Good morning/evening brothers and sisters! Today, the 4th Sunday of Easter, is known as ‘Good Shepherd Sunday’, and since 1964 has also been celebrated as the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Today, the Church invites us to pray and to think in a special way about Vocations, especially vocations to the priesthood, religious life, and consecrated life. Of course, I’m just a deacon – I’m not a priest – and I’m not a vocations director. But I have spent a good amount of time thinking, reading,...

Good morning, brothers and sisters, and happy Lent. The Gospel we have just heard describes Jesus’ journey into the desert for forty days of fasting and prayer. This passage is the basis for our 40 days of Lent, from Ash Wednesday to the Easter Vigil – of course excepting the 6 Sundays in which we celebrate Christ’s resurrection. [This is why in Spanish and other Romance languages, the name for Lent is Cuaresma , like Cuarenta , which is from the Latin for 40. As an aside, this is also where...

Good morning, brothers and sisters. Today’s Gospel from Matthew Chapter 5 continues Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, which we started last Sunday and will continue next Sunday. Last week, we heard that Jesus went up a mountain, sat down and taught his disciples – starting with the Beatitudes: Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, etc. Jesus was depicted as the new Moses, who went up a mountain to obtain the Ten Commandments. Next week, on the Mount of the Beatitudes, Jesus...