Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist

 Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082926.cfm

Today we commemorate the beheading of St. John the Baptist, the precursor to Jesus 

John the Baptist is cousin to Jesus Christ. John is the son of Saint Elizabeth. Even from the time when Elizabeth and Mary met at the visitation, John, in Elizabeth’s womb, was leaping for joy at the presence of Jesus in  Mary’s womb. He knew, even in the womb, that Jesus was present. 

Years later when John was baptizing in the Jordan River, he saw Jesus approach and said, “Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world.” These are familiar words that we, as Catholics, hear at every Mass as he holds up the consecrated host. 

John’s whole life was to tell people to turn away from sin and point them towards Jesus Christ. He was not afraid to speak the truth, even if it got him in trouble.

In today’s gospel from Mark John was not afraid to tell of the sinfulness of Herod in  committing adultery with his brother’s wife. This cost John his life. 

John’s whole life was to live in God’s presence, and was never afraid to speak the truth, even if it meant loosing his life. 

We are, in on our own vocations as Christians,  called to be like John the Baptist. We need to be always willing to point people towards Jesus as true God and true man. And we are to always speak the truth that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. Furthermore, we need to be brave enough to let people know when they are sinning, even if it means that it’ll cause us problems or issues with the people we love. 

Let us pray to the Lord to have the courage of John the Baptist to bring others to Christ. 

Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.

  Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080926.cfm

In our first reading for today from the first book of Kings we hear of the prophet Elijah. In the chapter just proceeding this he was on Mt. Carmel and showed that there’s one true God. He proved that there was no god other than God. The people were following the false god Baal. At proving that there is only one true God, the people were upset at Elijah and started attacking him and he escaped. In today’s reading he was feeling alone and forsaken. Searching for the Lord, he didn’t hear him in the wind or the crashing rocks. Rather he heard the Lord in the tiny whispering sound. 

We can follow Elijah‘s example by looking for the Lord not in big dramatic ways, but in the silence of our prayers. It is then the Lord will speak with us. 

In the gospel for today, Matthew chapter 14, we hear of the Lord going off by himself to pray. It is there that the Lord opens his mind and heart to the Father  to continue his ministry. Then, knowing the disciples were in the midst of the storm he walks on the water towards them. The disciples were scared, thinking he was a ghost. Peter said if it is you, Lord, bid me to walk to you on the water. As long as Peter‘s eyes were on Jesus, he was walking on the water. Then, as soon as he got distracted, he started to sink. Jesus reaches out to him and saves him.

The lesson for today’s readings is to keep our eyes always focused on God through Jesus Christ. No matter what problems or storms we are facing, we can always turn to God to be with us and to help us.

The LORD sustains him on his sickbed, you turn down his bedding whenever he is ill.

 I am approaching my fourth week for recovering from my knee replacement surgery. During the last four weeks of my recovery has been a form of Retreat and teaching me to be patient. I pray the divine office every day and on Friday afternoon I came across Psalm 41. Verse six reads as follows. “The LORD sustains him on his sickbed, you turn down his bedding whenever he is ill.” This has been very reassuring and has helped me get through the pain that I had a few weeks back. Thankfully, the pain has diminished greatly. 

Then in the gospel for today I heard, “…and he cured their sick.”  (Matthew 14:14). During this month of healing, the Lord has been restoring me to health, not only through the doctors and nurses, but also through my wife, Dinorah. She’s been there every step of the way, showing me patience and love, even when I was cranky and impatient because of the pain. Dinorah is a true blessing from God. 

I’m also grateful for a visiting priest to St. Michael’s, Fr. Samuel, for bringing me Holy Communion and the Anointing of the Sick; for Fr. Robert Rodriguez from St. Lucy’s who took time to visit me, give me Holy Communion and hear my confession; my brother deacon, Candido for visiting, and for my pastor, Fr. JP for visiting me, and finally Sr. Mary who brought Holy Communion on a few occasions.

Though it’ll be a while before I’m healed, I see the Lord’s presence in all these people. 

Dear Lord, bless all those who have contributed towards my healing and help me to full recovery. 

Recovery

 This past Monday, July 6, 2026, I went for a knee replacement surgery. Anticipation of what to expect before that was really driving me crazy. The day came and next thing I know I’m in recovery. It’s  six days since the surgery. The first 24 hours was really rough. But here I am coming up to almost a week, I am starting to feel better. Thankfully, I have my beautiful wife to help me in my road to recovery. Without her I would be lost. She’s a blessing from God.

