Congratulations to the 46 children, teens, and one adult from our St. Benedict community who received the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Communion on Saturday, April 24. This was such an exciting and important part of their faith journeys. It seemed fitting that these sacraments were being celebrated on the weekend of Good Shepherd Sunday since we are all part of God’s flock. As fully initiated members of the Church, these young people will now be strengthened by the Holy Spirit and can continue sharing the Good News and living as faithful disciples of Christ. Thank you to all of the catechists, parents, teachers and sponsors who gave their support and time to help prepare all of the candidates.

In the Catholic tradition, this Fourth Sunday after Easter is called Good Shepherd Sunday and is dedicated as a Special Day of Prayer for Vocations to the priesthood and the Religious Life. In the Gospel, Jesus used two key images - shepherd and voice - to explain his invitation to discipleship.

In the Jewish culture, shepherding was more a way of life and relationship rather than a job. The life of the shepherd in biblical times was one of personal self-giving and sacrifice. His work was that of tender care and closeness to the flock. Knowing this, it makes sense why Jesus chose to identify himself as the Good Shepherd to explain the depth of God’s love and care for us. He loves us so much that he laid down his life for us.

We thank God that the rate of new cases of COVID-19 is declining consistently with more people vaccinated. After a careful evaluation of our current Covid-19 related safety protocols, and paying attention to the Diocesan and CDC guidelines, we have modified our parish protocols to reflect the current situation. I am happy to share with you some things you may now notice that have been changed:

We live at a time when we are constantly under some form of surveillance cameras from cell phones, in vehicles, in buildings, on the road, from satellites, etc. In a way, surveillance cameras help keep us safe and make work easier for law enforcement. Many people today have made millions of dollars just by capturing video coverage of important incidents, then selling them to the media. In a way, video cameras are better eyewitnesses than the human eye as videos cannot lie.

With the Lenten season and Easter Sunday behind us I am excited to continue giving you some updates on what is going on in the parish, especially regarding our Church redesign plan.

The first exciting news is regarding our 35% share of the Diocesan campaign, Together Let Us Go Forth~Juntos Sigamos Adelante. I am glad to inform you that, so far, the Diocese has given us three disbursements from our share of the campaign for a total amount of $76,000. Earlier during the campaign in 2019, we had identified five areas in our parish and school where the money would be best used as a “restricted donation.” These areas are: the main crucifix in the new Church, the pews in the new Church, the remodeling of the St. Vincent De Paul on-site pantry, tuition assistance for SJB students, and the upgrading of the telephone and security systems at SJB. Each item receives 20% ($15,200 each) of the total funds sent to us. I look forward to giving you an update on this when we receive the next disbursement from the Diocese. Thank you for your continuous support of the campaign.

The second Sunday of Easter is dedicated as Divine Mercy Sunday. Often, people wonder why Pope John Paul II chose this Sunday as Divine Mercy Sunday. We can find a clue in the Gospel reading today when we hear that Jesus breathed on the Apostles and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (John 20:22-23). In doing this, Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation, also known as the Sacrament of Divine Mercy through which God forgives us our sins and reconciles us to himself.

The Lord is Risen, Alleluia! I wish you and your loved ones a Happy Easter and God's blessings. Thank you for your commitment to the Lenten practices and for your participation in the Triduum and Easter Liturgies. My special thanks to the Liturgy Committee, Art & Environment Ministers, Parish Staff, Sacristans, Lectors, Extra-Ordinary Ministers of the Eucharist, Hospitality Ministers, the Choir, Altar Servers, Deacons and Fr Wilfred and everyone who helped in different ways to make the Liturgies very beautiful.

The Lord is Risen, Hallelujah! Easter Sunday, commonly known as the Lord’s Day, is the greatest day in the history of the Church and of the world. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the day of the Resurrection is the beginning of a new creation. “Jesus rose from the dead ‘on the first day of the week’ (Jn 20:1). Because it is the ‘first day,’ the day of Christ’s Resurrection recalls the first creation. Because it is the ‘eighth day’ following the Sabbath (Mk 16:1), it symbolizes the new creation ushered in by Christ’s Resurrection. For Christians, it has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord’s Day” (he kuriake hemera, dies dominica) (CCC 2174). This explains why we observe Sunday as our “Sabbath day of rest” instead of Saturday.

Welcome to the Holy Week which began on Palm Sunday. We all missed the Holy Week last year as a result of the Pandemic. I know most of us are excited to hear that our Governor has relaxed a number of the COVID-19 restrictions. However, given the usual high number of Mass attendance at this time, I appeal for your patience and suggest we continue to wear facemasks and keep physical distance through the Holy Week until we determine how to implement the changes safely in our parish community. I am looking forward to welcoming everyone back to Mass soon.

Welcome to the Holy Week, which begins this weekend with the celebration of Palm Sunday. This week is the peak of the Churches’ Liturgical Calendar and the most important week for us Catholics. I am glad the Pandemic is declining consistently, making it possible for us to celebrate Holy Week and Easter this year. However, you will notice that there will be a few exceptions to the Easter Liturgies this year. First of all, I thank those who have already received their vaccines. We encourage everyone to observe our parish safety protocols during the Easter Liturgies this year, especially to wear a facemask, maintain physical distance and use hand sanitizers, even if you have already received your two shots of the vaccine.

I thank everyone for your prayers, support and understanding during the announcement of our new Church building plan last weekend. Moving from the original building plan to the current one is a major decision born out of prayers, reflection and a careful evaluation of our current situation as a parish community. You noticed that I was not able to present the plan with enthusiasm because I know we all needed time to mourn the loss of the initial plan and to move in the new direction.

Today is the last weekend before Palm Sunday which begins Holy Week. Most of the Gospel readings during this time highlight the events that lead to the passion and death of Jesus on Good Friday. It is not obvious in the Gospel today to see the literal connection between why the Greek visitors in Jerusalem were seeking to meet with Jesus and why Jesus responded using the analogy of death and rising. Scripture scholars suggest that it appears a rumor was going around Jerusalem that Jesus would be arrested during the Passover week. This explains why the Greeks were seeking to alert Jesus and probably invite him to flee with them to their country for safety. The response that Jesus gives is a clue that their request has something to do with his impending death and thus his resolve to stay and face it. “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.... And what should I say -- ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour” (John 12:23, 27).

As you might have noticed, we suspended giving updates and announcements regarding the progress of our "Living Our Faith, Building Our Home" Church Building Campaign for over a year as a result of the pandemic. This was to be sensitive to the plight of many of our parish families who were directly affected by the pandemic. Within this time period, we were continuing to evaluate the progress of the Campaign redemption, while the Building Committee kept working hard behind the scenes to monitor the rising cost of building materials.

Today is Laetare Sunday. One question many people ask this weekend is, “Why are we rejoicing during the season of Lent?” We rejoice because we are now midway through our Lenten journey... At this point, we have been purified by our Lenten disciplines and we now look forward with hope to the joy of Easter.

In today’s first reading, we hear that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments; then in the Gospel we hear how the people violated the Commandments causing Jesus to become angry and drive them out of the Temple area. So, which of the Commandments did the people violate? Jesus explained clearly that the summary of the Ten Commandment is “Love,” that is, love of God and love of neighbor (Matt 22:37-39). We know the first three Commandments are about our relationship with God (love of God) and the other seven are about love of neighbor. Obviously, the people selling and buying in the Temple area violated the first three Commandments.