Services

10/2/22 - Faith The Size Of A Mustard Seed - Cycle C

Dear Families,

In this Sunday’s Gospel, when the apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith, he tells them that with a tiny bit of faith they could do amazing things. He showed them a tree and told them that if they had faith as tiny as a mustard seed, they could tell the tree to move from the land into the sea and it would!

But what is faith? Faith is believing in God’s love for us, his goodness and trusting him. Faith in God is a gift he gives us so that we can believe in Him. God gives us the gift of faith but it’s up to us to use it. There are many people who don’t have a tiny bit of faith. They don’t feel God loves them, they do not feel God is looking after them and they try to do things on their own and their lives spin out of control.

We use our gift of faith when we decide to obey, trust and believe in God’s love for us. We put our faith into action when we help those in need and do not expect anything in return.

As a family watch video in its entirety and then ask each other these questions.
According to Jesus, how much faith is enough? What are some of the little things that each of us do for our family that make a big difference?

Family Prayer: Lord, help our family open our hearts to your love so that we grow in our faith. Amen.

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(La versión en español sigue al inglés)

12/11/22 - John Asks About Jesus - Cycle A

Dear Families,

In this Sunday’s Gospel, John the Baptist questions if Jesus is the one that God has promised will come. Jesus answers the question by naming some of his miracles, which were prophesied by Isaiah and are signs of God’s salvation. Jesus affirms that John is a prophet sent to prepare everyone for his own arrival. Jesus message to John tells us not only who he is but also to repent of our sins and follow him.

This week is the third Sunday of Advent. This is the week we light the pink candle. It is Gaudete Sunday, a day to Rejoice Jesus is coming. By preparing for his coming, we will bring the message of his joyful coming to others.

As a family watch video in its entirety and then ask each other this question.

How can you share the good news of Jesus coming and bring joy to others?

Family Prayer: God, we thank you for many blessings. Help us to be blessings to others. Amen.

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(La versión en español sigue al inglés)

9/11/22 - The Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, and Prodigal Son - Cycle C

Dear Families,

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus responds to those complaining about him keeping company with sinners. He tells them three parables about something or someone being lost and then found. The first parable is about the shepherd who leaves 99 sheep to search for one and when he finds the one, he rejoices. The second parable is about a woman searching for one coin and when she finds it, she also rejoices. Finally, the third story is about the son who asked for his inheritance before the father died. He leaves home and spends all his money on foolish things, and when he returns home his father is waiting for him, forgives him and he too rejoices and celebrates by throwing him a party. However, his brother is upset and does not think his brother, a sinner, is worthy of such rejoicing.

Jesus is teaching us in these parables, that when we do something wrong and sin, God never stops loving us. God does not lose hope or give up on us. He rejoices when we are lost and come back to him, we are always worthy of his love.

As a family watch video in its entirety and then ask each other this question.
What do these parables teach us about sin and forgiveness?

Family Prayer: Jesus, thank you for always being there for us, no matter how lost and alone we may feel. Amen

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(La versión en español sigue al inglés)

8/28/22 - What is Humility? - Cycle C

Dear Families,

This Sunday when Jesus sees people trying to sit in places of honor at a banquet, he saw their pride. He tells them a parable about being humble. Jesus focuses on humility not on pride. When we have true humility, we understand that everything we have comes from God. When we don’t understand we start to look down on everyone, and we forget about God and that he gave us these gifts to help others. We start looking for approval from others like the proud guests at the banquet, and we can commit the sin of pride.

According to Jesus, the most important thing is to learn to be humble. Being humble is not thinking less of ourselves; being humble means thinking about ourselves less. He is teaching us to focus on others and to invite people into our lives who will not be able to repay us with places of honor. God wants us to be generous with the gifts he has given us, and to give everyone a place of honor. Humility frees us from worrying about ourselves, and what others think of us. We give much glory to God when we are humble.

As a family, watch video in its entirety and then ask each other this question.
How can you better identify the situations that make you fall into the sin of pride?

Family Prayer: Lord, grant us the grace to be humble, and serve everyone we meet with dignity. Amen

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(La versión en español sigue al inglés)

10/16/22 - Jesus Tells Us to Keep Asking - Cycle C

Dear Families,

In this week’s Gospel, Jesus tells a parable (story) to show his disciples that they should never get discouraged about praying. He tells them a story about a widow’s case who was being ignored by a judge. The widow persists in seeking her rights and the judge has little reason to care about her rights. The widow keeps coming back and bothering him so he finally knows she will keep bothering him and grants her request.

Jesus’s parable invites us to recognize that God will be better than the judge about answering our prayers. The Gospel invites us to imitate the widow in asking always and repeatedly for what we need. When we persist in prayer, and ask for what we need or want, God helps us to see which things and people really matter to us and how we can help. Jesus teaches us that we must pray always and never get discouraged.

As a family watch video in its entirety and then ask each other these questions?
What do you ask God for when you pray? How do you know that God hears your prayers?

Family Prayer: Lord we will try harder to pray often. Show us how to be patient when we pray. Amen.