Easter Sunday 2013 – Fr. Tom

Here we have Easter. How different is the feast of the prior four months.
Difficult feast.

Difficult for us to imagine the fact of the Resurrection.

Today, we do not have a creche with the little sweet baby Jesus......
We do not have the beautiful face of Mary.
We do not have a happy Joseph.

It is not a great happiness like a man's birthday
Surely though it is closer to us and more human.

It is an empty tomb that scared the apostles and we are looking around for everything and understand nothing.
Today, we look in the empty tomb... in one way we must be happy because, the church tells us about this truth. But in another way when we broaden the great mystery it overwhelms us and we are afraid.

Today, we ask the question:
Why are we afraid?
Why is it difficult for us to believe in the reality of the empty tomb?

Probably because, if we believe we would change our life completely.
We would have a belief that death can be defeated and that satan would be beat.
Christ lives in each moment and He can physically meet with us.

We would be like Mary Magdalene, not to be ashamed,.... to have tears of penance and tears of happiness.
We would be like John, never ask but live in truth.

We would be like Peter,never to deny his Master and this friendship would be sealed like a martyrs death.
We would have belief that I is not just my body threatened today in an economic crisis...but, first of all that I am spirit who was created for the Resurrection.
We would stop complaining and start to rejoice.
We wouild have an anticipation and count the days to our death, because it is the one way to meet Jesus.

Don't be afraid, don't be sad, don't be depressed, don't complain because the Resurrected Christ wants to come into our life and He wants our empty tomb.

Fr. Tom

Easter Vigil - RCIA

A year ago, Holy Father Benedict XVI said at Holy Thursday Mass.

"…as Christ told Peter, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat," today "we are once more painfully aware that Satan has been permitted to sift the disciples before the whole world."

—POPE BENEDICT XVI, Mass of the Lord’s Supper, April 21st, 2011

Where do you and I stand in this sifting? Are we among the weeds or the wheat?
"We too find excuses when being his disciples starts becoming too costly, too dangerous."

It's very uplifting to be with Christ in the moments of glory, it's wonderful to be with Him in the time of exaltation …

If Judas, Peter, and the Apostles fled the Lord in His hour of sorrow … what will I do when the time of sorrow approach?

It's wonderful the liturgy of Easter Vigil … in few minutes time 18 person will receive the Sacrament of Baptism; two will be accepted to the full unity with the Catholic Church, 22 will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation and 17 will receive the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ for the first time.

What a wonderful achievement? What a time of glory and joyful exaltation …

But my dear brothers and sisters … will you be with Christ when all this will be over and when comes the normal, difficult daily life?

Or "you will find excuses when being his disciples starts becoming too costly, too dangerous, to boring to demanding."

I will quote you only one sentence of Jesus which is repeated three times in the Gospel:

"You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved." (Matthew 10,22)



The way to the Resurrection goes through Calvary. We have to be aware of this truth.



I wish you all Happy Easter

Good Friday – Fr. Thomas

Your cross Christ is brought to the end. The prelude to Your passion is finished.

Yet, in only one moment of excruciating pain of pounding in the nails .... in human minds everything is finished.

Yet, only with eyes full of love, He looks to the eyes of His mother and lamenting, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me." It seems that everything is finished.

Man raised his hands toward God in anger and the world grasped a dark night.

Hanging on the cross from the start of His public activity.

Hanging on the wood, He, who healed, comforted, and redeemed from misfortune.

This is a paradox of God being punished for goodness…

From this day humans were not worried about fighting with God.

Even today when we stand under the cross, we still hear offensive mockery and laughing of people convinced that God should die. That God should be cancel out of human life.  That God is a crook and liar. He can't give us happiness.

When man dies this world is finished.

And everybody will be in this situation when we say hello to his or her earthly life.

At this moment, the world for us has been robbed from us.

But, when God died the world moved forward quickly … proving to us that it does not make sense to worry about this.

Jesus felt cheated and betrayed. But, we must remember that the strong shouting: "My God, My God why have you forsaken me", flows out from His human nature.

We do not always know how to deal with suffering.

Every cross scares us, and when we are scared we want to be reunited with God.

We want God to find a solution for our sadness.

