Statement from the Archbishop on the Death of Pope Francis.

A pious practice which has fallen out of use is the greeting among Christians, which we should all do all the time this time of year: “The Lord is Risen!” Our response to that is to say, “The Lord is truly Risen!”

Today we turn our hearts and minds once again to the suffering and death of Jesus Christ as we enter Passion Tide. That suffering won for all mankind the definitive victory over sin and hopelessness. But the question that keeps coming back to me year after year is this: God is all-powerful. He could have chosen to save us from sin in many other ways. Why did he choose to do it by suffering? What is the meaning of the Passion?

Many years ago, Pope Benedict wrote a very beautiful message for Lent. I want to bring back to you part of his special message for Lent as we enter the middle of this season.

Archbishop Sample's Pastoral Teaching on the Sanctity of Life

Message of the Holy Father Francis for Lent 2025.

Lent is just around the corner. Here are a few thoughts about Lent and fasting!

The great feasts of our faith are often linked to the annual cycle of the rise and fall of sunlight. The wonderful feast of Candlemas, which we celebrated last Sunday, is actually situated at the midpoint between the shortest day of the year and the spring equinox. With Candlemas behind us, we already we are headed towards longer daylight, more warmth and new growth.

In order to help you be prepared for the Feast of Candlemas on the 2nd of February, I offer you the most beautiful and profoundly moving homily on the meaning of the feast from Pope Benedict XVI of blessed memory.

The season of Christmastide flows beautifully into the season of Epiphany. Today the pagan world recognizes that this Child in the manger is not only fully human but is also the fully divine Son of God.

We are brought to the Temple at a point in time when the Lord Jesus was twelve years of age. In this episode, Mary and Joseph “lose Jesus” for a time. As the story of Jesus’ disappearance is narrated, we see in Luke’s Gospel how Mary and Joseph suffer a terrible experience for three days, much like the three days of Jesus in the tomb.

Deacon Pashley's Christmas homily.

In the mind of many, the Christian God has been defeated, if He was ever real. God has been vanquished for good by the tiny virus Covid. If God were what He was supposed to be, He would have done away with the pandemic right away and saved the world from these nasty bugs. The wars in the Ukraine and the Middle East are more recent concrete proofs of God’s glaring impotence. But one hundred and eleven years ago tonight, on Christmas Eve 1914, an incredible event took place on the Western Front in France during WWI.

John the Baptist is the prophet during Advent. John announces in today’s readings that the Messiah is coming, and a Home Coming is about to begin. This event concerns us, each one of us in the pews today!

Promises are wonderful...When you promise something to someone, you’re giving part of yourself. When someone you trust promises that they will come through for you, you don’t feel alone. Your friend is promising you their presence. The Bible is filled with God’s promises to us. What does God promise?

Paraphrased and adapted from a commencement speech at a college many years ago that is relevant to our feast of Christ the King: Because here’s something else that’s weird but true: in the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. Everybody adores something or someone. The question is: what do I worship? I get to make that choice: I get to decide which or whom I worship. But I cannot not worship. And the only compelling reason for me choosing to worship Jesus Christ is that He is the only true God and that pretty much anything else I worship will eat me alive.

Jesus is giving us a discourse on the Mount of Olives; in it He spoke about the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD and the Second Coming. During this season in which the leaves are falling, the weather is changing, winter is on the horizon, and we are apporaching the end of the year, the Church invites us to think about the end of our lives.

The story of the prophet Elijah and the widow in the First Book of Kings we heard last Sunday is truly a most wonderful gem among the Old Testament's. Often, this particular story is used to speak about trust in God. In fact, that is why it was chosen to be the story before the story in the Gospel. But deep down, there is another theme at work here we don’t think of often enough, because it seems too commonplace and lame: kindness.

The election results are in. I thank God for having given me the desire and the motivation to participate in the democratic process. I am grateful to God for the blessing of being a citizen of this great nation. I fled communism 44 years ago on a boat, and here I am today as a proud citizen of this most blessed nation.

A financial appeal letter from Fr. Luan.