During this Year of Faith, the World Youth Day is taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Nearly two million young people were expected to attend World Youth Day.  There is a famous statue of Christ the Redeemer overlooking the city.  As Pope Benedict XVI stated, Jesus’ gesture is an eloquent symbol for us.  Christ’s open arms are a sign of his willingness to embrace all who come to him, and his heart represents his immense love for everyone.

Pope Emeritus Benedict, introducing the World Youth Day in Brazil, said that technical advances have given us unprecedented possibilities for interaction between people and nations: “But the globalization of these relationships would be positive and help the world to grow in humanity only if it is founded on love, rather than on materialism.”

Love has brought the youth together in Brazil and brings people together all over the world.  God is love.  Benedict XVI says that if we forget God, we lose hope and become unable to love others.  The salvation of each of us depends on it.

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, we believe in God and we live our faith from the beginning to the end of our lives.  Our faith is not a hotel just to stay over one or two nights.  I always like to come back to times when I was a child when I trusted God as a child trusts his parents.  Young people have gathered in Brazil to worship God and to “Go and make disciples of all nations!” (Mt 28:19)   Why?  Because they are concerned about their friends and themselves.

Together with the young people, with our zeal we renew our faith and pray for our sisters and brothers like Abraham trusting in the Lord at all times who is merciful and who is just.  The continuation of today’s first reading – which can be found in the Chapter 19 of Genesis – says God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because their sins were grave.  They didn’t want to change their lives.  God sends angels to save Lot, Abraham’s nephew, and his family.  They are saved because of God’s love for Abraham.  We are children of God and we ask our Father as he says: “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Lk 11:9)

Father Rafal Duda
Parochial Vicar

Angels at Mamre

An ancient Polish adage says that when we welcome people, we welcome God himself.  In today’s first reading, Abraham didn’t recognize that he was being visited by God himself.

Andrei Rublev, the greatest medieval Russian painter of Orthodox icons and frescoes, painted  an icon of the Holy Trinity.  The prototype for this icon was the mysterious appearance of the Holy Trinity in the form of three travelers to Abraham and Sarah under the oak of Mamre.  On the icon, we can see that all three angels are blessing the chalice, in which lies a sacrificed calf, prepared for eating.  The sacrifice of the calf signifies Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, while its preparation as food symbolizes the sacrament of the Eucharist.

My dear friends, before receiving the Eucharist we say: Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.  We acknowledge how great a gift we receive.  We recognize that the Holy Trinity dwells in us.  “Sir, if I may ask you this favor, please do not go on past your servant,” Abraham said. (Genesis 18:3)  If we welcome people, we welcome God himself.

In last Sunday’s Gospel, we heard the parable of the Good Samaritan.  Today we hear the story of Martha, who represents a person who works for God, and Mary, who listens to God.  Martha and Mary represent active and contemplative stages in our lives.  We need both in our daily Christians lives, with our eyes looking up to heaven and feet standing firm on the ground.  God speaks here and now.  In different stages of our lives, we need to be more active or more contemplative.  I only know what I need here and now.  The advice of others does not always apply to me.  The Lord said in reply to Martha’s complaint, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.  There is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)

Fr. Rafal Duda

Parochial Vicar

The Church reminds us in the Vatican II document on the Church in the modern world, that by seeking first the kingdom of God we will derive from it a stronger and purer love for helping our brothers and sisters and for accomplishing the task of justice under the inspiration of charity.

There are nearly 12 million unemployed Americans; it means that the jobless rate in the USA is near 7.6 percent.  It says to us that many people struggle every day, and that many others worry about losing their jobs.  Our community that is a parish is called to help those in need.  We all have something that we can share.

Possessing goods isn’t wrong; moreover, it is even one of our human rights.  The key here is about helping the needy.

In the Bible we can find strong words of condemnation of the rich from the letter of James (5:2) because of people’s selfishness.  The goods could be given to the poor.  If someone has a lot of goods and hoards them, allowing such goods to rot, this is against the principle of sharing a common good and love with others.  My dear friends, everything is perishable, but only an act of love stays.  St. John’s parish has a reputation of helping people in the community.  What the parish has, we share with others.

Do not place confidence in your earthly goods.  Living on earth in selfish luxury and pleasure is only temporary.  Practical materialism leads to individualism, utilitarianism and hedonism.  Then the quality of life is understood to mean wealth and pleasure.  Look at Jesus Christ.  His life from the beginning was very simple.  Where was He born?  How did he live?  Indeed, Jesus Christ is God, and He always acted with simplicity.

There are strong words of condemnation of the rich from James’s letter because of another reason.  The cries of poor have reached the ears of the Lord, as we have heard, because of the wages they withheld from the workers.  The rich are condemned because they do not give what is due to the poor (James 5:4)

How should we act?  The parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us to treat people with mercy.  Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.”

