Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord reminds us that Christ after forty days of being Risen and having appeared to his apostles, ascends to heaven to sit at the right of the Father and from there he will send the Holy Spirit.
The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord not only celebrates that the risen Jesus rises to heaven, but that when He ascends, He goes to the Father, He will intercede for us. Where He goes, we His disciples are going to participate. Where the head of the Church is, there goes the body of the Church that we are all baptized.
His elevation to heaven, is the hope not only to go one day to participate in his perfect kingdom of love, justice and peace, in addition it is the hope that one day He will return to our world again to judge the living and the dead , saints and sinners, to those who became indifferent, to those who became blind to recognize him, to those who lost the gift of charity, to those who became judges, to those who believed they would find faith in their individualism, to those who did not accept life in the Spirit of God, and those who taught their children to live without faith, without love and without justice.
This Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord not only helps us to confirm our faith in the promises of Christ, but invites us to live them as the Beatitudes with which we will be judged at the end of time. Surely, we may question that this causes us to think about death and its closeness in our own existence, but it is to see how we live our life, if it is in tune with the ideal of the Gospel, if our faith and our works await the encounter with our God.
Rejoice with the whole church because Jesus makes way for our salvation, because His teaching is the truth with which our life will reach happiness and we can reach a life in fullness, that is to live in Christ for all eternity.
How different is this Solemnity to our cell phone or to our computer! We could see if we have savings, if we invest in something productive, if we get profit, if we acquire many things, if we “spend” things, moments and life itself or if we are cultivating eternity in our lives, our family and our community.
Happy Week and ask the Holy Spirit for all!
Fr. Fernando Torres
Pastor
La Solemnidad de la Ascensión del Señor nos recuerda que Cristo después de cuarenta días de resucitado y de haberse aparecido a sus apóstoles, sube al cielo a sentarse a la derecha del Padre y desde allí enviará el Espíritu Santo.
La solemnidad de la Ascensión del Señor no solamente celebra que Jesús resucitado sube al cielo, sino que al subir va al Padre, va a interceder por nosotros. Donde el va, nosotros sus discípulos vamos a participar. Donde está la cabeza de la Iglesia, hacia allá va el cuerpo de la Iglesia que somos todos los bautizados.
Su elevación al cielo, es la esperanza no solo de ir un día a participar de su Reino perfecto de amor, justicia y paz, además es la esperanza que un día regresará de nuevo a nuestro mundo a juzgar a los vivos y a los muertos, a los santos y a los pecadores, a los que se hicieron indiferentes, a los que se volvieron ciegos de reconocerlo, de los que perdieron el don de la caridad, de los que se convirtieron en jueces, de los que creyeron encontrar la fe en su individualismo, de los que no aceptaron la vida en el Espíritu de Dios, de los que enseñaron a sus hijos a vivir sin fe, sin amor y sin justicia.
Esta solemnidad de la Ascensión del Señor nos ayuda a confirmar nuestra fe en las promesas de Cristo, pero nos invita a vivirlas como las bienaventuranzas con las que seremos juzgados al final de los tiempos. Seguramente nos podremos interrogar que esto es para pensar en la muerte y su cercanía en nuestra propia existencia, pero es ver cómo vivimos nuestra vida, si está en sintonía con el ideal del Evangelio, si nuestra fe y nuestras obras esperan el encuentro con nuestro Dios.
Alegrémonos con toda la Iglesia porque Jesús se hace camino para nuestra salvación, porque su enseñanza es la verdad con la que nuestra vida alcanzará la felicidad y podremos alcanzar la vida en plenitud que es vivir en Cristo por toda la eternidad.
¡Qué diferente es esta fiesta a nuestro teléfono celular o a nuestro computador! Podríamos ver si tenemos ahorros, si invertimos en algo productivo, si obtenemos ganancias, si adquirimos muchas cosas, si “gastamos” las cosas, los momentos y la vida misma o si estamos cultivando la eternidad en nuestra vida, nuestra familia y nuestra comunidad.
¡Feliz Semana y pidamos el Espíritu Santo para todos!
Padre Fernando Torres
Párroco
Fourth Sunday of Easter
The feast of the Good Shepherd, the day of prayer for vocations to the priestly and religious life, the celebration of Mother’s Day and the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the children who received their First Communion the day before, they unite in the celebration of the Fourth Sunday of Easter.
We do not wonder which celebration is most important, or which one we choose to pray, to celebrate and leave the others unattended.
Christ continues on this Easter Sunday, appearing as resurrected in the midst of the community and in the midst of the family, counting on all Christians to be witnesses of His resurrection and of His new life. We are invited to follow Him in the midst of a community of faith that we call the parish, where the Word of God is proclaimed, God is praised and yearned for with hope of reaching the Heavenly Kingdom guided by Christ, who is the Paschal Lamb, the Good Shepherd.
In each person, God makes a call to live a certain vocation, but in the diversity of the call, God reveals His mercy to us and wants us all to live it in the best way, by serving, praising and proclaiming God as Our Lord and Redeemer. As the priest does when he consecrates his life, as a mother does to beget and give birth to a child, as a child can do when receiving their First Communion full of innocence and respect for Christ, or as a young person commits themselves, full of enthusiasm to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.
All are so necessary in our time, we all need to revitalize the Church, with all of us counted on to live as a community that professes and lives Christ as a Pastor. We need people to help us believe in Jesus Christ, to help us follow His teachings and not to be confused by false prophets. How many vocations do we need today so that we can all live as the First Community and for all to live our Christian Vocation?
Let us pray this week in a special way for those who serve in the church in a consecrated manner; for the Pope, the bishops and priests. Let us also ask for the mothers of the family to always be blessed in their call to propagate life, to educate and to care for them, witnessing the tenderness and mercy of God the Father. Let us ask for those who receive the sacraments and for all who live this Paschal time, for Christ to bless us with His call to build a community of faithful followers of His teachings and witnesses of His mercy.
Let us also pray that we can all learn to listen to Christ in the midst of our world, to put it as our priority in the midst of so many offers, to hear His word with the ears of the heart and to serve our brothers and sisters, especially the most needy and to trust the intercession of Mary Most Holy as our mother, our helper queen of all of us.
Fr. Fernando Torres
Pastor
La fiesta del Buen Pastor, la jornada de oración por las vocaciones a la vida sacerdotal y a la vida religiosa, la Celebración del Día de las Madres y la Coronación de la Santísima Virgen María por parte de los niños que recibieron el día anterior su Primera Comunión, se unen a la celebración del Cuarto Domingo de Pascua.
No nos preguntamos cuál celebración es más importante, o cuál escojo para orar, para celebrar y dejar las otras sin atender.
Cristo continúa en este domingo de Pascua, apareciéndose como resucitado en medio de la comunidad y en medio de la familia, contando con todos los cristianos para que sean testigos de su resurrección, de su vida nueva y sobre todo, invitando a todos a seguirlo en medio de una comunidad de fe que llamamos parroquia, donde se proclama la Palabra de Dios, se alaba a Dios y se anhela en la esperanza poder llegar al reino celestial guiados por Cristo, que es el Cordero Pascual, el Buen Pastor.
En cada persona, Dios realiza un llamado a vivir una vocación determinada, pero en la diversidad de la llamada, Dios nos revela su misericordia y quiere que todos la vivamos de la mejor manera, sirviendo, alabando y proclamando a Dios como nuestro Señor y Redentor. Como lo hace el sacerdote al consagrar su vida, como lo hace una madre al engendrar y dar a luz a su hijo, como lo puede hacer un niño al recibir su Primera Comunión lleno de inocencia y respeto por Cristo, o como se compromete un joven lleno de entusiasmo al recibir el Sacramento de la Confirmación.
Todos son tan necesarios en nuestro tiempo, a todos los necesitamos para revitalizar la Iglesia, con todos contamos para que podamos vivir como comunidad que profesa y vive a Cristo como Pastor. Nos hace falta personas que nos ayuden a creer en Jesucristo, que nos ayuden a seguir sus enseñanzas y no dejarnos confundir por los falsos profetas, ¿cuántas vocaciones necesitamos hoy para que todos podamos vivir como la primera comunidad y para que todos vivamos nuestra vocación de cristianos?
Oremos en esta semana de manera especial por los que sirven en la Iglesia de manera consagrada; por el Papa, los obispos y sacerdotes. Pidamos también por las madres de familia para que siempre sean bendecidas en su llamado de propagar la vida, educarla y cuidarla, siendo testigos de la ternura y la misericordia del Padre Dios. Pidamos por los que reciben los sacramentos y por todos los que vivimos este tiempo pascual para que Cristo nos bendiga con su llamado a construir una comunidad de fieles seguidores de sus enseñanzas y testigos de su misericordia.
También oremos para que todos podamos aprender a escuchar a Cristo en medio de nuestro mundo, a ponerlo como nuestra prioridad en medio de tantas ofertas, a escuchar su Palabra con los oídos del corazón y a servirlo en nuestros hermanos y hermanas, especialmente los más necesitados y a confiar en la intercesión de María Santísima como nuestra Madre y nuestra Reina Auxiliadora.
Padre Fernando Torres
Párroco
Fourth Sunday of Easter
The feast of the Good Shepherd, the day of prayer for vocations to the priestly and religious life, the celebration of Mother’s Day and the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the children who received their First Communion the day before, they unite in the celebration of the Fourth Sunday of Easter.
We do not wonder which celebration is most important, or which one we choose to pray, to celebrate and leave the others unattended.
Christ continues on this Easter Sunday, appearing as resurrected in the midst of the community and in the midst of the family, counting on all Christians to be witnesses of His resurrection and of His new life. We are invited to follow Him in the midst of a community of faith that we call the parish, where the Word of God is proclaimed, God is praised and yearned for with hope of reaching the Heavenly Kingdom guided by Christ, who is the Paschal Lamb, the Good Shepherd.
