From Pastor's Desk
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From Pastor's Desk
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Readings: Acts 2:1-11, Psalm 104 “Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.” 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13, John 20:19-23
My dear brothers and sisters, what we celebrate at Pentecost is the coming of the Advocate, the one who enables the apostles to be witnesses to Jesus’ claims in the world. Before the coming of the Spirit, the apostles were incapable of acting as witnesses; they were frightened men who were too confused and hurt to act as effective witnesses on behalf of Jesus. With the help of the Spirit they are graced with a new courage. The Spirit continues to be the Advocate, calling on generations of Christians to come forward as witnesses to the Good News. We read in 1 Peter 4:10 “As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace”. We are reminded to share our gifts with others in building the community of God. On this day of Pentecost, as a parish we the members of St Eugene Catholic Mission and Student Center are having a stewardship or ministry day. During which we request parishioners to sign up for various ministries in the church. Projects and grounds, choir, outreach, youth group, Catechists, grief support, altar servers, catholic student association, Ushers, Lectors, fundraising and events flower arrangement, men’s group, and marriage, Christmas decoration, our lady of Guadalupe celebration, help of the sick and those in need or any other ministry that a person is called to for the good of the community in fulfilling our mission. May the Lord bless as we pray the year’s catholic sharing appeal prayer. “Lord, hear our prayer as we seek to be good stewards of the many gifts you have bestowed on us. Give us wisdom to discern Your will for us, strength to meet the challenge, and the grace to be steadfast in our commitment to you. Let us use our time, talent, and treasure for your greater honor and glory. In Your name we pray. Amen Fr. Paschal Chester, svd Readings: Acts 4:32-35, Psalm118 “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting”, 1 John 5:1-6, John 20:19-31
My dear brothers and sisters, on this Second Sunday of Easter, the church celebrates the Sunday of Divine Mercy. The first reading and the gospel remind us of the importance of the community. We read in the first reading that “the community of believers was of one heart and mind and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common.” A community founded on these principles did not go unnoticed and they were accorded great respect. This community was built on Christ, the risen Lord. The author of Acts wants to teach us how an authentic Christian community, led by faith in the Risen Lord should live. In the gospel, the meeting of the Risen Lord is always on “the day of the Lord,” Sunday. The Lord begins his greetings with the words: “Peace be with you”. What gathering of disciples is John referring to? It was the weekly meetings held by all Christian communities, that Jesus shows himself alive to his disciples. Whoever is not there will not hear the words of the Risen Lord, nor receive his peace, sample his joy or receive his Spirit. We experience this presence in the Risen Lord in our community assemblies. Where Jesus waits for us every week. What about the behavior of Thomas? Did he go wrong? He believed because they saw the Lord. All Thomas wanted was to see him too. Thomas is the symbol of those difficulties to be encountered by others before they believe in the resurrection of Christ. Being in the community helps a lot in this discovery. In the community we find support. On this Sunday of the Divine Mercy, we are reminded to feel part of the community of the Risen Lord and to lead others in encountering the Risen Lord. We can do that by being messengers of mercy: words and actions. Forgiving one another, praying for one another and trusting in the Lord. Jesus, I trust in you. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Fr. Paschal Chester, svd Colossians 3:1-4, John 20:1-9
Jesus is Risen! Yes, he is truly risen! On Friday, we gather ed her e to celebrate the passion and death of our Lord. He died the violent death of a criminal outcast. He died with a question and with a scream “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” After they buried Jesus in the tomb, they rolled a stone to seal the entrance and then guards were put there. The gospel tells us that on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early in the morning and found it empty. She was still sad about what had happened, she was wondering who was going to roll the stone for her. Then she got there and the stone was rolled away. My dear brothers and sisters, today, Alleluia is our song. Because the question of Zeus on the cross “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”; is answered by the empty tomb. It is God’s answer to his Son’s suffering and death. The empty tomb is God’s stamp of approval on all that Jesus said and did: his proclamation of the Kingdom of God, his treatment of the poor, sinners and outcasts, his acts of compassion, healing, liberation, his understanding of forgiveness, his preaching, his intuitions, and his parables, they became validated, vindicated! Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:14 that “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is useless and your believing is useless too”. And in Romans 10:9, “if you admit with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”. So we have a reason to be happy. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to each one of you for journeying with us during the Lenten season and sharing in the resurrection of our Lord. Thank you for your continuous support to the St Eugene Catholic Mission and Students Center. May the resurrection of Christ permit every part of your life. May you and all your dear ones share in the joy of the risen Lord. Happy Easter!!! Fr. Paschal Chester, svd Readings: Mark 11:1-10, Isaiah 50:4-7, Psalm 22 “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”, Philippians 2:6-11, Mark 14:1 - 15:47 Dear brothers and sisters, May the grace and peace of the Lord be with you. May your heart sing with the joy and hope of the Lord as we enter the Holy week. This Sunday is Palm Sunday and our song is “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come! Hosanna in the highest!” St Andrew of Crete, in his sermon 9 on Palm Sunday says “Come, and as we make our way up to the Mount of Olives, let us go out to meet Christ, who is returning today from Bethany, and of his own will makes haste towards his most venerable and revered passion, whereby he will bring to fulfillment the mystery of the salvation of mankind.” This week, we recall the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and we hear again the story of the passion. But why should we remember the passion of Jesus? Why keep alive the memory of such anguish and pain? Aren’t we supposed to forget about the past pain and hurt, and let them disappear if they can? As Christians we are committed to be a people who remembers the passion of Jesus. Remembering it encourages us to take the decision that this should not happen again. There should be no innocent victims. That memory also serves to make us aware of the crosses that are in our midst. It encourages us to pay attention to the suffering of others. But above all it reminds us of what God has done for us. As we enter into this Holy Week, I would like to encourage you to take advantage of the opportunities the Lord has gifted us. Receive most devout Our Blessed Lord in the Holy Communion on the great days of the week, Holy Thursday and Good Friday, and surely on Easter Sunday, that your peace and joy may be as full as possible. I wish to thank you sincerely for your kindness and generosity at this time. Have a blissful Holy Week. Fr. Paschal Chester, svd Sunday, March 21th, 2021 – Fifth Sunday of Lent - Cycle B
Readings: Jeremiah 31:31-34, Psalm 51“Create a clean heart in me, O God”, Hebrews 5:7-9, John 12:20-33 May the peace and love of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. I wish to thank each one of you for your dedication and love to our parish. With your support and labor, we were able to put in the church the new carpet. May the almighty bless and replenish your zeal and generosity a thousand-fold. Friday March 19thwas a special day as we celebrated the feast of St. Joseph in the Year of St. Joseph. The Church grants plenary indulgence for the year of St Joseph. So that during this period, the faithful have the opportunity to commit themselves “with prayer and good works, to obtain, with the help of St. Joseph, head of the heavenly Family of Nazareth, comfort and relief from the serious human and social tribulations that besiege the contemporary world to-day.” The plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the Pope’s intentions). The Plenary indulgence is granted to those who will meditate for at least 30 minutes on the Lord’s Prayer, or take part in a Spiritual Retreat of at least one day that includes a meditation on St. Joseph. Also, by those who, following St. Joseph’s example, will perform a spiritual or corporal work of mercy. The recitation of the Holy Rosary in families and among engaged couples is another way of obtaining indulgences. Those who entrust their daily activity to the protection of St. Joseph, and every faithful who invokes the intercession of St. Joseph so that those seeking work can find dignifying work can also obtain the plenary indulgence. The plenary indulgence is also granted to the faithful who will recite the Litany to St. Joseph or any other prayer to St. Joseph, for the persecuted Church ad intra and ad extra, and for the relief of all Christians suffering all forms of persecution. St. Joseph “encourages us to rediscover the value of silence, prudence and loyalty in carrying out our duties”. May he intercede for us. Amen Fr. Paschal Chester, svd Forth Sunday of Lent - Cycle B
