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 (Holy Name of God) as the Good Shepherd and in the sacred writers of the New Testament presented Jesus as the Good Shepherd since they perfectly understood and believed that Jesus is the incarnation of God the Father, revealing us His identity by what he does as the Good Shepherd. In the same way ‘the sheep’ or ‘the flock’ are the land and people of Israel in the Old Testament and ‘The Church’ in the New Testament.

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). This was the standard in which the witnessing spirit was lived out in the early church. Witnessing spirit ranges from inflicting pain on oneself to extreme measures of penance in the early church. The middle ages saw the ascent of the spiritual journey, the dark night of the soul, radical Religious Life in poverty, chastity, and obedience. What is the nature of today’s witnessing?

Dear Family!

Happy Divine Mercy Sunday to all of you! As I shared with you in my Easter Vigil homily encouraging new members of our parish family, the National Eucharistic Revival ministry has organized a seven-week reflection series every Thursday from Divine Mercy Sunday to Pentecost, April 13 to May 25.

Seven prominent Catholics are writing articles for the series: Archbishop Charles C. Thompson of Indianapolis; Sister Maria Miguel Wright of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist; biblical scholar and author Jeff Cavins; Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle; Canadian priest and author Father Harrison Ayre; Kately Javier, coordinator for Adult Formation and Hispanic catechesis for the Washington Archdiocese; and Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, who is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Dear Family!

I wish you all a wonderful, grace-filled Easter! As this is the most important day for the Church, let us be mindful of the essence of what we believe! “Because Easter Sunday is the commemoration of Christ’s Resurrection, this day is the greatest solemnity of the liturgical year” (CCC 1169).

Dear Family!

First of all, a word about Church’s instruction on veiling of statues and images - this is what the Roman Missal teaches us: “In the Dioceses of the United States, the practice of covering crosses and images throughout the church from [the fifth] Sunday [of Lent] may be observed. Crosses remain covered until the end of the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, but images remain covered until the beginning of the Easter Vigil.” The Church recommends this practice to ‘heighten our senses’ and build within us a longing for Easter Sunday. This tradition can further be practiced at home - you could also cover the statues and images that are at home!