As we are celebrating THANKSGIVING Day this week, we can be GRATEFUL for all the blessings that God has poured upon each one of us, our families, our workplaces, and our parish in the last 12 months. Everything good we have in our lives comes from God. We have to be GRATEFUL to God, at all times, not only on Thanksgiving Day, but every day of our lives. Should we be also grateful to God for what does not go so well in our lives? The last six months have been challenging. Many people have suffered and are still suffering. God does not want us to suffer. HE has given us a free will. We believe that by accepting our suffering for God’s Glory, we can be transformed and get closer to Him. I remember that I felt angry when last March we had no choice but to close our doors to all of you. This was painful for all of us. As six months have now passed, we see that we achieved many goals: ...

Over the last five years, we have been celebrating Black Catholic History Month (November) at our parish. Because of the restrictions imposed by the on-going pandemic, our celebration this year will be much simpler. There will not be any celebration with special presentations in the Father Martin Hall. Our focus will be on individual prayer while also remembering Black Catholic Saints. At the end of each Mass this coming weekend (November 21-22nd), Prayer Cards will be available in the Narthex. We are inviting you to pray together with three great Black Catholics and imitate their powerful virtues: St Benedict the Moor (1526-1589) (April 4 Feast Day), St Martin de Porres (1579 -1639) (November 3rd Feast Day), and Servant of God Mother Mary Lange, Co-foundress of Oblate Sisters of Providence ( 1784-1882). I already wrote to you about St Martin de Porres (weekly bulletin of November 8) as we celebrated his Feast Day on November 3rd. St Martin, who lived 400 years ago in Peru, was fully committed to help people in need, whether poor or sick. He also displayed the virtue of humility in challenging circumstances. He had a very difficult childhood. He was born out of wedlock. His mother was a former slave and his father a Spanish nobleman who abandoned his young son Martin right after the birth of his sister. He joined a Dominican convent as a servant and did all kinds of menial jobs with great humility and love (cooking, cleaning), while also feeding the unwanted and the abandoned. All of us can be inspired by such a humble and loving Saint! St Benedict the Moor was born about 50 years before St Martin de Porrres. His parents were African slaves who converted to Catholicism and were granted freedom before the birth of Benedict in San Fratello, Sicily. As a young adult....

ARE YOU READY? THE BRIDEGROOM IS COMING! STAY AWAKE! This is the message of the powerful parable of the ten virgins we heard last Sunday. Jesus is the bridegroom. Yes, he is coming. Be prepared! Be ready! "Stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour!" (Matthew 25:13). JESUS IS COMING! For 2,000 years, we have been awaiting HIS SECOND COMING. He can come at any time. THE END OF TIME MAY BE NEAR. The final judgment may be near. Do you believe it? I do, IT COULD HAPPEN any time. It could happen at this very moment. It could happen today or tonight, or it could happen in another 2,000 years. We should not be afraid of the end of time. We should all REJOICE at the thought of JESUS' SECOND COMING! Yes, Jesus warns all of us. He wants us to be ready all the time. Are you ...

We just celebrated the great Solemnity of All Saints Day. I want to write to you today about an amazing Saint who lived 400 years ago in Peru, SAINT MARTIN DE PORRES whose Feast was just celebrated on Tuesday, November 3rd. He is not as well-known as some of the greatest Saints as Saint Francis of Assisi or Saint Vincent de Paul. But like Saint Francis and Saint Vincent de Paul, he was fully committed to help people in need, whether poor or sick. He was also extremely humble. He had a very difficult childhood. He was born out of wedlock. His mother was a former slave in Peru and his father a Spanish nobleman who abandoned his son Martin right after the birth of his sister. He joined the Dominican convent of the Holy Rosary as a servant and did all kinds of menial jobs with great love: cooking, cleaning, and feeding the unwanted and the abandoned. Eventually, he took vows as a lay brother. He had an exceptional love for the great Sacrament of the Eucharist and for the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament In the last few years, we remembered him in our parish as part of...

This Sunday, we celebrate the great SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS. At every Mass, not only on All Saints Day, we pray with all the Saints in Heaven. All SAINTS are an integral part of the CHURCH. While Jesus is the Head of the Church, the Saints in Heaven and all the baptized Catholics living on earth constitute the BODY OF THE CHURCH. As all the baptized are CALLED TO BE SAINTS, we can say that our Church is a CHURCH OF SAINTS, Saints in Heaven, and all potential Saints on Earth. Anyone entering Heaven becomes a saint (with a small s). To enter Heaven forever, we do not need to be recognized/canonized by the Church as a Saint, with a Capital S (e.g. St John Paul II, St John XXIII or St Teresa of Calcutta). To be in Heaven is to be with God. God is present at each Mass; Jesus, who is both God and the Son of God, is fully present in the Eucharist, the Body of Christ. MASS IS HEAVEN ON EARTH, the Saints in Heaven are present not only at ALL SAINTS MASS, but at every Mass. I recall...

