Pastor’s message on Easter 2025

Anthony Aruanna • April 14, 2025

Dear brothers and sisters,

Easter is the most important solemnity of the entire liturgical year. It is not Christmas, Ash Wednesday or Palm Sunday, but Easter in conjunction with Good Friday. It is so important a celebration that the Catholic Church has designated the entire week for the celebration of Easter. Hence, from Easter Sunday to the following Sunday, known as the Divine Mercy Sunday, we celebrate the octave of Easter, during which every day we sing or recite the hymn of Gloria and we read the accounts of the encounters with the Risen Lord.

We do that because these are the days when we celebrate the greatest mysteries of our salvation, which now is not only for the Jews but for all peoples. We emphasize this truth each Sunday in the Creed we recite and profess: “I believe… in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God… for our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, He suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” Then the Creed continues: “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” Do we really believe what we profess? If we do, why are we so worried and preoccupied with this life only?

Easter reminds us that Jesus has conquered sin and death, and He has overcome the evil of unnecessary suffering. In His resurrection Jesus provides us with hope that all things will be transformed in Him, as we hear it in a very solemn way in the Easter Proclamation (the Exsultet), “The sanctifying power of this night dispels wickedness, washes faults away, restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to mourners, drives out hatred, fosters concord, and brings down the mighty.” Yes, the Resurrection of Christ brings joy to the fallen world. This joy consists not in having Easter eggs on our tables, bunnies in our gardens and yards, or eating a bountiful brunch or dinner on Easter Sunday, but in having authentic faith in the Risen Lord. It is the notion of faith that makes Easter a truly meaningful celebration. The celebration of Easter is also a reminder to all of us that we belong to Christ through baptism, through which we are now part of His family. This means that Jesus will take care of us and lead us to salvation as long as we follow Him like the disciples did after the Resurrection.

As we come to church to celebrate Holy Mass on Easter Sunday, let us renew our faith in Jesus and embrace it with our whole heart so that He may dispel the darkness of evil and fear, so that we may live in the freedom of the children of God destined for the life with God for ever.

Happy Easter to 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,

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:

Mensaje del párroco el domingo 6 de octubre de 2024

By Anthony Aruanna • October 10, 2024
In English