I had just entered into the great silence of Adoring Jesus Present in the Blessed Sacrament. I looked at Jesus. HE was looking at me. I felt the power of His Presence. COME LIGHT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT! COME INTO MY HEART! I am waiting. I am attentive. I am listening. I was expecting some word from God. In this total silence, I heard a soft voice in my heart: "Come to me my son and I will give you REST!” In that silent Adoration, I felt PEACE in my heart! It was a most joyful and calm Holy Hour. It was a beautiful way to end the first day of our three-day Advent Mission. I was looking forward to the

One of the most beautiful traditions of our country is THANKSGIVING. Once a year we all give thanks to God for all He is giving us. We did not have such a national celebration when I was growing up in Southern France. My first experience took place in Tampa, Florida, in 1967. I was then a graduate student and research assistant at the University of Florida in Gainesville. As my English was poor (and is still poor 57 later...) I had decided to spend a summer immersion living with an American family before entering my Master's Degree program. The Levinson family was a most generous host, and they invited me to return for the Thanksgiving vacation. It was my first discovery of enjoying in family a full Thanksgiving Dinner with a huge turkey, amazing stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potato and pumpkin pie. Traditions are important...

In last week's Gospel, JESUS gave us very powerful words: “Heaven and earth will pass away but MY WORDS WILL NOT PASS AWAY" (Mark 13-31). Nothing on earth lasts. ONLY JESUS DOES NOT CHANGE: BE ROOTED IN OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST AND YOU WILL FIND PEACE AND EVERLASTING JOY! We celebrate NOVEMBER as BLACK CATHOLIC HISTORY MONTH. This year, we have chosen to focus on the evangelization of African Americans: MOTHER LANGE, FATHER TOLTON AND FATHER MARTIN. The three of them first were uprooted from their place of origin and then they FOUND ROOT IN OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST! They chose to give their own life to Christ so as to bring others to Christ. They accepted many hardships and sufferings. They had a great Zeal to Evangelize, to bring the Good News of Our Lord Jesus Christ to those at the margin of the Society. They had no fear! They knew what God wanted them to do. They trusted in God's Mercy, Love and Providence. MOTHER LANGE (1789-1882): She was born in Cuba. Her parents were Haitian refugees. She moved to Baltimore and in 1829, she founded the order of Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first order of Black Sisters in...

WHEN IS JESUS CHRIST COMING BACK? As we come to a close of our Liturgical Year, the Church has chosen readings focusing on the SECOND COMING OF CHRIST! Is He coming back soon? It is possible. But "nobody knows the hour nor the time, but only the Father" (Mark 13–32). His Second Coming will mark THE END OF TIME. Today, we reflect on the tribulations and meaning of the End of Time before entering into the ADVENT SEASON, THE FIRST COMING OF CHRIST: GOD BECOMING MAN AT CHRISTMAS so that "man can become God". This is the Good News of our Salvation!” Most people seem to be afraid of the End of Time. They remember the apocalyptic visions in the Bible:...

"LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength!” This is the first commandment that Jesus asks us to follow. Then He adds that the second is: “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12: 28-29). How can we follow these two great Commandments of LOVE? It is not easy. We cannot do it alone. Only the HOLY SPIRIT can help us. It is a lifetime challenge to LOVE GOD AND OUR NEIGHBOR with all our heart. We can do it from time to time. But we need to do it all the time to become and stay a true Disciple of Christ. It’s all about Love, the Unconditional Love (Agape in Greek) that unites us with God. To understand the meaning of...

We all need THE LIGHT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT to move away from the Darkness of the World into the Presence of God. Last week we were reminded of our spiritual blindness. We are like Bartimaeus the blind man begging on the road to Jericho. We need a change in our lives. We need to trust in the Power of Jesus. Jesus can do anything for us. He can transform our lives! When we encounter Him in our heart, He can transmit to us the Power of His Spirit. He can give us THE LIGHT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: the Light that will guide our steps on the Way to Heaven! As mentioned, several weeks ago, we are blessed to have Father David Gunter, MIC, to give us a 3-day ADVENT MISSION on THE LIGHT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT from MONDAY December 2nd through WEDNESDAY December 4th...

WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO FOR YOU? This is the question that Jesus asks Bartimaeus the blind man in today's Gospel (Luke 10: 46-52). He does not hesitate one second: "I want to see ". Imagine for a moment that you are Bartimaeus. You may not be blind physically. But you know that you are a sinner. You know that you are blind spiritually. Jesus is visiting Waldorf. You know that Jesus can do anything for you, that He can transform your life and help you on your Way to Heaven. You just learned that He is coming to Our Lady Help of Christians. This is your chance to see Him face to face. You are excited. There is a large crowd but with patience and determination you are finally able to come close to Jesus. He looks at you. He asks you: "My friend, what do you want me to do for you?". Are you ready to respond right away like Bartimaeus? Do you need time to reflect? What are the chains that attach you to the world? How can Jesus help you? How can he make it possible for you to...

