck but surrounding my whole life as a struggling Christian and priest. This year my visit is also a pilgrimage.   Because come to think of it, I have much to thank Our Lord and Our Lady in my life.   I come to celebrate this Mass as my gesture of gratitude for the gift of my mother, who is my primary link to this parish and this place. When I was young, my mother was a very active teacher. She was also an athlete competing in inter-school baseball.   She was playing and training students.   On her team uniform I saw a word I never saw before.   On the back was written: ...

THORN IN THE FLESH Sunday - 14 Some people gossip, thank God, I do not.   Some people are cheats and I know I am not.   There are liars everywhere and I am not one of them.   So many people are irritable yet I find myself unlike them.   There are so many negative things about people and I am glad these are not found in me.   But Lord, am I perfect already?   Thank God, I am not! St. Paul’s reminder is very humbling for me and for all of us today.   He says there is in our hearts, a “thorn in the flesh”.   People have their flaws; that’s their thorn in the flesh.   But I have mine, too, my own secret, hidden “thorn”.   And like other people’s, this thorn hurts and pricks all the time. What is this “thorn in the flesh”?   St. Paul refers to our weaknesses.   However much we struggle for perfection in our personal lives, professional lives or spiritual lives, we know that there is something that kee...