"HE WAS LIFTED UP". Those four words give all of us HOPE, we all need to be LIFTED UP. Our attachments to this world are at times heavy like chains. Jesus encourages us to look up. As HE is being LIFTED UP TO HEAVEN, he gives us the HOPE that we too can be LIFTED UP and be with HIM in HEAVEN. This is Our Lord's PROMISE of the Coming of the Holy Spirit to transform us and lift us up. This is what the ASCENCION OF THE LORD is all about. Every year at this time we hear the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:1-11) narrating the ASCENCION OF THE LORD, the amazing event that took place 40 DAYS after the Lord's RESURRECTION. Jesus invites the APOSTLES to stay in Jerusalem and WAIT FOR THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER. He announces that "In a few days you will be BAPTIZED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT ...You will RECEIVE POWER when the HOLY SPIRIT COMES UPON YOU and you will be my witnesses". This is PENTECOST, which we will celebrate next week... Do we want to be lifted up? We do not have to await our departing from this world. We can be lifted up today. Heaven begins right here right now on earth. Jesus promised to His Apostles that He will not leave them alone. He was going to leave this world, but He was not going to abandon them. They will never be alone. He will send them an Advocate, the Paraclete, THE HOLY SPIRIT, the Spirit of Truth who will GUIDE them (John 16:12-15). At OLHOC, we are still glowing in the JOY of...

I got a large number of comments/suggestions on last week's column's "Eucharistic Miracle at OLHOC". In my 10 years at OLHOC, I do not recall any other "unplanned" event that received so much attention and created so much excitement. I simply want today to reflect on where we are and where the Holy Spirit is leading us. For me, the main lesson so far of the Eucharistic Miracle at OLHOC is that it has helped UNITE OUR PARISH IN FOCUSING ON THE EUCHARIST in ways we had not experienced before and I pray that it will continue to do so for many many more years! My motto over the last 10 years has been and remains...

Last weekend, there was much excitement at OLHOC! Let me quote some of the words used or texted: “Wow Father. What a great blessing. No doubt it is a Eucharistic miracle! ...God is great: Eucharistic Miracle in "my church"...God's name be forever praised. MY LORD and MY GOD! Love Eucharistic Adoration...What a great miracle, somehow my Faith is ignited and in full blast. Hallelujah, Ave Maria! Awesome, Our powerful God.” What was this all about? The possibility that a Eucharistic Miracle had happened at OLHOC. First, one of our volunteer sacristans had sent to some parishioners a picture of a consecrated host that had been found on the floor of our church and had been disposed of in a vessel with water in the sacrarium of our sacristy. As the host was almost dissolved...

Jesus is asking all of us as his disciples, "WHY ARE YOU TROUBLED?"( Luke 24:38). Like many of us today, Jesus' disciples are confused. They do not understand what is going on. They have little hope for the future. They are told by several women about the empty tomb early that Easter Sunday morning. Then Peter had run to the tomb and also had found it empty. It is a long and painful day. They are all perplexed. What is going to happen to them? They are afraid that the Jews will arrest them and also crucify them! They locked themselves in a small "upper room" in Jerusalem. Now two of the disciples have just joined them, returning from EMMAUS where the Risen Lord has appeared to them. At that very moment, Jesus himself appears to all of them. They are startled. They are terrified. Is he a ghost? Maybe they are afraid that Jesus, their beloved master and guide for three years, is going to condemn them harshly for not having followed him all the way to Calvary (only one of them,John,was there). Jesus is asking all of us, "WHAT TROUBLES YOU? WHAT WORRIES YOU RIGHT NOW?" In so many ways, all of us are...

Pointing to the AMAZING, HUGE painting of Jesus Divine Mercy just given to us by the family of the artist Orlando Lagman, I asked one of our young children last Sunday, what do the two large streams of WATER and BLOOD coming out of the PIERCED HEART OF JESUS represent? He did not hesitate, WATER represents BAPTISM AND CONFESSION; BLOOD represents the EUCHARIST! I gave him an A+! He was right on the mark! He is a pious child. He loves to come to church. He loves to read the Bible. He may be a future priest! I wish we could clone him and have many, many children like him! I hope that like this child we can always remember that JESUS DIVINE MERCY keeps pouring upon us these two large streams of GRACE which we can receive frequently, the WATER OF RECONCILIATION which cleanses our sins in CONFESSION and the FLOW OF BLOOD, the EUCHARIST which we can receive at every Mass. It is a simple two-step approach: first, whenever we commit a major sin, we go to the priest in confession to receive the ABSOLUTION, allowing the second step, receiving the EUCHARIST in state of grace! We just celebrated...

