My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
We celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord this Sunday. After spending 40 days with the disciples after Easter Sunday, our Lord ascended to heaven with the promise of sending his Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday. In today’s gospel, we hear Mark’s account of this crucial moment in which Jesus takes his place at the right hand of the Father.
Three things should catch our attention from Mark’s account. First, Jesus’ great commission, meaning the divine command to “go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” Second, Jesus’ teaching on the necessity of baptism for salvation: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” Third, the list of signs that will accompany those who believe: speak new languages, drive out demons, pick up serpents, drink poison without harm, and lay hands on the sick. These signs will be fulfilled in the Acts of the Apostles and are still fulfilled in our day.
Our mothers are probably the first disciples we ever met, the first ones that preach the gospel to us, the ones that brought us to the Sacrament Baptism so that we might experience the cleansing power of the Spirit.
So, Jesus went up to heaven and left us a clear mission to follow. We might ask ourselves: are people following these divine commands? I can say with certainty that many are doing it. People that are super close to us, are so close that sometimes we are not even aware of it. They are our mothers. Our mothers are probably the first disciples we ever met, the first ones that preach the gospel to us, the ones that brought us to the Sacrament Baptism so that we might experience the cleansing power of the Spirit. For this reason, on this Sunday in which we also celebrate and remember our mothers, I invite you to say to your moms wherever they are: “Thank you, Mom, for the gift of faith, for the gift of life.” I also invite you to give thanks to our Heavenly Mother, the Holy Virgin Mary by praying the rosary today in her honor for the gift of Our Savior Jesus Christ.
In the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Fr. Cesar Valencia P.E.S
Update - Registration has now closed for all summer camps.
VBS Scuba June 3-5, 2024 & VBS Wilderness Adventure June 3-7, 2024
Lumen Christi - June 9-14, 2024
...Little Catholics Lake Mitchell Bible Camp - July 29-31, 2024
...
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
I get to write the article this week since Fr. Cesar is in his annual retreat. A fun fact, I used to do this for a living. My last job before religious life was writing for a small magazine. As a small-time journalist, my best articles were written when I learned to love what I was writing about. For example, once I had to write an article about jazz. I knew almost nothing about it so I studied and listened to jazz music to understand and like the genre. As a result, I was pleased with my article and had a lot of fun writing it. Knowing and understanding are part of the process of love.
In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus talks about this process. First He says we have to keep His commandments to remain in His love. The basic level of discipleship is keeping the commandments of our faith, especially the Ten Commandments. Jesus is talking about the state of grace. When we directly, intentionally, and knowingly go against the Ten Commandments, we reject the love that God has for us. We stop abiding in the love of God. If I say I am a disciple of Christ but rob a bank, I contradict myself, become a cause for scandal, and my action deserves punishment in this life and the next. Keeping the Ten Commandments assures me that I am living a decent life but also helps me to understand what is good and what is evil.
It is good that we remain in His love by keeping the commandments but He encourages us to aim higher: friendship with Him.
Jesus says more. It is good that we remain in His love by keeping the commandments but He encourages us to aim higher: friendship with Him. To explain, Jesus uses the analogies of a slave (also translated as servant) and a friend. A servant obeys his boss but ultimately is not the boss’ friend. On the other hand, friends do not mind doing favors for each other and enjoy spending time together. Friends know each other well and love each other.
Obeying God’s commandments is good and assures us of living according to His love. Befriending God is even better. It means we love Him back. The Ten Commandments have a lot of “thou shall nots” because they are basic rules, boundaries that prevent us from falling away from God’s love. Befriending God means I go the extra mile because love always seeks to grow.
During the next weeks, I especially encourage you to know God by studying and praying with each of the Ten Commandments. Pray and study one commandment each day. You can find them in Deuteronomy 5:6-21 or at the beginning of section two of part three of the Catechism. After praying and studying each, have a resolution that has to do with that commandment. For example, after you pray about the fourth commandment, call your parents just to thank them for being there for you. When we know God’s commandments, we know God. When we know God, we love God and live to the full.
In Corde Iesu,
Fr. Yamato Icochea, P.E.S
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
I hope you are having a blessed Easter season. This Sunday, we enter into the 5th Sunday of Easter and are only three weeks away from Pentecost.
In today’s gospel, we hear Jesus using the image of the “Vine and the branches” to explain the relationship between the Father, Jesus, and his disciples. So, let’s pay attention to this analogy.
The vine represents Jesus, the vinedresser (gardener) represents God the Father and the branches are the disciples or followers of Jesus. Jesus tells us that there are two kinds of branches: fruitless ones and fruitful ones. When the branches do not produce fruit, they are cut off and thrown into the fire. But when the branches produce fruit, they are pruned so that they might bear more fruit. Knowing this then we need to ask ourselves two important questions: first, what do we need to do to be fruitful branches, and second, how does God prune us?
If we want to be fruitful branches, we need to “remain” in Christ. In other words, we need to live according to Jesus' words and to “remain” in His Church. The branches to be fruitful need the “sap” from the True Vine, that sap is the grace we receive through God’s word and his sacraments. So, every time we commit a grave sin, every time we reject Jesus’ teachings, we cut ourselves from the vine and render ourselves fruitless branches.
God’s pruning removes anything that is not necessary from our lives so that we might follow him more closely.
Now, how does God prune us? Jesus tells us that God does it through his word. The Word of God, if we put it into practice, takes away anything that is an obstacle for the divine sap of grace to make us fruitful. God’s pruning removes anything that is not necessary from our lives so that we might follow him more closely.
So, my dear family this week I invite you to examine what are the bad habits, sins, or customs that are not allowing you to abide in Jesus and stopping you from being the fruitful branch he wants you to be. I invite you to bring those into the Sacrament of Confession but also to pray in the quiet of your room or the Adoration Chapel and make a concrete plan to cut off from your life those sins.
In Christ, Fr. Cesar Valencia P.E.S
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
I hope you are enjoying this blessed season. We are now on the Fourth Sunday of Easter, also known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls himself the “Good Shepherd.” A good shepherd knows his sheep and what they need. This differs from a hireling who does not care about the sheep because they are not his own. A good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep, but a hireling abandons them at the first sight of danger. This is exactly what Jesus has done for us. He laid down his life for us, His sheep, to save us.
But the mission of Jesus did not end there. Even though He ascended into heaven, Jesus decided to continue His ministry of shepherding His people through His disciples, the first priests. We see this clearly in the first reading where Peter not only heals the cripple but also proclaims the Gospel to those that witness the miracle. Like the good shepherd, Peter shares in Jesus’ mission of saving souls. But again, this mission did not end with the death of the last apostle. Rather, it continues throughout generations because God keeps calling good men to become priests, to shepherd His flock. This is true even in our day and age.
Sometimes a lie enters into our mind that says, “God calls men to be priests, but not in our time, and not in our parish.” This is a lie. God still is calling men to be priests, to lay down their lives for the people of God. God is calling men in our parishes to be priests. Nevertheless, this call is hard to hear because we live in a day and age where becoming a priest is unthinkable. But our faith tells us that God is still alive, and still calling young men to be priests.
A survey of the recently ordained priests in the USA revealed that 90% of them considered the priesthood because someone else asked them.
One of the most important ways that men answer the call to be priests is through the encouragement of others. A survey of the recently ordained priests in the USA revealed that 90% of them considered the priesthood because someone else asked them. So, we can help promote vocations just by asking. So, this week, you are going to find handouts in the pews that describe the qualities of a good priest. Then, think who is a man in our parishes who has these qualities, and then write down his name. After that, hand that name in the collection basket as we would like to pray for these men and encourage them to discern the call to be a priest. Finally, I ask you to keep praying for the vocations that we need so that many young men will answer God’s call.
In Christ,
Fr. Cesar Valencia P.E.S