Easter 2021

Fr. Jude Botelho:

The first reading from the Acts, is part of an early sermon of St. Peter on the feast of Pentecost, his very first after the resurrection. He tells us how he is a witness of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Without the resurrection Jesus' life and ours would be a total failure,

Easter Vigil: Liturgical Prayers

PART I: SERVICE OF THE LIGHT

Introduction by the Celebrant

When there was sin, the world was in the grip of darkness. We celebrate tonight how Jesus came in that darkness to bring us the light of God's love by his death and resurrection. Now a new era could begin for the world and for all of us. This is why we light the fire, for Jesus came to light in us the fire of his love and hope. Let its flames leap up high in us and make us fervent. We kindle the light and profess that Jesus Christ is our light and the light of the world. We follow him and ask him to make us lights on the path of others. What a joy for us!

Good Friday - He took Our Place

Betrayal: Fr. Roger Swenson 

The betrayals of so many people ended in a tragedy of cosmic proportions. Let us pay particular attention to all those seemingly insignificant decisions made by the supporting actors in this melancholy drama. It won't be difficult to see ourselves in this play; each of us commits the same little murders every day.  

Holy Week, Wednesday, March 31

 Holy Week, Wednesday, March 31

Isaiah 50:4-9 / Matthew 26:14-25 

Jesus speaks about his betrayer; Judas said, "Surely it is not I?" 

Judas was able to conceal his plan from the other disciples, but he wasn't able to conceal it from Jesus. And this allows us to see how Jesus deals with sinners. One of the greatest mysteries of life is the tremendous respect God has for the free will of people.

Tuesday of Holy Week, March 30

Tuesday of Holy Week, March 30

Isaiah 49:1-6 / John 13:21-33, 36-38

Jesus talks about betrayal; The disciples were amazed at Jesus' words. 

The surprising thing about Judas' plan to betray Jesus is that the other disciples had no idea of it. How could they have lived so close to Judas and been so blind to what was going on in his mind? There are two lessons here. First, our external words and actions may deceive others, but they will never deceive God.

Monday of Holy Week, March 29

 Monday of Holy Week, March 29

Isaiah 42:1-7 / John 12:1-11  

Judas criticizes Mary; "Why was this oil not sold?"

William Barclay says of Judas' reaction to Mary's anointing of the feet of Jesus: "Judas had just seen an action of surpassing loveliness; and he called it extravagant waste. He was an embittered man who took an embittered view of things." Judas' reaction illustrates an important fact: "We see things not as they are, but as we are." H. M. Tomlinson

Weekday homilies for the Holy Week:

 Weekday homilies for the Holy Week: 

March 29 Monday: Jn 12:1-11: 1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 There they made him a supper; Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”

Lent 5th Week - March 22-27

Mar 22nd, Monday: John 8: 1-11: 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple; all the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?”

5th Week of Lent, Saturday, March 27

 5th Week of Lent, Saturday, March 27

Ezekiel 37:21-28 / John 11:45-56

 

Jesus does remarkable things: Many people put their trust in him.

There's a scene in My Fair Lady in which Eliza Doolittle grows weary of Freddy's daily letters, telling her how much he loves her. In a burst of frustration, she begins to sing the song "Show Me." In the song she says she's sick of words. She's sick of all this talk of stars "burning above." "If there's really any love burning in your heart, show me." (adapted) Jesus had done everything he could do to show the Jews his love for them. Some Jews eventually saw it and "began to believe in him"; many others did not.

5th Week of Lent, Friday, March 26

 5th Week of Lent, Friday, March 26

Jeremiah 20:10-13 / John 10:31-42 

The Jews rebuke Jesus; "You, a man, are making yourself God.” 

