Fifth Sunday of Easter

04-28-2024From Fr. Antony's DeskFr. Antony Arockiadoss

Dear Family!

One of the most powerful passages of Pope Francis recent apostolic exhortation on holiness was about this need to ‘remain in Jesus’: “So let me ask you: Are there moments when you place yourself quietly in the Lord’s presence, when you calmly spend time with him, when you bask in his gaze? Do you let his fire inflame your heart? Unless you let him warm you more and more with his love and tenderness, you will not catch fire. How will you then be able to set the hearts of others on fire by your words and witness?” (Gaudete et Exsultate §151)

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Fourth Sunday of Easter

04-21-2024From Fr. Antony's DeskFr. Antony Arockiadoss

Dear Family!

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is traditionally known as ‘The Good Shepherd Sunday’. All three years (A, B & C) we read from the same parable (John 10). The sacred writers of the Old Testament beautifully presented God as the Good Shepherd and the sacred writers of the New Testament presented Jesus as the Good Shepherd since they perfectly understood and believed that Jesus is the incarnation Word of God the Father, revealing to us His identity by what he does as the Good Shepherd. In the same way ‘the sheep’ or ‘the flock’ is the land and people of Israel in the Old Testament and ‘The Church’ in the New Testament.

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Third Sunday of Easter

04-14-2024From Fr. Antony's DeskFr. Antony Arockiadoss

Dear Family!

We are witnesses! This is the theme we reflect and pray about this third Sunday of Easter. Every age has seen its own witnessing spirit of Christians after the Resurrection of Jesus. The word ‘Martyr’ in Greek means one who bears witness (to Christ). We bear witness to Christ’s resurrection; we are also witness to Christ who by rising on the third day gave us the graces of repentance and forgiveness.

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Divine Mercy Sunday

04-07-2024From Fr. Antony's DeskFr. Antony Arockiadoss

Dear Family!

It is not a bad idea to wish each other ‘Happy Easter’ all through the season of Easter as Christ’s Resurrection is the foundation of our faith. It was wonderful seeing all of you during the Holy Week services and Easter celebrations. Thank you for making the effort to attend all church services, especially the Triduum, though they were long but very meaningful. A big thanks to all our volunteers in cleaning the church; our decorating teams with flowers and lights; our lectors and Eucharistic ministers, our choir, servers, counters, clergy and staff.

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Easter Sunday

03-28-2024From Fr. Antony's DeskFr. Antony Arockiadoss

Dear Family!

We are Easter People, who worship the Easter God, and Alleluia is our song. We have just been to a funeral and cried bitterly. The blood-filled cross and the occupied tomb though initially brought fear among the friends; they gave them hope that resurrection is imminent. I wish you all a very happy Easter! Dear friends who rarely come to church! We remember and pray for you today that you be strengthened by our community of the faithful. We struggle with you in faith that our opportunities to pray together may increase in the days to come! Let us build the church of Christ together…

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Palm Sunday

03-24-2024From Fr. Antony's DeskFr. Antony Arockiadoss

Dear Family!

As we begin Holy Week 2024, let us be reminded that we strive to be holy in both word and deed as holiness is overwhelmingly internal. We see Jesus marching into Jerusalem and people welcoming Jesus with palms in their hands as palms stand for victory. They want Jesus to win a war! Little did they know what he is waging the war against! We may be preoccupied with palms that we may forget the presence and importance of the donkey.

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Fifth Sunday of Lent

03-17-2024From Fr. Antony's DeskFr. Antony Arockiadoss

Dear Family!

We are just one week away from Holy Week. Jeremiah 31 has some of the prized treasures of scripture in the whole Bible. The establishment of the New Covenant is one of the pivotal moment in our history of salvation. The Torah (Old Covenant or Testament) was supposed to have found its way into the human heart, but sin took hold of our hearts.

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Fourth Sunday of Lent

03-10-2024From Fr. Antony's DeskFr. Antony Arockiadoss

Dear Family!

‘Laetare’ (Rejoice) Sunday (In Advent we have ‘Gaudete’) is a mid-point of reference to look back at our Lenten Journey and thank God for those moments of purification and enlightenment and ask God’s grace to give us more opportunities to see the Light of Christ in the remaining weeks of Lent. As there are two kinds of blind people - physically and spiritually, there are two kinds of people who can see!

It is interesting to note both Laetare and Gaudete come from Latin root which are principally used to express joy. "The difference between the two is that Laetare reflects a joy that is manifest outwardly whereas Gaudete reflects a way of rejoicing internally” (The Mouth Piece). The Rose color of ‘Gaudete’ is a softening of violet; it is violet approaching white. It anticipates the pure white of the Resurrection of Jesus.

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Third Sunday In Lent

03-03-2024From Fr. Antony's DeskFr. Antony Arockiadoss

Dear Family!

God’s laws are the outward expression of the covenant. Most human laws have limitations and loopholes. There are and will be different ways of interpreting those human laws contrary to its original intent. There have been and continue to be many attempts to turn and twist the original intent of God’s law that have been handed down to us. That is the reason Prophet Jeremiah longed for a better way to communicate God’s Law: “I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts.”

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Second Sunday in Lent

02-25-2024From Fr. Antony's DeskFr. Antony Arockiadoss

Dear Family!

As Year A, B and C in Lent reflected on ‘Temptations of Jesus’ on the 1st Sunday of Lent, Year A, B and C in Lent on the 2nd Sunday we reflect on the ‘Mystery of the Transfiguration of Jesus’. One of the focal points that caught my attention is the journey of the disciples. Peter, James and John were fishermen. They were used to the depth of the ocean, chillness of the water and softness of the sand. They were guided by Jesus to experience something so contrasting and different to an average fisherman. On their way up the mountain, they experienced the towering height of the mountain, the heat on the rocks and the hardness of stones and thorns.

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First Sunday of Lent

02-18-2024From Fr. Antony's DeskFr. Antony Arockiadoss

Dear Family!

Many see Lent as a ‘Service Check.’ Though this imagery is very fitting, it is not the total picture of Lent. Lent is not a temporary adjustment that we make for a period of 40 days; nor it is a hibernation period for ‘hypocrites and tax-collectors’. The season of Lent is called the ‘Season of Grace’ since the season of Lent brings in a sense of urgency and utmost importance to be near God.

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Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

02-11-2024From Fr. Antony's DeskFr. Antony Arockiadoss

Dear Family!

The general focus of the readings today is Love. Popularly we hear that love involves more than one person. Aristotle thought of love as a union, saying “Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” Annette Baier in her book ‘Unsafe Loves’ writes of love as not just an emotion people feel toward other people, but also a complex tying together of the emotions that two or a few more people have; it is a special form of emotional interdependence.

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5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

02-04-2024From Fr. Antony's DeskFr. Antony Arockiadoss

Dear Family!

As we continue to count our blessings, this week especially we reflect on the blessing of our children. We are one of the blessed parishes with a Catholic School as part of a parish ministry. And in fact, we are the only Catholic School in our county. In his special letter to parents and guardians our Bishop reminded us that “Catholic Schools Week is not just a week-long event; it is a reminder of the commitment we have made to provide a Catholic education that nurtures the mind, body, and spirit of our young learners.

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