In many ways, the prophet Jeremiah is a prototype of the person and mission of Jesus Christ. Like Jesus, Jeremiah was divinely designated prophet even before he was born: he confronted the evil and vice of the religious and political leaders of his time, plus his message was rejected and he was persecuted for seeking the right relationship with God. Jeremiah’s travails and Jewish antagonism against the person and mission of Christ reminds us that the quest to be perfect will inevitably lead to conflict with others who are not comfortable with that quest. Thus, every Christian should expect persecution from agents of unrighteousness.

This week we celebrate the 48th Annual Catholic Schools Week (CSW) in all of the Dioceses throughout the United States from January 30th through February 5th. Traditionally, CSW is held from the last Sunday in January and runs all week.  

The theme for National CSW 2022 is “Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service.” This theme embodies the core values found in Catholic schools across the country; that is, to train the child academically, morally, spiritually, and socially so they can become future servant leaders, faith-filled disciples, and good citizens.

In verse 63 of the sixth chapter of St. John’s Gospel, Jesus told His disciples “the words I have spoken to you are Spirit and Life.” This assertion forms the basis of the response to the Psalm at the Liturgy today and provides the theme that runs across the Readings. This response: “Your words, Lord, are Spirit and Life” strongly suggests the primacy of place the Word of God ought to occupy in the life of every Christian. The Word of God is Spirit and Life because it empowers, animates, influences and radically transforms any person who sincerely immerses themselves in it.

This week, Catholics across the country are encouraged to actively participate in prayers, fasting, a peaceful March For Life, vigils and Mass as we pray for protection and respect for human life from the moment of conception to natural death. Catholics across the country started the annual Nine-day Novena for protection for human life beginning on Wednesday this week, January 19 continuing through Thursday next week, January 27. Each day’s intention is accompanied by a short reflection and suggested actions to help build a culture of life. It is not too late for you to join the novena if you have not already started. You can download the novena or sign up to receive the daily prayers via email or text message here.

On the very first day of the year, the Church celebrated the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. Apart from reflecting on her virtues, we were encouraged to humbly seek her unfailing maternal intercession for our world and for our individual selves. Two Sundays later, the Gospel presents to us how effective her maternal intercession can be, even when it is unsolicited.

How is your New Year going so far? Did you know that this mid-weekend in January is commonly known as “Quitters Weekend? Studies found that today, January 14 and Monday January 17 are considered as Quitters Days. The theory behind this is that most people generally give up their motivation to keep their new year resolutions by the second Friday of January. Research also found that only 10% of people generally keep their new year resolutions to the end. I found this very interesting! Do you think you could be one of the 10% this year? Whether you made your new year resolutions privately or as a family, this weekend is a wake-up call to all of us revisit our new year plans as we move farther on our journey through the year.

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord effectively brings to a close the liturgical season of Christmas and gives way to the very rich period of “Ordinary Time” within the Liturgical calendar for Christ Himself, His baptism marked the beginning of His public ministry. He would continue from where His precursor was and effect the establishment of the reign of God on earth.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a peaceful Christmas and New Year celebration. We have one of the shortest Christmastide this year as the Christmas season ends this weekend with the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. We can now put away all of our Christmas decorations. We will begin the 1st week of Ordinary Time, Year “C” from Monday next week. The Ordinary Time will last from next week until Ash Wednesday on March 2, 2022.

The Epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ is the self manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi. The Gospel of Matthew tells us that when Christ was born, wise men from the East, led by a guiding star, decided to journey to Israel bearing gifts for the newborn King. When they arrived at Jerusalem, capital of the southern kingdom, they decided to inquire with Herod, King of Judea, where precisely Christ was expected to be born.

Just like a dream, the year 2022 is just a few hours away now. I thank God for His blessings upon our families and our parish community through this year, 2021. The end of a year and beginning of a new year is generally a time of personal inventory and planning. As we count God’s blessings upon us through this year, let us also entrust all our plans and dreams for the year 2022 into His hands that He will see us through it all to the end.

The Gospel of St. Luke presents for our reflection the story of the finding of the child Jesus (at that time, 12-years old) among Jewish teachers in the Temple after missing for three days. We are offered the example of the foster fatherhood of Joseph, the silent protector and responsible provider of the family and faithful husband of Mary. We see the loving, generous and caring motherhood of Mary, the trusting wife of Joseph. The young are in a special way presented with the exemplary obedience of Jesus who returned with His parents to their home in Nazareth where He (although Divine) lived under their human authority.

Merry Christmas everyone! We thank God for the beautiful rain this morning. We surely need it. Looking at the current weather situation, we will hold all our Christmas Masses indoors tonight and tomorrow in St John Bosco Multipurpose Room (MPR). I apologize for informing you about the change at this last minute. The Mass times remain the same at: 4pm, 6pm, 8pm and 11pm tonight. The Christmas Day Mass is at 10am tomorrow. Please check our parish website and bulletin for more information about Christmas schedules.

We have arrived at the Fourth Sunday of Advent, the last Sunday before we celebrate the Solemnity of the Lord’s Nativity. The Church invites us to bring to a climax our spiritual preparation for the celebration of Christmas. What better way is there to prepare than learning from Mary’s example of selflessness and practical charity.

I invite you and your family and friends to join us for our parish Advent Penance Service at 7pm on Tuesday, December 21 in the St. John Bosco Catholic School (SJB) Multi-purpose Room (MPR). We expect about 10 priests from our Deanery to attend. We will start with a Penitential Service which will then be followed by individual Confessions.

We celebrate this weekend, the third Sunday of Advent, which is designated Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday. The Church invites all her children to rejoice and be glad because our salvation is near. The first and second readings reflect this theme of joy and gladness in anticipatory celebration of Christ’s arrival. In the first reading, the prophet Zephaniah invites Jerusalem and her inhabitants to rejoice because God, the King of Israel, is in her midst to remove judgement against her and instead renew her in His love. St. Paul repeatedly exhorts the Philippians to rejoice and have no anxiety because the Lord is near. We are privileged to be invited to experience today a foretaste of the joy and gladness that Christ brings at Christmas and ultimately at His second coming.

I would like to thank everyone who attended the Mass on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on Wednesday last week. All three Masses were well-attended, and more than we had expected. The noon Mass, in particular, was so well-attended that the Chapel was overflowing. Thus we created an additional concurrent Mass in Annex 1 to accommodate everyone. This was a good problem to have! Thank you to everyone who helped with setting up and tearing down for the Masses.

At a time when Israel was in exile and Jerusalem was a desolate wasteland as a consequence of the Babylonian siege and conquest, God sent the Prophet Baruch to prophesy a message of hope to the people of Israel on the brink of national despair. They sadly watched Jerusalem under siege, conquered and destroyed with its inhabitants taken as captives into exile and the remnants left in a city that had lost all its former glory. Baruch spoke words of comfort and hope, as well as a promise of restoration to personified Jerusalem and its inhabitants. The prophet urged Jerusalem to discard her garments of grief, replacing them with the splendor of glory from God, for its exiled children shall return at the Word of the Holy One. They were led away from Jerusalem on foot. God shall return them borne aloft in glory as on royal thrones.

Welcome to the month of December and the beginning of the new Liturgical year, “C.” A new liturgical year is the beginning of a new step on our spiritual journey and an invitation to grow closer to Christ. The Church urges us to take the beginning of the liturgical year as seriously as we take the new calendar year. Just as we do for the calendar year, we are encouraged to consider making some new year resolutions at the beginning of Advent to help us grow in our spiritual life.