​                                                                        From the Desk of Fr. Kevin
Brothers and Sisters,
Today, the fourth Sunday of Easter, is traditionally known as Good Shepherd Sunday. The Gospel is always selected from the  tenth chapter of John in which Jesus speaks to his role as the Shepherd of the flock who knows his sheep. The title ‘pastor’ obviously comes from this image and reflects a priest’s participation in Christ’s life giving mission to feed, protect and eventually lay down his life for his sheep. No priest is a ‘lone ranger,’ but an extension of the bishop who is the chief shepherd charged with the care of the diocese.

While Christ has called some to assist him in shepherding, in the final analysis we are all sheep, whether priests or laypeople, married or single, young or old. And sheep without a shepherd are vulnerable, exposed, lost. The only thing that saves the sheep is listening to the voice of the shepherd and following him, staying close to him.

Christ does speak to us, direct us, admonish us, but can we really say we ‘hear’ his voice? When has he spoken to me? How  has he spoken to me? It may be that we are quite oblivious to the voice of the shepherd. The gospel today says “I know mine  and mine know me.” This line suggests a familiarity with the voice and person of the shepherd, a relationship. You know the voice  of your mother, father, spouse, children, friends. You are able to recognize it and distinguish it from others. If we can’t recognize the voice of the Lord, how will we follow him? What kind of relationship do we really have.

We live in a difficult time and there are a myriad of voices competing for our attention, each suggesting that we follow them, each claiming to possess the truth, each proposing a path for us to walk. And if we are honest, more often than not we live like sheep without a true shepherd, stumbling through life trying to avoid being fleeced or worse, eaten (figuratively, that is).

If we want the true path, the one that leads to peace, we need to listen for the true voice and we need to cultivate a relationship with the Lord. All relationships are founded on two pillars: time and proximity. We need to spend time with Christ and to place ourselves in his presence: in the sacraments, in the Word of God, in spiritual reading, and in prayer. In this way the voice of Christ will become clearer to us and the cacophony of other voices will fade away.

In Christ,
Fr. Kevin                                                                                                                                                                                                        
 
Hermanos y hermanas,                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Hoy, cuarto domingo de Pascua, se conoce tradicionalmente como Domingo del Buen Pastor. El Evangelio siempre                    se selecciona del capítulo décimo de Juan en el que Jesús habla de su papel de Pastor del rebaño que conoce a sus ovejas. El título "pastor" obviamente proviene de esta imagen y refleja la participación de un sacerdote en la misión de dar vida de Cristo de alimentar, proteger y finalmente dar su vida por sus ovejas. Ningún sacerdote es un "llanero solitario", sino una extensión del obispo, que es el pastor principal encargado del cuidado de la diócesis.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Si bien Cristo ha llamado a algunos para que lo ayuden a pastorear, en el análisis final todos somos ovejas, ya sean sacerdotes o laicos, casados ​​o solteros, jóvenes o viejos. Y las ovejas sin pastor son vulnerables, expuestas, perdidas.                Lo único que salva a la oveja es escuchar la voz del pastor y seguirlo, estar cerca de él.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Cristo nos habla, nos dirige, nos amonesta, pero ¿podemos realmente decir que "escuchamos" su voz? ¿Cuándo me ha hablado? ¿Cómo me ha hablado? Puede ser que estemos completamente ajenos a la voz del pastor. El evangelio de hoy dice: "Yo conozco a los míos y los míos me conocen". Esta línea sugiere una familiaridad con la voz y la persona del pastor, una relación. Conoces la voz de tu madre, padre, cónyuge, hijos, amigos. Eres capaz de reconocerlo y distinguirlo de los demás. Si no podemos reconocer la voz del Señor, ¿cómo lo seguiremos? ¿Qué tipo de relación tenemos realmente?

Vivimos una época difícil y hay una miríada de voces que compiten por nuestra atención, cada una sugiriendo que las sigamos, cada una afirmando poseer la verdad, cada una proponiendo un camino para que caminemos. Y si somos honestos, la mayoría de las veces vivimos como ovejas sin un verdadero pastor, tropezando por la vida tratando de evitar ser desplumados o peor aún, comidos (en sentido figurado, es decir).

Si queremos el verdadero camino, el que conduce a la paz, debemos escuchar la verdadera voz y debemos cultivar una relación con el Señor. Todas las relaciones se basan en dos pilares: el tiempo y la proximidad. Necesitamos pasar tiempo con Cristo y colocarnos en su presencia: en los sacramentos, en la Palabra de Dios, en la lectura espiritual y en la oración. De esta manera la voz de Cristo se hará más clara para nosotros y la cacofonía de otras voces se desvanecerá.