Usually, we want our calling out to Him, for Him to listen to us in our way, as if we have our own solution to the problem. 

The way of the cross and suffering is also the way God chooses to listen to us. 

We hear about this in Hebrews, “Jesus offered up prayers of submission”.

This day we must ask the question.

Why is man scared and why am I scared?

Maybe when we have anxiety about our everyday life we forget that we can hurt God.

Maybe we are more scared about tomorrow than about living in sin.

Maybe the most important things for us are: health, family, career,  rather than Who in reality loves us.

Am I aware that God does not abandon me, but very often I leave Him?

That God did not die, but that I am dead in my relationship with Him?

On the day of the death of God we go to Jesus Christ and we ask Him to show us a sense of our life and our death.

 

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

Readings: Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12; Hebrews 4: 14-16, 5:7-9; John18:1 - 19:42

I read somewhere a very challenging statement saying: “What will kill Christianity, what will kill the Catholic Church is not the atheism, not the enemies of Christ but the lukewarm attitude of believers, the indifference of Catholics.” And it is true. Nothing is able to kill my faith but my own lukewarm indifference.

Jesus is alone ….

“Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."

He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to feel sorrow and distress. Then he said to them, "My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me."

He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer … When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep. He said to Peter, "So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again … Then he returned once more and found them asleep, for they could not keep their eyes open.

He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing again.

Then he returned to his disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand when the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners.”              (Matthew 26; 36-45)

And in today’s Gospel:

“Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala and the youngest of his disciples John.”                                (John 19; 25)

I was thinking about this yesterday evening, while seating in the adoration room after the Holy Thursday Mass. From among the whole parish only two couples and four women find the time to spend few minutes in adoration yesterday evening …

I am very sorry, to say this but, does it mean that all others were sleeping? Jesus is constantly asking the same question: “Could you not keep watch with me for one hour?”

Today during the day nobody came even for the shortest adoration …

And I am consoling myself with the statements: “I am not bed. I am actually a good person.” Does it mean that I don’t need the passion, the death and the resurrection of Christ? Does it mean that I don’t need these few minutes of adoration on the Holy Thursday?

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Sorrow and pain, suffering and anguish can lead us into one of four lands:

- The barren land in which we try to escape from it and when we cannot we are overwhelmed,

- The broken land in which we are not able to deal with it and we sink under it,

- The bitter land in which we resent it, where we are offended by it,

or

- The better land in which we bear it and become a blessing to others.

This is what Jesus did with all our sorrows and sufferings on the Cross.

I heard once the words which moved me. It was during a painful ceremony of funeral:

"These difficult days for you and your family may become a time of great graces if you unite your suffering to those of Christ crucified. All too often we forget that it was not when Our Lord was preaching and teaching, and multiplying the bread that He saved the world. It was, rather, when He was seemingly helpless and abandoned on the Cross. There, in the midst of unspeakable anguish and pain, suffering and sorrows Christ wrought redemption for us. By joining your anxiety and pain to His, you will help countless others open their hearts to His grace and love."

Pope John Paul II in his remarkable book “Crossing the Threshold of Hope” wrote:

"There is no Christian holiness; there is no Christianity at all without devotion to the Passion, without the Cross of Jesus Christ."?

Saint Paul in the letter to the Galatians says:

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Gal 6,14)

We will be more then pleased or even delighted with a religion giving us only the good feelings and positive emotions, with a religion similar to a talisman or religion amulet. But unhappily or rather happily the symbol of Christ’ religion is not a four leaf clover or a horseshoe.

The symbol of our religion is THE CROSS of Jesus Christ.

And maybe one thing more: It is not about our feelings, or emotions.

It is about our salvation, and for our salvation our feelings are rather irrelevant.

If Jesus Christ stresses constantly His feelings and His moods He will never accept the cross, the passion and the death.

Holy Thursday – Last Supper Mass – the Day of the Eucharist and the Day of Priests.

Last Supper – the institution of two Sacraments: the HOLY EUCHARIST – the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ and the PRIESTHOOD, the Sacrament in service of the Eucharist.

Two Sacraments …. two mysteries of faith.

How can a piece of bread contain God, the Creator of the Universe?

