Jesus Christ the True Vine One of the main themes during the Easter season is how the risen Christ interpreted to His disciples the things referred to Him in all the scriptures (Luke 24:27, 45); i.e., how everything written about Him in the Law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled (Luke 24:44). Not only were the Suffering, Death and Resurrection of Christ referred to in the Old Testament; but also the “I AM” statements made…
Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd In the Book of the prophet Ezekiel chapter 34, God tells Ezekiel to prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; i.e., the leaders of the people: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been pasturing themselves! You consumed milk, wore wool, and slaughtered fatlings, but the flock you did not pasture. You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick nor bind up the injured. You did not bring back the stray or seek…
The Amazing Sacrifice of Christ When the risen Christ appeared to His disciples in Jerusalem, He said to them: “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And He said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the…
The Divine Mercy of Christ We read in the Gospels that Jesus’ disciples were locked in a room for fear of the Jews (John 20:19). And why wouldn’t they be afraid? The Jews had put their Master to death, and in all likelihood, the Jews would do the same to them. However, in His Divine Mercy, the risen Christ appeared to the disciples who had deserted Him during his Passion and Death, and His first words to them were: “Peace…
An Easter Message of Hope The past year has been a difficult year for most people. Last year at Easter time, most churches were closed to the public and priests were offering private Masses. Life was seriously disrupted by a global pandemic, there was deep antagonism in society with a polarized election, natural disasters occurring in many places around the world, and a sharp increase in violence and hate crimes against innocent victims. And yet, despite all that has happened…
Passiontide Passiontide refers to the last two weeks of Lent; it begins on Passion Sunday until the Easter Vigil. Passion Sunday is the Sunday right before Palm Sunday in the Traditional Latin Mass calendar. During Passiontide, the practice of covering crosses and other sacred images in the church may be observed. Crosses are covered until the end of the celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday. Other sacred images remain covered until the beginning of the Easter Vigil. The…
Dear Parishioners, With the rise of hate crimes and incidents targeted against Asians in the past year, the Asian American communities have an additional heavy burden to carry, in addition to the pandemic. As a faith community, I enjoin all our parishioners to pray for the victims of hate, and in addition, for the protection of the innocent, the healing of the wounds of racial hatred, and an end to racial violence. If you have experienced or witnessed hate, and…
Jesus and Nicodemus In Chapter 3 of John’s Gospel, Nicodemus came to see Jesus under the cover of night. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin, but unlike other Pharisees, he knew and secretly admitted that Jesus came from God. Unlike many people, Nicodemus did not come to see Jesus to ask for a miracle; neither did he come to spy on Jesus either; rather, he came to talk with Jesus. There is something about Jesus which compelled…
Cleansing the Temple The cleansing of the Temple happened just around Passover – the feast of the Jews which was kept on the fourteenth day of Nisan, in commemoration of the Lord’s passing over the dwellings of the Israelites, as the Lord struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:29-30) We can just imagine how busy the Temple area must have been; according to the Jewish historian Josephus: no fewer than two hundred and fifty-six thousand five…
The Old Law Made Perfect Peter, James and John witnessed the Transfiguration of Jesus, where His face shone like the sun and His clothes became dazzling white as light. But that was not all. A voice from a bright cloud said: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him. (Mk 9:2-8; Mt 17:1-8; Lk 9:28-36)” The light emanating from Jesus and the voice coming from the cloud revealed the divine glory and beauty of Jesus Christ. The sequence of events…