Built on a Rock, Set on Fire

06-29-2025Weekly ReflectionFr. Augustine Acheme, VC

Two very different men. One a fisherman, impetuous and bold. The other a scholar, zealous and precise. Yet Peter and Paul, so unlike in personality, are united in one call, one mission, and one final witness: to give their lives for Christ and His Church.

Peter, in the Gospel, speaks the foundational words: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). In response, Jesus gives him a new name- Rock- and entrusts him with the keys of the Kingdom. Peter will falter, deny, and repent. Yet Jesus does not revoke the mission. Grace does not require perfection, only surrender.

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Fed by Love, Called to Give

06-22-2025Weekly ReflectionFr. Augus􀦞 ne Acheme, VC

On this solemn feast of Corpus Christi, we celebrate a mystery that is both divine and intensely human: Jesus gives Himself- Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity- not as an idea to admire, but as food to consume. In the Eucharist, God does not merely visit us; He becomes part of us.

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Drawn Into the Mystery

06-15-2025Weekly ReflectionFr. Augustine Acheme, VC

The Trinity is not a puzzle to solve, but a mystery to enter. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- distinct yet one, eternal love poured out and shared. On this solemn feast, we are not invited to grasp everything intellectually, but to let ourselves be drawn into the beauty of divine relationship. In today’s Gospel, Jesus says to His disciples, “Everything that the Father has is mine… He will take from what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:15).

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Come, Holy Spirit, Set Our Hearts on Fire

06-08-2025Weekly ReflectionFr Augustine Acheme, VC

Pentecost is not just a commemoration of something that happened 2,000 years ago- it is a celebration of what continues to happen when the Spirit of God moves in the hearts of believers. On that first Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended not with whispers, but with wind and fire (Acts 2:1–11). The disciples, once locked in fear, were filled with courage. Their speech changed. Their mission began.

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Why Are You Still Looking at the Sky?

06-01-2025Weekly ReflectionFr. Augustine Acheme, VC

As Jesus ascends into heaven, the disciples stand staring upward- bewildered, amazed, maybe even a bit lost. Then two men in white appear with a question that still pierces our hearts today: “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?” (Acts 1:11). It’s not a rebuke- it’s a reminder. Jesus may have ascended, but the mission has just begun.

The Ascension is not the end of Jesus’ story; it is the continuation of His presence through the Church. Far from abandoning His disciples, Jesus entrusts them with a task: “You will be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). And He assures them they won’t do it alone- “I am sending the promise of my Father upon you… you will be clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).

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