Episodes
17 hours ago
17 hours ago
Those who have grown up in the Catholic faith have always understood Jesus' Mother, Mary, to be our Blessed Mother. Today's Gospel depicts the moment Jesus proclaimed her the Mother of the Church.
As the Church's Mother, Mary is involved in our relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. She answered God the Father's call through her conversation with the angel Gabriel. She gave birth to and raised Jesus, His Son. She was present on the original Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Church's first leaders.
When she stood at the foot of the Cross, just moments before her Son died, He proclaimed her to be not just the Mother of His beloved disciple but the Mother of all His disciples, the Mother of the Church.
May we live out our faith as did our Blessed Mother. May we be guided by her example and rely on her intercession for us in heaven.
2 days ago
Homily for the Solemnity of Pentecost
2 days ago
2 days ago
In an article featured in the November/December 2014 issue of Maryknoll Magazine, Maryknoll Missionary Sr. Janet Hockman shares a heartwarming story about the Sunday prayer gatherings of the parishioners of St. Paul's in the village of Tinak, located in the small Pacific island of Arno Atoll. Despite the unavailability of a priest to conduct the Mass on some Sundays, the community's prayer leaders step up to prepare the day's services, seek readers, and lead everyone in singing hymns.
Impaired eyesight is a common problem on the island due to limited diets and intense sun glare. The simple church's lack of electrical lighting exacerbates the issue.
On a Sunday, a woman named Marguerite led the prayer service, while her husband Anjua was one of the readers. During the service, when Anjua stood up to read, he approached Marguerite to borrow her glasses. After he finished reading, his brother Airmail borrowed the glasses from Anjua to read next. Airmail later returned the glasses to Marguerite for the remainder of the service.
The pair of glasses, shared within the community, spoke powerfully of God's love as much as their prayers did.
Like that pair of glasses shared by a family and community, the Spirit of God is a lens through which we recognize God's love in the midst of our homes and hearths, our communities and villages.
The presence of the Spirit we celebrate today enables us to recognize what is good, right, ethical, true, and of lasting worth, guiding us on our journeys to God.
The Spirit of God calls upon us to acknowledge and appreciate our connection with God and with each other. It allows us to express our beliefs that we sometimes hesitate to put into words. It gives us the strength and elegance to pursue the dreams that we might be too doubtful or anxious to aspire toward.
May the Spirit of God, the creative breath of the Holy One, always dwell within our hearts, enlivening us with His love and filling us with hope. May this light illuminate the possibilities of bringing the promise of Jesus' Resurrection into our homes and hearts, like the first light of dawn dispelling the shadows of night.
3 days ago
3 days ago
In today's Gospel scene, we see three main characters: Jesus, Peter, and the Beloved Disciple. Peter had just received an important responsibility: "Feed my lambs and my sheep." But instead of asking what this new role might entail, Peter asks about the future of the Beloved Disciple: "Lord, what about him?"
Jesus seems to respond by saying, "I have other plans for him. You follow me, doing the work I have given you." Peter and the Beloved Disciple had different roles to play. Peter's ministry ended with his martyrdom in Rome during the first persecution under Emperor Nero, while the Beloved Disciple stayed in the East and seems to have died an older man, either in Ephesus or on the island of Patmos.
The Lord has a unique role for each of us, something that no one else can do. Rather than wondering, like Peter, what God wants from other people, we need to discern what task is given to us personally. Comparing ourselves with others is just a distraction; we can only be ourselves.
4 days ago
4 days ago
After Jesus was arrested, Peter denied Him three times. However, after the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to Peter and asked him three times, "Do you love me?" The question Jesus asked was not focused on Peter's past actions, but on his present love for Him.
Jesus asks us the same question, "Do you love me?" This question invites us to make Jesus the center of our affection and devotion. In the Gospel of John, Jesus said, "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you, remain in my love." This love relationship between us and the Lord is fundamental to our faith, and everything else we do in His name presupposes it.
