From this link you can download the ‘You Can Count On Me’ document in PDF format (2018):
You Can Count On Me Guide
Easter 2016
Many people think that conversion to Jesus Christ is something that happens only once. Those who have experienced Jesus, know well that faith in Jesus is constantly growing, constantly repenting and converting to Him again.
Just look at the journey of Lent. Every Ash Wednesday we are called to examine our lives. As we grow in faith and in prayer, we always experience our shortcomings and are called to remember his love for us. We are invited to repent and grow closer to him. This is a lifelong experience. It’s like falling in love. Falling in love changes us, and it happens over and over again.
Palm Sunday 2016
We are martyrs. The word “martyr” means “witness.” For Christians, we are witnesses to the truth. It can’t be important that the world wants us to keep silent. We are faithful to the truth, even unto death. The truth is too important. We will not play with the truth! Thus, for us Christians, to witness to the truth means to be martyrs to the death, not accepting any other commitment. Many martyrs lost their lives for not accepting any other story.
The Prodigal Son
We all recognize this gospel of the “Prodigal Son”. It is a parable that Jesus told to teach the Pharisees and scribes to open their hearts and minds. The older son represents the scribes and Pharisees.
According to the parable of the Prodigal Son spends all of the fortune, his inheritance, which his father gave to him. He spent it all on women and parties in a distant country. Then he experienced economic disaster, bankruptcy, and hunger. The son began to reflect and said to himself:
‘How many of my father’s hired workers
have more than enough food to eat,
but here am I, dying from hunger.
I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I no longer deserve to be called your son;
treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’
Tithing and Repentance
People came to Jesus with concerned over the deaths of some Galileans whom Pilate had killed. Their questions came from a familiar Old Testament-related fear that suffering was the result of sin. Remember in the Book of Job that his friends accused him of being a sinner because of his suffering. God rebuked them for that belief.
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!
Or those eighteen people who were killed
when the tower at Siloam fell on them—
do you think they were more guilty
than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!”
Tithe … and Friends of Christ
As St. Paul tells us, there are many who,
conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction.
Their God is their stomach;
their glory is in their “shame.”
Their minds are occupied with earthly things.
Their god is their stomach, … they should be ashamed – – and they only think about earthly things.
Sharing Our Gifts
We begin Lent. Together. Lent is not an individual journey, but a communal journey. We don’t resurrect to eternal life alone, but together. If you don’t get there, perhaps there is no hope for me, either.
There have been a lot of people in my life, even in my own family who claim, “I don’t need organized religion. I can find God on a mountain top or in a sunrise.” That is selfish, lazy spirituality. Of course we can experience God in nature. But there is much more than that involved. Salvation takes a lot more effort than that. We can’t save ourselves, but, if we separate ourselves from our brothers and sisters in faith, our salvation becomes more difficult. God always intended us to seek salvation as a community formed by him. It’s rather like a lifeboat after a shipwreck. We need to stick together, not separate.
What Does It Mean to be a Parishioner?
Once in a while I reflect, “Why I am a Christian?” Or, “Why am I Catholic?”
The answer almost always takes me back to the Gospel and the impact of the Gospel in my life.
Now, I have to clarify that we are not just talking about the four books at the beginning of the New Testament in the Bible, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. We need to understand what Saint Paul meant by “Gospel” in his letters. When Paul wrote his letters in the 50’s or 60’s in the first generation of the church, these four books we now call “Gospels” did not exist. These books were written much later, perhaps even in the 70s, 80s and 90s.
When I Stray
The Wedding at Cana and Year of Mercy
Mary and Jesus were invited to the marriage at Cana. Let’s look at the invitation list. We find that the disciples of Jesus were also invited. This included at least the five disciples named in the previous chapter: Andrew, John, Peter, Phillip and Nathaniel.
This was not a small wedding. There must have been many people present. Cana is only about 6 miles from Nazareth and about 30 miles from Capernaum, the home of Peter and Andrew on the Sea of Galilee, and Jesus’ new base of operations. Other people must have come from some distance, as well.