Every morning in the last few days, I listen to the birds singing in our backyard at the rectory: the little sparrows, the blue jays, the cardinals, the robins and many more that I do not recognize. The birds are singing. They are not worried as many of us about continuing uncertainties and challenges. They are not listening to the news on the radio. They are just singing, singing songs of joy! As the weather has been cold and then warm again, they may believe that Spring is coming! With God it is always Spring Time! Time for Renewal and Joy! I pray to God that we can all find the Joy of Spring in our hearts, the Joy of a new Life, the Joy of a transfiguration of our souls to be conformed to the image of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Joy of Conversion: going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, being at Peace with God, accepting God's invitation to come to the Feast on Sunday, the Wedding Feast of His Son, the prelude to the Eternal, Heavenly Banquet, receiving the Body of Christ, receiving God, the Son of God in the Eucharist , and being transformed. I loved watching...

Dear Parishioners, I would like to express all my appreciation for your generous support to the Capital Campaign, which has now been completed successfully. To paraphrase St Paul (this weekend’s first Letter to the Thessalonians 1:1-3) "I give thanks to God for the generosity of all of you, remembering you in my prayers." When we launched the Capital Campaign four years ago, we wrote to all of you, "The top priority is to renovate the Sanctuary and Narthex; the current 400 chairs (380 to be exact) and the carpet in Sanctuary need to be replaced; with a new configuration, we will be able to provide a seating capacity of about 450. A second priority is to provide additional space for multi-purpose classrooms, meeting rooms and storage. A third priority is to evangelize by making the outdoor space in front of our church more prayerful: we plan to have a small Perpetual Adoration Chapel and we will have a beautification project and a new, larger steeple for our church. For this capital campaign to be successful, we will need broad support to raise the estimated investment cost of...

In the Introduction to his Encyclical "THE GOSPEL OF LIFE", St John Paul II reminds us that "The Gospel of Life is at the heart of Jesus' message... It is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as the GOOD NEWS to the people of every age and culture... At the dawn of salvation, it is the BIRTH of a Child which is proclaimed as GOOD NEWS...The source of this great joy is the Birth of the Savior, but Christmas also reveals the full meaning of every human birth... When Jesus presents the heart of his redemptive mission, he says he came that they may have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10). It is in that new and eternal life that all the aspects and stages of human life achieve their full significance." Last weekend, we celebrated "RESPECT LIFE SUNDAY”. Both Deacon Rich and Deacon Bill preached beautiful homilies about "respecting lives at all stages" from the beginning of the embryo in the womb to natural death" with special emphasis on protecting the "unborn". St John Paul II encouraged all of us to preach the Gospel of Life to all people at all times. We need to fight the growing culture of death. The gravest attack on life in our current culture is...

In the Second Reading of this coming Sunday, we have one of the most powerful passages from St Paul's Letter to the Philippians ( 2:1-11). It is all about HUMILITY and how humility LEADS us to JOY through BEING ONE in JESUS. HUMILITY is the foundation of our Christian life. St Paul encourages us to live a humble life, imitating Jesus' own humility, "Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, HUMBLY REGARD OTHERS AS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOURSELVES, each looking out not for his own interests but also for those of others. Have in you the SAME ATTITUDE that is also in CHRIST JESUS... who, though He was in the form of God, emptied Himself taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, He HUMBLED HIMSELF, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. I suggest that you keep asking God to grant you the virtue of humility by praying daily the inspirational LITANY OF HUMILITY...

The one-year celebration of our 40th anniversary has just come to an end with the visit of Archbishop Wilton Gregory last Saturday. It was a beautiful day. The weather could not have been better, cool and dry! Inside the church, the Holy Spirit was fully present and filled our hearts with the warmth of His Love while our Blessed Mother put her protective arms around our shoulders. There were many moments that brought much JOY to those attending (if you could not attend see footnote below) including the powerful homily delivered by the Archbishop. In his homily, Archbishop Gregory commented on the Parable of the Vineyard Workers (Matthew 20:1-16) and God's Unique Justice, "God's justice is always directed toward generosity... We have all been recipient's of God's generosity... The parable is not about what we have earned or what we merit though our labors, but what God has given to all of us out of his superior generosity. The parable is not about what we do, but what God does so generously for all of us." Archbishop Gregory concluded his homily, "honoring the hard work of the parishioners of Our Lady Help of Christians for 40 years in the establishment and growth of a fine community of faith". He gave...