Peter could not be entrusted with the responsibility of caring for the Lord's flock until he publicly declared his love for Him. Similarly, our personal relationship with the Lord comes before any work we might do in His name. Our life of faith, and our participation in the Lord's work of caring for His flock, is the result of our personal relationship of love with Him.
5 days ago
5 days ago
The Resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of Christianity. If Jesus truly rose from the dead, then we can believe in all that He said and did. However, if He did not, our faith would be in vain, as Saint Paul reminds us.
Following His Resurrection, Jesus did not appear to the Pharisees or the general public, but only to His Apostles and a few select followers. The only witnesses to the fact that His body was not in the tomb on the third day were the Apostles. Despite the grave danger they faced, these ordinary and fallible humans did not deny the Resurrection. Instead, they bravely offered their lives in martyrdom as a testament to their unwavering belief in what they witnessed.
At the Last Supper, Jesus prayed not only for His Apostles, but also for all those who would believe in Him through their word. Although the world may not have known Jesus, these chosen people did. He entrusted them with the mission of sharing that knowledge so that all who believe in Him could be united on earth and in the presence of God in heaven.
Jesus relied greatly on His Apostles, and now He relies on us. Our sharing of the faith is a continuation of what the Apostles took on after the death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus. May we be faithful to that mission, thus guiding others to the same.
6 days ago
6 days ago
Jesus has always been a guide and protector for His disciples. In today's Gospel, He continues to care for them through His intercessory prayer. This prayer is a natural extension of the many ways He has served them since they first began to follow Him. In the same way, when we pray for others, we show our care for them and serve them as Jesus did.
Jesus taught us the value of intercessory prayer by praying for His disciples. Since then, praying for others has been an integral part of the Church's prayer life. Paul also mentions prayers for his churches and asks his people to pray for him. This form of prayer has a long history in the Jewish tradition. Through the prayer of intercession, we express our unity and connection with others in Christ.
7 days ago
7 days ago
After Judas' betrayal, the Twelve Apostles were left with a significant void. The number twelve held immense importance, symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel and the heart of the new Israel, a people of God comprising both Jews and non-Jews. Matthias was chosen to restore the integrity of this sacred number, filling the vacancy left by Judas and reviving the full team of Apostles.
However, this was not a mere human decision. The original Twelve were chosen by Jesus, and now it was the Apostles' turn to select a replacement for Judas. They understood the gravity of their task, seeking someone who had witnessed the entirety of Jesus' public ministry. After nominating two suitable candidates, they turned to prayer, humbly asking the Lord to reveal His chosen one.
This is an exciting mixture of human judgment and submission to divine guidance. Those early disciples used their judgment and discernment but also realized that they needed to ask for insight from God.
We also need both in our lives. We must use our judgment and experience to determine what steps to take, and we must equally entrust ourselves to the Lord in prayer.
Monday May 13, 2024
Homily for Monday of the 7th Week of Easter
Monday May 13, 2024
Monday May 13, 2024
[1]Jesus invited the people of His time to repent and have faith in the Gospel. We need to renew our repentance and conversion throughout our lives. John the Baptist's baptism only offered repentance, while Jesus offered redemption and hope through His baptism. Saint Paul referred to John's baptism as a way of consecrating people with repentant dispositions. In contrast, Jesus' baptism offered the Holy Spirit and eternal life.
We should never forget that everything we have in this world is a gift from God. From our conception to our lives, our faith, even our death—these are God's gifts intended for our well-being. As we may tend to do, the Apostles believed their faith in Christ was generated from their own efforts. However, any faith in Jesus they had formed on their own was delicate, as was exhibited in the Garden of Gethsemane and by their absence on Calvary.
