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...

In this Year of St Joseph, I invite the entire parish to seek a PLENARY INDULGENCE by praying the Litany of St Joseph this Sunday as we celebrate the FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY and JOSEPH: Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. God our Father in heaven, have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us. God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us. Holy Mary, pray for us. Saint Joseph, pray for us. Noble son of the House of David, pray for us. Light of patriarchs, pray for us. Husband of the Mother of God, pray for us. Guardian of the Virgin, pray for us. Foster father of the Son of God, pray for us. Guardian of virgins, pray for us. Faithful guardian of Christ, pray for us. Head of the...

Are you ready to celebrate the JOY OF CHRISTMAS 2020? While we still have a few days to enter into that Joy, I would like to share some reflections about the JOY OF MARY AND JOSEPH at Christmas and how this most Holy Couple can inspire us. Like both Mary and Joseph before Jesus's birth, we have many FEARS in our daily lives. We are afraid of the unknown. We are afraid of accepting God's will as it may go against our own will. Wouldn't you be afraid if a messenger of God, an angel, were to appear to you and begin to talk and tell you what to do? The Angel Gabriel told Mary, "DO NOT BE AFRAID MARY, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him JESUS. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High." (Luke 1:31-32). Joseph, learning Mary was pregnant before living with him, had decided to divorce her quietly when suddenly the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "JOSEPH, son of David, DO NOT BE AFRAID to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the HOLY SPIRIT that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him JESUS, because he will save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:20-21). In both instances, Mary and Joseph through GRACE and FAITH overcame their fears and said, "YES” to God. We too like Mary and Joseph can...

Today, Tuesday, December 8, 2020, as we celebrated the great Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, POPE FRANCIS surprised all of us, he proclaimed a "YEAR OF ST JOSEPH" beginning immediately and ending on December 8, 2021! I announced this GOOD NEWS at the end of Tuesday’s 7 pm Mass and I now would like to invite all of you to ENTER INTO THIS YEAR OF ST JOSEPH with great JOY and HOPE! Why is Pope Francis proclaiming this Year of St Joseph today? Exactly 150 years ago, December 8,1870, Blessed Pope Pius IX proclaimed ST JOSEPH PATRON OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH. Recalling that 150th anniversary, Pope Francis announced his proclamation of a special Year of St Joseph and published a new Apostolic Letter, "Patris Corde" ("With a Father's Heart"), In which he describes St Joseph as a beloved father, a tender and loving father, an accepting father, a father who is creatively courageous, a working father, a father in the shadows. In introducing this new Apostolic Letter,...

Last week, I suggested that this Advent we focus on preparing the Way of the Lord to receive Him in our hearts while we keep praying, "COME LORD JESUS". When we pray these three powerful words, do we think of Jesus' first coming at Christmas (The Perfect Gift) or do we think of Jesus' second coming at the end of time, the Day of Final Judgment? Or are we simply asking Jesus to come and stay in our own hearts right NOW? When is Jesus coming? IS JESUS COMING TODAY? I was invited to give an Advent talk to a group of young Catholic women earlier this week. By coincidence (or God's incidence) I was asked to talk about "ADVENT AND THE COMING OF JESUS, COME LORD JESUS!" The interesting part was not my talk (it is always difficult for me to connect in virtual meetings, when unable to see the reactions of individuals) but rather the questions and reflections by the participants. I will share only some of the takeaways from our discussion...

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...