In each person, God makes a call to live a certain vocation, but in the diversity of the call, God reveals His mercy to us and wants us all to live it in the best way, by serving, praising and proclaiming God as Our Lord and Redeemer. As the priest does when he consecrates his life, as a mother does to beget and give birth to a child, as a child can do when receiving their First Communion full of innocence and respect for Christ, or as a young person commits themselves, full of enthusiasm to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.
All are so necessary in our time, we all need to revitalize the Church, with all of us counted on to live as a community that professes and lives Christ as a Pastor. We need people to help us believe in Jesus Christ, to help us follow His teachings and not to be confused by false prophets. How many vocations do we need today so that we can all live as the First Community and for all to live our Christian Vocation?
Let us pray this week in a special way for those who serve in the church in a consecrated manner; for the Pope, the bishops and priests. Let us also ask for the mothers of the family to always be blessed in their call to propagate life, to educate and to care for them, witnessing the tenderness and mercy of God the Father. Let us ask for those who receive the sacraments and for all who live this Paschal time, for Christ to bless us with His call to build a community of faithful followers of His teachings and witnesses of His mercy.
Let us also pray that we can all learn to listen to Christ in the midst of our world, to put it as our priority in the midst of so many offers, to hear His word with the ears of the heart and to serve our brothers and sisters, especially the most needy and to trust the intercession of Mary Most Holy as our mother, our helper queen of all of us.
Fr. Fernando Torres
Pastor
La fiesta del Buen Pastor, la jornada de oración por las vocaciones a la vida sacerdotal y a la vida religiosa, la Celebración del Día de las Madres y la Coronación de la Santísima Virgen María por parte de los niños que recibieron el día anterior su Primera Comunión, se unen a la celebración del Cuarto Domingo de Pascua.
No nos preguntamos cuál celebración es más importante, o cuál escojo para orar, para celebrar y dejar las otras sin atender.
Cristo continúa en este domingo de Pascua, apareciéndose como resucitado en medio de la comunidad y en medio de la familia, contando con todos los cristianos para que sean testigos de su resurrección, de su vida nueva y sobre todo, invitando a todos a seguirlo en medio de una comunidad de fe que llamamos parroquia, donde se proclama la Palabra de Dios, se alaba a Dios y se anhela en la esperanza poder llegar al reino celestial guiados por Cristo, que es el Cordero Pascual, el Buen Pastor.
En cada persona, Dios realiza un llamado a vivir una vocación determinada, pero en la diversidad de la llamada, Dios nos revela su misericordia y quiere que todos la vivamos de la mejor manera, sirviendo, alabando y proclamando a Dios como nuestro Señor y Redentor. Como lo hace el sacerdote al consagrar su vida, como lo hace una madre al engendrar y dar a luz a su hijo, como lo puede hacer un niño al recibir su Primera Comunión lleno de inocencia y respeto por Cristo, o como se compromete un joven lleno de entusiasmo al recibir el Sacramento de la Confirmación.
Todos son tan necesarios en nuestro tiempo, a todos los necesitamos para revitalizar la Iglesia, con todos contamos para que podamos vivir como comunidad que profesa y vive a Cristo como Pastor. Nos hace falta personas que nos ayuden a creer en Jesucristo, que nos ayuden a seguir sus enseñanzas y no dejarnos confundir por los falsos profetas, ¿cuántas vocaciones necesitamos hoy para que todos podamos vivir como la primera comunidad y para que todos vivamos nuestra vocación de cristianos?
Oremos en esta semana de manera especial por los que sirven en la Iglesia de manera consagrada; por el Papa, los obispos y sacerdotes. Pidamos también por las madres de familia para que siempre sean bendecidas en su llamado de propagar la vida, educarla y cuidarla, siendo testigos de la ternura y la misericordia del Padre Dios. Pidamos por los que reciben los sacramentos y por todos los que vivimos este tiempo pascual para que Cristo nos bendiga con su llamado a construir una comunidad de fieles seguidores de sus enseñanzas y testigos de su misericordia.
También oremos para que todos podamos aprender a escuchar a Cristo en medio de nuestro mundo, a ponerlo como nuestra prioridad en medio de tantas ofertas, a escuchar su Palabra con los oídos del corazón y a servirlo en nuestros hermanos y hermanas, especialmente los más necesitados y a confiar en la intercesión de María Santísima como nuestra Madre y nuestra Reina Auxiliadora.
Padre Fernando Torres
Párroco
Third Week of Ordinary Time
January 27, 2019
We begin this week directly with the Gospel of Luke which will introduce us to the reason why he will write a story about the life of Christ and does it with style, with his intention to address the pagan people and above all to convey with his words the best brushstrokes of the image of Jesus that condemned, listened and experienced.
For us, today is not simply the work of Luke, it is also the gospel of Jesus Christ and is part of the Bible.
With all this, his story delights us with such special moments ranging from the announcement of the conception of Jesus and they are leading us to the resurrection of Christ, but Luke will not stop there, but will tell us through the Acts of the Apostles the history of the birth of the church with all its details, pains and persecutions.
Today he describes Jesus guided by the Holy Spirit, as the one who has been obtained in the wilderness and has the experience of the temptation of the devil and goes to Galilee, arrives at the synagogue and reads the passage of Isaiah and announces that it is the time of fulfillment of the word of God.
Today the Scriptures are the facts in which God has announced his presence with his people, where the grace of His Holy Spirit describes the action of God as the usher of a new kingdom, where the liberating and healing God caresses the lives of the poor and the sick to mark them as the blessed of God.
Today we could recognize the importance in the day of the Lord, how much we need to promote the listening of the Word of God, with celebration, with majesty, with respect, with humility, willing to let his spirit act in our hearts and have the courage to accept that our lives are in need of the good news, of the faith we need to accept not only believing, accepting, living, transforming and proclaiming new things.
Today that same word reveals to us that we are a vital part of the body of Christ and that our union to him and to his Holy Spirit must strengthen us to be today the living Word of God when we celebrate, when we love, when we believe and when we hope in his love´s mystery.
May St. Luke guide us in this time and teach us to describe Jesus with our lives!
Fr. Fernando Torres
Pastor
Trecera semana de tiempo ordinario
Comenzamos en esta semana de manera directa a leer el Evangelio de Lucas y este nos va a introducir en la razón por la cual va a escribir un relato acerca de la vida de Cristo y lo hace contando con su estilo, con su intención de dirigirse a los pueblos paganos y sobre todo a trasmitir con sus palabras las mejores pinceladas de la imagen de Jesús que conoció, escuchó y vivenció.
Para nosotros no es hoy simplemente la obra de lucas, es además el Evangelio de Jesucristo y es parte de la biblia.
Con todo esto su relato nos deleita con momentos tan especiales que van desde el anuncio de la concepción de Jesús y nos van llevando hasta llegar hasta la resurrección de Cristo, pero Lucas no se detendrá allí, sino que nos relatará a través de los hechos de los apóstoles la historia del nacimiento de la Iglesia con todos sus detalles, dolores y persecuciones.
Hoy nos describe a Jesús guiado por el Espíritu Santo, como el que se ha retirado al desierto y tiene la experiencia de la tentación del demonio y va a Galilea, llega a la sinagoga y lee el pasaje de Isaías y anuncia que es el tiempo del cumplimiento de la Palabra de Dios.
Hoy las escrituras son los hechos en los que Dios ha anunciado su presencia en medio de su pueblo, en donde la gracia de su espíritu Santo describe la acción de Dios como instaurador de un Nuevo Reino, donde el Dios liberador y sanador acaricia la vida de los pobres y enfermos para señalarlos como los benditos de Dios.
Hoy podríamos reconocer la importancia en el día del Señor, cuánto nos hace falta promover la escucha de la Palabra de Dios, con celebración, con majestad, con respeto, con humildad, con disposición a dejar que su espíritu actúe en nuestros corazones y tener la valentía de aceptar que nuestras vidas están necesitadas de su buena noticia, de la fe que necesitamos para aceptar no solo creer, aceptar, vivir, transformar y proclamar cosas nuevas.
Hoy esa misma Palabra nos revela que somos parte vital del Cuerpo de Cristo y que nuestra unión a Él y a su Espíritu Santo nos deben fortalecer para poder ser hoy la palabra viva de Dios cuando celebramos, cuando amamos, cuando creemos y cuando esperamos en su misterio de amor.
Que san Lucas nos guie en este tiempo y nos enseñe a describir a Jesús con nuestra vida!
P. Fernando Torres
Párroco
Feast of the Holy Family
December 30, 2018
At the end of the year, we join in faith to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in this scene of the Holy Family. We thank God for his incarnation in our world, in our parish community and in a special way in our families.
The blessing of having a family is the bliss that our ancestors heard the voice of God. They believed in his teachings and gave our lives the treasure of having a home, where we waited to count on God, with his love and with the great lesson of counting and sharing with others.
That greatness to have a home that welcomes us from our birth, but greater is to have God who welcomes us into eternal life, made us his children through his beloved Son who became incarnate in the human family to partake of his divine life.
Today we contemplate that God calls each one of us to work for the great treasure of having a family, for belonging in it and helping, together with the other people to build a community of life, of love and of service. That is why we need the same Jesus who was born in the manger to stay alive in our hearts to help us share his love and give us the strength to die every day to our selfishness and indifference to build a true family life.
We are also invited in our condition to make possible the work of our Father-God. And we do it with respect, with obedience and especially with the love of God. One of the commandments is to honor father and mother, obeying, valuing and respecting each one of them. Taking compassion from their shortcomings and helping them in their narrow circumstances to have a more just and more peaceful life.
In our world, we must work with a greater effort to give the family the real position it needs and thus be able to help future generations prepare to live in love, faith and hope that God will continue to be present in the lives of children , of the young people and of each one who lives as a family, who loves as Jesus came to teach us and be faithful to God as Joseph and Mary were in the mission that God entrusted to them.
May the holy Family shine in your family all days in this New year!
Fr. Fernando Torres
Pastor
Joyful New Year 2019!
