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:...