The blind man with a miracle, division and belief: 4th Sunday of Lent

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

Last weekend we listened to the Samaritan Woman

·      She and Jesus Christ had a conversation

·      Jesus brought it deeper, and deeper and deeper

·      Here is something important…she called in a spiral belief

o   She called Jesus sir…sir…sir…prophet…Could he possibly be the Christ?

This weekend we listened to the blind from birth

·      Jesus gave him sight

·      He called him a prophet

·      "If he is a sinner, I do not know.  One thing I do know is that I was blind and now.”

·      "Do you believe in the Son of Man?”  "Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?"

·      “"You have seen him, the one speaking with you is he."  He said, "I do believe, Lord," and he worshiped him.

Wow

Division

·      The Jews—this means the leaders of the Jewish religion

o   Not all Jews—Jesus was a Jew!  So was his disciples!

·      They tested his parents…they tested the man who was blind, then he could see

·      I love his line to these challenging people:

o   "This is what is so amazing, that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes.  We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.  It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind.  If this man were not from God,he would not be able to do anything."

·      The blind man could both physically and spiritually see!

o   The physically who could see was blinded in their spiritually lives

·      If you cannot see God, you cannot see God

Even Jesus’ disciples said

·      "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

·      "Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.”

·      “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Who are you in this experience?

·      Do you judge and gossip about another person?

·      Do you caricature parents of children?

·      Are you blind, not physically, but spiritually?

First reading:

·      “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance  but the LORD looks into the heart.”

Second reading:

·      “Brothers and sisters: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.”

Lent is a time to learn from Jesus Christ: our savior

·      Look to the light, not blindness!

Parish Bulletin Article: "Halftime of Lent": 3-26-17

            Here we are, the fourth Sunday of Lent—laetare—rejoice!

            I remind myself that this weekend is a spiritual “halftime” for Lent.  We have concluded three and a half weeks in and we have three weeks left.

            Take time to thank God for the ways you have offered your alms, prayers and fasting.  Rejoice!  I certainly thank God for many of these as we have as a family to offer gifts.  We have given physical food to the hungry in our community and money for the Operation Rice Bowl and the Missionary of Jesus with Fr. Melanio R. Viuya.  These are awesome to watch and participate for here and around the world. 

            We have prayed through our regular weekend and daily Masses as well as the rosary and Eucharistic Adoration.  We have also walked through the Stations of the Cross on Tuesday evenings.

            We have fasted through Ash Wednesday and not eating meat on Friday’s (unless you used the dispensation from Bishop Paul Sirba for St. Patrick).  Many have probably sacrificed another type of offerings also.

            At the same time, this is a good point to discern a good question: how am I doing during Lent?

            Like a coach at halftime, this is the point to consider how we can grow.  How can we tweak our goals?  How could we still add something?  How have we given away alms?  How have we prayed?  How have we fasted?  How can you focus in our spiritual life?  How can we try something new (especially Mass, confession and our 40 hours of adoration next weekend).

            Here are two quotes that I will be focusing for the last three weeks.  First, I remember a great line from a priest from seminary: “If you have not fallen against a goal during Lent, you probably didn’t challenge yourself enough.”  And second, I was inspired what Fr. Melanio told me last weekend: “We are all missionaries of Jesus”.

            Brothers and sisters, rejoice this weekend and also test your own life for Jesus Christ.  Follow Jesus to love our neighbor and feed the hungry!  Work hard in Lent as the next season will begin in three weeks and God will always give His providence to us and remind us how His son is our savior and redemption.

            God Bless!

How do you listen to God's voice?: Thursday, March 23rd, 2017

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

Psalm 95

·      Invitatory: first prayer for the Liturgy of Hours

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”

·      If you hear his voice through the readings in Mass

·      Reading the Bible

·      Through your spiritual life

·      Through the voice of other people that prick your soul through God

·      Focus on what he is showing you

If today you hear his voice move…act…follow our shepherd!

Homilies I love to listen to: Wednesday, March 22nd, 2017

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

I continue to listen a homily from Bishop Barron

·      As I try to be a disciple of Jesus Christ

·      A disciple is a student

·      I like to grow as a student—a disciple through Bishop Barron

·      Students here, please find a homilist—Bishop Barron, Fr. Mike Schmitz or me

Bishop Barron gave a homily about Moses and Jesus

·      Listen to what Moses said through our first reading

·      “Moses spoke to the people and said: "Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you…”

·      Moses was the closest man to physically see God

o   He was taught to teach the 10 commandments—and many other commandments

o   Worship

o   The tabernacle

o   Freedom from Egypt

o   Etc.

·      He was also only one of two called a friend (as well as Abraham)

·      "However, take care and be earnestly on your guard not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live, but teach them to your children and to your children's children."

