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In a world still fractured by walls of enmity and distracted by the urgent noise of the present hour, Christ our peace calls us to keep our lamps burning and our hearts ready. Today is Tuesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time. It is also the optional memorial of St. Paul of the Cross, the eighteenth-century Italian priest and founder of the Passionists, whose life was spent keeping the memory of the Cross alive as the true source of reconciliation and peace. The first reading from Ephesians 2:12-22 reminds us who we once were and who we have become. Once “far off,” strangers to the covenants and “without hope and without God in the world,” we have been brought near “by the blood of Christ.” He is our peace: in His flesh He broke down the dividing wall of hostility, abolished the enmity, and created “one new person” in place of the two, reconciling both to God in one body through the cross. We are no longer strangers but “fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of ...

“In a world of expanding barns, we are invited to become rich toward God.” Today is Monday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time. The Church also offers the optional memorial of Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, priests, and their companions, the North American Martyrs, or of Saint Paul of the Cross, priest and founder of the Passionists. The readings remain those of the weekday, yet the lives of these saints illuminate the Gospel’s call to radical detachment. The First Reading from Ephesians 2:1-10 proclaims the sheer gift of grace. Once we were dead in our transgressions, following the ruler of the power of the air and the desires of the flesh. But God, rich in mercy, made us alive together with Christ, raised us up, and seated us with him in the heavenly places. Salvation is by grace through faith, not by works, lest anyone boast. We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works prepared beforehand. The Responsorial Psalm answers with joyful recognitio...

Pastoral Exhortation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines to open the Year 2017 as the Year of Parishes, Communion of Communities BELOVED people of God: We welcome the year 2017 in our “novena-years” of preparation for the grateful celebration in 2021 of the five hundredth anniversary of the first coming and first receiving among our people of the Gospel of Christ Jesus and of His holy Church. That forthcoming 2021 celebration, recalling the first Mass and first baptisms in our shores, should be a new and joyous explosion in our lives of faith, hope and love throughout our country. Surely such will be our response to the free and gracious gift from the heavenly Father which made the year 1521, for us Christians first of all, a memorable and incredibly significant “new beginning” in our history. As we began this “novena” we raised a banner of hope and renewal for the Church in our land with the motto, “Live Christ, Share Christ!” That is the firm res...

I would like to share these tips from OSV Newsweekly  on how to make a good confession not only on this time of advent but for all seasons. Father Steve Schultz, parochial vicar of Our Lady of Angels Church in Woodbridge, Virginia, offers the following tips on going to confession: 1. Prayerfully prepare! It’s considerate to those who are waiting in line behind you, especially if they need to confess before Mass in order to receive. 2. Do this preparation with an examination of conscience. Many different kinds are available. There are ones based on the Ten Commandments; the Virtues; your particular vocation; for adults; for children; etc. Two general questions should lead to specifics: In what ways did I sin? In what way(s) did I fail to do the good I ought to have?  3. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you. Think about what you’ve made friends with that keeps you from a true friendship with God. We really do Greed? Pride? Selfishness? Being lukewarm? Lust? Fear...

It was been decided in one of the Vicariate meetings that a Harana Kay Maria be held in the vicariate level, the parish of Saint Martin is doing it every year. It was been  set last October 16, 2015 in the parish of  the Holy Rosary. The celebration of the Mass at 6 in the evening and will be followed by the presentation of each parish that will render two songs. This is to Honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of God, who had shown us how to follow her Son and Savior with an unconditional faith. ...