Jubilee Years happen every 25 years. The last major Jubilee was in the Year 2000 with Pope John Paul II entering a new Millenium! Jubilees are always a time for forgiveness of sins, reconciliation and conversion. Next year millions of pilgrims will visit Rome for the Jubilee 2025. Whether or not we will be able to visit Rome in 2025, we are all invited to celebrate the Jubilee Year including in our own Churches. The theme of this Jubilee is HOPE: “Hope does not disappoint" (Romans 5:5). Pope Francis in announcing this new Jubilee said, “Now the time has come for a new Jubilee when once more the Holy Door will be flung open to invite everyone to an intense experience of the Love of God that awakens in hearts the sure Hope of Salvation”. Life is a pilgrimage: we are coming from God and returning to God. We are all invited to...

In our third year of Eucharistic Revival I invite all of you to renew your Consecration to Jesus through Mary. To complete your 33-day preparation of St Louis de Montfort's Consecration on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception you need to begin on November 5. This year November 5 happens to be Election Day. A sign from God: a time to vote, a time to pray! Last week, I invited you to pray for the respect of life daily during this Respect Life month of October. On November 5, I encourage you to begin the pray- ers of the first day of the 33 days of preparation for consecration. You will not regret it. If you do the full 33 days with an open heart; it will change your life. It will also help you to have a greater intimacy with Jesus in the Eucharist. I began my first Consecration to Mary when I was...

Every year we celebrate the "RESPECT LIFE MONTH" in October. We remember St John Paul II' s emphasis on the continuous battle between a culture of life and a culture of death and the Church' s priority to promote Life vs. Death. This battle continues today. The Church always advocates the Protection of Life at all stages from conception through natural death. More than ever our society is divided on life issues, especially on the right to life from the first moment of conception, and the imperative to protect the unborn. Life begins at conception. Abortion takes away the right to life of the unborn. Life is a Gift from God. Life is sacred. The current debate in...

Have you heard Jesus call you? Since our baptism Jesus calls us to be holy. He loves us. He wants us to be with Him now and then forever in Heaven. He has a beautiful Plan for each one of us. He keeps calling us as He knows the best way for us to go to Heaven. Last Saturday, September 21st, we celebrated the great Feast of the Apostle Matthew. Like all of us Matthew was a sinner. He was a tax collector. One day he was sitting at the customs post, Jesus passes by and calls him and simply says to him: "FOLLOW ME”. Immediately Matthew gets up and follows Him. This is one of the most dramatic encounters with Jesus. Matthew must have heard about Jesus' miracles, but he does not know him. By saying YES to JESUS CALL his life is totally changed. Jesus and his disciples come and eat at his house immediately. Other tax collectors join them. From that day on, Matthew follows Jesus, becomes one of the 12 Apostles and writes one of the most powerful Gospels. Are you listening to Jesus calling you? What is Jesus calling you to do for Him? On the Feast Day of St Matthew, we were blessed to have two Sulpicians priests...

In today's Gospel (Mark 9:30-37), Jesus' disciples are debating who is the greatest among them. Jesus had just told them he was the Messiah, he was going to be killed, and three days later he will rise again. They did not fully understand what He said. But they debated who was the greatest disciple and who would be the leader. Jesus responds by giving them a great lesson of HUMILITY: “The one who wishes to be first shall be the last of all and the servant of all" (Mark 9:35). We often refer to PRIDE as the "mother" of the seven capital sins (lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, anger, envy and pride) and to its opposite HUMILITY, as the mother of all virtues. None of us is totally humble and none of us is totally proud. We are somewhere ...

Our parish was born on September 15, 1980! HAPPY 44th BIRTHDAY OLHOC!!! May God grant us many many more years of evangelization in Waldorf: “Bringing all to Christ, Sharing Christ with all, Being One in Christ." Every individual birthday is an opportunity to celebrate with family and friends! It is an opportunity to give thanks to God for all the blessings He pours upon us. A parish birthday celebration is quite similar. I see a parish as a family of families! Let’s celebrate this Sunday with great Joy and let us thank God for all the many blessings he has poured upon our parish and parishioners since the day Cardinal Hickey established us on September 15,1980, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Sorrows, and chose our name “Our Lady Help of Christians”. Here is the beginning of my Introduction to the booklet “OLHOC at 35; Wednesday September 15, 2010: just five years ago, this was the first day...

One parishioner came to see me last week with a copy of the beautiful booklet “35 YEARS at OLHOC”. This booklet was prepared by a few parishioners and distributed when we turned 35 ten years ago. That meeting was prompted by last week’s column announcing our entrance into our 45th Year with Celebration on September 15. From that brief conversation a new project was born: to prepare a similar booklet “45 YEARS at OLHOC” and distribute it on September 15, 2025! This little project, which we will do, led me to reflect on the entire 45th year under the title: “Walking with Jesus in the Eucharist: September 15, 2024 to September 15, 2025. We appreciate your feedback on how we can make this 45th Year memorable and spiritual for all parishioners whether old-timers or newcomers. Last week, I focused on Three Ways as we enter this New Year: 1. 40-Hour Adoration of Jesus in the Eucharist September 12-14; 2. Joining the nation-wide initiative “Walk with One”; and 3. Beginning a new parish activity “Millions of Monicas” September 14. We then had a planning meeting of the Parish and Finance Councils last Saturday focusing on...