One night the Philadelphia Orchestra, under the baton of Leopold Stokowski, was performing a Beethoven overture. In it, a part for a trumpet is played offstage. When the time came for the offstage trumpet, there was no sound. Stokowski was furious. Again, the time came for the offstage trumpet. Again, there was only silence. After the overture ended, Stokowski stormed off the stage to find the trumpet player. There he was, his arms pinned to his side by a burly security guard who said, "This nut was trying to play his horn while your concert was going on out there." In a similar way, the people were frustrating God's plan by failing to recognize Jesus' role in it.

5th Week of Lent, Tuesday, March 23

Numbers 21:4-9 / John 8:21-30
Jesus warns the Pharisees; "Where I am going you cannot come. "

When Jesus said, "Where I am going you cannot come," the Pharisees wondered if he was planning to take his own life. Rabbis held that people who took their life went to the deepest part of the nether world. This shows how terribly the Pharisees had misread Jesus and how far from the truth they were. What Jesus actually meant was that he was returning to his Father in heaven. Spiritual blindness is a terrible sin. It implies a deliberate closing of one's eyes to the truth. This seems to have been the situation of the Pharisees. This is why Jesus told the Pharisees, "You will die in your sins."

5th Week of Lent, Monday, March 22

5th Week of Lent, Monday, March 22
Daniel 13:41-62 / John 8:12-20
People bring a sinner to Jesus; Jesus forgave the sinner.

 

These lines by an unknown poet strike a universal chord:  "How I wish that there was some wonderful place Called the Land of Beginning Again, Where all our mistakes and all our headaches . . .

Lent Sunday 5 B - The Seed must die ---and ----be Lifted Up

"When I am lifted up..."

Check the Sundays gone by: First the devil lifts him up in the desert, then the Father lifts him up at Mt. Tabor, then Jesus "lifts up" ordinary people - Jews and Gentiles - who came to the temple to worship at the Passover by chasing away those who made his Father's house into a den of thieves and then we had Moses lifting up the bronze serpent in the desert as a symbol of raising people from the snake bites. First one was to tempt (worldly gratification), second was to comfort (spiritual consolation in prayer), third to cleanse and liberate people (mission, ministries) and the fourth was healing and salvation.

4th Week of Lent, Saturday, Mar 20

 4th Week of Lent, Saturday, Mar 20

Jeremiah 11:18-20 / John 7:40-52

The crowds speak out about Jesus; Some believed; others did not. 

During his presidency Andrew Jackson offered a pardon to a man who had been completely rehabilitated after committing a serious crime.

SOLEMNITY OF ST. JOSEPH - March 19

Introduction

Today’s gospel calls Joseph “a just man.” It is a title that the scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments give to people who try to live according to God’s plans. Indeed, he played an important role in God’s plan of salvation; God entrusted our Savior, Jesus, to his care. He experienced that his important role brought him many difficulties, but he stood the test and served God well, as a man of faith, generous, and indeed “just.”     

4th Week of Lent, Wednesday, March 17

  4th Week of Lent, Wednesday, March 17

Isaiah 49:8-15 / John 5:17-30 

Jesus speaks to the people; "I seek not my will but God's." 

Hikers and mountain climbers sometimes experience incredible highs. A Swiss hiker describes such a high. It took place on the sixth day of a hike with a group of friends. All of a sudden, she had the feeling of being raised out of herself. She says: "I felt the presence of God…

Lent 4th Week: March 15-20:

 Lent 4^th Week: March 15-20: 

March 15 Monday: Jn 4:43-54: USCCB video reflections 

http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm 

https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/ 

Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/(L/21).

The context: According to John’s Gospel, after facing rejection by his hometown, Nazareth, Jesus went to Jerusalem in Judea for the Passover feast. From Jerusalem, Jesus returned to Galilee and to his headquarters, Capernaum, where people received him as a miracle-working preacher and

Lenten Penitential Service-1

 Lenten Penitential Service-1

 

Presider:

Grace and peace be with you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ who laid down his life for our sins.

