Baptism of the Lord

Karen Pepe • January 9, 2022

From pastor’s desk on the Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord

The third Sunday of Christmas is dedicated to the recognition of the Baptism of the Lord. Although this Sunday formally concludes the liturgical season of Christmas, traditionally Christmas carols and decorations were used until the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord celebrated on February 2nd. This was to support the idea that the spirit of Christmas should continue to live in us unceasingly, for Christ needs to be born in us every day of our lives. We must choose Jesus and Jesus wants to be chosen so that our faith may grow continually in us without getting stagnate.

As for the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, it is the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Our Lord comes to John the Baptist together with other people, drawing from all Judea to be baptized, that is, to be immersed and ritually washed in the Jordan River. This baptism of John meant washing off the sins; it was the baptism of repentance. Since Jesus was sinless, He neither needed repentance nor this ritual washing. However, the fathers of the Church interpreted this event as theologically significant. Namely, our Lord Jesus wanted to be baptized by John, and to be seen by others, to unite Himself with all the sinners that were entering the river. By doing this Jesus sanctified the waters of the river Jordan. Hence it was not John who baptized the people but Jesus who washed them in His own passion and death on the cross. So, all those, whom John baptized, were also baptized in Christ. Even Saint Paul observed this stating: “ He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him ” (2 Cor 5:21).

Besides the short reflection regarding this Sunday theme, I would like to touch upon something very important and hard to comprehend. This last Christmas something utterly sad had occurred. After the 11AM Mass on Christmas Day a parishioner found three communion hosts in the garbage bin. It was promptly reported to Fr. Charlie, who properly took care of the hosts. It is truly heartbreaking how little understanding and respect for the Eucharist there exists among the people. Whoever did it (the person was immediately identified and spoken to!), not only did not have proper understanding of the REAL PRESENCE of Christ in the Eucharist, but also seemed to act disrespectfully and disdainfully towards our beliefs. In fact, it was a SACRILEGIOUS DEED, for which we all should repent and make acts of reparation as a parish .

What occurred on Christmas Day is only a grim reminder of the loss of faith and lack of the fear of Lord among the people. Even if you attended a Protestant prayer service, this would be considered a terrible offense. All the more for the Catholic Holy Mass, we believe that it was the Lord and not just a wafer that was treated with contempt. Let us remember that only Catholics in the state of sanctifying grace can receive Holy Communion . IT SHOULD NOT BE THE CASE that you go to communion because everybody else is going to receive it and you feel embarrassed for not going with the crowd. On the contrary, YOU SHOULD BE PROPERLY PREPARED TO RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION WITHOUT ASSUMING that YOU ARE ENTITLED TO IT. 

It is not an impertinence when you refrain from receiving Holy Communion. Rather it is a respectful recognition of the fact that the Eucharist is the most sacred reality for Catholics. Thus, if you are not a member of the Catholic Church, or you do not have a good moral condition (i.e., freedom from mortal sin) or proper understanding of the Eucharist, you should not come to communion, for HOLY COMMUNION IS THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE LIVING GOD. I kindly ask all of you to please educate yourselves, your children, and your family and friends who visit our church to know how to properly receive Holy Communion or respectfully refrain from it when appropriate.

God bless you all. Fr. Janusz Mocarski, Pastor

Mensaje del pastor para la celebración de la Pascua 2025

By Anthony Aruanna • April 14, 2025
Queridos hermanos y hermanas,

Pastor’s message on Easter 2025

By Anthony Aruanna • April 14, 2025
Dear brothers and sisters,

From Pastor’s Desk on the Eight Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C

By Anthony Aruanna • March 2, 2025
“Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?” — Our Lord Jesus addresses this question to His disciples trying to tell them that they need to be healed of their spiritual blindness first. In this context blindness is not to believe in Christ and healing means to have faith in Jesus who is the Light of the world. In other words, when we gain our spiritual sight through faith, then we will be able to help others on the way to salvation. Without faith in Jesus we just remain living in the darkness of sin. Without Jesus we are all like blind men bouncing against the walls of reality and against each other. However, when we embrace faith in God in the person of Jesus and let our hearts be set on Christ, then He—the Son of God and Our Lord—becomes our guide. Because of that our every step will be illumined with the light of faith. While putting our faith into action in our daily life we also start bearing good fruits of an authentic and happy life.

Del Escritorio del Párroco en el Octavo Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año C

By Anthony Aruanna • March 2, 2025
“ ¿Puede un ciego guiar a otro ciego? ¿No caerán ambos en un pozo? ” - Nuestro Señor Jesús dirige esta pregunta a sus discípulos tratando de decirles que primero necesitan ser curados de su ceguera espiritual. En este contexto, ceguera significa no creer en Cristo y curación significa tener fe en Jesús, que es la Luz del mundo. En otras palabras, cuando ganemos nuestra vista espiritual a través de la fe, entonces seremos capaces de ayudar a otros en el camino de la salvación. Sin fe en Jesús solo permanecemos viviendo en la oscuridad del pecado. Sin Jesús todos somos como ciegos que rebotan contra las paredes de la realidad y contra los demás. Sin embargo, cuando abrazamos la fe en Dios en la persona de Jesús y dejamos que nuestro corazón se fije en Cristo, entonces Él -el Hijo de Dios y Nuestro Señor- se convierte en nuestro guía. Por eso, cada uno de nuestros pasos estará iluminado por la luz de la fe. Al poner nuestra fe en acción en nuestra vida diaria, también empezamos a dar buenos frutos de una vida auténtica y feliz.