Epiphany – 2016
Epiphany. The word means appearance or manifestation. In the ancient world, among the pagans, man was subject to the stars. Stars were not subject to man.
The stars could reveal things for man’s life. People believed the stars could reveal man’s future. The wise men studied the stars to know man’s future. And, here was this star appearing just to these wise men, and they thought it meant a king was about to be born for the Jews.
Solemnity of Mary – 2016
Christmas is the center of human history.
- Octave of the Nativity of the Lord
- Mystery is too big for just one day
- Birth of Jesus
- Foretold
- Anticipated
- How many times?
- Before – B.C. without hope
- Israelites told to hope over and over
- God would bless them
- After – A.D. Hope for believers
- Hope for justice and peace – Salvation
We are “Christmas people”
We are “Christmas people”. This is not our club or association, it is our identity. This is our Truth. This is our Hope. There are no realistic, alternative choices for us. This is our true citizenship. We are children of God. That is who we are because of our Baptism.
We hear a great deal about Christian martyrs. A Christian martyr is someone who suffers and dies unjustly, simply because they believe in Jesus Christ and will not renounce Jesus, or accept to worship any other God, even in the face of death. Worldly death for a Christian is preferred to eternal death. This is the witness of Christmas people.
Our Lady of Guadalupe – 2015
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Pastoral Center December 11, 2015
I want to introduce you to the greatest evangelist in the history of the Americas. No other person has brought more people to Jesus Christ than Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe. This is why she is the symbol of the New Evangelization.
Almost 500 years ago the Spanish Conquistadors entered Mexico and the priests followed. They arrived at the shores of Mexico in 1519, and conquered the Capital of Mexico, known as Tenochtitlan, in 1521.
Fr. Victor’s 20th Anniversary
We are here this evening to thank God for the priesthood of Fr. Victor Mayorga.
When Fr. Victor asked me to be here this evening to celebrate his 20th anniversary as a priest, I was honored. First, because I want to be here for this event for my brother and friend. Second, because Fr. Victor was my first pastor as a newly ordained priest. He taught me how to be a priest.
One of the truths about seminary is that seminary only prepares you to be ordained. But, you don’t learn very much about how to be a priest in the seminary. The only way to learn how to be a priest is to become a priest and do the work a priest does, and to have a good mentor to show you how to do it. Fr. Victor was my first mentor. He is a good mentor. A lot of what I do today as a pastor, I learned from him here at St. John’s.
Jack Gilgun’s Funeral Homily
Jack Gilgun lived for this day.
Jack prepared for this day. Jack Gilgun was not afraid of death. Jack Gilgun lived his faith.
Don’t accuse me of making Jack into a Saint! Only God can do that.
Jack believed Jesus’ promise of eternal life.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.… the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven…, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
Selfish Ambition
Jesus’ Passion and Crucifixion was not a surprise for those who paid attention. His Passion and Crucifixion were predicted in prophesies throughout the Old Testament, and even by Jesus himself. The Gospel reading from St. Mark today was Jesus’ second prediction of his Passion. But the world did not pay attention.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men
and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.”
In the first reading from the Old Testament book of Wisdom, we hear a foreshadowing of Jesus’ Passion.
“With revilement and torture let us put the just one to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness
and try his patience. Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him.”
When Your Child Is Afraid
Say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God, ….
Frequently a parent will come up to me with their young child and ask me to pray for that child. They will explain to me that the child is afraid. In Spanish they may say to me, “Padre, mi niño está asustado,” or, “Father, my child is afraid.”
Baby Number One
A gynecologist went to teach a Pre-Cana class to a group of couples preparing for marriage. He began by saying, “Ladies, before I get started I want you to turn and look into the eyes of your fiancé.”
The doctor waited a minute and then said, “Ladies, you are looking into the eyes of the biggest baby you will ever have.” Giggles all over the room.
He continued, “You may have other babies, but you must never forget who is ‘Baby Number One’. If you do, that is when trouble often begins in marriage. If you keep him as ‘Baby Number One’, your love for one another will overflow onto all of your children.” And he added, “Gentlemen, the same goes for you.”