Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
In the first reading from the Book of Isaiah we hear a beautiful description of what God envisions God’s church to be. All who join themselves to the Lord are welcome, they will be made joyful in God’s house of prayer, and God’s house will be a house of prayer for all peoples. So ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
In the Gospel this weekend we hear the encouraging words of our Savior, “Take courage, it is I do not be afraid.” Fear is a normal part of human existence, indeed without healthy fear we would not survive as a species. We are cautious when driving, well, at least some of us are! We ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
Today we have the beautiful reading from Isaiah in which our loving God provides the ultimate model of hospitality, “You who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come and eat! Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk!” In our transactional world, ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
We hear in the second reading one of my favorite lines from Sacred Scripture, the one which I chose for my ordination card, “All things work for good for those who love God.” It may admittedly be difficult to see and feel the hand of God, working for good in our current perilous ti ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
I wrote in my weekly letter last week that, “nothing is as constant as change.” How true that is in these uncertain and unpredictable times. As you are likely aware, we are adapting again this week to new guidelines and restrictions in Monterey County that affect the celebration of M ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
In Sunday’s Gospel Jesus tells us, “To anyone who has, more is given.” We can well imagine this phrase with the word “faith” included to anyone who has faith, more faith is given. We are relying on faith more than ever in these difficult and uncertain times. As we contemplate ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
In Sunday’s Gospel Jesus invites us to come and find rest for our souls. Rest is an undervalued part of our productivity-driven world, which encourages us to drive ourselves to the limit of our endurance to keep achieving. Even when we are not working at our jobs, there is very littl ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
This is an exciting weekend for us at Carmel Mission, as we begin a limited re-opening for the celebration of Mass with two Masses on Sunday at 7:30am and 11am. We also continue our streaming Mass for those who are unable to join us here at the Mission. While we are happy to be abl ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
It is with pleasure that I can announce that we will be opening the Mission for a limited celebration of Mass on Sunday, June 21.
As we have discussed for several weeks now, there will be significant changes in how we access the church and celebrate Mass here at Mission to safegua ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
Today we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit into the world and the birthday of our Church. For over two thousand years, our Church as relied on the Holy Spirit to guide her, to heal her, to renew her, and to sustain her. As we welcome the Holy Spirit in ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
Today we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord when Jesus returns to His Father in Heaven. We can imagine the disappointment of the disciples. They have only recently learned that Jesus has risen from the dead, and now he is leaving them again. Jesus seeks to reassure them that he wi ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
I hope that you are safe and in good health during this time of uncertainty.
In the Gospel this week, the disciples of Jesus face great uncertainty and are under a cloud of unknowing. Jesus promises He will not leave them orphans, but He knows they may feel afraid, alone and i ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
This weekend we continue our celebration of the Easter season and we also take the opportunity to celebrate our mothers, and all who take on the role of mother in our lives. We know from the
book of Isaiah that God loves us as only a mother can, “As one whom his mother comforts, so I ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
Today we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Easter, also known as Good Shepherd Sunday. The image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd and all of us as the flock safely resting in his bountiful pastures is a beloved one in our Christian tradition. In the Gospel today, Jesus warns that robbers and ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
This past Thursday I sent out an update video message and letter to recap all that we have been doing to keep our community connected in this time of the COVID -19 pandemic. In addition, I outlined some of the adaptations and modifications we are considering for the moment when we ...
