Do you want to have a new encounter with Christ? Do you want to make this Lent the beginning of a total change in your Christian life? Do you want to be transformed and find Peace? Come and join us at 7 pm this Thursday, March 7th Or choose to begin at 9:45 am this Saturday, March 9th! This 7-session study is being provided in hundreds of parishes throughout our country as part of the National Eucharistic Revival. As your pastor I have decided to...
Every first Sunday of Lent we hear about “Jesus, immediately after his Baptism, was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness and remained in the wilderness for 40 days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts and the angels ministered to him” (Mark 1:12- 13). I invite you to meditate on these two short verses. Your own reflection can inspire your entire Lenten journey. IMAGINE that for the next 40 days you are in the middle of a desert! First, the desert is a place where there is nothing to do but PRAY. God invites you to spend your 40 days of Lent first and foremost in PRAYER. Put yourself in...
As we enter the 40 days (about a month and a half) of Lent, I invite everyone, including myself, to reflect on how to become saints. From our baptism we are all called to be saints: “Be perfect as my Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48) Jesus tells us all in his beautiful Sermon on the Mount. But since we are all sinners, how can we become perfect, how can we become saints? He reflects on this simple definition of being a saint: "A SAINT IS AN ORDINARY PERSON WHO DOES ORDINARY THINGS IN AN EXTRAORDINARY WAY!" I did not make this definition. This is the one... One in Christ, Father Alain
As I am getting older I feel closer to Simeon. He had been awaiting to see the Christ of the Lord as St Luke tells us (Chapter 2:22-40): “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.” But you do not have to be 78-year old to appreciate this amazing encounter between Simeon and baby Jesus. We are all looking for JESUS to be the LIGHT of our life and bring PEACE to our hearts. This is what happened to Simeon: he was in the temple of Jerusalem when Mary and Joseph came to present him to the Lord! First day that the Son of God entered the Temple of Jerusalem. He was there! He took Baby Jesus (40-day old) into his arm and blessed God, saying:...
We have all been shocked by the death of Bishop Mario Dorsonville at the young age of 63! He was truly a friend and guide to our OLHoC parish! He will be missed by the souls he guided as Pastor of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodeau in Louisiana for the past 10 months. He will also be greatly missed by thousands of people in the Washington area, where he spent most of his last 30 years, including 10 years as an Auxiliary Bishop. We can all agree that he was always approachable, smiling, and radiating the deep love he had for Jesus Christ. Whether he was addressing our confirmation class, or leading our outdoor Eucharistic Procession at Corpus Christi, or celebrating our parish's various anniversaries/ holidays, he was always filled with Joy. On a personal note, long before I became pastor of OLHoC Father Mario Dorsonville had been part of my spiritual journey. I first met him when he ran the Catholic Charities Hispanic Center in DC. On several occasions he also celebrated Mass at my home parish, Our Lady of Mercy in Potomac, while I served as a volunteer organist (Vigil Mass on Saturday). More importantly, without his spiritual advice I would not be a priest today. After my wife's death in 2004, ...