St Paul's Letter to the Philippians is filled with Joy, Peace and Hope in Christ. In this weekend’s Second Reading (Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a), St. Paul proclaims, “TO ME LIFE IS CHRIST.” What a powerful and inspirational statement! How do these three words "LIFE IS CHRIST" apply to your own life? They are challenging. Of course, as Christians, our life is to “center on Jesus Christ, our Savior, who died for our sins on the Cross and rose on the third day giving us such a great hope in eternal life.” But in reality, there are so many distractions and difficulties in daily lives that most of us tend to focus on ourselves, and how to resolve our daily challenges alone, forgetting to ask God's help. Through St Paul's exemplar life, God is inviting us to say, "To me too, like to St Paul, LIFE IS CHRIST.” Last week's second reading (Romans 14:7-9) amplifies this theme, "None of us lives for oneself and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord, we are the Lord's. For this is why Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.” As we...

Early today, as in most mornings, Fr. Ben and I were praying in front of the exposed Blessed Sacrament in the little chapel of our Rectory. In addition to the prayers in the Breviary of the "Office of Readings” and the "Morning Prayer" we also spend a full half-an-hour in silence. This is one of the best moments of my day. Today, the words coming into the silence of my heart were repeatedly, "REJOICE IN THE LORD! ALWAYS REJOICE IN THE LORD! REJOICE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD! REJOICE! GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD!" I was also recalling the words of St Paul’s to the Romans (second reading for this weekend), "None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord" (Romans 14:7-9). St Paul was in jail when he wrote his letter to the Romans. Following his dramatic conversion from persecutor of Christ to disciple of Christ, he spent his entire life living for Christ. Though in jail, he was totally free, no longer having chains attaching him to the world. He was ready to die for Christ. He had just proclaimed also from his jail, “Nothing, neither life nor death, can separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus Our Lord." (Romans 8:38) Paul was totally at peace, feeling the Presence and the Love of Jesus Christ. I pray to God that as we enter our 40 HOURS OF ADORATION TONIGHT, beginning at 10 pm, together we can find...

Our parish is getting closer to Heaven by 65 feet! As you come to Mass this weekend, you will discover that our church has been rising toward Heaven. In the Old Testament, climbing to the top of a mountain was seen as a way to pray to God in solitude and get closer to Him. At Masses, the rising incense is an image of our prayer reaching out toward God. Come and see our new architectural look! We have just come to the end of all the activities originally proposed under our 3-year Capital Campaign. From the very beginning, we had planned the installation of a steeple as the last project, the one crowning the renovation efforts of the last three years. You may recall that the steeple was the new architectural design serving as a logo of our campaign. It was meant to emphasize the importance of evangelization. A new external look was meant to make us more visible as a church. Our parish council had talked about the parish goal of architectural evangelization. We would like to take this opportunity to express once again our thanks to all of you for your generous support to the successful implementation of this 3-year construction and renovation program. As you know, we did face some unexpected delays in the last few weeks. But with the help of the Holy Spirit and with good weather this week, ...

Last week's Gospel (Matthew 16:13-20) proclaimed the Good News that SIMON PETER IS THE ROCK (Petros in Greek) UPON WHICH JESUS WILL BUILD HIS CHURCH and nothing shall prevail against it. After the Ascension of Jesus into heaven and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles at Pentecost, Peter, transformed by the Holy Spirit, will become the human leader of Jesus' Church on earth (the first Pope) while Jesus in heaven will remain the Head of the Church. The people believing in Jesus Christ and in His Church are the body of the Church, the Body of Christ. While we consider PENTECOST the formal birth of Jesus' Church, we can say the conception of Jesus' church took place before Jesus' Passion and Death on the Cross, as narrated so powerfully in the amazing dialogue between Jesus and Simon Peter in Matthew's chapter 16: Jesus had been asking his disciples: "Who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter is the one who responds, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." (Matthew 16:16) Jesus recognizes that Simon Peter's profession of faith in Jesus being both the Messiah and God himself has been inspired not by men but by God, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Heavenly Father. And so, I say to you, you are Peter (Petros, rock in Greek) and upon this rock I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:17-18) Every Sunday Mass...

