Dear parishioners and visitors,

About two weeks ago, we embarked on our annual Lenten journey. As we are still at the beginning of this season, I would like to take a moment to explain the nature of Lent. The six weeks of this sacred season are divided into three parts. The first three weeks focus on penance and conversion, which is why we begin the season on Ash Wednesday with a call to repentance: "Repent and believe in the Gospel." The fourth week emphasizes hope in the mercy of God. For this reason, the faithful are called to rejoice in anticipation of God's mercy.

On this First Sunday in Lent, we hear again what is probably the best-known story from the Old Testament, the fall of Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis. While it's certainly a well-known story, even from our childhood, it's also one of the most puzzling for many people: "how could eating a forbidden apple be the cause of such dire consequences for all of mankind?" Actually, the story conveys a very profound lesson, but it was presented in a way that is not very familiar to us, so many of us miss the point.

Excerpt from Vatican News, January 16, 2026, by Fr. Marek Weresa Year of Saint Francis: 'Indulgence is an encounter with God, not a spiritual shortcut' The Regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary comments on the decree published on Friday announcing plenary indulgences during the special Jubilee Year proclaimed by Pope Leo XIV on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the Saint's death, stressing. "The Year of Saint Francis must not become yet another chapter rich in special spiritual effects, but a silent passage from enthusiasm to deep maturity, from spectacular celebration to imitation in daily life."

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) No. 73 states that "It is praiseworthy for the bread and wine to be presented by the faithful." This means that having members of the worshiping assembly bring forward the gifts of bread and wine is encouraged, though not strictly required.

In line with this sacred practice, representatives from the assembly in many churches—usually a married couple, a family, or a group of individualsbring the bread and wine down the central aisle during the offertory and present them to the priest.

Dearly beloved in Christ;

It is arguably true that most people across the world consider happiness (or wellbeing) as a central goal in life. However, people define it differently. While some persons define happiness as inner peace or contentment, others see it as freedom from pain and suffering. Some others understand it in terms of having meaningful relationships, while for others, happiness consists of having security and dignity. Thus, when people say that they desire happiness, they often seek for it and measure it in terms of wealth, power and success. But for Jesus and the heirs of the kingdom, the path to true happiness consists of poverty of spirit, meekness, gentleness, mercy, righteousness, working for peace and suffering.

In this Sunday’s gospel [Mt 4:12-23], Matthew related how Jesus began His public ministry. In doing so, Matthew offered much insight into the task of spreading the Good News. This insight is important to better understand the spread of the Good News of Jesus Christ, and its obstacles, in our own times. First, some background on their times is needed here for us to get the point Matthew was making.

Dearly beloved in Christ;

We are gradually settling into the ordinary time of the liturgical year after the celebration of Christmastide. In this season of ordinary time, the Church celebrates not a particular aspect of the mystery of Christ, rather it honours the mystery of Christ in all its fullness. It is a time to ponder on the life and teachings of Christ in order to grow in faith and to progress in virtue.

Dear beloved parishioners,

Today's feast, the Baptism of Our Lord, marks the end of the Christmas season for the liturgical year 2026. Following this feast, we will begin to focus on Jesus' public ministry, which will lead us to His Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

Dear Esteemed brothers and sisters in Christ,

This Sunday, we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord, one of the four feasts surrounding the nativity of Jesus. The other three are the Feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth, the Feast of Mary, Mother of God, and the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

Dear Esteemed brothers and sisters in Christ,

This Sunday, we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord, one of the four feasts surrounding the nativity of Jesus. The other three are the Feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth, the Feast of Mary, Mother of God, and the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

As you may know, the Gospels were not written with the intent of teaching history but rather to teach faith lessons using stories. And that's particularly true of this week's Gospel reading from Matthew. Matthew gives us a look at St. Joseph that's a little different from what many have come to think about Joseph.

From the other gospels, we know much more about Mary, Elizabeth, Mary Magdalene, Peter and many of the apostles. But it's Matthew who gives us insights into the character of the man, Joseph. For many years, it was thought that Matthew's focus on the men in Jesus' life, with very little on the women, reflected the chauvinistic bent of his heritage.

My dearly beloved in Christ,

As we anticipate the celebration of Christmas in a few days, the first reading from the prophet Isaiah recounts the famous prophecy of the Virgin birth. The prophecy also contained a Divine promise to send a savior in the lineage of David whose name shall be Emmanuel.

According to John Bergsma in his book, The Word of The Lord, 'The name, in Hebrew literature, is frequently not the term by which someone will actually be referred to in conversation. In Hebrew, the name is usually a way of referring to the essence, meaning, or description of someone or something. So, when Isaiah says, 'They shall name him Emmanuel,' it means 'His essence shall be Godis-with-us."

"Are you the one who is to come, or should we wait for another?" (Matthew 11:3)

Today is known as "Gaudete" Sunday, and the Mass begins with the opening antiphon, "Gaudete in Domino semper" ("Rejoice in the Lord always"). Correspondingly, the entire Liturgy invites us to rejoice; we also light the rose candle of the Advent wreath, and the priest wears rose vestments-all to express our communal joy in the coming of Jesus as our Savior.

It is the second Sunday of Advent, a time for us to prepare for the coming of our Lord and Savior. As I mentioned last Sunday, the first two weeks of the Advent season focus on the second coming of Christ, often referred to as eschatology, for which we do not know the specific day or hour. This emphasizes the importance of preparing the way for the Lord.