​En Cristo,                                                                                                                                                                                                          
P. Kevin

​Brothers and Sisters,
 
Today’s gospel relates that at the meeting of the resurrected Christ with the disciples he “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” The line is similar to another one in the gospel of Luke, where Luke writes that on the road to Emmaus “beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” The grace and explanation that Jesus gives the disciples in Luke’s gospel is fundament for them to understand a few things.

First of all, God has a plan, a plan that they are involved in. Situating the events they are living within the context of the History of Salvation that God is bringing about allows the disciples to see that the events are not random occurrences, but part of God’s plan. The difficult events they lived cannot be chalked up to happenstance, there is a Divine Will behind it.

Second, since God is leading this plan of salvation, clearly suffering and difficulties are not a mistake, but necessary. Christ even stated to the two on the road to Emmaus “was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Sufferings are not only allowed by God in this plan, but at times necessary for his plan to be carried out.

Third, to comprehend this, to ‘understand’ the role that suffering plays in God’s plan, requires more than worldly knowledge, but a particular grace from God. Without this grace, suffering is simply suffering, a mistake to be remedied.

​The Easter season is the perfect time to ask the Lord for this grace. Without this grace, life is very often nonsensical and the difficult moments seem to speak to us of God’s absence or abandonment. Yet, it is not so. True Christianity, as witnessed in the lives of the saints, presents to us another way of living, one in which the events of our life are enlightened, illuminated by the Word of God. As the psalm says, the Word of God is a “light for my steps and a lamp for my path.” If we recognize that we don’t have this light, that we don’t understand how the Lord is able to use the sufferings we experience, we, like the disciples, need to look for the Risen Lord and stay with him. Only through a relationship with Christ do we open ourselves to receiving this grace.
 
In Christ,
Fr. Kevin

Brothers and Sisters,

​ In a series of revelations to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s, our Lord called for a
special feast day to be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter.  Today, we know that feast
as Divine Mercy Sunday, named by Pope St. John Paul II at the canonization of
St. Faustina on April 30, 2000. 

The Lord expressed His will with regard to this feast in His very first revelation to
St. Faustina. The most comprehensive revelation can be found in her Diary entry 699:
My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the
Feast of Mercy be a refuge and a shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners.
On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of
graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go
to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of
sins and punishment. On that day are opened all the divine floodgates through which
graces flow. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet.
My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it
throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come from the very depths of My
most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and
mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of
tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after
Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My mercy.

Nevertheless, Divine Mercy Sunday is NOT a feast based solely on St. Faustina’s
revelations. nor is it altogether a new feast. The Second Sunday of Easter was already a
solemnity as the Octave Day of Easter. The title “Divine Mercy Sunday” does, however,
highlight the meaning of the day. (Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception)

Happy Easter
Fr. Kevin & Fr. Trinidad


Hermanos y Hermanas,
​
            ¡Cristo ha resucitado! ¡Es verdaderamente Resucitado! La resurrección de Cristo de los muertos es un hecho histórico. Todo lo que celebramos durante nuestro tiempo en esta tierra: nacimiento, aniversarios, nuestras amistades, diferentes monumentos conmemorativos y varios hitos en la vida reciben su belleza, alegría y significado cuando se colocan a la luz de la resurrección.  Apaga esa luz y la oscuridad es abrumadora. Si la muerte es la conclusión de tu breve peregrinación por esta tierra, tu acto final en esta etapa llamas vida, en una   obra que continúa sin ti, todas tus acciones son en última instancia sin sentido. Tu vida, por emocionante o sosa que sea, no tiene valor. El sufrimiento, el dolor y la muerte son vuestros compañeros diarios en este viaje, recordándoles que la felicidad, la alegría y la paz son simplemente experiencias fugaces que marcan tu ardua existencia. 

Hoy celebramos que no es así. Dios creó el mundo, creó belleza, creó vida. Y Dios es amor. Por lo tanto, todo lo que existe, toda acción del Padre brota de Su amor y canta, proclama y anuncia Su amor interminable por nosotros. Dios es amor y aunque nos hemos burlado de él, lo hemos rechazado y lo hemos matado, regresa, buscándonos. Hoy la Iglesia anuncia que Cristo ha resucitado de entre los muertos, la tumba no es la última parada. Él nos creó para una eternidad de belleza y felicidad con Él, la tumba está vacía. Tu vida tiene un valor infinito y fue fundada directamente por Dios. Eres totalmente conocido y amado por el Alfa y el Omega. Hoy se anuncia la vida eterna, la victoria final sobre la muerte. Cristo está vivo. Hoy. ¡Es verdaderamente Resucitado!
​
¡Os deseo una feliz Pascua llena del amor de Dios!
P. Kevin y P. Trinidad