SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Jn 2:1-12Dear Friends,John’s Gospel always is never in short supply of many new variations and unforeseen developments to its message. John is particularly strong in revealing the eternal in the mundane events in Jesus’ activities. Today’s text centers on Mary and Jesus’ intervention in a small crisis...
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A NEW STAGE FOR "PRAYING ALONE TOGETHER"

IntroductionI was the pastor of St. Rafael's parish in South Central Los Angeles for twenty years. (1994-2014) In my retreat in my tenth year, I had a special experience with the Interior Castle of Saint Teresa of Avila. For the next ten years, I continued the study and prayer as an expression of Carmelite...
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THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD

Lk 3:15-16, 21-22Dear Friends in Christ, we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. This feast concludes the season of Christmas in the Church Year. The secular message of Christmas is all finished with the special sales in the few days after the 25 th . The Church has a totally different schedule and a...
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THE FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY

Mt 2:1-12Dear Friends, The Gospel message of the feast is that all peoples are invited to the heavenly banquet. This beautiful manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles is peculiar to the Gospel of Matthew. His community was Jewish and they had become followers of Jesus. They struggled with their identity....
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FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY

Lk 2:41-52Dear Friends. It is important to cast off the plastic-statue image of Mary to discover her true beauty in the many trials in her life. She was not walking through life with a pre-arranged script. For her, as for us, life is a long, searching struggle passing through the confusion and brokenness...
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CHRISTMAS REFLECTION

Christmas means He has come to turn the darkness of our night of violence, war, poverty, destruction of our environment, hopelessness and ambiguity into a burning light of freedom, healing, hope and love. Christmas is about the Child that is born among us. It is the celebration of the most consequential...
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FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Lk 1:39-45Dear Friends, Advent looks at the coming of Christ in two ways. The first is in the completion of the redemptive reality in the Second Coming. The second is recalling the great coming in Christ’s birth. The season of Advent, like every season of the Church Year, invites us into the great mystery...
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THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Zephaniah 3:14-18…Philippians 4:47…Luke 3:10-18Dear Friends,The rose candle in the Advent wreath is a symbol of rejoicing expressed tin today’s readings. Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: Rejoice!” (Phil4:4) We are coming close to the coming of the Lord, the day of salvation....
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SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Lk 3:1-6Dear Friends, The Advent Season, connecting the end times and the coming of the Lord, addresses the Christian understanding of time. We call it Salvation History.Today’s Gospel heralds the Good News of Jesus coming at a specific time as Luke delineates the political and religious leaders of...
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FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Luke 21:25-28, 34-36Dear Friends, Advent is not primarily a time to prepare for Christmas. The first part of the holy season, up till December 16th, is about the final coming of the Lord, the end of the human venture in its present historical form. The final nine days seek to guide us in celebrating...
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CHRIST THE KING

Jn 18:33-37Dear Friends, Today’s readings on this last Sunday of the Church Year have a clear and powerful message. Besides the celebration of the Jesus beginning the reign of God, we also celebrate the invitation into divine life that Jesus offers so generously.In the Gospel of John, the story of Jesus...
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COMING HOME: THE GIFT OF CONTEMPLATION

Teresa has this powerful and relevant statement in this crisis of “moving on up” from the third dwelling places to the fourth dwelling places. Teresa describes it this way: “With humility present, this state (third dwelling places) is a most excellent one. If humility is lacking, we will remain here...
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THEN THEY WILL SEE THE SON OF MAN COMING IN THE CLOUDS

Thirty Third Sunday of Ordinary TimeMk 13:24-32Dear Friends, The apocalyptic language that Mark uses in today’s gospel passage lends itself to many interpretations. It is deeply rooted in the many visionary messages of the Old Testament. This language points to Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God....
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THE ILLUSION OF WEALTH MAKES US THINK WE ARE IN CONTROL

Thirty Second Sunday of Ordinary TimeMark 12:38-44Dear Friends, Today’s gospel places the self-promotion of the Scribes and the heroic generosity of the poor widow in disparity to each other. In the person of the widow, we are offered an example of true piety and faithfulness. On the other hand, we...
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THE CONTEMPLATIVE SWITCH

Teresa of Avila lays out a map for seeking God in her classic on the spiritual life, The Interior Castle. She describes seven stages or dwelling places. For most of us, the third dwelling places is most relevant to our search.The movement from the third dwelling places to the fourth dwelling places...
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