Last Thursday, our church was packed for the celebration of the Lord's Last Supper: HOLY THURSDAY, the first day of the TRIDUUM of the HOLY WEEK. When I say packed, I mean that we reached the maximum number of people allowed by the current 6-foot distancing. It was great to see so many people back in church. It was music to my ears to hear so many people tell me, "Father, I am so happy to be back." THE JOY OF BEING BACK had begun on PALM SUNDAY. IT IS CONTINUING! PRAISE THE LORD! Let us pray that more and more people will come back to join us to celebrate the Eucharist together as an assembly in our church! Over 200 people participated in Holy Thursday Mass of the last Supper. The Narthex was packed with about 30 people (maximum allowed currently) and the Father Martin Hall with 60 people. The Altar Guild had done a wonderful job decorating the Father Martin Hall to allow the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at the end of the Mass and until midnight. They had used their spiritual imagination and had decorated the Hall with Palm Trees and Flowers and had renamed the Hall, "THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE." The good surprise for all of us was when...

As Deacon Rich and I arrived at the altar, like everyone in the large assembly, we were waving our palms. We venerated the altar. Suddenly, I felt A GREAT JOY take over my HEART. I had not felt so joyful in a long time. It took me some time to realize what was happening. As the Mass went on, it became clearer to me. This was the JOY OF EASTER! THE JOY OF THE RISEN LORD! As we processed in the church, we were entering with Jesus into the Heavenly Jerusalem! We were entering into the HOLY WEEK, which will culminate in EASTER VIGIL AND EASTER SUNDAY. Unconsciously, I...

Jesus told Martha, “I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?" (John 11: 25-26). This is the question that Jesus is asking each one of us as we complete our Lenten journey, our climbing the mountain of Easter, the mountain of the Resurrection. We have walked together for 40 days, anticipating the Joy of the Risen Lord. Can we answer Jesus' question with the awesome words of Martha: "YES! LORD, I HAVE COME TO BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE THE MESSIAH, THE SON OF GOD, THE ONE WHO IS COMING INTO THE WORLD." (John 11:27) The last three Sundays, we have...

CAN YOU BE TRANSFORMED BY THE CROSS? This is what happened to Simon of Cyrene. It can happen to you. In the fourth talk of the GIFT OF LOVE last week, many of us were touched by Dr. Sri's presentation of what happened to Simon of Cyrene, "As they led Jesus away they took hold of a certain Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country, and after laying the cross on him, they made him carry it behind Jesus" (Luke 23:26). It appears that Simon of Cyrene was initially "forced" to carry Jesus' Cross. He just happened to be visiting Jerusalem. He did not know Jesus at all. However, there is no doubt that his experience of carrying Jesus' Cross made him feel compassionate for this young man crowned with thorns, being insulted and enduring immense sufferings on his Way to Calvary. Later on,...

Earlier this week I had a vision: a clear vision of a Crown of Thorns. It happened as I was in deep meditation in the little chapel of our rectory. This Lent, one of my resolutions has been to be as silent as possible when praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament. By silence, I mean total silence. As you know, the world's constant distractions make total silence quite a challenge, but it is one of the best ways to listen to God. What is God tell- ing me through this SILENT GIFT OF A CROWN OF THORNS? The main vision was a beautiful Crown of Thorns. First, it seemed to float alone up in the air. The crown was not moving at all. But there was some movement behind it: there were amazing...

In the second session of THE GIFT OF LOVE last Thursday, we discussed Jesus being abandoned by his disciples and even being betrayed by two of them: Judas and Peter. While there is no comparison between the sins of Judas and Peter against Jesus, we can learn from "contrasting what they did after their sinful actions". This can help us reflect on our own sinfulness and on the real meaning of REPENTANCE in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. But before talking about REPENTANCE, let's compare those two sinful actions based on St Mark's Gospel where Judas is the one that Jesus singled out at the Last Supper: "Amen I say to you, ONE OF YOU WILL BETRAY ME, one who is eating with me". The disciples began to be distressed and to say to him, one by one: "Surely it is not I?". Jesus responded:...

One of my "little" joys this week was to learn from a proud mother parishioner that her two youngest daughters (still little children) enjoyed watching on our YouTube channel the morning show of "Fr. Alain and Fr. Ben" praying the daily reflections of the 33-day Consecration to St Joseph. I was rather puzzled, and I questioned these little children: "what have you learned about St Joseph? " and I got the most beautiful answer:

Every year as we celebrate Ash Wednesday, we hear God say to us through the Prophet Joel, "RETURN TO ME WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning ...and RETURN TO THE LORD, YOUR GOD. For gracious and merciful is HE, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment." (Joel 2:12-13). This is a joyful way to enter into the 40 days of Lent. The Prophet Joel gives us HOPE. The kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem had just experienced a great disaster (locust invasion) and Joel announces the coming of a much worse, unprecedented disaster unless the people turn back to God. If Joel were alive today, would his message to us be the same? Most of us would say...

