It is an immense joy and honor for our parish to welcome Cardinal Gregory. He has been our Archbishop for over four years (May 21, 2019). He is our Shepherd and oversees the 140 parishes of the Archdiocese of Washington. As announced earlier Cardinal Gregory will celebrate the 11:30 am Mass this Sunday December 10, the Second Sunday of Advent, just two weeks away from Christmas. He is coming to close the Centennial Memorial Year of Father Martin (December 31,1845- August 6, - 1923). Following the Mass, he will attend with all of us the first performance by our Children and Youth of the Play about the Life of Father Martin, who spent the last 29 years of his life as the local Shepherd for the areas of Waldorf, Baden and Aquasco (1894-1923). This is the third time...

“I was inspired to write my own dream experience, however, my experience happened while wide awake experiencing my first radiation treatment for colon cancer. Needless to say. I was scared to death. Dressed in a hospital gown, lying on a machine I was unfamiliar with, I began to pray to Jesus, (I wish I prayed more often when I wasn’t asking for something). Through the intercom system came the voice of radiation tech asking me if I wanted to listen to any music. While my eyes remained...

What a joy for Abraham, his parents and his sisters: he just came back home right before Thanksgiving! He had been in the hospital/ rehab in Washington for nearly three months. His parents came every day and ensured that there was always one of them with him 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For two of these months, Abraham was totally paralyzed and the only movement he could make was moving his eyes. I recall the first time Abraham could speak; he...

Great news! Cardinal Gregory has agreed to come to our parish for the closing of Father Martin’s Centennial Memorial Year. He will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving with us on Sunday, December 10, at 11:30 AM, and will attend the first performance a play about Fr. Martin’s life by our children and youth immediately following the Mass in the Father Martin Hall. Mark your calendars: Every parishioner, families and friends are invited! It will be a great celebration of joy! It will be a continuation of the Centennial Memorial Mass held in our parish on August 6, the exact day of the 100th Anniversary of his death in Waldorf (December 31, 1845-August 23, 1923). We have to be most grateful...

Since Father Robert Pittman’s stroke, I celebrated the Mass at the Body of Christ Farm Chapel, St. Julian Eymard at 7:30 am, every First Thursday of the month. After Mass, we had a full Holy Hour of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and then Benediction. Before Benediction we prayed the following Act of Faith in the Real Presence: “Lord Jesus Christ, I believe You are as truly present in this Holy Sacrament, under the signs of bread and wine, as you were when dying upon the cross for the salvation of all mankind, or as you are now enthroned in Glory in Heaven at the right hand of the Father.” You said that you...

As a result of my pontine stroke last July, I had to learn again the movements we take for granted including how to walk without losing equilibrium, how to swallow, and how to again move my left leg and left arm (including the paralyzed fingers of my left hand). The stroke had led to death of cells in my pons, which could be seen on the MRI films. I had no idea we all have a pons (Latin for “bridge”), which is the largest part of the brain stem, the key link between the brain and the spine. Following my release from the hospital, I had to spend hours of physical rehabilitation and learned that the most important way to improve, apart from prayer (and thanks for all your prayers—God listened to you), was to be totally focused! This total focus, in turn, helped me to encounter...

I bring you Good News of Great Joy: Our 13-year- old Abraham has been miraculously healed! We can all rejoice in Abraham's joy!!! We can all rejoice with Abraham's parents and three sisters! Abraham's parents have asked me to thank all of you for your continuous prayers! We can all be grateful to God for Abraham’s amazing recovery in last two weeks –a true miracle! You will recall that I asked the entire parish to pray for the healing of Abraham on the first day of our 40- hour Adoration, Thursday, September 7. On that very day,...

Padre Pio loved the Eucharist!! Padre Pio spent hours in prayer before Mass and often entered into ecstasy while celebrating the Eucharist—an inspiration for our entire parish as we just entered into the Year of Renewed: Renewed in the Eucharist! Renewed in Christ! Today, I am asking each of you to slowly read and meditate upon Padre Pio’s beautiful and inspirational Prayer After Communion: 1. Stay with me Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget you. You know how easily I abandon You. 2. Stay with me Lord, because I am weak and need your strength.