Del Escritorio del Párroco en el 5º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año C

By Anthony Aruanna • February 6, 2025
A menudo la gente nos pregunta a nosotros, los sacerdotes, qué hacer para profundizar en su vida espiritual. A todos se nos ocurren respuestas diferentes y, ciertamente, hay muchos caminos para una mayor vida espiritual. Hay, sin embargo, un método más probado que ha ayudado a muchos cristianos católicos a estar en la vía rápida de la santidad y a comprender mejor la vida espiritual. Es la consagración total al Corazón Inmaculado de María, o como propuso originalmente San Luis Grignon de Montfort allá por el siglo XVII, la Consagración Total a Jesús por María. Después de San Luis hubo muchos otros que siguieron sus pasos. Entre algunos de los santos más conocidos se encuentran el Papa Pío X, San Maximiliano Kolbe y San Juan Pablo II. Estos santos reconocieron que María desempeñó un papel vital en la vida de la Iglesia primitiva y que la Santísima Madre sigue desempeñando un papel importante en la Iglesia de nuestros tiempos.

From Pastor’s Desk on the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C

By Anthony Aruanna • February 6, 2025
Often people ask us, priests, what to do in order to deepen their spiritual life. We all can come up with different answers and there are certainly many ways to greater spiritual life. There is, however, a more proven method that has helped many Christian Catholics to be on the fast track to holiness and to better understanding of spiritual life. It is the total consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or as originally proposed by Saint Luis Grignon de Montfort back in the XVII century, the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary. After St. Luis there were many others that followed in his footsteps. Among some of the most known saints were Pope Pius X, St. Maximilian Kolbe, and St. John Paul II. These saints recognized that Mary played a vital role in the life of the early Church and that the Blessed Mother still plays an important role in the Church of our times.

Del Escritorio del Párroco en el 2º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año C

By Anthony Aruanna • January 26, 2025
Estoy seguro de que todos estamos atónitos y horrorizados por los incendios forestales del sur de California que afectan ya a cientos de miles de sus habitantes. La velocidad y la ferocidad del fuego sólo demuestran lo frágiles que somos como seres humanos individuales y como humanidad en general. Muchos californianos pueden estar dudando de su fe en estos momentos; muchos se plantearán preguntas: ¿Dónde está Dios? ¿Por qué permite Dios catástrofes tan terribles? Ciertamente, muchos de nosotros nos haríamos las mismas preguntas. Si Dios está detrás o no, no lo sabemos. Sin embargo, sí sabemos que vivimos en un mundo creado que tiene su propio ritmo y ciclos que se dan en la naturaleza. Las cosas suceden con y sin interrupción humana. Algunas cosas las podemos controlar (muy poco, de hecho), y muchas otras no. Lo que sí podemos reconocer es que las catástrofes naturales son una forma de llamada a la conversión y a una mayor confianza en Dios. También es una llamada a la acción para hacer la tierra más acogedora, de modo que las personas puedan prosperar en ella.

From pastor’s desk on the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, year C

By Anthony Aruanna • January 26, 2025
I am sure that all of us are stunned and horrified by the wildfires in Southern California impacting now hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants. The speed and ferocity of fire only proves how fragile we are as individual human beings and as humanity by and large. Many Californians may be doubting his or her faith at this moment; many will pose questions: Where is God? Why does God permit such terrible disasters? Certainly, many of us would ask the same questions. Whether God is behind it or not, we do not know. However, we do know that we live in a created world that has its own rhythm and cycles that occur in nature. Things happen with and without human interruption. Some things we can control (very little, in fact), and many things we can’t. What we can recognize is that natural disasters are a form of a call to conversion and to greater trust in God. It is also a call to action to make the earth more hospitable so that people can prosper in it.

From pastor’s desk on 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year, B

By Anthony Aruanna • October 19, 2024
Last July over 50 thousand Catholics gathered in Indianapolis for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress. Obviously, the central theme of the gathering was the Eucharist. One of the key speakers at the Eucharistic Congress, Monsignor James Shea, said:

Del Escritorio del Párroco el 29 Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario

By Anthony Aruanna • October 19, 2024
El pasado mes de julio, más de 50.000 católicos se reunieron en Indianápolis con ocasión del 10º Congreso Eucarístico Nacional. Obviamente, el tema central del encuentro fue la Eucaristía. Uno de los principales oradores del Congreso Eucarístico, Monseñor James Shea, dijo: