May 8, 2012 – Acts 14:23 – The Return to Antioch in Syria

Father Glenn McDonald talked about the journey of Paul and Barnabas in Antioch in planting seeds, i.e., spreading the good news. The reading highlights that it is through prayer and fasting that we can cultivate detachment from material wealth and entrust the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. When we die, we cannot take our wealth in another world but leave it on earth. We need to be generous and give others a share of our material possessions and use our gifts of talents to make our lives more meaningful and productive.  

May 7, 2012 – John 14:23-26 - The Promise of the Holy Spirit

In his homily, Fr. Michael Busch narrates his conversation with children about their opinion as to which part of the body is the most important. The children pointed out the lungs which helps in breathing, the heart which pumps blood to our body, and the brain which commands all the parts of the body on what to do. However, one child, who had an incident with a sick relative, explained that the most important part of the body is the tube that runs from our soul to an almighty power, which makes us courageous because of its connection to God. People have different fears like fear of losing job and family while others are fearless. Children have three categories of fear – fear of falling, fear of loud noise and fear of abandonment. Adults can deal with fear of falling and loud noise but not the fear of abandonment. People do not want to be overlooked, unappreciated, taken for granted, used or abused. Some people who have everything in life such as cars, houses, and good jobs are disconnected or blocked with their soul because they feel emptiness and think there is no reason for living. God will never forget us because we are His children. He sends us the Holy Spirit to counsel us in life, give us peace, and new direction for living. During fearful times, the Holy Spirit strengthens our faith to Jesus. The power of successful living is with God and the Holy Spirit, like the central nervous system, act as the connector and integrator of our soul. God gives us confidence to make good decision and help us lose the fear of abandonment. We need to find the tube, the Holy Spirit, which gives us the flow to God, who is the key to unlock our anxieties and fear.  

May 4, 2012 – John 14:1-6 – Jesus the Way to the Father

The readings this week points us to the early history in the bible when Paul and Barnabas went to Antioch to proclaim the goods new to the Gentiles. It was at Antioch (now Turkey) that the disciples were first called “Christians.” They received the words of God through the Holy Spirit with the knowledge and wisdom that Jesus is the Lord. However, Paul had disagreements with Mark so they went separate ways. The Holy Spirit continued to work with them and made them realized their differences in opinions. 

The focus of the liturgy is the words of Jesus as the way, the truth, the life and how the Holy Spirit works within us. The Holy Spirit helps us to grow our faith to stay with Jesus and experience the life that he can give through the sacraments. The gospel challenges us to grow in His way, to find the truth about God, and live the life He wants for us by showing love and respect for one another. As true disciples of Jesus, we should put love into practice and embrace others as brothers and sisters although we are people with different viewpoints. Father John Carten stressed that it does not matter whether we are liberal or conservative in opinions; what is important is the wide vision of how Jesus Christ is working in our lives.

April 26, 2012 – Feast of our Lady of Good Counsel

Today, we celebrate the Feast of our Lady of Good Counsel, the patroness of the Catholic Women's League of Canada (CWL) which was established in 1920. Fr. Brian McNally, the spiritual advisor of CWL in Kingston, talked in his homily about the message of the angel of the Lord to Deacon Philip – “Get up and go towards the south”. Father Brian’s own message is “Come and Go”, a rhythm he compared to Jesus’ words to his disciples “Come and follow me.”  In the bible reading, Philip was instructed by the spirit to proclaim the good news of Jesus. He preached an Ethiopian eunuch and baptized him with water. As Catholics, we are also inspired by the verse in the bible to get closer to Jesus and follow His footsteps. We are asked to gather in Christ and scatter His good news. We should attend the Holy Mass and experience His love so as to give joy to others. We can invite others who are lost in spirit to become Catholics and be baptized in our church.  

April 22, 2012 – John 6:18-21 – Jesus walks on the water

In the gospel of John, Father Robert Reed spoke about the clear message of Jesus: “Do not be afraid!”   It is the favorite expression in the bible. Jesus said these words oftentimes to his apostles, disciples and followers. It clearly indicates that no matter what happens, we will never be abandoned by God as long as we believe. God’s love is eternal.  If we live in fear, we live in anxiety, make mistakes, hate and kill people. We worry so much which makes us difficult to be a Christian. We are afraid of people and of being punished due to their bad power and authority. But things that frighten us do not come from God. Despite the storms of life which can result to fear, the risen Jesus is always present within us.  We should speak directly to God for strength and guidance.

However, not all fear is bad, there is a fear that’s healthy and good which is a sign of maturity of love. This is called the fear of God which is holy and the beginning of wisdom. According to Fr. Ron Rolheiser, holy fear is love’s fear, namely, the kind of fear that is inspired by love1/. It’s a fear based upon reverence and respect for person or a thing we love. We live in holy fear when we are anxious not to betray a trust or disrespect someone. We fear God as one fear someone in love, a gracious presence who desires mutually loving relationship, one of holy fear. We fear God because we are afraid of his punishment. We don’t want God to be mad at us so we must love Him superbly. God is love, so we love the Lord our God with our whole heart, with our whole soul and with our mind. 

1/ Fr. Ron Rolheiser, “ In Exile”, 15 April 2015, The Catholic Register

April 8, 2012 – Easter Sunday

We reminded ourselves during the Holy Week how Jesus was mocked, tortured and crucified for the salvation of mankind. Jesus died in silence and redeemed by God thru His resurrection which we celebrate every Easter.  We need to remember that each Easter God’s sacrifice gives us eternal life. It opens our eyes and makes us realize of the hope we have in Christ. We must relocate our old lives out of the worldliness of sins by means of repentance and into the spirit of new life with Christ. Our faith in Him brings real joy because we recognize that we are not alone and that Christ is always near, especially during times of great difficulty. Despite the pain and suffering in our world, victory will triumph over failure, good triumph over evil just like eternal life triumphed over the death of Jesus. May the promise of Easter fill your heart with peace and joy! Rejoice in the Lord's triumph!

April 2, 2012 – John 12: - Mary anoints Jesus

The gospel is about how Judas became jealous of Jesus when Mary anointed Him with perfume. In real life, we encounter people who got jealous of what we owned and have achieved. We see and hear people who receive praise and recognition at their place of work, in the church or in their family. This public acclamation can cause jealousy by those who did not receive it. They say good and bad things about others. They employ false witness against neighbors and fall into great sin. So what we need is repentance by asking God’s forgiveness. We should then fix our eyes on our blessings before us not on others. We should focus our attention on how we can attain our own crown of glory and success. Every human being has its own fame or achievement depending on how he/she manages or controls his own life. But we should always have Christ in our minds when we work towards the fulfillment of our dreams.

March 25, 2012 – Numbers 21:5-7 - The Bronze Serpent

In his homily today, Fr. Glenn McDonald talked on how the Israelites became impatient about their plight during the time of Moses. He said we can relate this story to our lives which is full of bumps and difficulties. What we need to do is to say “I accept” to whatever difficulties and trials we are facing. We should pray for the gift of acceptance if things didn’t work out well in our lives. We should present and offer to the Lord our problems and have the gift of faith to believe that God will help us find solutions to our present situations. 

During this Lent, let us examine ourselves how we became impatient, lose hope in our sordid lives and feel sorry for the sins we have committed against God. Life is not a bed of roses or near perfection but with thorns or sufferings. God has unlimited love for everybody and he will not deny anyone who seeks help and asks forgiveness from Him.