The pain and anxiety was not a fun thing. But as I was meditating on it before, and since then, I have reminded myself of the suffering that our Lord went through for our salvation. The agony in the garden, the scourging, and his walk with the cross to Calvary reminds me that the suffering I went through doesn’t compare to what he went through. In Collosions 1:24 we hear Paul say, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I’m filling up what is lacking the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church.”

I pray for continued recovery so I can return to serving God and his people as deacon at church. I pray for the doctor and all the medical people that took care of me while I was in the hospital and will continue to take care of me.

Keep me in your prayers. 

The Will of the Father

Our Scripture readings for today can be found at Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB

We hear in our gospel for today Jesus teaching us, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus is teaching us that our actions and our words must coincide. We can say all the right things, but if our lives do not match the words that we are saying, it is meaningless. In chapter 7 of the gospel of Saint Matthew, Jesus is attempting to show his followers how to live a life of faithfulness to God in a way that’s pleasing to Him. Our actions must match our words.

Jesus explicitly states that merely calling Him "Lord, Lord" does not grant entry into the kingdom of heaven. Even outwardly impressive deeds, such as prophesying or casting out demons in His name, are insufficient if a person's life lacks true, loving obedience to the Father's will. 

Let’s be like the wise man the Lord talks about in today’s gospel and build a house on a rock. Let us offer all our prayers to the Lord with sincere love for Him. Let us also love our neighbors as ourselves. Our following Jesus is meant to be both vertical and horizontal. We are to look up towards God with true love and devotion and look towards our neighbors with the love God expects us to have for all those people made in his likeness. It will be then that our relationship with God will be on a rock foundation. 

Pope John Paul II heavily relied on Matthew 7:21-29 to challenge young people and the faithful worldwide. He connected the parable of the "house built on rock" to Jesus Christ as the solid foundation, calling believers to actively live the Gospel rather than simply paying it lip service.

May the Lord fill our hearts with true love for Him and for our neighbor.

St. Barnabas

Scripture readings may be found at Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle | USCCB

Today we celebrate the feast Saint Barnabas, apostle. He was one of the first followers after the ascension of Jesus into heaven. He preached the gospel at Antioch and was a companion of Saint Paul. 

As we hear from in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, many people came to know Jesus through his preaching. It was in Antioch that the early followers were called Christians.

It was during this time the Christians were being persecuted following the death of Saint Stephen, deacon and the first martyr.  So, as a result, it took a great deal of courage for Saint Paul and Barnabas to continue preaching, even though they knew they could face certain death for preaching Jesus Christ. What helped Saint Barnabas, St. Paul and the others was that that they were filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gave them strength and courage to continue to preach about Jesus Christ, and the fact that he is Savior and Messiah. In their own ways Barnabas and St. Paul were devoted to the Sacred Heart. It is through them that we have our faith today. We are called in some way to do as Saint Barnabas and Saint Paul did in sharing our faith in Jesus Christ with those in our lives. We may meet with resistance, but we are called to be vigilant in letting others know about Jesus Christ, and our faith in him. Through our baptism and confirmation, we are, too, are filled with Holy Spirit.

In anticipation to celebration Sacred Heart of Jesus tomorrow, let’s pray the words that Padre Pio gave us in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

O Sacred Heart of Jesus,
for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted,
have pity on us miserable sinners
and grant us the grace which we ask of you,
through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary,
your tender Mother and ours.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

 Scripture reading for this reflection can be found at https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060426.cfm

In our Gospel for today, our Lord is teaching us the most central meaning of what it means to be his follower: Love of God and love of neighbor. At first, it sounds easy, but it really isn’t as easy as it sounds. 

Love of God needs to be primary in our lives. In all our daily activities we need to act in ways that clearly show that we are followers of Jesus Christ.  We need to love God with our whole mind, heart and soul. God must be central in all our thoughts and activities. We need to act with love and integrity in all our activities during the day  

The next challenge is to love our neighbors as ourselves. This can be very difficult since many people are challenging to even to like. But we are not called to like them, we are called to love them.

As you go through your day today, try to keep God central in your  thoughts as you do your daily activities. Also, as you deal with people, treat them with love and respect as children of God. In this way we are bringing God’s love to all that we encounter.