The Season of Advent
“Be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come” (Mt 24:44). With these words, our Lord helps to prepare us for his coming. As we begin a new liturgical year today, the First Sunday of Advent, allow me to reflect on the season of Advent and the Gospel of Matthew (from which we will hear extensively during this liturgical year). We human beings cannot live without hope. Unlike the rest of the animals in this world, we are blessed with the ability to [...]
Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
On this, the last Sunday of the Church’s liturgical year, the Church calls us to reflect on the kingship of Jesus Christ. His kingship is anticipated in the anointing of David as the king of Israel. In today’s first reading at Mass from 2 Samuel, we hear the Lord God say to David, “You shall shepherd my people Israel.” And, in the Gospel passage from Luke, we hear the Jewish rulers, who have just succeeded in having Jesus crucified, taunt him with “If you are the King of the Jews, [...]
A SMALLER BUT MORE COMMITTED CHURCH
The Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan organization that conducts public opinion polls to inform the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world, recently released the results of its ongoing study on religion in our country. The results were not surprising and they are worthy of our reflection. The report tracks the numbers of Christians, Catholics and “nones”, that is, those who identify their religious identity as atheistic, agnostic or “nothing in particular”, over the past ten years here in the U.S.A. In 2009, 77% of [...]
Welcome Youngjin Joo
I’m sure many of you have noticed that we’ve had a new piano and organ accompanist at the 8:00 and 9:30am Masses over the summer. Youngjin Joo, who has played the piano since she was eight years old and holds a Master’s Degree in Organ Performance, has graced us with her excellent musical accompaniment on both the organ and piano. After an extensive search over the summer and auditions with several candidates, we have engaged Youngjin as our new Sunday Accompanist and Adult Choir Director. I want to take this [...]
Annual Appeal
“Our seminary is not closing!” This was the opening statement that Bishop Timothy Senior, the rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, made as he addressed the priests of our archdiocese at a recent clergy conference. I want you to hear this statement because I’m afraid that there are those who think the seminary is, indeed, closing. There are currently 165 seminarians from 15 (arch)dioceses and five religious communities at our seminary preparing for the priesthood; 75 of them are preparing to become priests for our archdiocese. So, it’s clear that [...]
Stewardship Weekend
“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” (Mt. 22: 21). When some of the religious leaders try to trap Jesus with a question about whether or not to pay the Roman taxes, Jesus reminds his listeners that everything belongs to God; after all, he is the creator of the universe and gives us all that we have. We read in the Bible that, after God had created the heavens and the earth, he planted a garden and placed man there to tend it [...]