Parable of the Sower January 30, 2019

“The Parable of the Sower” another one of my favorites. Have you ever watched a flower grow from a seed and blossom into something beautiful? As followers of Jesus our mission is to bring His love to others. Of course this is not an easy task, we will plant seed that will blossom and others that will flop. Yet, do not give up we are Jesus to others. “Jesus is the Divine Sower and His Word is the Seed. Therefore, we should realize that we are also called to act is His person by sowing the seed of His Word in our own lives,” (My Catholic Life). We also need to take care of our own spiritual needs as well. If we are going to plant seeds in others we have to remember we serve the Lord and He needs us. But remember the Lord is always sowing always planting seeds. People have a hunger for Jesus.

How is your hunger for Jesus?

#catholic #sower#parable #parableofthesower #jesus

Christmas Day

Christmas Day Mass

Let us all rejoice for the Baby Jesus has come. As advent ends and the Christmas season begins. We have been preparing our hearts for Jesus, He is the light of the world the, light for us all, and His light shines bright in each of us. 

As we come together for His birth let us remember who us our Shepherd. Fr. Paul says, “Jesus brings us life, love, light, and hope, Jesus Christ comes to us in the darkness, He comes to bring light into the Church and in the world, and He knows our journey.” A beautiful inspiration for this day when we have Jesus in our hearts His light glows brighter. Even in our darkest moments He is there guiding us along on our journey. We just have to remember who we are, we are the bearers of Christ light to others. 

#christmas #jesus #christ #babyjesus #december #catholic #catholicchurch #light

Mary Goes to Visit Elizabeth December 23, 2018

Wow we have made it to the last Sunday of Advent. All four candles are lit and we are filled with Peace. A beautiful day for today Mary goes to see her cousin Elizabeth. Two pregnant women who are going to give birth to two important men (one is John the Baptist and the other is Jesus). What a beautiful message we had on Friday with the roles of women and today (Sunday) here we have two pregnant women Mary and Elizabeth their children’s future will change everything. The role Mary plays the role we all play. Deacon Fausto says, “Dare to believe, what might dare and faith show us about Mary and Elizabeth, God chooses, and daring faith.” Deacon Fausto always hits the right message we need to hear every Sunday. “Dare to believe,” he speaks of not the date that as children we play where we know it’s wrong and we still do it. This is a dare like Mary and Elizabeth. The journey Mary went on to go visit her cousin this was not an easy journey but she did it. What kind of daring moments do we have on our life? 

As Fr. Paul says, “How does Mary come to us?” Remember she came to Juan Diego. 

#mary #elizabeth #jesus #johnthebaptist #catholic #advent #peace #candles #purple #light #december #christmas

December 22, 2018 Role of Women

This is from Saturday. 

What a beautiful we have today. The importance of women and their role they have played. I just love it when Fr. Denis comes and gives his homilies. Always he finds a way to get us Parishioners involved with what he is talking about. This morning he got us involved by laughing and talking.

Women have very important roles in life, yet they have been treated with not the respect they should be having. Fr. Denis says, “Who plays the major roles, who does Jesus turn to most of the time, because His Apostles were scared and ran off, and who was always their for Jesus especially on the cross and His Resurrection.” For me Fr. Denis hits the spot. Makes you think about the roles of women and roles women have played and continue to play. They have been treated with no respect at all which they deserve. As he is talking he gets us involved by answering questions (who did Jesus always turn too) the women of course and then we have the cross where were His Apostles and the finally the Resurrection. Who did Jesus appear to first? 

How can we better treat women? What roles do women play in the Church? 

#catholic #standrew #jesus #women #mary #faith #cross #catholicchurch

December 19, 2018

A beautiful message we hear during the Advent Season. We continue to prepare for the birth of Jesus. “Do not be afraid,” we hear this in the Bible, there is nothing to fear when we have the Lord by our side. 

We are almost to the day we have been preparing for. As we continue to prepare ourselves Fr. Corral says some inspirational thoughts. No matter what happensGos is always there with us. He knows what He is doing we just need to trust Him a little more. Fr. Corral says, “The Lord is here, He knows what to do, He acts silently, and God acts in the most unexpected ways.” Makes you think right? The Lord is always present with us, He has been from the beginning. Again He has a plan for each of us and He puts them to use. Everything He does is done in silence we just have to pay attention and keep our eyes and ears open. I like this one and He acts in the most unexpected ways which is so true. He has taken me out of my comfort zone and I am blessed because of that. 

How has God acted in your life? 

#advent #catholic #standrewchurch

December 18, 2018

What a beautiful message we are given today. Saint Joseph the adoptive father to Jesus. A man with a heart so caring just like Mary says yes to raising a son who was not his. Yet, for each of us He has a plan for us, just like He had a plan for Joseph. 

These days of Advent have been a time of reflection. Looking back within the past five years has been a blessing which has been filled with changes. Especially within the past year, has been a year of beauty as well as regrets, but also a year filled with more growth in my faith journey which still continues. Fr. Paul talked about a beautiful message today that is St. Joseph reading a reflection from Bishop Robert Barron. Fr. Paul says, “St. Joseph is one of the most beloved saints, God has a plan for him, Joseph cooperated with God’s divine plan.” As Catholics we have tons of Saints to look up to. But none stand out like St. Joseph the father of Jesus. A big heart this man had to care and raise a child not his, yet just like Mary he says yes (how many times have we said yes?). He had a plan for Joseph just like He has a plan for each of us. 

A question Father Paul asked all us today is how do we cooperate with God’s divine plan for us? 

#catholic #divineplan #jesus #frpaul #standrewchurch #pasadena #stjoseph #mary #jesusjosephmary #parents #father #saint #beloved

John the Baptist Eulogy December 13, 2018

I love it when Fr. Clemente comes to St. Andrew Church his homily was something I needed to hear. Advent is a time to reflect, to look back on our relationship with Jesus. Jesus eulogized John the Baptist, John the Baptist brings us to Jesus.

We have all geared eulogies before when we to go to funerals. At funerals we hear reflections from people that knew that person. We begin to reflect on our life. We hear a eulogy today in the Gospel of Jesus about John the Baptist. Fr. Clemente says, “Jesus was giving eulogies, they touch our lives, people reflect, they inspire us, they teach us.” I find this to be very true, I have heard so many eulogies, they do leave you looking back on your life, on situations. No matter who this person was their story touches us sometimes to the core. Some people will inspire us to be a better person. 

This is a perfect season for reflections. I have been doing that a lot lately about everything. For me I know I need more Jesus in my life, have been putting Him to the side lately. Have been working on that this Advent season to find my way to Jesus. 

How has your Advent season been so far? 

#advent #advent2018 #catholic #catholicchurch #catholiclife #jesus #god #johnthebaptist #standrew #standrewchurch