I would like to share with you a beautiful experience about the Eucharist and the Cross. It happened at Mass last Sunday when one of our little children had a vision at the very moment of the Elevation of the Consecrated Host and then of the Chalice. To maintain privacy and anonymity, the parents have allowed me to share that experience with you provided that I do not mention any name but simply refer to "a little child." Here is the vision in the child's own words: “I SAW THE BREAD WAS GROWING A...

THE GIFT OF LOVE is the theme of our Lenten Parish Retreat. THERE IS NO GREATER LOVE THAN TO GIVE ONE's LIFE for his friends. This is what Jesus did for all of us when dying on the Cross. Yes, all of us are called to become His friends. He is truly GOD. His LOVE is INFINITE. The great teacher and theologian St Thomas Aquinas (we celebrated his feast day last week) says it more eloquently: "Why did the Son of God have to suffer for us? There was a great need, and it can be considered in a twofold way: in the first place, as a remedy for sin, and secondly as an example of how to act. It is a remedy, for in the face of all evils which we incur on account of our sins, we have found relief through THE PASSION OF CHRIST. Yet, it is no less an example, for ...

The ongoing pandemic has impacted our daily lives in ways we could not have imagined one year ago. It has also impacted our spiritual lives. It has impacted our responses to God's commandments, including the third commandment: KEEP HOLY THE SABBATH. "KEEP HOLY THE SABBATH" is not a suggestion from God. It is an order. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) makes it clear on how we should implement this order as baptized Catholics, "Sunday is to be observed as the most holy day of obligation in the universal Church. On SUNDAYS and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass " (CCC 2192). The Mass is the center of our Christian life. Not attending Mass on Sundays is a major sin (unless we are sick). Because of the pandemic and the health risk to many people, Archbishop Gregory ...

"HOPE IS THE ANCHOR OF THE SOUL" (Hebrews 6:19). We, Christians, are people of Hope. We know that God loves us and that He has a beautiful plan for each of us. Many people are suffering today because of the continuing pandemic. About 400,000 Americans have died of Covid-19 within the last 12 months. Everyone has been affected through the loss of a relative or friend. Many are afraid of being infected and have not yet come back to attend Mass at church. Many are asking, "God, where are you? Why are you allowing this pandemic to continue? " I always say that GOD IS A GOD OF HOPE! God will never abandon us. We believe in the resurrection of the bodies. We believe in eternal life. We believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. We believe in the Catholic Church. We are never alone on our journey of Faith. We have been praying for the end of the pandemic. We have been using a strict protocol in our own parish, in our own church so as to protect lives. Now that vaccination is available in Charles County, ...

I believe that God never stops calling us. He knows each of us by name. He knows everything going on in our lives. He knows all our thoughts and desires. He has created us in His own image. He loves each of us personally. Since our baptism, we are all called God's children. He has a plan for each of us, a beautiful plan because He loves us and He wants each of us to be close to Him. He sends His only Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, to reveal Himself to each of us, to redeem us from our sins, to guide all our steps on our pilgrimage on earth so that we can return to Him and be with Him now and forever. The question we are all struggling with is: "What does God want me to do?" Every day is a new day, a new beginning. Every day, we can ask God: "What do you want me to do today?" As we have completed our wonderful journey of Advent and Christmas, it is a good time to reflect on God's plan. It is a good time to...

"I HAVE BAPTIZED YOU WITH WATER; HE WILL BAPTIZE YOU WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT" (Mark 1: 7-11) says John the Baptist. Do you remember the day of your own Baptism? (If you don’t, ask your parents or call the parish where you were baptized). Who baptized you? Like Jesus being baptized by John in the waters of the Jordan River, were you fully immersed in water? Did you feel the Holy Spirit? Did you feel becoming a totally new person? Are you aware that your Baptism was the beginning of a new life? Are you aware that since the day of your Baptism, you became God's child as a full member of the Body of Christ, His Church, the Catholic Church? This weekend, we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord as we close the Christmas Season and enter the First Week of Ordinary Time. This is a time to reflect on our own Baptism and on the permanent dwelling of the Holy Trinity at the center of our inner being. This is a time to reflect and pray to the Holy Spirit in the SILENCE of our hearts. Given the daily challenges we face, including ...

I hope you all had a most blessed Christmas and that despite the ongoing challenges in your daily lives you could find the JOY OF THE NEWBORN KING in your hearts! Together, let us GIVE THANKS TO GOD FOR THE JOY OF THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON: THE PRINCE OF PEACE has come down from heaven and joined us on earth. We can proclaim with the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 9:1-6): "The people who walked in darkness have seen a GREAT LIGHT; upon those who dwelt in the LAND OF GLOOM A LIGHT HAS SHONE. You have brought them ABUNDANT JOY AND GREAT REJOICING...For a child is born to us, a son is given us...They name him... PRINCE OF PEACE. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful.'" Through this Christmas Season lasting until January 10, the Baptism of the Lord, and including the three celebrations of the Holy Family, of Mary Mother of God, and of the Epiphany of the Lord, let us...