How can to the ordinary man be granted such a power, to transform the bread into the Body of Christ? And yet … this is exactly what Jesus did during the Last Supper.

Lk 22:19 – “Then he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

What is the primary purpose and task of a priest? What is his ultimate vocation? The answer we can find in the life and mission of Christ. So what was the primary reason of the incarnation of the second Person if the Holy Trinity?

- Was it the healing of the sick?

- Was it the feeding of the hungry?

- Was it the social justice work?

- Or was it maybe the making His disciples feel good?

I think it was none of the above!'!!

He, the High Priest was the Priest for two reasons, which finally come to the only one:

- the GLORY OF GOD and the SALVATION OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD!

John 4:34 – “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me, and to complete his work.”

John 17:3 – “And eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

John 18:37 – “Jesus answering Pilate said, 'It is you who say that I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this, to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.”

Mt 28:19 – “Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”

So Glory of God and sanctification of the members of Christ's Church.

2Tim 4:1 nn – “Before God and before Christ Jesus who is to be judge of the living  and the dead, I charge you, in the name of his appearing and of his kingdom, proclaim the message and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it. Refute falsehood, correct error, give encouragement -- but do all with patience and with care to instruct.”

It will be a betrayal to anything else. Like searching popularity, luxury, easy life, career etc.

The Founder of my Society of the Divine Saviour left us the Salvatorians the words of our vocation: “As long as there is one person in the world who doesn’t know and love Jesus Christ you cannot rest. Preach Jesus Christ with all means dictated by the love of God and love of your brothers and sisters.”

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Parish in communistic Russia, since 1918 no priest for almost 90 years …

Church turned or transformed in to kolkhoz’s storage facility …

After three generations of prayers they got a priest …

·         Lord Jesus Christ, the only One and Eternal Priest,

we thank You for sending us Your priest;

Your servant whom You chose and appointed to be among us.

He is the minister of Your mysteries,

and the pastor for our community.

We ask You to give him faithfulness and perseverance in Your holy service

and to give us a living faith in knowing that You sent him to us

and instituted him as our pastor and spiritual guide.

Help us to understand that his first and primary obligation

is to help us to become saints.

This is the ultimate reason that You sent him to our community.

·         Give him a spirit of wisdom and good council.

Give him the strength of fatherly love.

Give him the courage to tell us the truth,

You're the Truth and we have to know the TRUTH, to be free,

Give him the courage and perseverance to teach us the ultimate TRUTH

and not to compromise Your Good News for the sake of popularity.

And give us the gift of acceptance, respect and caring,

so that we can attentively listen to his word and trust that

he is preaching Your Good News,

even if it seems sometimes awkward and challenging,

Even if our ears are itching ...

·         You chose him from among us and for us,

a man who sometimes falls down because of his own weaknesses,

but also who has to deal with our weaknesses and sins.

Give us both patience and mutual understanding.

Give him health and patience in his difficult work and responsibilities.

·         May he be for us a good Pastor,

May he be for us a good and truthful Teacher,

May he be for us a strong and courageous Prophet,

who guides us to Heaven,

where You our Eternal Pastor are waiting for us;

in the Kingdom of Your Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit one God for ever and ever. Amen.

Holy Thursday 2013 – Fr. Tom

We begin the Triduum a time in which we will witness the unusual transition of Jesus Christ from life to life.

Today, we are in the Upper Room.The greatest  importance of this meeting is bread. Jesus takes in His hands the bread says  the blessing and prays,  breaks the bread and says this is my Body, which will be given up for you.

In this way, the bread became bread for the disciples.

Is the bread not the basic staple? It is obvious for all. The same bread was also present in the earthly life of Jesus.

After forty days of fasting, we remember Satan proposed to Jesus to transform the rocks into bread.

In another place we see how Jesus multiplied a few loaves of bread and fed a few thousand people.

Today, in the Upper Room from  bread, Jesus does the same.

Since then, everyday, during the mass, Christ through the hands of the priest transforms the bread. Multiplies it in order to feed all people and His body is then present with us on earth.

Bread became mystery of love.

Bread became mystery of accomplishment.                         Why?

Today, Christ does not just break and give us bread. He does not just preach the commandments and teach us. Today, like in all His life we see Him in the ministry of washing the feet.