           All:     Glory to him forever. Amen

Lent 4th Sunday B - Must be Lifted up

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First the devil takes him up the pinnacle of the temple to be tested. Then as if it were the angels take him up the mountain to be consoled. In Lent, we experience both desolation and consolation. From the wild beasts to the benign friends. Then the Lord goes into the temple to cleanse it. That's into each of us: the animals, the haggling and the scheming part of us.

STATIONS OF THE CROSS - 5: FOR VOCATIONS

STATIONS OF THE CROSS FOR VOCATIONS 

PREPARATORY PRAYER 

ALL: Gracious God, each of us is called to discipleship with Your Son Jesus through the sacrament of Baptism. We are sent to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus, to share the Good News of God’s saving love. Hear our prayer as we ponder the redemptive vocation of Jesus who continues to call men and women to walk in His way, renewing His Church and caring for His people. We give You thanks for the mystery of every vocation and we pray for all who have answered Your call. Send forth Your Holy Spirit upon the faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Your love, drawing many young men and women to dedicate themselves with an undivided heart to the love of Christ and His Kingdom. Amen.

The Stations of the Cross-4

  The Stations of the Cross-4

 1.      Beginning of the Station: We adore Thee O Christ and we praise Thee;

Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou has redeemed the world

2.      Ending: Our Father… or Hail Mary or Glory be ..

3.      Hymn

*****

3rd Week of Lent, Friday, March 12

3rd Week of Lent, Friday, March 12

Hosea 14:2-10 / Mark 12:28-34

Jesus talks about love; "Love your neighbor as yourself. " 

Author Ardis Whitman was having a hard time recovering from the death of her son. One night her college-aged granddaughter and her granddaughter's boyfriend took Ardis to a nightclub. When the orchestra struck up a memory-laden song, Ardis began to cry.

3rd Week of Lent, Tuesday, Mar 9

 3rd Week of Lent, Tuesday, Mar 9

Daniel 3:25, 34-43 / Matthew 18:21-35 

Jesus speaks about forgiveness; "Forgive seventy-seven times."

Tommy Pigage was drunk when he hit and killed Ted Morris of Kentucky. Ted was the only son of Mrs. Elizabeth Morris. The death of her only son left Elizabeth stunned and angry.

Lent 3rd Week: March 8-13:

 Lent 3^rd Week: March 8-13: 

March 8 Monday (St. John of God, Religious): Lk 4: 24-30: [23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, `Physician, heal yourself; what we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here also in your own country.'”] 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 ……30…USCCB video reflections: 

Stations of the Cross-3

 Stations of the Cross-3

 Before each station:

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.

Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. 

2nd Week of Lent, Friday, Mar 5

 2nd Week of Lent, Friday, Mar 5

Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28 / Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46 

Jesus teaches the people; "Hear another Parable.: 

This parable reveals three important points. First, it reveals God's patience. God gave the tenant farmers three chances, even in the face of violence. Second, it reveals Jesus' uniqueness. Jesus is not just another prophet, like the other prophets (slaves).

Lent 3 B Sunday: Temple Cleansing - God IS in Command

Lent 3rd Sunday B - Liturgical Prayers

Greeting

"The crucified Christ
is the power and the wisdom of God."
May he never be an obstacle or scandal to us.
The Lord Jesus be always with you. R/ And also with you.

2nd Week of Lent, Wednesday, Mar 3

 2nd Week of Lent, Wednesday, Mar 3

Jeremiah 18:18-20 / Matthew 20:17-28

Jesus talks about greatness; "The greatest is the one who serves"

Jesus turns the world's value system upside down. He measures a person's greatness very differently from the way the world does.

Lent 2nd Week: March 1-6:

March 1 Monday: Lk 6: 36-38: 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” USCCB video reflections:

 http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm ; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/

2nd Week of Lent, Tuesday, Mar 2

 2nd Week of Lent, Tuesday, Mar 2

Isaiah 1:10, 16-20 / Matthew 23:1-12

Jesus rebukes the Pharisees; "They widen their phylacteries. "

 Deuteronomy 6:4-6, 8 reads: "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!