La fiesta de la sagrada familia
Al terminar el año nos unimos en la fe para celebrar la fiesta de la sagrada familia de Jesús, María y José. En esta escena de la Sagrada Familia damos gracias a Dios por su encarnación en nuestro mundo, en nuestra comunidad parroquial y de manera especial de nuestras familias.
La bendición de tener una familia es la dicha que nuestros antepasados escucharon la voz de Dios, creyeron en sus enseñanzas y brindaron a nuestras vidas el tesoro de tener un hogar donde aprendimos a contar con Dios, con su amor y con la gran lección de contar y compartir a los demás en nuestras vidas.
Que grandeza tener un hogar que nos acogió desde nuestro nacimiento, pero más grande es contar con Dios que nos acogió en la vida eterna, nos hizo sus hijos por medio de su Hijo amado que se encarnó en la familia humana para hacernos participar de su vida divina.
Hoy contemplamos que Dios nos llama a cada uno de nosotros a trabajar por el gran tesoro de tener una familia, por pertenecer en ella y ayudar, junto con las otras personas a construir una comunidad de vida, de amor y de servicio. Por eso necesitamos que el mismo Jesús que nació en el pesebre, se mantenga vivo en nuestros corazones para que nos ayude a compartir su entrega de amor y nos dé la fuerza de morir cada día a nuestros egoísmos e indiferencias para construir una verdadera vida de familia.
También estamos invitados a trabajar todos y cada uno desde nuestra condición para hacer posible la obra de nuestro Padre-Dios. Y lo hacemos con el respeto, con la obediencia y especialmente con el amor de Dios. Uno de los mandatos es el de honrar a Padre y Madre. Obedeciendo, valorando y respetando a cada uno de ellos. Teniendo compasión de sus deficiencias y ayudándolos en sus carencias a tener una vida más justa y más pacífica.
En nuestro mundo, debemos trabajar con un esfuerzo mayor para darle a la familia el verdadero puesto que necesita y así poder ayudar a las futuras generaciones a prepararse a vivir en el amor, en la fe y en la esperanza que Dios continuará presente en la vida de los niños, de los jóvenes y de cada uno que viva como familia, que ame como Jesús vino a enseñarnos y sean fieles a Dios como lo fue José y María en la misión que Dios les encomendó.
¡Que la Sagrada Familia ilumine su hogar todos los días del Nuevo Año!
P. Fernando Torres
Párroco
¡Les deseamos un
alegre Año 2019!
Easter
April 21, 2019
The Disciples of Christ go to the grave,
to seek faith in a new burial,
to find comfort in life by taking care of a dead man,
yearning for the past of the winds of triumph,
and recovering from the recent violent days.
The Disciples of Christ continue to seek,
an empty tomb that gives meaning to life,
a divine announcement that fills them with joy,
an authentic witness who will proclaim “Hallelujah!”
The Lord’s Porch rose at the beginning of the day.
The Disciples of Christ come to the grave;
the sins that crucified the innocent,
the wicked that planned the death of the righteous,
the indifferent who nailed the Saint
And the unrighteous who hung him on the Cross.
The Disciples of Christ learn to see,
that Christ has risen for eternity,
that he has vanquished the sin for the fraternity,
that he has overcome the fear of slavery,
And that he has brought a new light to the darkness.
The Disciples of Christ run to the Church
to seek Christ at Sunday Mass,
in listening to his word that is novelty,
in the shared bread that is the sign of his love
and the encounter with others who celebrate peace.
The Disciples of Christ proclaim the truth,
which Christ resurrected to give salvation,
recognizing in the face of the brother,
serving him every day in the neighbor in need
and celebrating with a life clean from sin.
The Disciples of Christ live the Resurrection,
renewing the baptism, and the mission of the Christian,
being part of the friends who testify
that Christ was resurrected and is alive among his people
living the charity by serving humanity.
Amen.
Fr. Fernando Torres
Pastor
Pascua de Resurrección
Los discípulos de Cristo van a la tumba,
Para buscar la fe en una nueva sepultura,
Para consolar la vida cuidando de un muerto,
Añorando el pasado de los vientos de triunfo,
y reponiéndose de los últimos días violentos.
Los discípulos de Cristo continúan buscando,
Una tumba vacía que le dé sentido a la vida,
Un anuncio divino que los llene de alegría,
¡Un testigo auténtico que proclame “Aleluya”!
Porque el Señor resucitó al comenzar el día.
Los discípulos de Cristo llegan a la tumba;
De los pecados que crucificaron al inocente,
De la maldad que planeó la muerte del justo,
De los indiferentes que clavaron al santo
Y de los injustos que lo colgaron en la cruz.
Los discípulos de Cristo aprender a ver,
Que Cristo ha resucitado para la eternidad,
Que ha vencido el pecado para la hermandad,
Que ha vencido el miedo de la esclavitud,
Y que ha traído una luz nueva a la oscuridad.
Los discípulos de Cristo corren a la Iglesia
Para buscar a Cristo en la Misa dominical,
En la escucha de su Palabra que es novedad,
En el pan compartido que es signo de su amor
y el encuentro con los otros para celebrar la paz.
Los discípulos de Cristo proclaman la verdad,
Que Cristo resucitó para dar la salvación,
Reconociéndolo en el rostro del hermano,
Sirviéndolo cada día en el prójimo necesitado
Y celebrándolo con la vida limpia de pecado.
Los discípulos de Cristo viven la resurrección,
Renovando el bautismo y la misión del cristiano,
Siendo parte de los amigos que dan testimonio
Que Cristo resucitó y está vivo entre los suyos
Viviendo la caridad que sirve a la humanidad.
Amén.
Padre Fernando Torres
Third Week of Ordinary Time
January 27, 2019
We begin this week directly with the Gospel of Luke which will introduce us to the reason why he will write a story about the life of Christ and does it with style, with his intention to address the pagan people and above all to convey with his words the best brushstrokes of the image of Jesus that condemned, listened and experienced.
For us, today is not simply the work of Luke, it is also the gospel of Jesus Christ and is part of the Bible.
With all this, his story delights us with such special moments ranging from the announcement of the conception of Jesus and they are leading us to the resurrection of Christ, but Luke will not stop there, but will tell us through the Acts of the Apostles the history of the birth of the church with all its details, pains and persecutions.
Today he describes Jesus guided by the Holy Spirit, as the one who has been obtained in the wilderness and has the experience of the temptation of the devil and goes to Galilee, arrives at the synagogue and reads the passage of Isaiah and announces that it is the time of fulfillment of the word of God.
Today the Scriptures are the facts in which God has announced his presence with his people, where the grace of His Holy Spirit describes the action of God as the usher of a new kingdom, where the liberating and healing God caresses the lives of the poor and the sick to mark them as the blessed of God.
Today we could recognize the importance in the day of the Lord, how much we need to promote the listening of the Word of God, with celebration, with majesty, with respect, with humility, willing to let his spirit act in our hearts and have the courage to accept that our lives are in need of the good news, of the faith we need to accept not only believing, accepting, living, transforming and proclaiming new things.
Today that same word reveals to us that we are a vital part of the body of Christ and that our union to him and to his Holy Spirit must strengthen us to be today the living Word of God when we celebrate, when we love, when we believe and when we hope in his love´s mystery.
May St. Luke guide us in this time and teach us to describe Jesus with our lives!
Fr. Fernando Torres
Pastor
Trecera semana de tiempo ordinario
Comenzamos en esta semana de manera directa a leer el Evangelio de Lucas y este nos va a introducir en la razón por la cual va a escribir un relato acerca de la vida de Cristo y lo hace contando con su estilo, con su intención de dirigirse a los pueblos paganos y sobre todo a trasmitir con sus palabras las mejores pinceladas de la imagen de Jesús que conoció, escuchó y vivenció.
Para nosotros no es hoy simplemente la obra de lucas, es además el Evangelio de Jesucristo y es parte de la biblia.
Con todo esto su relato nos deleita con momentos tan especiales que van desde el anuncio de la concepción de Jesús y nos van llevando hasta llegar hasta la resurrección de Cristo, pero Lucas no se detendrá allí, sino que nos relatará a través de los hechos de los apóstoles la historia del nacimiento de la Iglesia con todos sus detalles, dolores y persecuciones.
Hoy nos describe a Jesús guiado por el Espíritu Santo, como el que se ha retirado al desierto y tiene la experiencia de la tentación del demonio y va a Galilea, llega a la sinagoga y lee el pasaje de Isaías y anuncia que es el tiempo del cumplimiento de la Palabra de Dios.
Hoy las escrituras son los hechos en los que Dios ha anunciado su presencia en medio de su pueblo, en donde la gracia de su espíritu Santo describe la acción de Dios como instaurador de un Nuevo Reino, donde el Dios liberador y sanador acaricia la vida de los pobres y enfermos para señalarlos como los benditos de Dios.
Hoy podríamos reconocer la importancia en el día del Señor, cuánto nos hace falta promover la escucha de la Palabra de Dios, con celebración, con majestad, con respeto, con humildad, con disposición a dejar que su espíritu actúe en nuestros corazones y tener la valentía de aceptar que nuestras vidas están necesitadas de su buena noticia, de la fe que necesitamos para aceptar no solo creer, aceptar, vivir, transformar y proclamar cosas nuevas.
Hoy esa misma Palabra nos revela que somos parte vital del Cuerpo de Cristo y que nuestra unión a Él y a su Espíritu Santo nos deben fortalecer para poder ser hoy la palabra viva de Dios cuando celebramos, cuando amamos, cuando creemos y cuando esperamos en su misterio de amor.
Que san Lucas nos guie en este tiempo y nos enseñe a describir a Jesús con nuestra vida!
P. Fernando Torres
Párroco
Feast of the Holy Family
December 30, 2018
At the end of the year, we join in faith to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in this scene of the Holy Family. We thank God for his incarnation in our world, in our parish community and in a special way in our families.
The blessing of having a family is the bliss that our ancestors heard the voice of God. They believed in his teachings and gave our lives the treasure of having a home, where we waited to count on God, with his love and with the great lesson of counting and sharing with others.
