News - January 2022 RSS Feed

This coming week’s daily Masses feature two special liturgical blessings that I urge you to avail yourselves of...

The call of Jeremiah and the ministry of Jesus in the Gospel offer us some glimpse into some of the challenges of a prophet. Jeremiah could be seen as a foreshadowing of the ‘Suffering servant’ of Isaiah, and a type for the Messiah. Although not a royal figure as the Davidic Messiah spoken about in Isaiah, we see in Jeremiah’s life a lot of similarities with the life of Jesus. Both Jeremiah and Jesus were called and anointed by God before they were born, to be a prophet to the nations...

Have you ever read or heard any passage of Sacred Scripture read to you that brought you to tears?  What happened afterwards? Have you ever heard a homily that spoke directly to you, calling you to make difficult life style changes not previously thought about? Do you come to Mass with the openness of heart, and the expectation to be transformed by the Good News that you hear? Or are your expectations to be intellectually stimulated and no more? What do you look for in a homily?

Greetings my beloved parishioners, Hope your year is off to a good start. In the spirit of continued gratitude, I want to thank all of you who made my Christmas a memorable and graced one. Your participation at the Christmas liturgies, your prayers, words of support and encouragement, baked goodies, cards and gifts are deeply, deeply appreciated. Be assured of my prayers for you and your families. A priest never forgets his benefactors...

Do you remember your birth date? Have you ever forgotten your birthday? Do you celebrate your birthday? How? Are you baptized? Do you remember your baptism date? Do you ever celebrate your baptism day? If so, how? If not, why? The above questions come to mind as we celebrate today the Baptism of the Lord. This feast marks the end of the Christmas Season, and we return to Ordinary Time in the Church’s Liturgical Calendar. The Baptism of the Lord marks the end of Jesus’ early and hidden life and the beginning of his public ministry. Jesus’ baptism is unlike our baptisms, because he had no need of baptism since he is God, and without sin. He was not made clean by the waters of the Jordan, instead, by going down into the waters he makes the waters of baptism holy and efficacious to remove sin. By his Incarnation, Jesus chose to take something of ours in order to give us something of his.

Merry Christmas! It is the Octave of Christmas and the Church celebrates today the Epiphany of the Lord. The word “Epiphany” comes from a Greek root, which could be rendered as ‘manifestation,’ ‘to reveal,’ ‘to unveil.’ It is the revelation of Jesus Christ as the light to the nations. When scripture speaks of nations, it refers to the whole world apart from the Jewish nation. This includes everyone else who is outside of the original promise made to Abraham and his descendants. That includes you and me...