5th Sunday of Easter
by Fr. Jess Ty | 04/28/2024 | Weekly ReflectionDear Family of God,
This weekend we will be reminded by Jesus remain in Him and we can do nothing without Him, like a branch that withers when cut from the vine. So, how do we remain in Him?
How do we remain in Jesus? St. John has the answer: “Those who keep His Commandments remain in Him, and He in them, and the way we know that He remains in us is from the Spirit, He gave us.” To remain in Jesus is to keep His Commandments, “and His Commandments is this: we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as He commanded us.”
ContinueThe Courage To Lay Down Our Lives For Others
by Fr. Clement Attah | 04/21/2024 | Weekly ReflectionToday is called “Good Shepherd Sunday”. One of the remarkable qualities of a good shepherd is his willingness to lay down his life for his flock. Christ did that for us. He laid down His life for us on the cross. At every mass, He continues to lay down His life for us.
Continue3rd Sunday of Easter
by ©LPi — Father John Muir | 04/14/2024 | Weekly ReflectionWhen I was a kid, a friend at my home parish told me, “If you get to Mass by the Gospel reading, it counts!” As a lifelong late-arriver, it’s something I have told myself many times, especially in my earlier years as a Catholic. If the “it counts” is justifiable on a pathetically minimal scale of liturgical legalism, then the Gospel reading today shows how insanely wrong-headed it is, and how helpful it is to re-think the Mass in its light.
ContinueDivine Mercy: God’s Refusal To Leave Us In Our Fallen Condition
by Fr. Clement Attah | 04/07/2024 | Weekly ReflectionToday is Divine Mercy Sunday. It’s a day to revisit our idea about who God is. I believe there are some people who still imagine that God’s standard for holiness is very unreasonable. People who think God is more interested in finding faults in us than in seeing our efforts to love and please Him. People who think God enjoys it when people end up in hell. The truth is all these perceptions about God is very false. Until we rid ourselves of these ideas, we will never come to a place of true love and friendship with God.
ContinueHe is Risen! He is Risen, indeed!
by Fr. John Parks | 03/31/2024 | Weekly ReflectionUp, down, up, down, left, right, left, right A, B, A, B, select then start. When I was a kid, if you pressed those buttons at the beginning of a Nintendo game called, “Contra”—you would receive unlimited lives. Then, when I was playing the game, everything was different. Suddenly, I was not afraid to lose a life, because I knew I would receive another one.
ContinueProphecy Accurately Fulfilled
by Fr. Clement Attah, Parochial Vicar | 03/24/2024 | Weekly ReflectionThe story of Jesus saturates the metanarrative of the Bible, and prophecies of His first coming are found throughout the Old Testament. In His life, Christ fulfilled over 300 Old Testament prophecies. Palm Sunday, the event we celebrate today, is one of those. This reflection therefore will show how events in Old Testament predicts that when the Messiah appears, He will show up in a very dramatic way in Jerusalem.
ContinueWhat the World Needs
by Fr. John Parks | 03/17/2024 | Weekly ReflectionWhen I was a child, they would put missing children on the side of milk cartons. It was to bring awareness to the problem of missing children and to empower you if you saw one of them in public to call the authorities. Question—what would you put on the side of a milk carton today because you think it is “missing” from the world? It can be anything, even something abstract, like justice. For me, and I am following the lead of the last few popes of the 20th Century and into the 21st, the world needs above all “joyful missionary disciples.”
ContinueThe Hard Choices
by Fr. Clement, VC | 03/10/2024 | Weekly ReflectionWe are almost halfway through Lent. For some of us, the journey has been fruitful, yet for some others it has been a real challenge. The recognition that we often take two steps forward and one step backward can be discouraging. We are at the point where we are questioning our own sincerity. The fact is that we must repeat and renew our choices over and over again.
ContinueWhat is true freedom?
by Fr. John Parks | 03/03/2024 | Weekly ReflectionAs Americans, we tend to love freedom. Many of us hold dear our fundamental freedoms enshrined in the 1st Amendment—the right to free speech, to assemble, to freedom of religion, etc. But we often find today people on opposite sides of an issue invoking freedom as to why their position is correct. This begs the question—what is true freedom?
ContinueWe Surrender To Win
by Fr. Clement, VC | 02/25/2024 | Weekly ReflectionDear Family of God,
Experience has shown that most Christians desire so much to do God’s will but often find themselves resisting Him. Anyone who has been through this experience knows it can sometimes be overwhelming. The remedy to this conflict is Surrender. Lent is a good time to seek this grace.
ContinueLife as a Battle
by Fr. John Parks | 02/18/2024 | Weekly ReflectionTwo of the most influential works of Western Civilization are “The Odyssey” and “The Iliad” by the Greek writer Homer. They are illustrative of the two great metaphors for life: The Odyssey explores life “as a journey”, while the Iliad sees life “as a battle.” The revelation of the Christian faith makes plain the battle of our lives. It is a battle between good and evil, between God and Satan, between the Spirit and the Flesh.
ContinueSigns of the End Times?
by Fr. Clement, VC | 02/11/2024 | Weekly ReflectionDear Family of God,
In recent times, I have been asked by some well-meaning Catholics if the wars and persecution of Christians around the world is a sign of the end time? I found a good response to this concern in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 675-677.
ContinueJesus, the Exorcist?
by Fr. John Parks | 02/04/2024 | Weekly ReflectionIn the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark we encounter Jesus in a Capernaum’ synagogue casting out a demon (what the bible calls an “unclean spirit”) from a man. The demon recognizes Jesus immediately, both who he is, and the power that he has over him. That power is demonstrated when Jesus expels the fallen angel.
When we see Gospel stories like this one, we may be tempted to think that this sort of demonic influence no longer takes place in our modern scientific times. On the other hand, some people can become overly enamored with the devil and demonic activity. They can ascribe too much power to evil influence that can breed a fear and despair in those who believe it. What is the appropriate response to the demonic?
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