That greatness to have a home that welcomes us from our birth, but greater is to have God who welcomes us into eternal life, made us his children through his beloved Son who became incarnate in the human family to partake of his divine life.
Today we contemplate that God calls each one of us to work for the great treasure of having a family, for belonging in it and helping, together with the other people to build a community of life, of love and of service. That is why we need the same Jesus who was born in the manger to stay alive in our hearts to help us share his love and give us the strength to die every day to our selfishness and indifference to build a true family life.
We are also invited in our condition to make possible the work of our Father-God. And we do it with respect, with obedience and especially with the love of God. One of the commandments is to honor father and mother, obeying, valuing and respecting each one of them. Taking compassion from their shortcomings and helping them in their narrow circumstances to have a more just and more peaceful life.
In our world, we must work with a greater effort to give the family the real position it needs and thus be able to help future generations prepare to live in love, faith and hope that God will continue to be present in the lives of children , of the young people and of each one who lives as a family, who loves as Jesus came to teach us and be faithful to God as Joseph and Mary were in the mission that God entrusted to them.
May the holy Family shine in your family all days in this New year!
Fr. Fernando Torres
Pastor
Joyful New Year 2019!
La fiesta de la sagrada familia
Al terminar el año nos unimos en la fe para celebrar la fiesta de la sagrada familia de Jesús, María y José. En esta escena de la Sagrada Familia damos gracias a Dios por su encarnación en nuestro mundo, en nuestra comunidad parroquial y de manera especial de nuestras familias.
La bendición de tener una familia es la dicha que nuestros antepasados escucharon la voz de Dios, creyeron en sus enseñanzas y brindaron a nuestras vidas el tesoro de tener un hogar donde aprendimos a contar con Dios, con su amor y con la gran lección de contar y compartir a los demás en nuestras vidas.
Que grandeza tener un hogar que nos acogió desde nuestro nacimiento, pero más grande es contar con Dios que nos acogió en la vida eterna, nos hizo sus hijos por medio de su Hijo amado que se encarnó en la familia humana para hacernos participar de su vida divina.
Hoy contemplamos que Dios nos llama a cada uno de nosotros a trabajar por el gran tesoro de tener una familia, por pertenecer en ella y ayudar, junto con las otras personas a construir una comunidad de vida, de amor y de servicio. Por eso necesitamos que el mismo Jesús que nació en el pesebre, se mantenga vivo en nuestros corazones para que nos ayude a compartir su entrega de amor y nos dé la fuerza de morir cada día a nuestros egoísmos e indiferencias para construir una verdadera vida de familia.
También estamos invitados a trabajar todos y cada uno desde nuestra condición para hacer posible la obra de nuestro Padre-Dios. Y lo hacemos con el respeto, con la obediencia y especialmente con el amor de Dios. Uno de los mandatos es el de honrar a Padre y Madre. Obedeciendo, valorando y respetando a cada uno de ellos. Teniendo compasión de sus deficiencias y ayudándolos en sus carencias a tener una vida más justa y más pacífica.
En nuestro mundo, debemos trabajar con un esfuerzo mayor para darle a la familia el verdadero puesto que necesita y así poder ayudar a las futuras generaciones a prepararse a vivir en el amor, en la fe y en la esperanza que Dios continuará presente en la vida de los niños, de los jóvenes y de cada uno que viva como familia, que ame como Jesús vino a enseñarnos y sean fieles a Dios como lo fue José y María en la misión que Dios les encomendó.
¡Que la Sagrada Familia ilumine su hogar todos los días del Nuevo Año!
P. Fernando Torres
Párroco
¡Les deseamos un
alegre Año 2019!
First Week of Ordinary Time
January 13, 2019
Ordinary Time is looking the most direct way that Christ reveals to us the beginning of a new covenant between God and his people. We live our daily life with sometimes vain and transient expectations, but God wants to give us the meaning and fullness of all that we need.
When we see our reality, we feel emptiness, silence. Many times we lose the sense of our work, of our families, of marriage, of the effort to live in community, our prayers become repetitive and we even come to believe that silence is the absence of God and we even think that many have a reason to consider that values no longer count or are out of fashion and are not necessary to find happiness.
But today, this gospel shows us that the presence of Christ in our life; his words, his teachings and the beginning of his miracles come to reveal to us that the new wine, the source of joy and the abundance of his mercy come to bring us a new life. That God has not forgotten us, but the time has come when each one of the guests, that is, each baptized is invited to live a time of grace, the Kingdom of God is here and is at hand.
As a community, God gives us the opportunity to share the joy of the new wine. This means that the new community lives in the fraternity party, where we are called to live the charity with each other, where the fraternity manifests itself with forgiveness, where the joy is in the service and where each one expresses their love, their talents to live in unity that produces the action of the Holy Spirit throughout the community.
The wedding that Jesus was invited, the Virgin Mary and his disciples is the image of the life of our homes where there must be a welcome to the new, to the New Covenant, to the presence of God who comes to strengthen our faith , to strengthen our capacity to love with works and to hope that their presence will guide us in our homes, in our community and in our world with the divine wisdom to be able to make our lives, our prayers and our works be part of the novelty of his kingdom in the midst of our world.
May the Lord give us his new wine to soothe our thirst and to help to live the great banquet in which it is given as a drink of salvation.
Fr. Fernando Torres
Pastor
Primera semana de tiempo ordinario
Comenzar el tiempo ordinario es ver la forma más directa que Cristo nos revela el comienzo de una nueva alianza entre Dios y su pueblo. Nosotros vivimos la vida diaria con expectativas a veces vanas y pasajeras, pero Dios quiere darnos el sentido y la plenitud de todo lo que necesitamos
Cuando vemos nuestra realidad, sentimos vaciedad, silencio. Muchas veces hasta perdemos el sentido de nuestro trabajo, de nuestras familias, del matrimonio, del esfuerzo de vivir en comunidad, nuestras oraciones se vuelven repetitivas y hasta llegamos a creer que el silencio es la ausencia de Dios y hasta pensamos que muchos tienen razón al considerar que los valores ya no cuentan o están fuera de moda y no son necesarios para encontrar la felicidad.
Pero hoy, este evangelio, nos muestra que la presencia de Cristo en nuestra vida, sus palabras, sus enseñanzas y el comienzo de sus milagros nos vienen a revelar que el nuevo vino, la fuente de la alegría y la abundancia de su misericordia vienen a traernos una nueva vida.
Que Dios no se ha olvidado de nosotros, sino que ha llegado el tiempo en el que cada uno de los invitados, es decir, cada bautizado está invitado a vivir un tiempo de gracia, el Reino de Dios está aquí y está en medio de nosotros.
Como comunidad, Dios nos da la oportunidad de compartir la dicha del nuevo vino. Eso quiere decir que la nueva comunidad vive en la fiesta de la fraternidad, donde estamos llamados a vivir la caridad los unos con los otros, donde la fraternidad se manifiesta con el perdón, donde la alegría se encuentra en el servicio y donde cada uno expresa de corazón sus talentos para vivir en la unidad que produce la acción del Espíritu Santo en toda la comunidad.
La boda a la que fue invitado Jesús, la Virgen María y sus discípulos es la imagen de la vida de nuestros hogares donde debe haber una bienvenida a lo nuevo, a la nueva Alianza, a la presencia de Dios que viene a fortalecer nuestra fe, a fortalecer nuestra capacidad de amar con obras y a esperar que su presencia nos guíe en nuestros hogares, en nuestra comunidad y en nuestro mundo con la sabiduría divina para poder hacer que nuestras vidas, nuestras oraciones y nuestras obras sean parte de la novedad de su Reino en medio de nuestro mundo.
Pidámosle al Señor que nos dé su nuevo vino para calmar nuestra sed y ayudarnos a vivir el gran banquete en el que el mismo se da como bebida de salvación.
P. Fernando Torres
Párroco
Feast of the Holy Family
December 30, 2018
At the end of the year, we join in faith to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in this scene of the Holy Family. We thank God for his incarnation in our world, in our parish community and in a special way in our families.
The blessing of having a family is the bliss that our ancestors heard the voice of God. They believed in his teachings and gave our lives the treasure of having a home, where we waited to count on God, with his love and with the great lesson of counting and sharing with others.
That greatness to have a home that welcomes us from our birth, but greater is to have God who welcomes us into eternal life, made us his children through his beloved Son who became incarnate in the human family to partake of his divine life.
Today we contemplate that God calls each one of us to work for the great treasure of having a family, for belonging in it and helping, together with the other people to build a community of life, of love and of service. That is why we need the same Jesus who was born in the manger to stay alive in our hearts to help us share his love and give us the strength to die every day to our selfishness and indifference to build a true family life.
We are also invited in our condition to make possible the work of our Father-God. And we do it with respect, with obedience and especially with the love of God. One of the commandments is to honor father and mother, obeying, valuing and respecting each one of them. Taking compassion from their shortcomings and helping them in their narrow circumstances to have a more just and more peaceful life.
In our world, we must work with a greater effort to give the family the real position it needs and thus be able to help future generations prepare to live in love, faith and hope that God will continue to be present in the lives of children , of the young people and of each one who lives as a family, who loves as Jesus came to teach us and be faithful to God as Joseph and Mary were in the mission that God entrusted to them.
May the holy Family shine in your family all days in this New year!
Fr. Fernando Torres
Pastor
Joyful New Year 2019!
La fiesta de la sagrada familia
Al terminar el año nos unimos en la fe para celebrar la fiesta de la sagrada familia de Jesús, María y José. En esta escena de la Sagrada Familia damos gracias a Dios por su encarnación en nuestro mundo, en nuestra comunidad parroquial y de manera especial de nuestras familias.
La bendición de tener una familia es la dicha que nuestros antepasados escucharon la voz de Dios, creyeron en sus enseñanzas y brindaron a nuestras vidas el tesoro de tener un hogar donde aprendimos a contar con Dios, con su amor y con la gran lección de contar y compartir a los demás en nuestras vidas.
