 Dear Friends, This Easter season, I have been thinking about the resurrection of Jesus and what it means for us 2000 years later. Additionally, I’ve been considering the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection having happened. We don’t have any eyewitness accounts in the Scriptures of Jesus’ actual rising from the dead. But we do have the empty tomb, the testimony of the women who encountered the angel there, and the apostle’s accounts of the Risen Jesus appearing to them. Of all the post-Resurrection stories, I think the one from today’s gospel is the one I love the most: the barbecue on the beach after an eleventh-hour reprieve from a night’s fishing that yielded nothing, and the opportunity for Peter to repent of his threefold denial by declaring his love for the Lord three times. The instructions (feed my lambs) that follow Peter’s expressions of love are meant for us, too, and that leads me to what I think may be the most convincing evidence for Jesus’ resurrection: the vibrant, loving Church, of which we are all a part, still ministering today, feeding the Lord’s lambs, with the help of the Holy Spirit. Still, one cannot deny that there is evil in the world, even within the Church, and that can be discouraging, perhaps obscuring the truth of the Church as the Risen Christ’s Body. The fourth verse of Bob Hurd’s “Two Were Bound for Emmaus” that we are singing at liturgy today may be helpful: When the road makes us weary, when our labor seems but loss, when the fire of faith weakens and too high seems the cost, let the Church turn to its risen Lord, who for us bore the cross, and we’ll find our hearts burning at the sound of his voice.
Dear Parish Family, "Peace be with you!” This was the initial greeting of our Lord as he appeared to his disciples after his Resurrection. At this time, the apostles were filled with fear, weak and discouraged. Their Master had been arrested, crucified, and now his body was missing from the tomb. It's easy to imagine how their fear and doubts took over instead of holding on to His promise that he would rise again. Jesus could have questioned their trust and loyalty, yet he did not mention it; instead, he wished them peace. He knew what their hearts were experiencing, and what they needed was peace. Not just any peace but the peace that only He can provide. His peace which calms any storm. It helps us face troubling circumstances without being swallowed by anxiety, anger, or fear. It brings a quiet confidence to our hearts that guides us as we face challenging decisions. It allows us to accept God’s boundless love, which makes us say, “I belong to Christ, and I know he will never abandon me! I am loved, and I am forgiven.” Jesus said to them once again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” His gift of peace is not just for us alone; it is meant to be spilled over to our relationships with each other. Jesus is sending us out, asking us to treat each other with the same mercy and love that he has shown us. Loving each other and forgiving each other is perhaps the most challenging aspect of our lives as Christians. We know how difficult it can be to forgive someone who has hurt us, to love without conditions. The only way we can overcome this is to “let the peace of Christ” reign in our hearts. Remember, we don’t do this alone; we have also been given his Spirit. “He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’” Filled with God’s Spirit, just like the apostles, we are empowered to go out to the world, sharing God’s love, peace, and forgiveness.  This Easter season, let us greet each other with God’s Peace, and may it be a reminder to be instruments of God’s peace as we pray for an end to the war in Ukraine and around the world.
Siempre Adelante, Tere Delgado Faith Formation Minister 1938 - 2022Funeral Liturgy - Cremains
Saturday, May 7 10:00 am Padre Serra Parish Dear Parish Family, "Peace be with you!” This was the initial greeting of our Lord as he appeared to his disciples after his Resurrection. At this time, the apostles were filled with fear, weak and discouraged. Their Master had been arrested, crucified, and now his body was missing from the tomb. It's easy to imagine how their fear and doubts took over instead of holding on to His promise that he would rise again. Jesus could have questioned their trust and loyalty, yet he did not mention it; instead, he wished them peace. He knew what their hearts were experiencing, and what they needed was peace. Not just any peace but the peace that only He can provide. His peace which calms any storm. It helps us face troubling circumstances without being swallowed by anxiety, anger, or fear. It brings a quiet confidence to our hearts that guides us as we face challenging decisions. It allows us to accept God’s boundless love, which makes us say, “I belong to Christ, and I know he will never abandon me! I am loved, and I am forgiven.” Jesus said to them once again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” His gift of peace is not just for us alone; it is meant to be spilled over to our relationships with each other. Jesus is sending us out, asking us to treat each other with the same mercy and love that he has shown us. Loving each other and forgiving each other is perhaps the most challenging aspect of our lives as Christians. We know how difficult it can be to forgive someone who has hurt us, to love without conditions. The only way we can overcome this is to “let the peace of Christ” reign in our hearts. Remember, we don’t do this alone; we have also been given his Spirit. “He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’” Filled with God’s Spirit, just like the apostles, we are empowered to go out to the world, sharing God’s love, peace, and forgiveness.  I pray that you are free from weakness, falsehood, bitterness, addiction, anger, selfishness and hypocrisy. I pray that your Lenten sacrifices might lead to authentic Easter joy!
Happy and Holy Easter to you all! Fr. Patrick Pastor  As a parish community, we gather in the courtyard on Palm Sunday to hear a short reading about our Lord’s entry into Jerusalem seated upon a colt. Palms are blessed and distributed. We ask God to sanctify the palms with His blessing that we too may follow Christ the King and reach the eternal Jerusalem. We then process into the church holding our palms and singing “Hosanna.” Passion/Palm Sunday is celebrated with full acknowledgement of the ultimate reality: Jesus died and rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of God. We do not process as if we do not know the rest of the story. Jesus is addressed as the “the Son of David … he who comes in the name of the Lord.” In our procession into the church, we are joyful, yet ever mindful of the price paid by our loving Lord to heal the wounded core of humanity. Our procession is a public proclamation of our faith and trust in God. A procession provides an opportunity for a fuller and richer expression of the prayer of the assembly. The celebration of the procession of Christ is not some historical reenactment. Palm Sunday reminds us, ever more fully, that the path Jesus chose is also our path of discipleship. It is the path that leads to salvation.
Dear Faith Family, This Sunday’s Gospel is one that we have heard countless times, for good reason. There are so many things to take to heart from this reading. We learn about who perfect judgment comes from, we learn about how we should conduct ourselves and we learn about the immense nature of God’s mercy. How many times have we been in situations where we are quick to condemn? I don’t bring this up to make any of us feel bad, but I bring it up to help us to recognize our imperfection. We are truly human and obviously because of our nature, we are imperfect. This is also common when it comes to our own lives and the mistakes that we have made. How many times have we condemned ourselves, thinking that there is no way to turn back to goodness? Jesus’ mercy in this Gospel really stands out. He doesn’t affirm the adultery that was committed by the woman, nor does he affirm the men who were looking to condemn her. What does he express instead? Mercy. Our Lord understands that none of us are perfect, but instead of simply saying “oh well, nobody is perfect”, He instructs Mary Magdalen to “not sin anymore”. This hits especially hits me hard. How easy could it have been to ignore her sin and enable her in the face of the men who were committing an evil against her? How easy could it have been to be too firm about her sin, and scare her with the threat of condemnation? These might be the two approaches that I would be tempted with, but our Lord shows both compassion and the pathway to a strong, moral life. Lent is so interesting because, from the moment that we receive our ashes, we are asked to repent. Repent seems like a heavy word prescribed for heathens, but to repent is an instruction to “turn back”. With this Gospel, it is obvious that it leads to a strong life of discipleship for Mary Magdalene. I have a feeling that she wasn’t perfect, but she really took the instruction to sin no more, seriously.
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