Christ not only speaks about love but He does this. One who loves... wants to be always close and a loving person and in this sign of bread He stays with us.

We see that this bread unusual bread, has three dimensions:

--The mystery of love.

--The mystery of accomplishment.

--The mystery of presence.

St. Albert Chmielowski says beautiful words:  "we should be good like bread."  For this reason, everybody who will be hungry can break this bread and be happy and feel satisfied.

With this message of today we must go out of our Upper Room. Christ gives us His body to transform our life and added for us the strength to be better disciples.

As we reach for bread daily food invite others that they may have the chance to reach for love from our heart.

 As the bread is available without limitations, so our service should be available for all. But we must remember, bread should taste and smell fresh and so our love should always be fresh, such as bread is nutritious our service must be real help and added encouragement and a reason to live for other people.

How do we do this?

If we do not feed of the bread of life fresh consecrated bread our love will be stale our life will be stale and our helpfulness will be rejected.

For this reason, Christ gives us His heavenly body.

The Winning Strategy

Peter Kreeft, The Winning Strategy

Many minds do seem moonstruck, however, blissfully unaware of the crisis—especially the “intellectuals,” who are supposed to be the most on top of current events. I was dumbfounded to read a cover article in Time devoted to the question: Why is everything getting better? Why is life so good today? Why does everybody feel so satisfied about the quality of life? Time never questioned the assumption, it just wondered why the music on the Titanic sounded so nice.

Palm Sunday - C

Today we begin Holy Week.

The week of Christ's triumph over death and sin. Moreover, when we hear a description of the solemn entry of Christ into Jerusalem, we see the love and affection which was a welcome there. We do the same thing today, as they did. The palm of our hands attached to a welcome ceremony singing ...."Hosanna".

But the great joy to welcome Jesus' solemn atmosphere quickly turned into a hostile cry, "Crucify him." Jesus, was first surrounded and greeted by crowds, but in times of suffering, at the end of His life,... He is alone, surrounded by only a few, friendly people.
Today, on the threshold of Holy Week it is import_ant to understand, and even more often likely to say that we are the crowd.

In solemn moments of our lives we are able to give everything to Jesus, we want to accompany him, to be like John who remained with Christ to the end.
However, when in our lives the moments of doubt begin, we lack the courage to be with him, to boldly stand on His side. We often sleep just like the other apostles. It is in those moments when we should be with Him. Maybe this is not on our part a palpable cry... "Crucify "..... but, no response is often simply permission.

Let us, come out of the crowd, let us be open to the new love of Jesus, and maybe after a long break to invite Him into our life. Then after all the events of this week, Easter morning does not just last a few moments, but, that the Risen Christ, is always with us and He can enjoy our presence not just on holidays.

Fr. Tom

5th Sunday of Lent

Before our eyes we have two perceivable characters. Christ and the woman. The woman looks scared waiting for the judgement of Christ.  But the one who had heard the judgements of those who had judged her and the complaints that were made against her saw that everyone was gone. After that He told her "neither do I condemn you---go your way and from now on do not sin again."

God salvaged this woman not just before she died, but first of all He rescued her soul. This is a testimony of love -- God to man.

The number of times man meets with God in frank truth, is the number of times He touches his soul, and that is the number of times man changes his life.

Also, since the meeting of this woman with Christ she was faithful to Christ until His death.

Once again we see that we have a chance to do the same. We must recognize our sins and in humility, ask for forgiveness.

Through the spiritual transformation within us, we begin to understand --that since everyone of us are sinners, we must not "contempt" others and throw stones of condemnation.

Those who today bring to Jesus Christ the sinful woman, have forgotten about their sins--and until Christ shows them their sins they do not leave this place of judgement.

Everybody needs the mercy of God and this links everyone. When I experience the God of mercy, I see in others the same sinfulness  as in me.

John Paul ll wrote-- "sin in the contemporary world is the lack of the sense of sin. When you discover "sense of sin", you discover "sense of God"."

Without faith and love of God we will never be sensitive to sin. It will be difficult  for us to see God when many of our sins we consider just weaknesses and very easily we give excuses. Without reference in our life to God - we will not be able to judge what is good and what is bad.

John Paul ll says "the final business of our life will not be God but our summary benefit."

