Faith and Doubt In the midst of a strong wind while they were in a boat tossed about by the waves, the disciples were terrified when they saw someone walking on the sea; thinking that it was a ghost, they cried out in fear. Therefore, Jesus called out at once: “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Having heard the voice of Jesus, Peter called to Jesus, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you…
Transfiguration of the Heart The Transfiguration of the Lord is one of the significant events which happened to Jesus on earth. Other examples are His Birth, His Baptism, His Passion and Death, His Resurrection and Ascension. What is the significance of the Transfiguration? A bright cloud cast over Jesus and the three apostles, which indicated the presence of the LORD as it did in the Book of Exodus: A cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the…
Faith and Doubt Scripture Passage (Matthew 14:22-33) Then He [Jesus] made the disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night, he came…
Three Parables In the Parable of the Treasure (cf. Matthew 13:44), a person finds a treasure buried in a field and joyfully sells everything he has in order to buy the field. Similarly, in the Parable of the Pearl (cf. Matthew 13:45-46), a merchant searches and finds a pearl of great value, and he sells everything he has in order to buy it. In both parables, a person finds something so valuable that they give up everything they have in…
The Wheat and the Weeds The Parable of the Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43) can be seen as a metaphor on spiritual warfare that goes on in the world. The field represents the world, the man who sows the good seed represents the Son of Man and the enemy who sows the weed represents the devil. The good seed represents the children of the kingdom, while the weeds represent the children of the evil one. As the wheat grew, the weeds…
The universal Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Tuesday, August 15, 2023. Mass in Chinese will be at 12:00pm.
James the Greater & James the Less Six of the twelve Apostles have similar names: Simon, whom Jesus later named Peter, and Simon the zealot; Judas the son of James (Luke 6:16), who was also called Thaddeus (Matthew 10:3), and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus; James the son of Zebedee (aka James the Greater) and James the son of Alphaeus (aka James the Less). Among these six Apostles, people have the most difficulty telling apart the two James. Who was…
Celebrating the Assumption of Mary In 1950, Pope Pius XII proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in his apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus (God Ineffable or Indescribable). It was about time, for not only had canonized Saints written about it, the Christian faithful since the early Church had already been expressing that article of faith in their traditions, prayers, devotions, sacred images and liturgies. In his proclamation, Pope Pius XII tied in the dogma of the…
Sunday School for the children of our parish begins on August 27, 2023. Since last year, we have implemented a new curriculum in order to better adapt to the needs of our parish family. Our goal is not only to teach the faith, but also to encourage our children and their parents to practice the faith. Parents are welcome to sit-in our classes. Our Sunday School is supplemented by our online classes for children, teens and adults. Special classes are…
Fertile Soil In the Gospels, the Parable of the Sower is one of two parables which Jesus explained to His disciples (cf. Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23; Mark 4:1-9, 14-20 and Luke 8:4-8, 11-15). The other is the Parable of the Weeds (cf. Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43). With regards to the Parable of the Sower, one commentary explains that in Jesus’ time, people often sowed the seed first and then plowed the fields. As a result of this planting method, much of…