The Two Sons After Jesus drove out the money changers and those who were selling and buying in the temple area (cf. Matthew 21:12-13), the chief priests and elders of the temple challenged His authority for doing so. Jesus then directed the parable of the two sons to them: A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ He said in reply, ‘I will not,’ but afterwards he…
Our church GARAGE SALE will be on Saturday, October 7 from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Please check if you have clothes, household and gift items in good condition to donate. Thank you for your support! Attention parents and youth! We will hold a Youth Retreat on November 4 from 10:00am to 2:00pm in our church. Participant ages are middle school and high school. A certified youth minister will be leading the retreat. We will also have a fun event…
The Workers in the Vineyard The parable of the workers in the vineyard has been interpreted in many ways. However, the meaning of the parable can become quite clear after we figure out who is represented by what:• The owner represents God.• The workers represent those who are called to follow Jesus Christ.• The vineyard represents the world.• The work in the vineyard represents following Jesus Christ by LOVING GOD AND NEIGHBOR.• The daily wage represents the kingdom of heaven.…
October 4 is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. Our church community will celebrate the memorial of St. Francis with a Mass at noon. In addition, there will be a Blessing of Pets on Sunday, October 8 after the 10:30am Chinese Mass. You may bring your pets to church for this special blessing.
To forgive or not to forgive The servant in the parable (Matthew 18:21-35) begged for forgiveness and his master forgave his large debt. However, when a fellow servant begged for forgiveness for a much smaller debt, he was ruthless and he had the fellow servant thrown in prison until the debt was repaid. The master called him a wicked servant because despite being granted a huge favor, he showed no pity towards others. As a result, he was handed over…
Fraternal correction In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus teaches His disciples how they are to deal with a fellow disciple who sins and yet remains within the community. First, the correction should be done in private; if this doesn’t work, then correction should be done in the presence of two or three witnesses; if this fails, then the matter is to be brought before the Church. If the sinner still refuses to be corrected, then he is to be expelled from the…
Life and Death In Matthew 16, Jesus began to talk to His disciples about the Sacrifice that He was about to make in Jerusalem – a sacrifice that involved great suffering and death. But Peter rebuked Jesus and said, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” Jesus said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” (Matthew 16:22-23) For some…
Fraternal correction Scripture Passage (Matthew 18:15-18) If your brother sins [against you], go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the…
Keys of the Kingdom After Peter confessed that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the…
Faith and Grace The story of the Canaanite woman in the Gospel of Matthew is not a favorite of many because in it, Jesus makes an unmistakable reference to the Canaanite woman as a dog. Some commentaries soften it by saying that Jesus was just teasing her, or perhaps Jesus did not use the term “dog” but another term for “cute puppy”, because cute puppies beg so persistently from their masters. However, in Jesus’ time, the terms “dog” and “swine”…