Posted on: February 4, 2022

World Day of the Sick - February 11

We will be celebrating World Day of the Sick on Friday, February 11.  I invite you to come to celebrate the Healing Mass at 10:00 am.  If you would like to receive the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, there will be a special seating area reserved for you in the church.

In order to help you to understand this sacrament, please read the following excerpt from “Anointing of the Sick – Joined to Christ, Witnesses of Hope and Healing” by the USCCB:

Anointing of the Sick is the sacrament that is received by those who are ill or suffering.  By the sacred anointing and the prayer of the priest, the whole Church commends those who are sick to Christ.  The sick person receives the Holy Spirit’s gifts of strength, faith, peace, and courage, and his or her suffering is united with the suffering of Christ for the building up of the Church (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], nos. 1520-23).

Through the Sacrament of Anointing on the Sick, the Church carries out Jesus’ mission of compassion and healing for the sick.  The one who is ill can also be a minister to others.  By uniting their suffering to Christ, those who are sick can be signs of faith and witnesses of Christ’s Resurrection to the entire community (Pope John Paul II, Christifideles Laici [The Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the church and in the World], no. 54).

Father Louis

 

Posted on: February 4, 2022

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

My Dear Sisters and Brothers,

What we hear in the Gospel this weekend is a story about Peter and his friends, fishermen, who had done their best.  They had worked all night but had caught nothing; all their time and effort had been for nothing.  They are now tired.

However, when the Lord is with them all things change.  We hear a beautiful conversation between Peter and the Lord: “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch” to which Peter replies “Lord, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing.  Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets”.

We recall what happened at the Wedding Feast at Cana after Mary said to the servants “Do whatever he tells you”.  Again in this story Peter puts his trust in the Lord by saying “We have worked all night long but have caught nothing.  Yet if you say so I will let down the nets”.

Fishing is a worthy calling.  However, Jesus sees that Peter is capable of other things.  He is the kind of man that Jesus wants to have helping him with his mission.  What qualities does Jesus see in Peter that makes him call Peter to share in his work?  Peter has the first and most essential one - faith in Jesus.  He also has humility.

It is very clear that the Gospel story is not so much a story about fishing, but about trust.  We should not forget that Jesus is a carpenter’s son.  He is not familiar with fishing.  However, he offers Peter a chance to put his trust in him for what Peter will do later in his entire life: fish for people. 

The Lord still calls people, and the need is just as great today.  And there still are those who respond.  Some people are called to dedicate themselves totally to the following of Christ, but not all Christians are called to follow Christ in this way.

By our own Baptism we are called to follow Christ.  But what does the following of Christ mean for us?  It means to be a Christian wherever we are and have great love in our actions.

What Jesus says to Peter he is saying to us:  go further and do your best in whatever responsibilities you have.  He invites us to put our trust in him and he will look after the rest.  We might hear his voice: “Do not be afraid, from now on you will be catching people”.  We all have a mission and the Lord is with us.  He challenges us but also helps us to fulfill our mission.

Simon teaches us a great lesson today: When we give everything up for Jesus, we find even more.  Indeed, we can see that the Lord always does something much more beautiful and much more challenging.  He invites Simon to leave everything behind and to follow him - he invites Simon to share his own life.

And as Simon and his friends leave everything behind and follow Jesus, they recognize that although they are leaving their boats, they have found Jesus.

My dear sisters and brothers, we may lose a sense of personal security, we may feel like we’re losing control, but it’s worth it.  When we leave everything and follow Jesus, we find so much more. Our hearts are set free, and Christ becomes the centre of our life.

To conclude, I would like to invite you to read what Pope Benedict XVI says in his homily on April 24th, 2005:

“If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great.  No!  Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide… Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation.  And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear people: Do not be afraid of Christ!  He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything.  When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return.  Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life.”

I wish you a blessed weekend and keep warm when the weather is cold on these days.

Fr. Louis Nguyen

Posted on: January 20, 2022

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

My Dear Sisters and Brothers,

What we hear this weekend reminds us of the importance of the Word of God in our lives, and of those who help us to understand it.  It reminds us of one extremely effective way to pour God's grace into our hearts: daily Scripture reading. Ezra reads from the Scripture at the gathering in Jerusalem, and Jesus himself reads from the Scripture at the synagogue of Nazareth, his home town.  Therefore, I invite you all to review all the readings and to reflect deeply.

In the first reading, Ezra, a priest, reads the book of the law for hours to the Israelites and helps them to understand how to live it.  It is so important for God’s people to listen to His Word, to understand and live according to what He says to them.  If God’s people follow what he says, they may experience his Word, as we hear in the responsorial psalm, “Your words, Lord, are spirit and life” (Ps 19).

We cannot understand the Scriptures just as individuals.  The Word of God has a rich meaning and is full of power.  On the Lord’s Day, and daily as well, we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, but the first part of the Mass is celebrating The Word of God. We are helped in understanding the Word of God by our ordained ministers: Bishops, Priests, and Deacons.  These people have been trained and called to serve the Word.  They are always reminded to allow the Holy Spirit to speak through them.  The ambo is a very holy place, where we proclaim God’s Word to His people and share the message in the homily or reflection. 

What we hear in the Second Reading helps us to see the Church as one great body composed of many members with different functions, strengths, and weaknesses.  Note that the Church has certain members of the body that help all to understand the Word of God.

Indeed, as the Church, we are one body in Christ: through Baptism, we are incorporated into a mystical Body of Christ.  It was one Spirit that moved us to believe in Jesus and to seek the Holy Spirit, and that same Spirit sustains the unity of the Body.

We became a part of this Body after we not only heard the Word of God, bringing out the faith in our souls, but also as we put our love, faith, and trust in the Word, meaning Jesus, completely, through Baptism, which makes our lives Christian in a way that we never have to be alone.

In the Gospel Luke explains to Theophilus that he worked hard as he tried to bring together all information of Jesus that had been written in the Gospel.  He asks Theophilus to help him and offers him the final version to be painstakingly copied so that the manuscript can be handed down to other Ministers of the Word, so that everyone who reads or hears God’s Word will receive the great benefit of salvation.

Jesus has come to fulfill everything promised through the prophets, and to give meaning to the history of salvation lived until that moment.  Here we might say that without God’s Word, we would soon lose our identity and our way in a world overwhelmed by ignorance, confusion, and evil. 

The Scripture continues to ensure that we have access to the Word of God, spoken through all of salvation history, and remain united in the Word of God, Jesus Christ.  Therefore, just like Ezra, Paul, and Jesus himself, the Lord blesses us with people who conserve and interpret what God has said to us throughout salvation history.

We believe God speaks through the Scripture and the Holy Spirit helps us to understand him clearly.  You will be surprised how much the Spirit speaks to you even as you are trying to speak about him to others.

It is important for me to remind you that the Scripture is a unique writing, written by human authors but inspired by God himself.  It is God's love letter to each and every one of us.  It is a flowing fountain of wisdom, comfort, guidance, and strength.  If we take time to read, study, and reflect on it each day, our spiritual life will be filled with "spirit and life," as today's Psalm reminds us.

Therefore, I invite you all:  If you don’t have the Sunday Missal, please help yourself to one and read it, prepare yourself before coming here for the Eucharist; and if you have time, please come on Monday to join Bible Study together.

May God bless us all and may the Holy Spirit be upon us and make us be his messengers for His Word.

Have a blessed weekend and keep warm when the weather is very cold on these days.

 

Fr. Louis Nguyen

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