Que grandeza tener un hogar que nos acogió desde nuestro nacimiento, pero más grande es contar con Dios que nos acogió en la vida eterna, nos hizo sus hijos por medio de su Hijo amado que se encarnó en la familia humana para hacernos participar de su vida divina.
Hoy contemplamos que Dios nos llama a cada uno de nosotros a trabajar por el gran tesoro de tener una familia, por pertenecer en ella y ayudar, junto con las otras personas a construir una comunidad de vida, de amor y de servicio. Por eso necesitamos que el mismo Jesús que nació en el pesebre, se mantenga vivo en nuestros corazones para que nos ayude a compartir su entrega de amor y nos dé la fuerza de morir cada día a nuestros egoísmos e indiferencias para construir una verdadera vida de familia.
También estamos invitados a trabajar todos y cada uno desde nuestra condición para hacer posible la obra de nuestro Padre-Dios. Y lo hacemos con el respeto, con la obediencia y especialmente con el amor de Dios. Uno de los mandatos es el de honrar a Padre y Madre. Obedeciendo, valorando y respetando a cada uno de ellos. Teniendo compasión de sus deficiencias y ayudándolos en sus carencias a tener una vida más justa y más pacífica.
En nuestro mundo, debemos trabajar con un esfuerzo mayor para darle a la familia el verdadero puesto que necesita y así poder ayudar a las futuras generaciones a prepararse a vivir en el amor, en la fe y en la esperanza que Dios continuará presente en la vida de los niños, de los jóvenes y de cada uno que viva como familia, que ame como Jesús vino a enseñarnos y sean fieles a Dios como lo fue José y María en la misión que Dios les encomendó.
¡Que la Sagrada Familia ilumine su hogar todos los días del Nuevo Año!
P. Fernando Torres
Párroco
¡Les deseamos un
alegre Año 2019!
Third Sunday of Advent
“PRAYER OF JOY”
Advances in our prayer and our expectation of the coming of the Lord is near. Today we raise our hands to praise God, to express that our joy is the fruit of our trust in him. Our joy expresses our gratitude because its presence is more familiar.
Our prayer is filled with your divine spirit that you assist our hearts and help us to see our world with hope and with infinite enthusiasm. Our prayer is a sign of our desire to share with the world what we have, what we are and above all bear witness to the love of God who is merciful and tolerant with others.
In these days of winter, we are constantly expressing that the cold affects us, limits us and makes us cover ourselves so that we are not affected. But at the same time, there is an internal heat that gives joy and brings us to communicate to others good news. God comes, God is born, God becomes present in our time and unites us with eternity to become prophets of our time.
Our prayer these days must be a constant appeal to the Lord to be born in our lives and in our world. So the joy of sharing in justice and in love is not turned off, limited or uprooted by hatred, sadness or bitterness.
Our prayer sees John the Baptist as the precursor that has the humility to recognize the Savior and his smallness before him again. May his example help us to live the simplicity of the joy of announcing it to our brothers and sisters, especially to those most in need.
Fr. Fernando Torres
Pastor
TERCER DOMINGO DE ADVIENTO:
“ORACIÓN EN LA ALEGRÍA”
Nuestra oración avanza y nuestra expectativa por la venida del Señor está más cerca. Hoy elevamos nuestras manos para alabar a Dios, para expresar que nuestra alegría es fruto de nuestra confianza en Él. Nuestra alegría expresa nuestra gratitud porque su presencia es más familiar. Nuestra oración se llena de su Espíritu divino que asiste nuestros corazones y nos ayuda a ver nuestro mundo con esperanza y con un entusiasmo infinito. Nuestra oración es signo de nuestro deseo de compartir con el mundo lo que tenemos, lo que somos y sobre todo de dar testimonio del amor de Dios que es misericordioso y tolerante con los demás.
En estos días de invierno expresamos constantemente que el frío nos afecta, nos limita y nos hace cubrirnos para que no nos afecte. Pero al mismo tiempo, existe un calor interior que da alegría y que nos lleva a comunicar a los demás una Buena Noticia. Dios viene, Dios nace, Dios, se hace presente en nuestro tiempo y nos une con la eternidad para hacernos profetas de nuestro tiempo.
Nuestra oración en estos días debe ser una constante súplica al Señor para que nazca en nuestra vida y en nuestro mundo. Para que la alegría del compartir en la justicia y en el amor no se vea apagada, limitada ni coartada por el odio, la tristeza, ni la amargura.
Nuestra oración contempla a Juan el Bautista de nuevo como el precursor que tiene la humildad para reconocer al Salvador y su pequeñez ante él. Que su ejemplo nos ayude a vivir la sencillez de la alegría y el gozo de anunciarlo a nuestros hermanos, especialmente a los más necesitados.
P. Fernando Torres
Párroco
Second Sunday of Advent
“PRAYER OF PREPARATION”
Our prayer goes deeper, and our sensitivity is recognizing that we need to receive the great gift of his forgiveness from heaven: we have not lived as true brothers and sisters, we have not fulfilled the will of God to love one another as he taught us. We have need of a divine word that will help us to prepare ourselves when God will come down from heaven and prepare us the way.
We are invited to live our examination of conscience, to review our lives, our relationship with God and with our brothers, to examine our hearts which are full of darkness by sin, indifference and fear. To ask God to make us clean and beyond reproach for the day of the coming of Christ.
Our prayer should be a dialogue with God to ask to give us the value of recognizing our faults, give us the grace to repent and give us the strength and the humility to repair our shortcomings, our indifference and our pride.
Saint John the Baptist with his sober style comes in the desert of our prayer to invite us to prepare our lives to see the salvation of God.
God called the people of Israel in preparation time and continues calling through all time to shape our lives, our home and our community.
May the prayer of every one of us help us ask to grow in the knowledge of the love of God and have the availability of preparedness to welcome the Savior.
Fr. Fernando Torres
Pastor
SEGUNDO DOMINGO DE ADVIENTO
“ORACION DE PREPARACIÓN”
Nuestra oración va profundizando y nuestra sensibilidad va reconociendo que necesitamos recibir del cielo el gran don de su perdón: No hemos vivido como verdaderos hermanos y hermanas, no hemos cumplido la voluntad de Dios de amarnos unos a otros como Él mismo nos enseñó, tenemos necesidad de una palabra divina que nos ayude a disponernos para que Dios baje del cielo y nos prepare el camino.
Contamos en esta parte con la invitación a vivir nuestro examen de conciencia, de revisar nuestra vida, nuestra relación con Dios y con los hermanos, a examinar nuestros corazones llenos de oscuridad por el pecado, la indiferencia y el miedo. Para pedir a Dios que nos haga limpios e irreprochables el día de la venida de Cristo.
Nuestra oración debe ser un diálogo con Dios para pedir que nos dé el valor de reconocer nuestras faltas, que nos dé la gracia de arrepentirnos y nos dé la fortaleza y la humildad para reparar nuestras deficiencias, nuestra indiferencia y nuestro orgullo.
San Juan Bautista con su estilo de sobriedad viene en el desierto de nuestra oración a invitarnos a preparar nuestra vida para ver la salvación de Dios.
Dios llamó al pueblo de Israel en el tiempo preparado y sigue llamando a través de todos los tiempos para que preparemos nuestra vida, nuestro hogar y nuestra comunidad.
Que la oración de cada uno de nosotros nos ayude a pedir para que cada uno pueda crecer en el conocimiento del amor de Dios y tenga la disponibilidad de prepararse para recibir al Salvador.
Párroco
FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
“PRAYER OF VIGILANCE”
Maybe praying is not a custom for many of us. We think that prayer should be a repetition of prayers, of requests or reading of our supplications and needs.
This week we are invited to open our hands to contemplate our world, not with pain and despair, but with the love of God, willing to live this time better and confident that God will fulfill his promise of salvation for his people.
Think of how many places need God to renew his covenant? How many countries are in war, in need of love, mercy and justice? How many people or who live in the loneliness and abandonment that today can transform their lives, their faces with the gift of God’s love?
Our prayer for all must include that there be vigilance in our hearts to free ourselves from all feelings contrary to God, free from all vice and a prayer of supplication that helps us all to watch and pray continuously.
To be vigilant is not to allow selfish cares to affect our hearts and prevent us from sharing with others. We need to open our eyes to behold a world ready to welcome God who comes and transforms us all with his great love and invites us to renew our faith and our hope.
The best example in this week is in the Blessed Virgin Mary who was conceived without original sin to be the mother of the Savior. Like her, our life must embrace God in our lives to embody it in our being and give it to the whole world in works of faith, hope and charity.
Fr. Fernando Torres
Pastor
PRIMER DOMINGO DE ADVIENTO
“ORACIÓN DE VIGILANCIA”
Tal vez orar no es una costumbre en muchos de nosotros. Pensamos que la oración debe ser una repetición de oraciones, de peticiones o lectura de nuestras súplicas y necesidades.
Esta semana se nos invita abrir nuestras manos para contemplar nuestro mundo, no con dolor y desesperación, pero con el amor de Dios, dispuestos a vivir mejor este tiempo y seguros que Dios cumplirá su promesa de salvación para su pueblo.
Piensa ¿en cuántos lugares hace falta que Dios renueve su alianza? ¿Cuántos países en guerra, necesitados de amor, misericordia y justicia? ¿Cuántas personas que viven en la soledad y el abandono que hoy pueden transformar sus vidas, sus rostros con el don del amor de Dios?
Nuestra oración por todos debe incluir que haya vigilancia en nuestros corazones para liberarnos de todo sentimiento contrario a Dios, libre de todo vicio y una oración de súplica que nos ayude a todos a velar y hacer oración continuamente.
Vivir la vigilancia es no permitir que los afanes egoístas laceren nuestros corazones y nos impidan compartir con los demás. Debemos abrir nuestros ojos para contemplar un mundo dispuesto a acoger al Dios que viene y nos transforma a todos con su gran amor y nos invita a renovar nuestra fe y nuestra esperanza.