Fr. Rafal Duda,
Parochial Vicaar

I touch the flowing water of the baptismal font and take the same seat as usual in St. John the Baptist Church.  I close my eyes and return to the font where I was baptized.  On the day of my baptism, I see my relatives and their friends, and my name written in the book of life.  This is my true home.  Who am I? …I began a new life in Christ and the Holy Spirit.  Through the waters of our baptism, together with all the martyrs, I share in your death and resurrection, O Lord,

I open the book of the Revelation of John and slowly read…”In heaven, I will never hunger or thirst again.  There is the Lamb who leads me to streams of living water, and God the Father wipes all tears from my eyes.” I open my eyes and I hear the words:

“Rejoice… I will spread prosperity over Jerusalem like a river…as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you…” (Is 66:10-13)  “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. …  From now on, let no one make troubles for me; for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.” (Gal 6:14-17)  “Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals… cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’  Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you… it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town.” (Lk 10:3-12)

It is time to renew my life’s journey.  Who am I?  “The formulation of Genesis 2:24 indicates that human beings, created as man and woman, were created for unity.  It also indicates that precisely this unity, through which they become one flesh, has right from the beginning a character of union derived from a choice.  We read: ‘A man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife.’  If the man belongs ’by nature’ to his father and mother, by virtue of procreation, on the other hand, he cleaves by choice to his wife (or she to her husband).” Pope John Paul II.

I hear Jesus Christ’s saying to me: “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.” (Lk 10:18)

Fr. Rafal Duda
Parochial Vicar

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The crucial word in today’s Gospel could perhaps be “resolutely.”  This is how Luke describes Jesus setting out on the road to Jerusalem, where his destiny is to be fulfilled in suffering, death and, ultimately, resurrection.

It is not an easy road to follow – and we never understand the mind of Jesus.  We do know, however, that his own resolve was something he knew would have to be matched by his disciples.

And so, when he is approached by a series of would-be disciples, he seems to be quite harsh with them.  The first is confronted with the reality of the life itinerant preachers – a state of permanent restlessness.

To our ears, it is, perhaps, his comment to the one who wishes first to bury his father – to leave the dead to bury the dead – that seems particularly harsh.  It may be that the father has recently died – but if so, it is improbable that the son would be doing anything other than dealing with funeral arrangements and observing the strict seven days of mourning.  It is more likely that he meant that he would wait until his father had died and he was free to come.  This could be years hence – and Jesus was at pains to say that the spreading of Good News is urgent and should not wait.

Finally, to the one who wanted to say goodbye – the challenge to put your hand to the plough and don’t look back.  Being a disciple of Jesus in our own day brings its own challenges – and our resolve can be sorely tested.  Our reservations and temptations will be different from those of the people mentioned in today’s Gospel — but they are real, nonetheless.

The challenge is perhaps to put God above all things and all people!  Do we really heed God’s voice and quickly response to it?  Do we dare to accept any risk and price when we do make the decision to follow Jesus?  Do we truly sacrifice everything for the sake of the Kingdom of God?  Let’s you and I re-examine ourselves on how we are following Jesus.

With love,
Fr. Thuong Hoai Nguyen, Pastor

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today’s Gospel gives us a shadow, or refiguration, of what Jesus is going to do for His church later on, namely institute the Eucharist.  Who can love us more than the One who offers total life, soul, body, spirit and whole being for us as food and drink?  Only Jesus could do it because He has loved us unconditionally and eternally.

The Eucharist, in fact, makes present the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, but without shedding His blood.  Therefore, when we enter into the spirit of the Eucharist, we must recognize and proclaim “the death of the Lord” and also the “Resurrection of the Lord”.  In return, we should offer our bodies, our lives to the Lord as living sacrifices.  The true spirit of the Eucharist is the spirit of sacrifice, not only the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus but also our own life-long sacrifice combining with Jesus’.  Thus, it is very important to prepare ourselves worthily, to fast before receiving the Eucharist, to deny ourselves, and to take up our crosses each day with the intention of uniting ourselves to Jesus crucified and sacrificed.  Through our good deeds and generosity, we make sacrifices pleasing to the Lord.  We can unite these sacrifices with Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary and fill up in our own bodies what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.

As we gather and approach the Eucharist each weekend, we should desire to unite ourselves to Jesus, because the Eucharist is not the proclamation and perpetuation of our sacrifices but rather of His sacrifice.  But the Eucharist is the participation of our sacrifices in His.  Please live the Eucharist.  Live a life of sacrifice.  Through Jesus, let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise.  May God help us to recognize the most precious love that Jesus offers to us in each Eucharist.

With love,
Fr. Thuong Hoai Nguyen