Just before the noon Mass last Sunday, one parishioner asked me, "Father, how are you doing?" The tone of the voice seemed to imply some concern for my health. Sometimes in the past, I may have responded, “I am ok." (which means... I could be much better...), but last Sunday, I did not hesitate and responded with much joy, "I am doing very well. The Lord is good to me. HE IS IN CHARGE! I have nothing to worry about! Praise the Lord." ONLY GOD IS IN CHARGE, no one else. We depend totally on God. Without God, we are nothing. With God everything is possible. GOD has created us because He loves us. He wants us to love Him and return to Him. HE WANTS TO SAVE US from all evil. HE is our only HOPE! HE TAKES AWAY ALL OUR FEARS AND WORRIES! THROUGH HIS SON JESUS CHRIST, OUR SAVIOR, HE WANTS OUR HEARTS TO BE FILLED WITH JOY! JOY NOW AND FOREVER! We just have to TRUST IN JESUS and let the HOLY SPIRIT guide our steps! This is easy to say, it is not so easy to put it in practice. Yes, like many of you, I...

Last Sunday, I encouraged you to read again the amazing Gospel of Jesus walking on the water (Matthew 14:22-33) and put yourself in the story of this powerful encounter of Jesus with his disciples in the middle of a storm on the Sea of Galilee. I hope that you could find the time to do so and that one word or one sentence from Jesus or his disciples brought you much HOPE! One parishioner let me know that this Gospel helped him to deal with the fear of the current pandemic, and the phrase that resonated in his heart was: "TAKE COURAGE, IT IS I, DO NOT BE AFRAID." These are the words of Jesus trying to calm down the disciples in the boat who were terrified and had cried out in fear, "IT IS A GHOST." Jesus is speaking to all of us. He is not a ghost. He makes himself present in the storms of our lives, including the current pandemic. He is present so that we can ask for HIs support, JESUS SAVE ME! JESUS HELP ME! I have spoken to you several times about the need to ...

We just celebrated the Feast Day of St John Vianney, one of the greatest saints and also the patron saint of all priests (August 4). This was the day Hurricane Isaias unleashed high winds and heavy rains in our area. While it was difficult to make it to the 9 am Mass, about ten brave souls attended. At the time of consecration, the lights began to flicker...reminding us that we are not in charge. By the end of the Mass the effect of Hurricane Isaias had much diminished and we could enjoy the peaceful gathering of our Scripture Prayer Group in the Narthex (our usual Tuesday meeting). We ...

We just received some good news, Archbishop Gregory will visit our parish to celebrate the 5 pm Saturday Vigil Mass on September 19th to close the celebration of our 40th anniversary; please mark your calendars. Our parish was established by Cardinal Hickey on September 15, 1980 and on Tuesday, September 15th our parish will turn 40 years. We would also like to honor the current parishioners who have been members from the very beginning (e.g. Special Blessing by the Archbishop just before the beginning of the 5 pm Mass) and would appreciate it if you could let our office know whether you will be available or not on that day (if you cannot come, we would still like to recognize you). Any other suggestions for the closing of our 40th year are most welcome (office@olhoc.org). We plan to discuss them at the August 13 meeting of our Parish Council. Stay tuned for more detailed information around the end of August. We are also excited to share some good news...

Many times we hear people questioning the existence of a loving God because they experience so many sufferings in their own lives or in their own families or in their own countries. As a Christian response to sufferings, I have used more and more St Paul's famous quote, "All things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). You will hear this quote this weekend as it is the first verse of our second reading, and I invite you to reflect on how St Paul's words (truly inspired by God) can help you face your daily challenges. We know that for God everything is possible. We also know that GOD IS LOVE. He loves everyone without exception, and He wants us to return His Love. As Jesus teaches us, "God's greatest commandment is to love Him with all your heart, and all your soul and all your mind" (Matthew 22:35-40). Because He loves us totally and is all-powerful, everything happening to us individually is God's own will and part of His plan for us. God is involved in all things. It is easy to believe this when...

Are you looking for a Christian experience that will change your life? Whenever we go to attend Mass, we can be transformed not only by receiving Jesus Himself in the Eucharist, but also by hearing the Word of God. I have spoken much to you about the central role of the Eucharist in our Christian lives. Today, I want to focus on the amazing Power of the Word of God. Every time we hear the Gospel proclaimed at Mass, we hear Jesus speak to us. Jesus Himself is the Word of God: "In the beginning was the WORD and the WORD was with God ...and the WORD became flesh, and lived among us, and we have seen His Glory" (Prologue of St John's Gospel). Jesus is the Incarnate Word of God, the Word made flesh. HE is both man and God. Jesus' words never change. His words as alive today as 2,000 years ago. Jesus says, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not change." St Anthony of Egypt is one of the most famous examples of having his life totally changed through hearing the Word of God at Mass. Anthony was a very young man (about 20) when both his parents died, and he inherited a large estate. He knew that his life was going to be totally different. He did not expect what God had in plan for him. As he was at Mass, Anthony heard...