El mejor ejemplo en esta semana se encuentra en la Santísima Virgen María que fue concebida sin Pecado original para ser la madre del Salvador.
Como ella, nuestra vida debe acoger a Dios en nuestra vida para encarnarlo en nuestro ser y
entregarlo al mundo entero en obras de fe, esperanza y caridad.
Padre Fernando Torres
Párroco
Christ The King
At the end of the liturgical year, we have not only completed one cycle and started another but have held a series of past events about the Mysteries of Christ, the feasts of the Church, the memory of the Saints, and the afterlife of the Deceased.
But more than that, we have walked a journey in our faith, we have left a mark in our life with what we have celebrated, because in our time we have updated our encounter with the Lord who blesses our life with his infinite friendship that makes us his Disciples and commits us to be witnesses and builders of his kingdom.
At the end of this year we all wonder what we have lived with the Lord through the celebrations and what footprint he has left in our lives. For some will be longing, a feeling of guilt for not having time to share with God, for others will be lack of understanding because life was not so favorable to their own projects and others simply have not had traces, have not lived and is not in their plans.
We live thankfully because Christ is our King. He has become center of the church and reminds us that he must be the center of our hearts and our families. That sometimes in pain, with sacrifices, with renunciations and other times with countless blessings allows us to recognize him, celebrate him, praise him and give him a place in our lives.
We have had to renounce to our sins, our selfishness, our weaknesses, to recognize him as the engine that moves our life. Like the one that inspires us to learn to be Christians, like the one who teaches us in each Eucharist the way of living of his disciples and move us with his love so that we learn to live in the fraternity and build his kingdom in the midst of our world.
We are also called to constantly review our family life, which it is in danger of being covered by shadows that affect with the desire to have more material things than are necessary, being selfish and breaking the communication between the members of the family, changing the authentic values by vanity, fashion, and values that go contrary to fidelity, unity, love and respect. All this effort, that constant review and the endless struggle to make Christ the King of our lives, of our families, of our church and can be the Lord of the Universe.
Viva Christ the King!
Fr. Fernando Torres
Pastor
Al concluir el año litúrgico no sólo hemos terminado un ciclo e iniciado otro, tampoco hemos celebrado una serie de acontecimientos del pasado acerca de los misterios de Cristo, las fiestas de la Iglesia, la memoria de los santos y la vida después de la muerte de los difuntos.
Pero más que todo eso, hemos recorrido un camino en nuestra fe, hemos dejado marca en nuestra vida con lo que hemos celebrado, porque en nuestro tiempo hemos actualizado nuestro encuentro con el Señor que bendice nuestra vida con su amistad infinita que nos hace sus discípulos, que nos compromete a ser testigos y constructores de su reino.
Al terminar este año todos nos preguntamos ¿qué hemos vivido con el Señor a través de las celebraciones y qué huella ha dejado en nuestra vida? Para algunos será de nostalgia, de sentimiento de culpa por no tener tiempo para compartir con Dios, para otros será de incomprensión porque la vida no fue tan favorable a sus propios proyectos y otros simplemente no han tenido huellas, no han vivido y no está en sus planes.
Nosotros vivimos agradecidos porque Cristo es nuestro Rey, se ha hecho centro de la Iglesia y nos recuerda que debe ser el centro de nuestros corazones y de nuestras familias. Que a veces con dolor, con sacrificios, con renuncias, otras veces con bendiciones incontables nos permite reconocerlo, celebrarlo, alabarlo y darle un lugar en nuestra vida.
Hemos tenido que renunciar a nuestro pecado, a nuestro egoísmo, a nuestras debilidades, para reconocerlo como el motor que mueve nuestra vida. Como el que nos inspira para aprender a ser cristianos, como el que nos enseña en cada Eucaristía la forma de vivir de sus discípulos y nos contagia con su amor para que aprendamos a vivir en la fraternidad y edifiquemos su Reino en medio de nuestro mundo.
También estamos llamados a revisar constantemente nuestra vida en familia, que corre el peligro de cubrirse por sombras que afectan con el afán de tener materialmente más de lo necesario, siendo egoístas y rompiendo la comunicación entre los miembros de la familia, cambiando los valores auténticos por vanidades, modas, y antivalores contrarios a la fidelidad, la unidad, el amor y el respeto. Todo este esfuerzo, esa constante revisión y la interminable lucha para hacer que Cristo sea el rey de nuestras vidas, de nuestras familias, de nuestra Iglesia y pueda ser el Señor del universo.
¡Viva Cristo Rey!
Padre Fernando Torres
Párroco
Thanksgiving
This Thursday we will live one of the most beautiful traditions of this country. We prepare to give thanks to God, for our families and for our loved ones. We are aware that we are blessed to have more than it is necessary, to have crops that feed us and resources in abundance to serve our table and share with the people with whom we share life.
Our best Thanksgiving is the Holy Eucharist and although it is not an “obligation” to attend Holy Mass on this day, we are invited to celebrate with all our community the Holy Mass to tell God from the bottom of our heart “thank you”.
Thank you for life, for the land where we live, because we have fresh air, because we are blessed with trees and water. Thank you because we have a home we can go to every night and we have people with whom we share life. Thanks for the work that gives us the sustenance of each day, thanks for the people who make this great nation, because as in the beginning of this great tradition, we can live the unity in the midst of the diversity of cultures, races and creeds. Thank you because each day we build a community where everyone is welcomed, embraced and is an integral part of our great family. Thank God because we have a place where we can celebrate, where we can hear Him, where we can celebrate together and where we are all blessed with his love and His mercy.
Thank you for the needs of each of us which encourage us to struggle for a more dignified life as a people, as a family and as a community. Helping us to grow, to share and to serve, to teach future generations how important it is to build together in the love of God and his values and new society.
In this way, when we celebrate as a parish community, we can then come to our table to share with our families the blessing that God gives us in the Holy Eucharist. That the encounter of the family is not overshadowed by consumer desires, by quarrels, by selfishness or by so many things that affect the respect, the unity, the love and the celebration of this beautiful day.
May this celebration of thanksgiving, God bless every person and every family, so that with a grateful heart we can celebrate in joy for all the blessings that God gives us and that we share in the fraternity of his love.
Happy Thanksgiving for everyone!
Este jueves viviremos una de las tradiciones más hermosas de este país. Nos preparamos para dar gracias a Dios, con nuestras familias y nuestros seres queridos. Lo hacemos conscientes que somos bendecidos por tener más de lo necesario, por tener cultivos que nos alimentan y recursos en abundancia para servir nuestra mesa y compartir con las personas que compartimos la vida.
Nuestra mejor acción de gracias es la Sagrada Eucaristía y aunque no es “obligación” asistir en este día a la Santa Misa, estamos invitados a celebrar con toda nuestra comunidad la Santa Misa para decirle de corazón a Dios “Gracias”.
Gracias por la vida, por la tierra donde vivimos, porque tenemos un aire fresco, porque somos bendecidos con árboles y agua. Gracias porque tenemos un hogar a donde llegar cada noche y tenemos personas con las que compartimos la vida. Gracias por el trabajo que nos da el sustento de cada día, gracias por las personas que conforman esta gran nación, porque como en el comienzo de esta gran tradición, podemos vivir la unidad en medio de la diversidad de culturas, de razas y de credos. Gracias porque construimos cada día una comunidad donde todos son acogidos, bienvenidos y son parte integrante de nuestra gran familia. Gracias a Dios porque tenemos un lugar donde lo podemos celebrar, donde lo podemos escuchar, donde lo podemos celebrar juntos y donde todos somos bendecidos con su amor y su misericordia.
Gracias por las necesidades de cada uno que nos animan a luchar por una vida más digna como personas, como familia y como comunidad. Ayudándonos a crecer, a compartir y a servir, para enseñar a las futuras generaciones lo importante que es construir juntos en el amor de Dios y en sus valores la nueva sociedad.
De esta manera, cuando celebramos como comunidad parroquial, podemos después llegar a nuestra mesa a compartir con nuestras familias la bendición que Dios nos da en la Sagrada Eucaristía. Que el encuentro de la familia no se vea opacado por deseos consumistas, por rencillas, por egoísmos o por tantas cosas que afectan el respeto, la unidad, el amor y la celebración de este hermoso día.
Que esta celebración del día de acción de gracias, Dios bendiga a cada persona y a todas las familias, para que con el corazón agradecido podamos celebrar en la alegría por todas las bendiciones que Dios nos da y que nosotros compartimos en la fraternidad de su amor.
¡Feliz día de Acción de Gracias para todos!
The readings of this Sunday tell us the case of two widowed women. The one of the Old Testament belongs to the pagan people. She has a son and serves the prophet who bequeaths the promise that they will not die. She, trusting in him, serves him unconditionally with what little they have. On the other hand, the widow of the New Testament simply in silence, hands in everything she has.
We must be questioned by the two images of these characters who are the people who today we can call them poor. Those who have no voice, those who do not count on the plans of many people, but especially they are invisible to the rich of whom the Gospel speaks to us today.
Then, it would be necessary to ask ourselves with respect to our relationship with God: How much do we donate to the church? How much do we help the poor? How much do we do for our neighbor and how much time do we devote to serving others?
Although the questions are uncomfortable, we must examine what are the desires that move our lives to come to the temple? With how many people do we share in the midst of our celebrations and how do we serve others?
Each one of us gives consciously, some have donated their whole life, while others just justify themselves. Many have given their best talents to the service of others, while others use their talents for their own benefit. Others give money in abundance, but with selfish and even ill intentions, while others give little, but they give everything they have by trusting in God and renouncing of what they need to live. But no matter who gives more and who does not, it is God who, ultimately, is the one who knows the hearts, the intentions of the people and the generosity of those who give their life, their talents or their treasures.
Today it is necessary to value our offering to God, to review our concern for the Temple of God that is not only the material, but the living temples of the needy such as the widows of the gospel and of so many our brothers and sisters who need our mercy, our attention and our service.