First, Padre Pio came to us in October 7. Last Saturday was one of the most spiritual and powerful events ever held at OLHOC with the Veneration of Padre Pio's Relics from 8 AM through 7 PM; it was also the Celebration of Our Lady of the Rosary Feast Day. There was a sense of awe. One could feel the presence of one of the most famous and powerful Saints of modern times. There was excitement, over 30...

Last month, I wrote a short column in the bulletin entitled, “A Beautiful Dream”. Many of you gave me very positive feedback and indicated that they also had experienced similar joyful dreams. I asked that they share one of their dreams. So far, only one person has written to me about one of her beautiful dreams. Here it is (with her permission) for your own reflection: “I enjoyed reading about your heavenly dream, and would like to tell you about one of my dreams. My mother died in January of 2004. In December, 2004, I had the following dream:...

We are truly blessed to have the privilege of the visit of the Relics of Padre Pio to our parish Saturday, October 7. There will be five relics, including one containing a gauze with blood stains and another one with the crust of a Stigmata. These two First-Class Relics remind us that Padre Pio with St Francis of Assisi are among the very few saints having received the Stigmata, bleeding wounds on the hands, feet and side, similar to those of Jesus on the Cross. Padre Pio is one of the most...

Are you envious because God is generous with everyone at all times? This is the question God asks all of us at end of this weekend’s Gospel: the parable of the Landowner hiring laborer for his Vineyard (Matthew 20:1- 16a). Envy, jealously are "human" emotions. Our main relationship ought to be with God, not with other human beings. Our main goal is to be at Peace with God while on earth in order to have eternal life with God in heaven. In the Parable of the Landowner of the Vineyard, we know the Landowner is God, the triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The laborers hired for His Vineyard are all of us, the People of God. The Vineyard is the place where God has planted His Vine. Jesus, Son of God is the Vine, and we are the branches (John 15), producing fruits for the Landowner: God. How can we apply this Parable to our own parish, the local church? One could say our landowner is...

I have asked our entire parish to PRAY FOR ABRAHAM! WHO IS ABRAHAM? One of our young parishioners is 13-years old. His family (father, mother, three daughters and one son) have been members of our parish for 10 years. I had the Joy of giving Abraham his First Holy Communion. Many of you last saw Abraham at the Priests/Youth Concert in our Father Martin Hall on July 7. You will recall, the Hall was packed, and the music was uplifting. Abraham was one of the singers. This event was to raise funds for the 12 youth of our parish going to the World Youth Day in Portugal to meet with Pope Francis. Abraham was well prepared to go on this pilgrimage to Fatima/ Portugal: many prayers were said and also many activities, including fundraising events. Abraham had a wonderful experience! The pilgrimage included visits to holy sites in Spain, such as Santiago de Compostela and The Carmelite Monastery of Avila, before meeting Pope Francis in Fatima. I received many pictures of our young pilgrims as they were all praying for my full recovery from my stroke of July 19th. I saw Abraham in Waldorf when I returned to parish activities in late August. He was...

I will never forget the beautiful dream I had last week. I woke up in the middle of night. I felt an immense Joy! What is going on? I rarely re- member any of my dreams, whether bad or good. Slowly I began to recall what I had just been dreaming. It is a simple but so joyful dream that I wish to share it with you. Here it is: I was surrounded by a small group of people. They were all joyful. Everyone was helping everyone. They were al- ways involved in prayer or reaching out to anyone asking for help. There was a sense of PEACE all around. Some people were resting near a beautiful lake. Others were fishing quietly. What a beautiful and peaceful community! I pinched myself. Then...

I got some good feedback on last week’s column: RENEWED. One parishioner commented that “Being Renewed in Christ” is “Being Born Again”, “Being Born Again every day”. Most of the other comments so far referred to the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 17-21. Already six parishioners expressed interest in participating in our own parish “Renewed” Pilgrimage (last paragraph my column of last week). Such quick, positive response augurs well and I have decided to focus today on this unique Eucharistic Congress. The 10th National Eucharistic Congress will be a pivotal moment in both American history and the legacy of the Catholic Church, July 17–21, 2024, Catholics of all ages will gather in Indianapolis to worship our Risen Lord in a way our country hasn’t seen in 83 years. The rebirth of this legacy will be an important milestone within the National Eucharistic Renewal. Through this experience, the Church will...

