On Tuesday, July 26th, we celebrate the Feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne. Joachim and Anne were the parents of Jesus’ mother, Mary. We don’t know many details about their lives because they are never mentioned in the New Testament. Everything we know about them comes down through tradition — the stories people told about them.

We believe that they were respected members of the Jewish community and that they wanted to become parents so much that Joachim went into the desert to fast and pray that God would hear their prayer. (Read more…)

On Saturday, July 16th, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Hermits lived on Mount Carmel near the Fountain of Elijah in northern Israel in the 12th century. They had a chapel dedicated to Our Lady. By the 13th century they became known as “Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.” They soon celebrated a special Mass and Office in honor of Mary. In 1726, it became a celebration of the universal Church under the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. (Read more…)

Today we celebrate the Fourth of July, Independence Day. On this day, we call to mind the birth of our nation. As Catholics, we are called to truly cherish in a very special way the many freedoms we enjoy in this country, freedoms not available to many people in other parts of the world. Our bishops have called on us to reaffirm our commitment to appreciate and guard our freedoms, especially our right to religious liberty.  (Read more…)

As we are starting summer, many of us will have an opportunity to take a break from school or work and make time for leisure activities. As we make plans for leisure activities and travel, I will strongly encourage all of us to keep our focus on God. The time for Mass and prayer should be included in our plans.

When attending Mass, especially during the summer months, I would ask all of us to exercise prudence and judgment in how we act and in what we wear. (Read more…)

Today we celebrate Father’s Day remembering fathers in a special way. As we know, Pope Francis has placed great emphasis and focus on fatherhood, reminding us that being a father is a great privilege and also a great responsibility. Many of our parishioners are fathers, and they are challenged to set a good example for their children as they grow in wisdom and knowledge.

In one of his weekly addresses, on Father’s Day, Pope Francis specifically addressed fathers, saying, “I ask that you have the grace to be very close to your children, letting them grow, but being by their side. (Read more…)

We might have thought that before God created the angels and before he created the people on this planet, He must have been alone out there somewhere.  But when God sent His Son to save us, we learned that God was never alone.  He was always a family, a sharing community of three – Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The three Persons in God are so united in love and submission to one another that the three act as one, always in perfect harmony.  (Read more…)