Let us ask God to bless our lives with the awareness and the willingness to deliver the best of ourselves, to make our offering to God a true praise for his name and his presence.
~~~Father Fernando Torres, Pastor, November 6, 2018
The readings of this Sunday tell us the case of two widowed women. The one of the Old Testament belongs to the pagan people. She has a son and serves the prophet who bequeaths the promise that they will not die. She, trusting in him, serves him unconditionally with what little they have. On the other hand, the widow of the New Testament simply in silence, hands in everything she has.
We must be questioned by the two images of these characters who are the people who today we can call them poor. Those who have no voice, those who do not count on the plans of many people, but especially they are invisible to the rich of whom the Gospel speaks to us today.
Then, it would be necessary to ask ourselves with respect to our relationship with God: How much do we donate to the church? How much do we help the poor? How much do we do for our neighbor and how much time do we devote to serving others?
Although the questions are uncomfortable, we must examine what are the desires that move our lives to come to the temple? With how many people do we share in the midst of our celebrations and how do we serve others?
Each one of us gives consciously, some have donated their whole life, while others just justify themselves. Many have given their best talents to the service of others, while others use their talents for their own benefit. Others give money in abundance, but with selfish and even ill intentions, while others give little, but they give everything they have by trusting in God and renouncing of what they need to live. But no matter who gives more and who does not, it is God who, ultimately, is the one who knows the hearts, the intentions of the people and the generosity of those who give their life, their talents or their treasures.
Today it is necessary to value our offering to God, to review our concern for the Temple of God that is not only the material, but the living temples of the needy such as the widows of the gospel and of so many our brothers and sisters who need our mercy, our attention and our service.
Let us ask God to bless our lives with the awareness and the willingness to deliver the best of ourselves, to make our offering to God a true praise for his name and his presence.
~~~Father Fernando Torres, Pastor, November 6, 2018
The first commandment reminds us of where God is in our life, in our family and in our world. Many of us do not remember what is the first commandment. Today we could say that there are many people who do not care about that or that there are changes in our planet because we have other priorities. We have many shortcomings in our relationship with God, with what is related to our life and our world.
When Jesus is asked, he does not hesitate to answer in a way that it is not only from memory, but in a way that is a living experience. It comes from someone that is part of his life, of his mission and of the essential sense of his Existence. Today we could think if we would respond like him.
But instead, many remember God only to blame him for all the disasters of the Earth, for all the tragedies. The truth is that we have brought God out of the schools, we have forgotten him in our homes and we have filled ourselves with indifference before his presence in the church, in the hearts of people and in the activities of the world.
Christ describes how the love for God should be and says that it should be the priority in every person, in every circumstance and in every activity of our human life.
But Jesus wants us not to forget the second commandment that is to love our neighbor and in the same way he invites us to revise our love for others. It is not just a feeling, it is not just a trending phrase, but that it must be a mission of service, of solidarity and of continuous work to set up love as the force that guides our life and inspires us to build his kingdom.
Sometimes, without realizing we fall into the great weakness of believing that for the sake of some we have the justification to hate others, to ignore them or to be indifferent to their needs and we condemn others to oblivion, hatred, destruction and even we believe that these feelings are justified based on the fear that we feel.
What great commandments we have in our lives. What great teachings to contemplate today in our world and all the people with whom we share the world.
We can say that today it is worthwhile to re-learn the commandments to discover God present in every person we serve; to those who are innocent and deserve our respect, to those who are sinners and need our prayer and our help to live a conversion and to learn to be brothers and sisters; children of the same God that we love with all our hearts , our mind, with all our strength and with the grace of God to make love the force of our life.
~~~Father Fernando Torres, Pastor, October 30, 2018
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The month of November is coming with different celebrations that remind us of all the saints and all the faithful departed. Together with the Fall, the month of November gives us the opportunity to celebrate all the people who shared our lives, our history and who shined with the light of faith. For them, we celebrate the solemnity of All Saints. All of those that without being recognized in the world, now participate in the glory of God. They can be members of our family, our friends; people who forged families with values, who sacrificed themselves to have a righteous society, families with values and who left us as an inheritance an exemplary and solid faith so that we were better, more human and better Christians.
This is why the Church invites us to celebrate together with the heavenly Jerusalem, the joy of all of those who have been faithful to Christ and his name and, for his glory, have served in our world, in our families, our church and in many works.
The people who participated in the glory of God became saints because they lived the love of God through prayer, through works that gave their neighbor a testimony of divine mercy, by giving an example of simplicity and meekness by serving the needy, welcoming the pilgrim, teaching to whom needs it, by being in solidarity with those who thirst for justice, peace and love. Perhaps some were persecuted for reasons of their faith, race or economic status. But in the midst of all these trials, they brought to light that they were faithful to Christ, his teachings and especially to his merciful love.
We also celebrate our faithful departed. We pray for them so that they can obtain the forgiveness of their trespasses and they may reach the place of light, of peace and the joy of eternal life.
Thus, the Church invites us to offer our prayers and, in a special way, the celebration of the Holy Mass for all those who have died so that through the intercession of our prayers, we can give thanks for the lives that they shared with us and that they may obtain the eternal glory.
May these celebrations not be sad or confused by not knowing of the many people who have touched our lives with their love, with their works and with the grace with whom we have shared our life, but that they will help us to rekindle our hope, so we can trust in God. Let us put their lives in the merciful hands of the Father and that by the grace of the Holy Spirit, they may be redeemed through the gifts of the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
~~~Father Fernando Torres, Pastor, October 23, 2018
“Suffering became part of my daily life!” These are the first words of a very popular Spanish song in Latin-America and the people sing it without having any pain or even if it does not make any sense. The readings of this Sunday speak to us of a kind of suffering that comes from the Old Testament and it is a way for sinners to reach out their justification.
Jesus is proclaimed as the Suffering Servant who, with his life of poverty and with his life of pain will sinners be justified.
How many moments in the life of Christ can we can refer of this today? Being God, he became man, he came down to our human nature and became one of us, except in sin. He walked in our world as a poor man, proclaimed the Kingdom of God to the poor and the humble. He chose some fishermen to be his apostles to bring to the whole world his gospel. He died on the cross condemned by the high priests, the pharisees and the Roman governors as a criminal and thus conquered an eternal and universal kingdom for us.
However, his greatest gift was to offer his life in the Last Supper, where his love and humility prepared the sacrifice, arriving at Gethsemane with the fear and humility of fulfilling the will of the heavenly Father to reach the Cross and offer the only sacrifice that saves humanity from sin and death.
It was difficult for the Apostles of Christ to live every painful moment, but they marked their lives and deepened their faith and their love for the Lord. After the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit, they received the strength, the wisdom and the gift to proclaim Christ with their lives, with their martyrdom, with their surrender, persecutions and rejections.
It is not easy for the Disciples of Christ today, but from the love of Christ we understand that suffering transforms the disciples to make of their lives a constant offering to God to serve him in the family and in society to help others to know him; with the greatness of his love and the mystery of his poverty, with the pain of his sacrifice and the glory of his triumph. With the memorable words that resonate through history and the silence, He makes in every heart and every consciousness to call us to serve, to forgive, to love and to struggle for a kingdom that is not here, but that we seek to participate all together as a church, as a family and as friends of the Lord who inspire us and that always tells us: Follow me.
May the Lord grant us new strength to fulfill His will in this life and to be able to participate in the glory of His kingdom.
~~~Father Fernando Torres, Pastor, October 17, 2018
In this week’s Gospel (Mark 10:17-30), we have a willing young man ready to fulfill the commandments and renounce his possessions, and then follow Jesus.
We would say that this should be the process for someone who enters a religious community, a monastery, or a place of contemplation. But this is the call for all Christians, for all disciples of Christ, for all of us.
We may ask ourselves if we are living these steps in our lives today.
Living the commandments means having a relationship of respect for and fulfillment with God, by giving Him a place in our lives, and by doing what He asks us to do for Him and for our neighbor.
Renouncing our possessions and giving them to the poor is more demanding but necessary. We must give up our own self, our selfishness, our securities, and be able to share with others and with those with the greatest need. It is not enough to give what is left over, what justifies us or makes us looks good to others; it must be a total surrender. We can donate our time to help someone who is sick or assist in other ways, offer our talent in a ministry in the church, or share our work experience with those who cannot afford professional services.
After learning to serve others with the power of love, generosity and true dedication, Jesus invites us to follow Him as true disciples. Because it is when we learn to give everything that we understand what his kingdom is and how it is achieved in our lives.
Let’s ask God that his Word may give us his divine wisdom to live according to his will, by seeking it as a treasure and living in such a way that the things of this world appear vain and secondary to the great gift of his knowledge.
Let us also ask that his Word may judge us with mercy and find us worthy to be his disciples.
~~~Father Fernando Torres, Pastor, October 10, 2018
Long Live the Catholic Marriage!
We’re glad to have a family, because when we have one, we have the opportunity to grow with a mom and dad, to have siblings, to have been able to know our grandparents, our uncles and other relatives. We are filled with pride because together with our family, we have roots that, even though they belong to another place, it makes us understand our traditions, our culture and our values.
But today more than ever, God asks us not to forget the dimension of our faith, the call that He himself has made us from creation, the nature with which he created us and the mission that has made every marriage for generations. Through time, the changes and the mistakes of society, the lack of values and selfishness that destroy true love, true family life, true marriage and the construction of the society.
Today God continues counting on parents so that they can be the first educators of their children, so that they can pass to them the necessary values, so that, when they grow up, they may commit to “serve” a family from love, fidelity and respect. How many transformations, moments to mature, opportunities to learn and share the children have at home today?
Let us remember that we need to transmit the values to the children: Faith, the experience of a religion that helps to grow in spirituality, to discover the will of God and to help society to live in a more fraternal and human relationship. Love as a gift that comes from God, that we learn from him and that he must tend towards him with our works, our family, our vocation and our society. Hope that is nothing more than to wait in Christ, to trust that we will introduce ourselves as his disciples who have fulfilled our mission.