The cool thing is that Jesus Christ—the God man show himself to us!

·      In Matthew today, we heard that, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.  I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.”

o   His biggest commandment?  Love God and love our neighbor

·      “But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."

So please, follow a great leader in our Catholic Church that God allows us to learn…and learn your friendship with Jesus Christ

How do we show compassion and forgiveness to our neighbor?: Tuesday, March 21st, 2017

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

Remember your mercies, O Lord.

Kindness, compassion, goodness, mercy

King decided to settle accounts

·      Servant with a lot of money!

·      One servant was given compassion

o   “Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan.”

·      And what did he do?

o   “He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, 'Pay back what you owe.'”

So as God gives us mercy…kindness…compassion…goodness…forgiveness…how do we do the same to our neighbors?

The Righteous and Patron St. Joseph: Monday, March 20th, 2017 (St. Joseph)

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

“Joseph…he was a righteous man…”

·      “…yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.”

·      His message from the angel

·      “When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.”

No written for his voice in the Bible

·      He protected Mary and Jesus

·      He taught his “adopted son” in his job

·      At some point he died

Patron of the Universal Church, unborn children, fathers, workers, travelers, immigrants, and a happy death

The Dead Sea vs. the Sea of Galilee: Monday, March 13th, 2017

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

Dead Sea

·      Shrinking and shrinking

·      Water comes in but does not leave

Sea of Galilee

·      Water comes in and leaves

·      Fresh

·      Life: fish, birds, grass, trees, etc.

Listen to Jesus words today:

·      "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.  "Stop judging and you will not be judged.  Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.  Forgive and you will be forgiven.  Give and gifts will be given to you…”

How do we give alms, prayers and fasting to show the spiritual lives around us?

Focused Readings in Mass during Lent: 2nd Sunday of Lent

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

1.)   Genesis: "Go forth…Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father's house to a land that I will show you.”

·      God called Abraham

o   He had a mission…a job…a vocation

·      Where are you called to go?

o   A parishioner right now is in a different country to serve their teeth!

o   Where are you now?  Where does God want you?

o   Teacher, doctor, sister, priest?

o   Go forth!

2.)   Matthew (Transfiguration): “Rise, and do not be afraid.”

·      Peter, James and John

o   Divine image

o   I imagine it was both cool, but terrifying

o   Angels are terrifying

o   God could be terrifying

·      Where ever we are called to go, God will be with us

·      Do not be afraid!

3.)   2 Timothy: “Bear your share of hardship…for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.”

·      Whatever happen to us, we will each have hardships

·      We are not perfect

·      Mind, body and soul are not perfect

·      Flu—fragile

·      Some can’t speak…some can’t see…some are dying

·      Hardships are normal…so where do we put this?

Finally, a reminder for these three areas to always remember a last passage:

·      “…but now made manifest through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus, who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”

Parish Bulletin Article: "Forgiven and 40 Hours": 3-12-17

Love your neighbor…

Feed the hungry…

As Lent is packed for different ways to grow with our Lord, here are a few more tidbits.

We will be using a four-week model to see both a video and have a conversation with each other.  We will gather on Wednesday mornings (March 15^th, 22^nd, 29^th and April 5^th) at 8:30am to check out “Forgiven: The Transforming Power of Confession”. 

Here is the goal through the Augustine Institute: “Forgiven explores the grace and healing offered in Confession and shows how this sacrament of mercy reveals the depth and bounty of God’s love.  By looking at God’s revelation of his mercy in Scripture and making a step-by-step examination of the Rite itself, Forgiven communicates God’s invitation to each one of us to come experience his indescribable love in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.”

If you are unable to gather our Wednesday mornings during Lent, please watch the Forgiven series through the free program FORMED.  Each of these clips take 30 minutes which is much quicker than television or sports during Lent.  This may offer you some powerful encouragement to grow or even come back to confession.

We are also finishing the last details for our 40 hours for Eucharistic Adoration weekend—March 31^st-April 2^nd.  Keep following the information through the bulletin.

Keep focusing your spiritual life during these 40 days of Lent!

God Bless!

Teaching Mass (Sections in order #1-#5) on Wednesday, March 8th

Listen to the Teaching Mass through the sections below.  I hope you enjoy it!

Section #1: Talk before Mass and the priest's clothes;
Section #2: Homily;
Section #3: Information and Intercessions;
Section #4: Preparation for the Altar (there is no recording for the Eucharistic part of Mass);
Section #5: Question and Answers

Forgiveness through Dynamic Catholic: Tuesday, March 7th, 2017

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

Dynamic Catholic parish champion program

“…forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

"If you forgive men their transgressions,

your heavenly Father will forgive you.

But if you do not forgive men,

neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”