Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
This weekend marks the beginning of our parish retreat, Mission at the Mission. Many of you may remember Fr. Max Oliva from his visit with us earlier this year, and I am delighted to welcome him back to the Mission for this important time of community growth. Each weekday presentation will focus on a different aspect of God’s unconditional love; His personal love, His merciful love, the inspirational nature of His love in the person of our own St. Junipero, and the love of our neighbors as ourselves as an expression of God’s love. As we continue to emerge from the effects of the pandemic and to celebrate and reflect on the milestone of our 250th anniversary, it is an ideal time to come together as a community to pray, to learn, and to rededicate ourselves to sharing the Good News of God’s love with the world.
To whet your appetite, I am sharing an excerpt from Fr. Max’s weekend homily as a preview of what we have to look forward to at our Mission. I hope I will see you there.
Until then, I wish you and your loved ones continued blessings of good health, new hope and God’s immense love,
Fr. Paul
EXCERPT FROM THE HOMILY, NOVEMBER 13 and 14, 2021 BY MAX OLIVA, S.J.
As the liturgical year draws to a close, the church traditionally has directed our attention to the end of history: personal and collective. Today’s readings encourage us not to be afraid but to put our faith and trust in the love and mercy of God. In the Gospel, Jesus points to the ultimate triumph of good over evil. We are all destined to meet God at some time. It is important to be as prepared as possible.
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel gave us something profound to reflect on in light of the readings.
“In every person’s life there are moments when there is a lifting of the veil at the horizon of the known, opening a sight of the eternal. We do not leave the shore of the known in search of adventure or suspense or because of the failure of reason to answer our questions. We sail because our mind is like a fantastic seashell, and when applying our ear to its lips we hear a perpetual murmur from the waves beyond the shore.”
Please take a moment to read our Carmel Mission Weekly Bulletin.