Weekly Reflections

From today’s Gospel reading:Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Reflection:There are a lot of voices out there that can only distract and scatter us. Perhaps we’ve paid too much attention to them at times in our lives. Through hard experience we have learned that […]

April 2024 Reflection from the Superior General of the Society of Mary “Mary Magdalene receives her own particular mission when she hears the Lord address her with her unique name and he commissions her to go and tell the Apostles that he is Risen, and he wants to meet with them. Mary is “the Apostle […]

From today’s Gospel:Have you come to believe because you have seen? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed. Reflection:When Thomas finally comes face to face with Christ he makes a huge act of faith, “My Lord and my God”. He went from doubt to faith. Because of Thomas’ skepticism at the beginning, […]

“WHY DO YOU LOOK AMONG THE DEAD THE ONE WHO IS ALIVE?” Christ did not face death to remain dead. It was because He wanted to liberate the world that He died. The winner is the person who accepts death to save others. Because the resurrection of Christ we know that life has a meaning; […]

From today’s processional gospel reading (Mark 11: 1-10):Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches. Those preceding Jesus as those following kept crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Reflection:Despite the fact that Jesus’ appearances were humble, this did not turn people off […]

From today’s Gospel reading:Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus”. Reflection:These Greeks came first to Philip, Philip told Andrew, and both went to tell Jesus. That is the way all of us […]

From today’s Ephesians reading:“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance that we should live in them”. Reflection:We can become God’s “handiwork” if we let God do God’s work in us. All is a gift of grace. Lent continues to remind us of that. […]

My dear parishioners, Leaving the parish of Our Heavenly Father, in Brownsville, Texas, where I had been the pastor for twelve years, my Marist superior assigned me to Tampa, to relieve Fr. Roland Lajoi. With me there were other three senior Marists priests in residence: Ray Coolong, Ken Ridgeway, and Paul F. Morrissey. On February […]

From the Book of Genesis:Again, the Lord’s messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said: “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you acted as you did, not withholding from me your son, I will bless you abundantly…” Reflection:Abraham trusted God, and God blessed him beyond his wildest dreams. In a similar way, […]

From today’s First Letter of St. Peter:“This prefigured baptism, which saves you now…is an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…” Reflect:I have been talking about making resolutions for the new year, my proposal now is to combine them with your Lenten resolutions. Lent is a time to convert […]

From today’s Gospel reading:Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand, touched the leper and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” Reflection:Who are we at this Eucharist today? We are a community of people always in need of cleansing; always stretching out our hands saying to Jesus, “If you want, you […]

For those of us who have shelter, enough to eat and decent health – and in many of our parishes that is the case – the first reading from Job is a “downer”. Job is very articulate as he voices one woe after another. Job is speaking to his friends about his troubles. But note […]

My dear parishioners, Today is a big day! You will have the opportunity to participate in the diocesan efforts to serve the people of God beyond the borders of our parish. Before each Mass, this weekend, I will walk you through a simple process on how to fill out your commitment form. It is through […]

See:From today’s Gospel reading, “As Jesus passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother casting their nets into the sea… Jesus said to them, ‘Come after me and I will make you fishers of people’. Then they abandoned their nets and followed him”. Think:We hear Jesus’ invitation, “Come follow me”. We […]

How to prepare for the 2024 Election Even though the next U.S. general election is not until November 5, we should be preparing ourselves to exercise a faithful citizenship, by disciplining our hearts, minds, and souls. There is an interesting article in America. The Jesuit Review of Faith and Culture (January 2024 issue), written by […]

TRYING OUR BEST TO RENEW OUR PERSON AND OUR PARISH HAPPY NEW YEAR, my dear parishioners! I am inviting you, at the beginning of this new year, to join me in the pursuing of a personal and parish-wide renewal. That is why I am leading by my example, conducting today an evaluation of my performance […]

PARISH RENEWAL INITIATIVE 2024 From today’s GospelThere was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon … This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. There was a prophetess, Anna … She never left the temple but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. […]

From today’s Gospel readingThe angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you … for nothing will be impossible for God.” ReflectionThrough our Baptism and Confirmation, we too have been overshadowed by the Spirit and now we look for ways to let the […]

AN ADVENT CHALLENGE:UPDATE AND INCREASE OUR REGISTERED PARISHIONERS ROSTER My dear brothers and sisters, This time of Advent is a time when we reflect about the great gift from God the Father: with the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ, new heavens, and a new earth are available to us. Now we have a chance […]

From today’s gospel readingBehold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths”. ReflectionJohn the Baptist was that messenger sent by God to call people for repentance. But what should we really […]

The past few weeks have been very busy as we prepared the three buildings for the termite fumigation. It was finally completed on the 17th of November! See below the pictures of our church, rectory and hall. Las últimas semanas han estado muy ocupadas mientras preparamos los tres edificios. para la fumigación de termitas. ¡Finalmente […]

From today’s gospel reading“Amen, I say to you, what you did not to for one of these least ones, you did not for me. These will go off eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life”. ReflectionChrist the King looks for followers who will labor with him to complete his Father’s kingdom. So, we ask […]