New life is contained in these same words--"go your way and from now on do not sin again".

We hear the same words as for the sinful woman, and if we want this same new life -- it  has been prepared for us.

Fr. Thomas

Fourth Sunday - Laetare Sunday

Fourth Sunday - Laetare Sunday

Joshua 5,9. 10-12; Psalm 34; 2 Corinthians 5, 17-21; St. Luke 15, 1-3. 11-32

We have all heard the story of the Prodigal Son many times. We have all lived the story many times. We have often been thoughtless like the boy, considered what was best for number one, and ended up hurting those who love us the most.

The deeper sin of the prodigal son was that he took the money and ran. He was not concerned about his father's future. Ancient social security, if you will, demanded that he work his father's land, giving the father a portion of the results so his father would always have food on the table. The prodigal also sold his families birthright, their portion of the Promised Land given to the Chosen People.

Many times we have been the Forgiving Father. We have all been hurt by others without cause and then called on to forgive. Perhaps, we haven't needed any motivation to forgive other than love. We've looked everyday for the one who has offended us. Like the forgiving Father, we started the celebrations before the offender could complete his or her apology.

Many times we have been like the Elder Son. One whom we love has been hurt. Although the hurt one has forgiven, we hold the grudge and as such deny ourselves admittance in the banquet of the Father's love.

In every family there are times where there is hurt, anger, and alienation. But we cannot run away from our family. We have only one family and we must make every effort to be reconciled.

We are called to forgive, and we are called to seek forgiveness. Husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, parents and children, neighbors and strangers, we are all called to the ministry of being reconciled with one another, just as God the Father seeks, through every person of every age to be reconciled with us.

The wisdom expressed in this parable goes much further and teaches us that human sin can take the form of wild and rebellious behavior or, perhaps more commonly, of sullen, angry and judgmental attitudes. The civil law is concerned almost exclusively with rebellious behavior but, in the parable, it is clear that the sinfulness of the elder son is much more dangerous.

Those of us who lead quiet and "responsible" lives may very well fall into the trap of sullen, resentful and angry attitudes toward others who seem to be "getting away with murder." What we need to ask ourselves is whether we have the kind of love that can understand why others, often less privileged than ourselves, may need both correction and forgiveness.

When the elder son in the parable says to his father, "your son," (and by implication no brother of mine) has done wrong and should be punished, the father gently corrects him with the words, "Your brother" (and not just my son) "was dead and has come to life again." This wayward son has indeed sinned but he has also repented and has paid a price for his sin. Now it is time to rejoice.

We cannot change unless we are first aware of what needs to be changed.

Once aware of the areas of our lives which are ruled by negative forces like hate, anger, resentment, greed, vindictiveness, injustice or violence we need to repent. "Repent" in the Gospel calls not only for expressions of regret and sorrow; it also demands a radical change in my future behaviour, a profound change in the way I see God and people and other things. It calls for a re-ordering of my relationships with God, with Jesus, with other people and with myself. It means a real turning round of my life, a real conversion.

The context of today's passage is important. Sinners and social outcasts were "all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say". The Pharisees and Scribes, who were the "good and religious" people, were shocked and disturbed. "This man welcomes sinners and [even worse] eats with them." By their standards, a "good" person avoids "bad company". To be quite honest, don't we think the same? If so, then we are not thinking like God or like Jesus.

There is no force involved. The police are not sent out. Servants are not instructed to haul him back. No, the father waits. It is up to the son himself to make the crucial decision: does he want to be with his father or not?

Eventually he "came to his senses", that is, he realised the wrongness of what he had done. He became aware of just how good his father had been. The process of repentance had begun. He felt deeply ashamed of his behaviour and then, most significantly of all, he turned round to make his way back to his father.

In one of his novels Dostoyevsky describes a scene that he has been witnessed in reality.

A woman holds a baby a few weeks old in her arms and -- for the first time, according to her – the baby smiles at her. All contrite, she makes the sign of the cross on his forehead and to those who ask her the reason for this she says: "Just as a mother is happy when she sees the first smile of her child, God too rejoices every time a sinner gets on his knees and addresses a heartfelt prayer to him".

