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.

Today, we begin the sacred season of Advent, a four-week period that leads to Christmas festivities. This season has a two-fold character: during the first two weeks, we direct our minds and hearts toward the second coming of Christ (also known as the Parousia) or the end of time, which we do not know the day or hour of. The last two weeks focus on Christ's first coming to humanity in the flesh, which we celebrate at Christmas. For this reason, Advent is a time of devotion and joyful expectation.

This year, on the feast of Christ the King, we hear in the Gospel one of the most moving stories we will ever hear. In a moment of great suffering, Jesus replied to one who had turned to Him and said, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." [Luke 23:43]. This gives us all great hope, but there's more to the story.

In the accounts of the Passion of Christ, the words convey the stark reality that Jesus suffered and died for us at the hands of evil men. But, true to the mission of transmitting the Christian faith, the evangelists were not primarily teaching what happened, rather they were teaching faith and encouragement lessons using stories about what happened [cf: CCC #425].

When I was a kid growing up in New England, I’d occasionally go on a whale watch. Once we went out with calm waters and clear skies. But on the way back in, the sea got rough. I was just a kid, and I remember thinking we should turn left or right toward the shoreline I could see. But the pilot of the boat kept going straight — right into the waves — focused on a small, discouragingly distant lighthouse. Even when it flickered in and out of sight, he stayed the course. He knew where he was going.

Esteemed brothers and sisters in Christ,

This Sunday, we celebrate the dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica, known as the Pope's church and the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, where the Bishop of Rome resides. The term "basilica" has its roots in ancient Roman history, referring to a large public building used for business, legal proceedings, and gatherings. These buildings typically featured a rectangular floor plan with a central nave, aisles on either side, and an apse (a semicircular area at one end).