Our parish is entering into its 45th year on September 15. We were born 44 years ago! We are still very young, one of the youngest parishes in our Archdiocese! I always joke that I am 45 whenever people ask for my age. I am not lying I was born in ‘45. I will always be a member of the world Class of ‘45 (the end of World War II). Let’s celebrate this entrance into our beautiful 45th year by having a PARISH PICNIC right after the Solemn Outdoor 11:30 AM Mass on SEPTEMBER 15! The outdoor Mass is an important sign of evangelization: bringing the Youth Mass and the Eucharist outside our church in this Year of Eucharistic Revival. The picnic is an important sign of fellowship. We want the entire parish to join...

Jesus shocks the Jews when He affirms “I AM THE LIVING BREAD that comes down from Heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is MY FLESH for the life of the world” (John 6:51). This is the conclusion of Jesus' “Bread of Life” discourse. Jesus talks about His own Body. He does not talk about a symbol. Jesus cannot be clearer. He talks about His giving us His own Flesh to eat. The Jews at that time quarrel among themselves: “How can this man give us HIS FLESH TO EAT?” (John 6:52). Still today the world is shocked and divided by Jesus’ words: “WHOEVER EATS MY FLESH HAS ETERNAL LIFE...MY FLESH IS TRUE FOOD...WHOEVER EATS MY FLESH REMAINS IN ME AND I IN HIM.” (John 6:56). These are...

As promised last week here are some first actions emerging from two group discussions with a dozen of the 33 pilgrims returning from their participation in the Tenth National Eucharistic Congress, the first one in over 80 years: 1. All our parishioners are invited to participate in the "WALK WITH ONE" national initiative during this third and final year of the "National Eucharistic Revival" ending June 2025. The Lord is asking each of us to step out of our comfort zone and evangelize ONE-ON-ONE... There is someone in your life right now whom Jesus longs to call to himself” (extract from the website of the New Eucharistic Revival). May God help you discern which is the ONE person He is calling you to evangelize! This might be a close individual (from your family or friends or workplace) that has stopped practicing his/her Catholic Faith or has never been baptized or no longer believes in God. Soon we will share with you how we plan to implement this nation-wide initiative in our own parish. Your feedback is much valued. EveryONE is expected to consider choosing ONE and only ONE person to walk with for ONE year. STAY TUNED! 2. As an extension of the above “Walk With One” activity, our Parish is already starting a "MILLION of MONICAS" Chapter. This women's prayer ministry will...

On the feast of St. John Vianney ( August 4), the patron saint of all priests, I invite you to reflect on the following quote from his famous catechesis to young children on prayer and love. Read it once, read it twice, reflecting on the EUCHARIST: “The Christian TREASURE is not on earth but in HEAVEN. Our thoughts must be directed toward where our treasure is. The glorious duty of MAN is to PRAY and LOVE. If you pray and love, that is where man’s happiness resides. Prayer is nothing other than UNION WITH GOD... In this intimate union, God and the soul fuse like two pieces of wax that no one can ever separate... Through prayer we receive a FORETASTE of HEAVEN and something of paradise descends upon us... It is honey that flows from the soul and sweetens all things. When we pray correctly, sorrows disappear like snow before the sun... When we come to...

Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Hungry for what? Thirsty for what? Are you hungry or thirsty for what satisfies your body: power, recognition, money, sex, pleasure, comfort? Or are you hungry or thirsting for what satisfies your soul: God? The great Saint Teresa of Avila said it so powerfully: “Nada me turbe, nada me espanté, nada me falta: SOLO DIOS BASTA! Nothing can trouble me, nothing can frighten me, I lack nothing: GOD ALONE FILLS ME! In the powerful...

What is the greatest gift you have received in your life? First, God gave you the amazing GIFT of Life through your parents. But since then, what is your greatest gift? Constant incredible acts of love from your parents, grandparents, or siblings despite many difficult family situations? Or the love of good friends? An amazing teacher in your Catholic upbringing? A good wife? A good husband? Your own children? A good job? Your faith in God? Your belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist? Your belief in the absolution of your sins in Confession? The reliance on the presence of the Holy Spirit’s love in your heart, especially when you face difficult times? God’s gift to allow you to forgive those who have hurt you deeply in your childhood or adulthood? God’s gift to accept sufferings you cannot change? The general gift of the Mass? The community God has given you through the Catholic Church? The assurance of the Gift of Eternal Life? Did the 60,000 Catholics who gathered in Indianapolis for 5 full days last week share the same great gifts from God? You could say they all came from distant places all over the United States of their own free will to spend an incredible time together. But why?...