Parish Blog

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today, on the Second Sunday of Easter, we complete the octave of this liturgical season, one of the two octaves —together with Christmas— that remain in the liturgy renewed by the Vatican Council II. For eight days, we contemplate the same mystery and try to deepen our understanding of it in the light of the Holy Spirit.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today, “is the day the LORD has made!” This is the expression of Psalm 118:24 that we shall be singing throughout Easter time. That phrase is a celebration of our Christian faith. The Father has resurrected Jesus Christ, His beloved Son, in whom He delights, because He has loved us to the point of giving his life for all of us.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today we are invited to contemplate the kingship of Christ the Savior. Jesus is King, and at the end of the liturgical year we will celebrate Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Yes, He is King, but His kingdom is the “Kingdom of truth and life, the Kingdom of holiness and grace, the Kingdom of justice, love and peace” (from the Preface of the Solemnity of Christ the King). A surprising kingship! With our secular mindset, we are not accustomed to this type of king.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In the Gospel today we heard the story of Jesus giving new life to his friend who had died. It is a real and miraculous fact, and it shows us what Christ wants to do with each one of us. He wants to give us life, abundant life. He wants to give us a Life that triumphs over all forms of death within us: sin, hatred, egotism, lies, violence, and injustice. This is what it means to celebrate Easter: to conquer death within us so that we can share the Life of God in us more each day.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today, the Fourth Sunday of Lent — also called rose or “laetare” (rejoice) Sunday— the entire liturgy invites us to experience a deep joy, a great exultation, because Easter is getting nearer. Jesus was the cause of great joy for the man who had been blind from birth, and who received his eyesight from Him along with the gift of spiritual light.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Christ's encounter with the Samaritan woman is a model of what our Christian life should be. In her we see represented all those who wish to know Jesus. We also see the two sides of every path to conversion: on one hand there are man's desires: "give me something to drink;" and on the other hand, Jesus' proposal: "if you only knew the gift of God."

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

As Dr. lan Murphy elaborated so well at his parish mission last week, it starts with God's love. God created us out of love, redeemed us, and never stops pursuing us for an ever-closer relationship. Though we stray from Him, he never stops calling us back to Him.