("The Idiot")

Who knows whether a person who is listening does not decide finally to give this joy to God, to smile at him before he dies ...

What we do in the sacrament of Reconciliation:

We examine our conscience, repent our sins, confess them, and amend our lives.

The father in the parable. He does what the priest does in the sacrament of Reconciliation.

4th Sunday of Lent - C

Today, Jesus presents to us the most beautiful gospel scene  about the parable of the Prodigal son.

This parable  is very close to us. Why?

Probably, everybody has found this same situation in their life.

Very often, we have had a   time in our life when we have left someone who gives us everything..... We have left God.

And now we are like the young man.....calling..... "Father give me my share of my inheritance".

In our lives, everything that we have is from God.  Yet we take  everything for ourselves....which means our talents, gifts, money, fulfillment,...everything stops serving God and becomes self-serving and builds our selfishness. Everything that I have serves just me..and I start to think...God is not import_ant to me...but my needs, desires, and wants are import_ant..and I am attached to them.

Then I start to become a prodigal son. Now I am stripped of everything.

On the outside we are o.k. but on the inside our soul needs a true spiritual meal. The scraps are what the prodigal son has, just bits and pieces.

This situation applies to the moment in our life when a tragedy occurs ...a sudden accident...sickness  .......and no human consolation is enough.... we are then reminded of God. Then like a son we are thinking ..I am dying...and then I go to my Fathers house..

Do we need a tragedy to return to God?...Sometimes yes. It is a "wake up" call. Because sometimes we are blind and tragedy can bring us back to God. But usually God is waiting for us everyday without a tragedy, to come back to Him.

How do we do this? Like the youngest son we must first of all:

...  Acknowledge our sinfulness. We need to stop saying we don't need reconciliation..I am clean. We  must have faith that God is not a rare judge but a loving Father who forgives and forgets our sins.

.. We need to be contrite..to do better and change our lives. We must want to go to this spiritual feast...the sacrament of penance and embrace our Fathers arms and ask of Him.."please forgive me".

Or as the oldest son we must start to believe that everything that is from God is mine. "Son you are always with me and all that is mine is yours."

Very often we forget that everything we have is from God...our parents...our friends....our life...our every day existence.

Very often we complain like the eldest son...why someone else has more happiness...more friends...a better life.

Very often we do not believe that God gives us everything we need to live. This is why, for all of us ....the big sinners and the  little sinners...the most import_ant thing is FAITH ...that God  loves us and wants to forgive us our sins.

Today we have that chance to come back to God's home.

Fr. Thomas

Third Sunday of Lent - C

We love sensationalism. Everyday in the media we hear about some world sensation but usually it is bad information, only sometimes marginally good information.

Sometimes behind it all we are neutral to this information, or, sometimes it disturbs us, and sometimes it changes our life but more so it changes the life of the nation.

Sometimes we hear sensational religious information.

Nowadays we have heard many comments about the resignation of Pope Benedict the XVl. It was a sensational story for the whole world. How many comments have we heard as to why? And what will be the result of all this?

We can hear of sensationalism of a miracle which can more or less deepen our faith and our spiritual life but, we must know that authentic religious life is a normal everyday relationship with God.

Religious life must be like our regular daily life in our families  and not an extra ordinary phenomenon or reality.

If we are thirsty for these extra ordinary phenomena why do we not see, just once in our life the most important miracle that we are a child of God.

He is our Father and He is constantly ready to forgive our sins and our unfaithfulness.  Is it not sensational information especially in our world? Where there is a lot of hatred and a general lack of agreement.

Lent is the perfect time for us to build a stronger bond with Him.

 We need an essential change in our lives, as we hear in today's gospel.

God assigns for everyone appropriate tasks. He does not just plant us in His vineyard, (in our world), or just give us talents and abilities, (our gifts), but He also carries us and  continually surrounds us with His grace.

Our task is to completely trust  in God and bear the fruits. If in this moment we do not produce any fruits, we have another chance to repent.

We must remember that God is patient and merciful, but during our life when it is time for the harvest we must give Him our good fruits.

This is sensational information for us and we must start to think of the good fruits that we already have. How does it taste our fruits our life bitter or sweet and full of good ingredients?

Fr. Thomas

Benedict XVI on leaving Vatican