OUR PARISH PRIEST

In Jesus all become one! At Easter we celebrated our faith in the one Lord, Jesus Christ the Savior. At Pentecost, we professed our faith in one Holy Spirit, Lord and Life-giver. On Trinity Sunday, we proclaimed the face of the One God - one in the unity of three Persons. Today Feast of Corpus Christi, we rejoice in the One Body of Christ. As receive this one Body, we also become that one body. What is this one body of Christ? First, this body is the Person of Christ himself we meet in the sacrament, in every Mass and in every tabernacle around the world.   At times we wonder why the priest holds up a huge bread while we receive a small version of it.   Does the priest have a bigger appetite? Is his sacramental meal more special? No! The priest uses a big host for all of us to see that our celebration is centered on “one” bread that will become through the Holy Spirit, the one Body of Christ. Later the one bread, now the Body of Christ, is broken...

THE TRINITY FOR STRONG RELATIONSHIPS (photo: St. Hildegard of Bingen’s illustration of her vision of the Holy Trinity) These are some of the all-too familiar stories we hear around us:   a married couple split up after 20 years, a man feels unhappy in his family, a person finds out his friend’s deception, a woman discovers her lover’s manipulation, a worker falls away with his boss, a mother or father loses contact with his child. Life is marked by relationships - personal, family, work, church, community - and yet so many relationships end in destruction.   While these started out with fervor and gusto, they end up in rancor and bitterness. Today we celebrate the God of relationships.   As Christians our God is One but within a relationship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.   This puzzle of One God in Three Persons has meaning only in terms of relationship.   God is not an isolated God but a reaching-out God, both in Himself and outs...

THE GOD WHO LISTENS AND LEADS So many people listen to Papa Jack; old people, a lot of young people and even a number of priests, follow his radio program.   Papa Jack is one of the most famous DJs in our country.   Not only does he play great music; he entertains phone-in questions with down to earth, often hilarious but very practical solutions. Today many people are confused and burdened with much emotional baggage. They look for someone who will tell them what to do, give them ready help and just be willing to listen to their woes.   Many of them turn to Papa Jack or any other variant of psychological help available. After Jesus’ Resurrection, he told the disciples to wait for the great Divine Gift. Now, we celebrate this Gift of Jesus and of His Father, the Holy Spirit, who after Jesus’ ascension will accompany the disciples in their day-to-day earthly life. More than that, the Spirit actually dwells within our hearts, assuaging our fears a...

HAPPY FEAST DAY OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA

Prayers for Mothers O Loving Lord, You have created mothers in love and blessed them with children. As they work tirelessly to support their families may they be showered with your blessings. Give mothers strength to exercise compassion as they live each day under your care. May those who are joined in your love, support mothers by their fervour of spirit and devotion to prayer. Amen We thank you, O Lord, for the gift of Motherhood. May those blessed with children be granted the gifts of courage, perseverance and good health. May they face each new day with faith and hope in your abiding love. May all families find in the strength of your love The priceless gift of peace And so bear witness to your glory. Amen As Mary was the model of prayer, of love, and of obedience to the will of God, by your grace make mothers holy and rich with your gifts. Bind families together in the bonds of peace and safety so that mothers will feel nurture...

A STORY OF SUCCESS Last week I met a young man who is in college and who has another dream aside from finishing his studies.   He wants to become a professional basketball player.   He has always admired those who were given the chance to prove themselves on the hard court.   His one desire is to be like his idols. In today’s world, everybody is trekking the path that leads one to go up, to move higher, to follow an “upward mobility.” The usual dream of becoming rich, enjoying fame, obtaining honors and grabbing power are expressions of our desire to go up.   Even the pure desire to be close to God in a holy way of life is a valid and worthy ambition. Our country and our Church need people today who look up and strain to touch what vision they see ahead. We need progress. We need to move up! The gospel of today’s Solemn Feast of the Ascension supports this natural inclination to look up, to climb higher, to reach the top.   After ...

PROVING LOVE Kenny waved goodbye to his mother at the airport with promises of a bright future for his mother and his siblings.   But once working abroad, he spent all his money on a Japanese girlfriend he met there, and he went home penniless. Connie was tearful as she read the letter of her husband Ambo who works in the Middle East. He wrote about sending their children to college. But the letters, the calls and the texts became infrequent until he was heard of no more, after eloping with a married woman. Tony’s father, a tricycle driver, gave him all his savings to enroll in college in the big city.   While there, he went out with friends to bars, learned to gamble and failed all his subjects. Who of the three (Kenny, Ambo and Tony) really love family, children, or parents?   The answer is obviously, none! This Easter, we journey in an adventure of love.   The Lord Jesus reminds us repeatedly about love. Today he says to us: ...