Three Sundays ago, the Knights of Columbus sold tickets for chicken dinner in support of Gibault Children's service. The response from parishioners was overwhelming. Many people paid more than the 12 dollars that was requested per dinner!
Last Sunday, I attended Mass with the Filipino community in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was the closest catholic parish, per Google. Eric, a fellow Ph.D. student at Notre Dame, and I took Bus 5. We alighted at the bus stop nearest the parish, walking the remaining distance to the small albeit beautiful church called Our Lady of Valor...
I like to think of myself as adventurous when it comes to food. Some of my friends can attest to the fact that I don’t have a favorite dish but enjoy any and every good food. Whereas some people might be comfortable eating only particular foods they like, I like to try out new things, even at the same restaurants. My philosophy in this matter is that the world has so much to offer, why limit myself to only a few options? [Click to read more]
Last Sunday was the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. The two Masses on Sunday ended with a brief procession with the Blessed Sacrament inside the Church. But for the rain, the original plan was a more elaborate procession around the neighborhood...
Last weekend, the universal church celebrated the Solemnity of Corpus Christi - The body and blood of Christ. This celebration marked the beginning of the parish phase of the three-year National Eucharistic Revival called for by the bishops of the United States. The bishops articulate the purpose of the Year of Parish Revival in this manner: to discern how we might “heal, form, convert, unify, and send” our parishioners through a “rekindled relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist.” [Click to read more]
We celebrate this weekend the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. We confess our faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. This faith has its foundation in the words of Christ, who said, “Take and eat; this is my body" (Matthew 26:26). We believe that Christ, who is God, can truly transform bread into his body because nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). [Click to read more]
In his general audience, Pope Francis encourages us to learn from St. Therese to be zealous apostolic missionaries who share the love of God with everyone we encounter. [Click to read more]
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not for adults alone. Children, too, are called to holiness and to participate in the mission of the Church. And for this purpose, they, too, have received the gifts of the Holy Spirit...
We celebrate this weekend the mystery of God, that God is one in three. Our faith teaches us that there is only one God, and there are three persons in God - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We confess that these three persons are separate and distinct individuals, but united and undivided in their substance. They are all God, co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial. What we speak of the one we must do the same of the other two. However, we must not confuse their identities or suppose that the one God appears in different modes. This would be the heresy of modalism - that is, that the one God who created the universe came in the form of Jesus and then after the ascension, came in the form of the Holy Spirit. No, the Catholic Church teaches that there are three distinct divine persons, but one God. The mystery of God is one that no one, no matter how intelligent, can completely grasp unless God reveals himself. [Click to read more]
We are a lovely and unique parish. We are arguably the most diverse parish in the diocese. We recognize diversity as a divine gift to be treasured. Therefore, celebrating our diversity is part of our mission. [Click to read more}
Christians commemorate the solemnity of Pentecost on the fiftieth day after Easter. Originally, Pentecost, Greek "Pentekoste," was one of the three major Jewish agricultural festivals marked by a pilgrimage of adult Jews to Jerusalem. It was celebrated fifty days after Passover. It was on this auspicious occasion, when Jerusalem was filled with pilgrims, that the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles, who were locked in the Upper Room, for fear of the Jews. They spoke of the marvels of God in different languages, and the people could understand them. This event was the turning point in the lives of a once timid and cowardly band of disciples, making them fearless and courageous preachers, ready to risk even death in defense of their faith in the risen Christ. These were the same disciples who fled on the night Jesus was captured, who denied knowing him, and watched from afar as he was tortured and led to his death. The coming of the Holy Spirit upon them confirmed their faith that Jesus was truly the Christ. [Click to read more]
According to Pope Francis, in his 2013 apostolic exhortation, Evangelium Vitae, in virtue of our baptism, all of us are missionary disciples. His emphasis is that no one is exempt from the mission of the Church. On the contrary, every Christian is called to be personally involved in evangelization...
We celebrate this weekend the Ascension of the Lord into heaven. This solemnity, commemorated on the fortieth day after Easter, marks the completion of Christ’s earthly existence. Our Lord Jesus, having accomplished his mission on earth returns to the Father. He does not do so in order that he might be distant from us. By ascending Christ is even more present to us...
On Saturday, May 6, 2023, seven young parishioners received Holy Communion for the first time. Their excitement was palpable. The joy of their families and friends who came to celebrate with them was boundless...
“The Good Shepherd takes care of the sheeps.” - A child of the Atrium, age 3. Our littlest parishioners have such a beautiful capacity for understanding on a deep level the goodness and care of God, The Good Shepherd, for each of them. They contain within them a natural capacity and desire for relationship with God.
I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for responding to my call to participate in the just concluded parish survey (Disciple Maker Index or DMI) which was open from February 22nd (Ash Wednesday) until March 31st. We received a total of 235 online responses (36% of our average Sunday Mass going parishioners) plus about 35 paper surveys completed. This is a huge progress compared to the outcome of the 2019 survey (total of 111 of both online and paper responses). [Click to read more]
The Lord is risen, Alleluia! This is the invitatory antiphon we pray daily in the Liturgy of the Hours during the Easter season. But what does the resurrection of the Lord mean for me as an individual or for us as parishioners of St. Thérèse, Little Flower parish? What does it mean for us as Christians today? At Mass during the Easter season, we read from the Acts of the Apostles... [Click to read more]
This Sunday the Church marks the beginning of the holiest of weeks, the week we call Holy. It is the week when we commemorate those events in the life of Our Lord that culminated in his death and resurrection for the salvation of the world. Jesus goes into Jerusalem, aware of the fate that awaits him. He does so in obedience to the will of the Father and for love of humanity. He goes to be handed over to the creatures of his own hands. He could have chosen a different way to save the world. But because he is God, and his choice is perfect, there is no better way than to lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13)... [Click to read more]
