News - February 2026 RSS Feed

Almsgiving is one of the three Pillars of Lent, as I mentioned in my Ash Wednesday note: giving alms puts us in solidarity with the poor and reminds us of our own dependence on God, while at the same time giving us an occasion to imitate Him in His generosity. I am proud of the way our parish contributes to the material relief of the poor, not only during Lent, but throughout the year. In fact, I am pleased to announce that through your generosity our parish contributed the most food to Catholic Charities per participant at DCYC last weekend, and second overall. I’d like to recommend three worthy conduits for your almsgiving this season. Read more...

Today marks the beginning of Lent, the major penitential season in the Church's calendar. In solidarity with the Israelites who spent 40 years wandering in the desert, and our Lord who spent 40 days being tried in the wilderness at the beginning of His public ministry, we spend [roughly] 40 days preparing to celebrate Easter by mortifying the senses. The three "pillars" of Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Read more...

Today’s Gospel reading (Mt. 5:17-37) is one of such occasions where Jesus taught with authority unlike the Scribes and the Pharisees. He says that he did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill the Law. By fulfilling the Law, Jesus meant that he came to give us the proper interpretation of the Law. He became his own authority. This interpretation would not be based on the letters of the Law but on the spirit of the Law. Read more...

Last weekend we had the blessing of candles for the Feast of the Presentation — aka Candlemas — and the feast itself was celebrated on Monday. I would have liked to preach on the Presentation, but between the Beatitudes and the Bishop’s Appeal kickoff there just wasn’t enough time. Nevertheless, since it’s an important event in salvation history, I’ll take this opportunity to remark on it. Read more...

The readings of this Sunday focus on the help of God for the weak. The Prophet Zephaniah, in the first reading, carried out his prophetic mission during the interregnum between the reign of Manasseh and the reforms of King Josiah. At that time the land was polluted with foreign gods, the trading wealthy class was unjust, the prophets were faithless and the priests profaned what was sacred. The prophet foresaw a time when God will draw the weak and the poor to himself and make them to inherit the land while the powerful will be punished and rejected. The weak will find their joy and strength in the Lord and will respect his laws. Read more...