Christ has already overcome the world, but He is the only one who can do so. If we wish also to overcome the world and experience true life, our only sure way is through Him. He is not merely a guide or a teacher but the source of our strength and hope. Only through Him can we find redemption; only through Him can we find true life. Therefore, let us strive to deepen our relationship with Him, for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
[1] Based on a Homily by Bishop John A. Marshall, 1928-1994.
Sunday May 12, 2024
Homily for the 7th Sunday of Easter
Sunday May 12, 2024
Sunday May 12, 2024
Charles Dickens wrote a novel called "Great Expectations." It tells the story of a boy named Pip who comes from a poor, lower-class family in a small English town. He has no hope of leaving his surroundings, getting a good education, or becoming successful. He seems destined to a life of poverty.
One day, while playing in the hills outside his town, Pip met an escaped prisoner who desperately needed help. Pip went out of his way to assist him. Months later, a lawyer from London arrived at Pip's home. He informed Pip's family that an anonymous donor had arranged to send him to London to be raised in an upper-class home and given the finest education.
From that moment on, Pip's life changed significantly. He was rescued from poverty and given a life of hope and opportunity.
Years later, when Pip was a successful businessman living in a fine London home, a dirty, lower-class workingman knocked at his door. Pip treated him unkindly and tried to get rid of him. The man was the prisoner that Pip had befriended years before.
This same man was the anonymous donor who rescued Pip from his life of poverty and ignorance and made possible the life of wealth and education he enjoyed. The man had used all of his resources to ensure that Pip was educated and living well, and he was very proud of his accomplishments.
This story is a parable of Jesus and us. Sin had doomed us to a life of slavery and despair. We had no hope. We had nothing to look forward to.
But then came Jesus. He rescued us from that doomed life and gave us a life of freedom and spiritual opportunity. We owe everything we have, are, and enjoy today to Jesus, who bought it for us at the price of His own life.
Now, we find ourselves in Pip's situation. Just as he realized how much he owed the man at his door, we know how much we owe Jesus. And just as Pip suddenly faced an important decision, so do we: How will we use our new life of freedom and opportunity? How will we show gratitude for all that Jesus has done for us?
And this brings us to today's Gospel reading. Like Pip, each of Jesus' Apostles had to decide what they would do with their new life of freedom and opportunity and how to show their gratitude to Jesus.
Each one, except Judas, decided to commit to Jesus and his life to complete the work Jesus began. And so, Jesus prayed to His Father for them, asking Him to protect them and saying, "As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world."
Our presence here in this Church, celebrating the Eucharist today, says that, like the Apostles, we have decided to cast our lot with Jesus. We, too, have decided to commit our lives to completing the task that Jesus began.
And so, that same prayer that Jesus prayed for the Apostles almost 2,000 years ago, He prays for us. Just as He sent the Apostles into the world, He sends us to complete His task on earth.
Let us close with the words from today's second reading: "Beloved, if God has loved us so, we must have the same love for one another… He has given us His Spirit. We have seen for ourselves the love God has for us."
Saturday May 11, 2024
Homily for Saturday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time
Saturday May 11, 2024
Saturday May 11, 2024
In today's reading from Acts, we learn about how early Christians supported and helped each other in their faith. Paul strengthened local communities, while Apollos deepened his faith in Jesus with the help of a married couple, Priscilla and Aquila, who befriended him and provided him with further instruction. When Apollos decided to travel to Corinth, the Christians in Ephesus encouraged him to do so and sent a letter of recommendation ahead of him to the Church in Corinth.
When Apollos arrived in Corinth, his knowledge of the Scriptures proved invaluable to the believers there. The reading paints a beautiful picture of the Church at its best - believers helping, supporting, and encouraging each other in their faith and helping each other grow in the Lord. This is what the Church is called to be in every generation - a place where the Spirit of Christ is alive and active.
As we approach the Solemnity of Pentecost, let us pray for an increase of the gift of the Spirit among us, as Jesus says in today’s Gospel, “Ask, and you will receive, so that your joy will be complete.”