Readings: 2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23, Ps 137 “Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you! ”, Ephesians2:4-10, John 3:14-21 My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we celebrate the fourth Sunday of Lent, which is traditionally called Laetare Sunday from the opening words of the Entrance Antiphon. “Rejoice with Jerusalem and beglad for her, all you who love her”. This Sunday speaks to us of joy, because as we journey to the Calvary with Jesus this Lent, we are reminded that the moment of our redemption is coming closer. Joy has a spiritual origin, arising from a heart that loves and feels itself loved by God. Today, rose-colored vestments are permitted in place of purple. In this way the church reminds us that joy is perfectly compatible with mortification and pain. It is sinlessness and not penance which is opposed to happiness. In today’s Gospel, a Pharisee talks to Jesus about God. Nicodemus went to Jesus under the cover of darkness. Through their encounter Jesus tells him and us that “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son”. God’ supreme gift was given out of love, not out of desire to humiliate or condemn the world. The Gospel expresses the hope that if we really believe God loved us we would surely emerge from our darkness. It the dark and it is difficult to see God; it is difficult to think about him. Perhaps we would come into the light more readilyif we believe that the light we are entering is not the light of condemnation. As we celebrate the love of God in the sacred liturgy let our hearts be filled with joy. The joy that no one or nothing can take from us. Amen. Fr. Paschal Chester, svd Readings: Exodus 20: 1-17, Psalm 19 “Lord, you have the words of everlasting life ”, 1Corintios 1: 22-25, John 2: 13-35
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we just had our parish Lenten retreat with the theme “The year of St Joseph: aninvitation to the desert.” I believe that those who were able to participate found it uplifting and very resourceful as Idid. I wish to express our sincere gratitude to our retreat directors: Fr Justin Arockiasamy, SVD (English retreat), and Mr. Jose de Jesus Garcia Padilla and Mrs. Norma Velez de Garcia (Spanish retreat). On March 19, the church celebrates the feast of St Joseph. Pope Francis with his apostolic letter “Patris corde” (With a Father’s Heart), recalls the 150thanniversary of the decla-ration of St Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. To mark that, he proclaimed a “Year of St Joseph” from December 8, 2020 to December 8, 2021. The Holy father wrote “Patris corde” against the backdrop of Covid-19 pandemic, which, he says, has helped us see more clearly the importance of “ordinary” people who, though far from the limelight, exercise patience and offer hope every day. In this, they resemble Saint Joseph, ‘the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence,”who nonetheless played “an incomparable role in the history of salvation.”He describes St Joseph as a beloved, tender, obedient father. He welcomed the will of God by accepting Mary uncon-ditionally. He is a creatively courageous father, example of love: he was able to turn problem into a possibility by rusting in divine providence. St Joseph is a father who teaches the value, dignity and joy of work. He is a father “in the shadows”, centered on Mary and Jesus. In his letter, Pope Francis notes how, “Every day, for over forty years, following Lauds [Morning Prayer]” he has“recited a prayer to Saint Joseph taken from a nineteenth-century French prayer book of the Congregation of the Sisters of Jesus and Mary.” This prayer, he says, expresses devotion and trust, and even poses a certain challenge to Saint Joseph,” on account of its closing words: “My beloved father, all my trust is in you. Let it not be said that I invoked youn vain, and since you can do everything with Jesus and Mary, show me that your goodness is as great as your power.” St Joseph, intercede for us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Fr. Paschal Chester, svd Second Sunday of Lent - Cycle B
Readings: Genesis 22: 1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18, Psalm 116 “I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living”, Romans 8: 31b-34, Mark 9: 2-10 My dear brother and sisters, February 28th marks, this year's last day of Black History Month but the call to live in solidarity, faith, hope and joy has not ended. The first stanza of the Black National Anthem goes “Lift every voice and sing. Till earth and heaven ring. Ring with the harmonies of Liberty. Let our rejoicing rise. High as the listening skies. Let it resound as loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us. Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us. Facing the rising sun of our new day began. Let us march on till victory is won”. Recalling our history inspires us to appreciate the present and fills us with renewed hope and zeal in building a better future. A life full of hope and love founded on the Word of God, which faith produces. Harriett Tubman said “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” It is faith that inspires our dream. This Sunday’s first reading recounts how Abraham was tested by God. He was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac to the Lord and Abraham agreed. He took the road to Moriah and upon arrival. The Lord provided the ram for the sacrifice. The Lord we serve is not pleased with human abuse. One lesson for us this day is the faithfulness of Abraham, who believed in God totally. He had left his land and country, had given up the security of his home and the protection that came from his family and tribe. He was sure that God would keep his promise and give him numerous descendants. But why should God ask him to sacrifice Isaac? Abraham might have had some questions, but he kept his faith in love and fidelity of his Lord. Such faith is worthy of imitation by us. God has promised us love, joy, serenity, peace. But disappointments occur, difficult and painful moments and we could have the impression that God has not kept his promises. The Lord keeps his promise. We are called to trust in him as “we lift every voice and sing till earth and heaven ring. Ring with the harmonious liberty. I wish you a happy last day of the Black History Month. Fr. Paschal Chester, svd February 21th, 2021 – First Sunday of Lent - Cycle B
Readings: Genesis 9: 8-15, Psalm 25 “Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant”, 1 Peter 3: 18-22, Mark 1: 12-15 My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are at the beginning of Lent, a time of penance and interior renewal to enable us to prepare for Easter. The Church’s liturgy unceasingly invites us to purify our souls and to begin again. It commemorates the forty days Jesus spent in the desert in preparation for his years of preaching, which culminated in the cross and in the triumph of Easter. Forty days of prayer and penance, and at the end of them the temptations of Christ, which this Sunday’s Gospel recalls. The whole episode is a mystery which humans cannot hope to understand: God is here submitting to temptation, letting the evil one have his way. A mystery indeed. But we can meditate upon it, asking our Lord to help us understand the teaching it contains. Jesus allowed this so as to give us an example of humility, and to teach us to overcome temptations that we are going to have to undergo in the course of our lives. Jesus wanted to teach us by his example that no one should consider himself exempt from any type of trail. The Lord allows temptation, and uses it providentially to purify you, to make you holy, to detach you more from the things of earth, to lead you where He is and by the route he wants you to take, so as to make you happy, so as to give you maturity, understanding and effectiveness in your apostolic work with souls, and to make you humble. “Blessed is the man who endures trial, says the Apostle St James, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which God promised to those who love him. I wish you a fruitful Lenten season. Fr. Paschal Chester, svd Sunday, February 14th, 2021
Readings: Leviticus 13: 1-2, 44-46, Psalm 32 “I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation”, Corinthians 10: 31-11:1, Mark 1: 40-45 My dear brothers and sisters, the Gospel of today’s mass present us with the healing of the leper. It must have been an extraordinary scene. He knelt before Jesus and said, “if you wish, you can make me clean”. Perhaps he had prepared a longer speech, explaining how he contracted the disease, or about how he has suffered, or about how he wish to be united with society. But in the end this simple blurted-out aspiration, filled with trust,with sincere sensitivity, was enough. “If you wish, you can make men clean”. These few words are in a fact a powerful prayer. Jesus took pity on him, and told him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” Our Lord always wants to heal us of our weaknesses and our sins. And there is no need for us to wait months or days for him to pass through our city or our town. Every day we can find the same Jesus of Nazareth who healed the leper. He is there in the nearest tabernacle, in the heart of a soul in grace, in the sacrament of penance. Jesus has taught us that the worst sickness is hypocrisy, the pride that leads us to conceal our sins. We have to be totally sincere with him. We have to tell the whole truth, and like the leper tell him, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” Let us remember that our very failings, weaknesses or illnesses can be the opportunity for us to approach Christ as the leper did. And from that moment on he would have been an unconditional disciple of his Lord. Do we go to confession, pray, attend mass with these dispositions of faith and trust? May the Lord bless us with his presence. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen Fr. Paschal Chester, svd |
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