Each one of us, including myself, needs to be Renewed! What does it mean to be Renewed? Every day is a New Day! Every day, God is asking each one of us to enter into a renewed relationship with Our Lord Jesus Christ! Jesus is the only one who can bring us a sustained peace and joy into our hearts. When our hearts are troubled, we are not doing God’s Will. We are not at peace. We are doing our own will, focusing on ourselves, focusing on making more money so that we can do whatever we want, focusing on pleasure, comfort, ignoring the real needs of those near us. Even worse, we may be telling lies about others so as to justify our own self-centered actions, desiring more power, more control over people around us, including our own families, our co-workers, our close friends, or even within our own parish, the family of families. All this is human. Since the Fall of Adam and Eve, that attraction to desire to be our own god, is the greatest desire of Satan, the Devil. He loves to promote divisions, especially in the family, the nucleus and center of our society. He loves to divide the Church, the Universal Church, the Catholic Church. He loves to promote lies, doubts, divisions. The Devil works through individuals who do not even know he has become their master. We may be at times surrounded by sheep who are wolves inside. But God loves each one of us and when we are truly with God, we cannot fear any evil spirit. Jesus has already won the victory over the devil by His Passion, Death and Resurrection! He tells each one of us:”Do Not Be Afraid!” Each one of us can be renewed in the Eucharist! As you know, I have gone through five difficult weeks. God gave me a clear message....

I am writing this column to you on the evening of August 15th, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is always very special for me. One of my favorite celebrations of this Feast Day was six years ago. It was the 100th anniversary of the apparition of Mary in Fatima. We had gone on a parish pilgrimage to Fatima to celebrate this centennial event. We had also decided to go and visit other Marian sites. We first went to Lourdes, where the amazing apparition of Mary to Bernadette Soubirous in the 1850’s made it one of the most visited Marian Centers, after Guadalupe, and one as famous as Fatima. Then we went to Paris and it happened that the day we were in Paris was August 15th. We went to celebrate the Mass, on this beautiful feast of the Assumption, in a little chapel in the famous church of St. Sulpice. This chapel brought me wonderful memories. I had played the organ there during...

I am most grateful to God for all your prayers. They are working. I’m coming home. I now plan to be back in Waldorf in time to join you for the celebration of the Assumption of the Blessed Mother. The last three weeks have been at the same time joyful and challenging. I was so joyful to be able to see my family in California for three days in mid July. I did not expect that on the last day of those three days I would have a stroke. I was planning to be back in time for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the death of Father Martin on August 6th. God had a different plan. I spent the last weeks in and out of the hospital due to a stroke. I was discharged on Wednesday, August 2nd, following several ups and downs. I have been able to make significant progress through physical therapy. What a joy to be back home with my family and to be able to walk again with less difficulty, be able to use my left arm, and be able to play the piano again. I continue to regain strength in my legs, left arm and hand. A greater joy is that I’m coming...

It is amazing to me that the event (Father Narcisse Martin’s Centennial Memorial Mass) we have been planning for so very long at Our Lady Help of Christians is being held on Sunday August 6! Having Bishop Roy Campbell as our main celebrant for the Mass, with Fr. Jacques Tangombe and Fr. Larry Therien, former Superior General of Sulpicians as concelebrants, contributes to our joy immensely. Not to mention the pilgrims from Aire-sur-la-Lys, France (Father Narcisse Martin’s hometown), who have landed, not at Plymouth Rock, but in Waldorf! Oh, how I wish I were with you to celebrate this joyous occasion; please know that your pastor will be there fully in spirit with you! This most special occasion at OLHOC will begin with the 11:30 a.m. Mass, celebrated by Bishop Roy Campbell, centered around the summit of our Faith, the Eucharist! Our liturgy will also be blessed with an incredible...

As your pastor, I am sure many of you have heard me say those words over the years. I am often trying to encourage others to realize that God has a plan for our lives, even when we are unsure or tentative in our trusting Him. Last week was filled with planning and preparation for me, (especially with the help of our wonderful volunteers), in anticipation of the Centennial Memorial Mass and Celebration in honor of Father Narcisse Martin. You may have heard me mention that name a few times. An added joy for me was a very short trip of three days that I was embarking on—to...