How much we need in our world to awake to certain values that we are tending to eliminate from our personal family and social life: respect, tolerance, honesty, generosity, perseverance, solidarity, commitment and respect for what is sacred.
Where have we put God in the list of our priorities, our plans and our values?
Let’s practice making our list and ask God to form the life of the family with the values of God.
~~~Father Fernando Torres, Pastor, October 2, 2018
Fidelity to His Teachings
On many occasions, we are reminded that through the baptism in Christ we have been incorporated into the church and, in a special way, we have been entrusted with the mission of being his disciples. At the same time, we want to learn to live as disciples of Christ. This is why today, we want to judge and condemn those who do not live the values of the gospel.
Christ invites us to see that through baptism, our life has received the grace of the Holy Spirit to give us the power to proclaim with our lives the Good News of God. Today we need those true disciples of Christ to be prophets of our time, announcing the great gift of God through works of love; through united families who live in the practice of the values such as respect, obedience, justice, fidelity, stewardship and many others that we need to build a community of love as a family should be.
Christ rejects all that is in the midst of our lives that harms the community, the life of the family and the stability of society because of selfishness or rejection of others.
Today we could say the great sins of our time may be the indifference, the absence of knowledge of what is and what a prophet of Christ in the life of the family should be and the mission we have with the society as members of our parish community. We know that some families have not baptized their children and of many others who make their children Christians, but do not practice their faith because the parents do not know what they can or cannot do when they themselves have been not prepared or have not received the sacraments.
Our community suffers from the malicious example of doing things that affect others and that may lead them to minimize the values of our Christian faith. A living example may be no going to confession for a long time and let pass Holy Communion or stop coming to Mass and occasionally return to Holy Communion.
Being a disciple of Christ is not only a privilege that we acquire, but it is also a responsibility. It is a commitment to be faithful to him, to his teaching, to his mandates. We can not pretend to change or to interpret our own version and worse, to teach our own version to others.
For the sake of all, we invite parents to brush up their Christian life, to have the courage and the humility before Christ to recognize how we have been living our being of Christ’s disciples at home, how we educate our children in the true faith, without excuses, without judgments on others, without justifications because others do not comply and above all, without the justifications that no one lives the Christian faith.
In our Christian lives, what do we have to give up today in order to live our faith? What causes scandal to other people with my Christian testimony? Why do I always criticize others and I do not see my own faults?
Lord, give us the grace of being your disciples through the care of the parents who may help their children so that they too may be your true disciples. Help us to bear witness to your life through our works, but especially give us the gift of being witness of your mercy through our fidelity to your teachings.
~~~Father Fernando Torres, September 26, 2018
The Call of God
We contemplate Christ with the greatness of his message, with the sanctity of his life and with the divinity of his origin, but at the same time, Christ wants his disciples to recognize the path of his passion, his death and his resurrection as the fulfillment of the divine work to take us to eternity.
Every day Christians are confronted by an easy path, with assurances that lead us to compete from our selfishness, with our passions and our greed, to achieve the conquest of a life that we do not know and that it is contrary to what we live daily. Today it is so difficult to know a true wisdom, where the purity of heart, being understanding and docile, being merciful and producing good fruits, practicing justice to achieve true peace and being sincere is a requirement.
For all Christians there is always an invitation from Christ to make us see that our vocation as Christians must be witnesses of Christ, being his disciples, with his wisdom, with his values and with his great love.
Today we can say that all of us should be like a catechist, who lives a special relationship with Christ and teaches children with a special art, with a gift illuminated by the Holy Spirit and with an effort to be for each child an example of life, a model of a Christian and an invitation so that everyone can feel the call of God to live as part of his people, as part of his mission and with a great vocation of service and dedication.
Today we refer in a special way to the people who generously dedicate their time and their talents to collaborate in the formation of the faith of our children and young people. That is why we ask God in a special way for each and every one of them so that the grace of God always accompanies them, transforms them constantly and inspires them with words and works that help to communicate the true divine wisdom. Thanks to all of them for their dedication to make Christ known in our world.
Also, I would like to remind all parents of the mission they have to educate their children in the faith with the characteristics of the catechists, with reliability and experience of the gift of faith in the midst of their families, with divine wisdom and with the human love of being parents, educators and responsible for the faith of their children. Parents are the ones who should welcome their children as a gift from God, love them with works of true education that will allow their children not only to receive the sacraments, but to have the experience of the true God and to develop their commitment as disciples of Christ and members of the Church.
Parents should also make the practice of faith, the teaching of prayers, of truths, of values and the application to the daily life of all evangelical values. The need to praise God and celebrate the mysteries of our salvation every Sunday with our parish community, the great gift of participating, helping and serving others in the community to grow in the experience of true charity, so that with their action may strengthen the faith of their own children, of the young people of our community and of so many others who need their active faith to be effective in the Church, in the family and in our faith.
It is up to all of us to help and serve so that children can be present each week in the catechesis, in the celebration of the Sunday Mass and in the growth of their faith, especially in the family environment. Let’s all work for this intention.
~~~Father Fernando Torres, September 17, 2018
LABOR DAY 2018
Lord,
We ask you for all human beings;
Who you created and gave them the gift of working
To labor and transform the Earth,
Seeking sustenance and full realization.
We ask you for all the professions
To serve the development of people,
Reaching human and Christian dignity,
In the humility of service and love
Building bonds of true fraternity.
We ask you for all the families
So that parents always have work,
And do not lack the sustenance of children,
And their work is a source for loving the family,
Helping everyone to share with joy.
We ask you for employers and employees;
So that their labor and social relations,
are always inspired by the good will,
To make their businesses and jobs
True sources of humanity.
We ask you for all the workers
To live in harmony with the faith
And enlighten their work with your gospel
To be freed from the mistakes of selfishness
That puts the world in consumerism.
We ask you for so many migrant workers
Who have had to leave their families
and have fallen into exploitation and injustice;
And absorbing them, enslave them and destroy them,
Removing their rights and their dignity.
We ask you for those who lack work,
For those who have no chance to work,
For those who don’t have food to eat
or live without dignity with those in their home,
So that charity is not missing.
We ask you to lighten with your spirit
Those who work with the desire to serve,
Those who struggle to achieve justice,
Those who strive every day to help
For the unity to be lived and peace be achieved.
~~~Father Fernando Torres, August 28, 2018
THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Statue of the Blessed Mother in the Adoration Chapel
Lord Jesus:
On this day we celebrate the Assumption of Mary into heaven:
We do not only recall that the Father has loved her always;
That he chose her, filling her with all of the necessary graces,
But also that he invited her to be the first tabernacle of the world,
Covering her with the power of the Holy Spirit.
We recall also that she made you flesh and she brought you into the world,
That she visited Elizabeth and shared you with humanity,
Also, that she defended you when you were born, escaping with Joseph to Egypt
And that she looked for you with despair when you were lost in Jerusalem.
We recall your intercessory presence at the wedding in Cana
When she went out to visit you while you were announced to the multitudes
But her silence was transformed into love walking with you to the cross
And remained with your disciples during Pentecost
The Church not only recalls those moments, but also
When Mary died, and you carried her to heaven as she lived in the world:
Full of grace, body and soul, like the servant of God
Full of love and humility by being the disciple of the Lord,
Full of joy by being the first one to participate in the glory of God.
Today as her children, we ask the Blessed Virgin Mary in heaven
To let us be happy for her presence next to her beloved Son
And for her triumph and her joy to participate in the fullness of life,
And to encourage us to follow Christ, in faith, teaching and works.
Today our faith lets us see heaven as our goal;
Your maternity extends to all the disciples of your Son,
Because he incarnated the truth and brought it with love to the world
And gave us the hope to live the glory of the Church.
Today our celebration permits us to see our community
That suffers in a world without faith in our Lord
Without faith we suffer poverty, oppression, mistreatment and slavery
And many people profit from war, sadness and illness.
Our pain is because we stop being brothers and sisters
We forget that the goal of life is to arrive at God
And we have ignored the joy to be children in the Church
Serving to the world as the witnesses of your resurrection.
We ask that the glory of God shine in all your children. Amen.
~~~Father Fernando Torres
Another Sunday to contemplate the great gift of the Sacred Eucharist which invite to all of us to get close as true disciples of Christ, aware of his divine presence at the altar recognizing his real presence in the bread and wine. The readings of this Sunday remind us that God himself has built the house, has prepared the table and offers the banquet for all, calling them to forsake the ignorance and to go forward on the path of prudence. In our Christian life we do not stop contemplating into the mystery of the Holy Eucharist. We cannot fail to know every day more and to prepare our life to receive the Body and the Blood of Christ. Therefore, I invite you to reflect on the real presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus himself invites us from the Gospel of this Sunday, presenting himself as the living bread that has come down from heaven to give us eternal life, to resurrect us and to remain in Him. Remember that God himself is waiting for us every Sunday at the feast of the Holy Eucharist. Do we arrive on time to thank the invitation and to participate in fullness in such a special encounter and a sacred banquet with Him and which God himself wants to nourish us? Does our celebration count with the participation of the songs? Does our praise to God have the presence of the Holy Spirit? Does our attention to the readings and the homily help us to know the will of God? When we receive Christ in the bread and in the Eucharistic wine, are we in true communion with his will? Do we live what we receive and keep him present during the week? When we receive Christ, do we enjoy and value his kindness to us by offering to eat his body and to drink his blood? Are we aware of the presence of Christ in the celebration and dedicate ourselves to participate with the sheer faith that we are before Christ? That will make us not get distract by our conversations, by answering the cellphone, to leave before the end of the celebration and much less to do something that may cause other to be distracted or to set a bad example for others in the community? At the end of the Eucharist and heading towards our homes, do we echo the gospel we just have received, the love of God that we have celebrated and the banquet we have participated in? Let’s ask God to help us all to live our Sunday Eucharist as the encounter with God, where He instructs us, nourishes us and strengthens us to reach eternity, united with him and with our parish community.
-Father Fernando Torres
