Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
In the Gospel reading today we have the beautiful image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, “My sheep hear my voice: I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). This pastoral image was particularly relevant to the people of Jesus’ time, many of whom were shepherds themselves, a ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
In the Gospel today we see a beautiful example of our Savior lovingly giving his friend Peter something he desperately needs, healing. Peter’s love for Jesus has not diminished in any way since His Death and Resurrection. If anything, the wild exuberance with which Peter jumps in t ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
Throughout the Easter season we hear readings from the Acts of the Apostles. Written as a kind of sequel to Luke’s Gospel, the Acts answer many of the questions posed by the Gospel. Today we learn what the disciples did after Jesus comes back. Filled with the Holy Spirit, given to ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
Our Scripture readings for this Easter Sunday focus on the importance of witness. In the Gospel, Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John are witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus, though they do not yet truly understand the implications of what has occurred. In the first reading from the Ac ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
In this year’s lectionary cycle we are reading the Passion according to Luke. Each evangelist has his own style and his own focus in the Gospel narratives. In Luke’s telling of the Passion story, Jesus’s love and compassion for His disciples features quite prominently. Jesus kn ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
Like last week’s story of the Prodigal Son, this week’s Gospel involving Jesus, the Pharisees and the woman accused of adultery is one in which we can relate to several characters in different moments in our lives. We have likely experienced moments of persecution, misunderstandi ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
Today’s Gospel story of the Prodigal Son with its theme of forgiveness and reconciliation feels so relevant at this moment. Our world, as well as our hearts, are in desperate need of reconciliation, of healing, of peace and forgiveness. Our minds turn immediately to our brother ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
Today in the Gospel Jesus takes on one of the most prevalent misconceptions of His time, and perhaps of ours as well, that good things happen to good people and bad things to bad people. That there is a karmic balance, and when tragedy strikes, perhaps there is some kind of divine re ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
Every Second Sunday of Lent we hear the Gospel story of the Transfiguration of the Lord. This year in our lectionary cycle, we hear Luke’s account. Jesus, accompanied by three of His disciples goes up to the top of Mount Tabor to pray. The disciples, exhausted by the climb, fall asle ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
This year we have chosen for our Lenten theme “Walking Back Home.” The imagery of pilgrims walking has been recurrent in my mind, and I have been considering the ways in which life in general, and the season of Lent in particular, mirrors the experience of a walking pilgrimage. F ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
I hope and pray that you and your loved ones are safe and sound, and that the New Year has started well for you.
It’s that time of year when we launch our Annual Ministries Appeal (AMA), our sole fundraiser for the needs of our parish. For successive years now, your response ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
In the Gospel today Jesus lays out crucial tenants of what it means to be a Christian, a follower of Christ. The instruction to love one’s enemies and bless those who curse you would have been completely foreign to the people of Jesus’ time, and remains one of the greatest challe ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
Today’s Gospel is a familiar one, the Beatitudes, but in Luke’s Gospel we have a slight change in venue from Matthew’s. Jesus is preaching down on the plain rather than up on the mount. The message, however, remains the same. It is a message of comfort and hope for the suffering, ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
This Sunday we are fortunate to have our beloved Bishop, Danny Garcia, with us to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation for thirteen young members of our community. At their Baptism, their parents chose for them to embark on a journey of faith in our Catholic Church. They have rece ...
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
Last week we left Jesus in the synagogue in His native Nazareth, having just revealed to His friends and neighbors that He is the Messiah, the Son of God and the fulfillment of the Scriptures. By any measure, this is a bombshell. At first the reception of Jesus’ announcement seems ...
