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Today, we celebrate the solemnity of the Divine Mercy. It is a solemnity in the Catholic Church popularized by the visions of a Polish Nun, Sr. Faustina Kowalska. Jesus Christ instructed Sr. Faustina to start the devotion to the Divine Mercy and was promised that anyone who goes to sacramental confession on or few days before the Divine Mercy Sunday and receives the Eucharist on that day shall receive expiation of all sins and punishments. Read more...

Christ is Risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! By virtue of our baptism, we share in His death and resurrection, becoming in Him a new creation. From ancient times, baptism has been celebrated especially at Easter. As of this writing, there are twenty older children and adults from our parish being baptized at the Easter Vigil. What a blessing! Read more...

In the Shakespearean classic, Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare narrated the betrayal of Julius Caesar by his best friend Marcus Brutus. In that tragic play, Brutus was tricked into joining a team of conspirators who wanted to kill Julius Caesar. On the fateful day of Caesar’s assassination at the Capitol, he was stabbed at the back by his murderers but the stab by Brutus came as a very big shock to him. He felt betrayed by a friend and was disposed to be defeated. Shocked at the betrayal by his friend, Brutus, Caesar died with these words on his lips: “Et tu Brute?”, which mean “and you Brutus?” or “even you, Brutus?” Read more...

This week and next we see a major intensification of Lent as we approach its end. This final period of Lent before the Triduum is traditionally called “Passiontide”, as our emphasis shifts from being ‘in the desert’ with Jesus at the beginning of His public ministry, to accompanying Him now on His way to the Passion. Read more...

Today is the 4th Sunday of Lent which is observed as Laetare Sunday. Laetare is the Latin word for ‘Rejoice.’ On this Sunday, the Church invites her members to rejoice because of the great hope that awaits us at Easter. Read more...

This month marks the 70th anniversary of the first Mass celebrated at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish. You’ll notice we have a special edition of the bulletin this week to mark the occasion, and it will be a theme for us throughout the year as we give thanks to God for the blessing of our parish, and ask that He continue to renew us and make us a blessing to others. Read More...

In his book titled “The Golden String”, Bede Griffiths describes a remarkable episode that took place when he was a schoolboy. He was walking outside one summer evening. As he strolled along by himself, he became aware of how beautiful the birds were singing. He wondered why he had never heard them sing like this before. As he continued to walk, he came upon some hawthorn trees in bloom. They were lovely and gave off a sweet fragrance that filled the air. Bede wondered why he had never noticed their beauty or aroma before. Finally, he came to a playing field. Everything was quiet and still. As he stood there, catching the sun sink slowly below the horizon, he felt inclined to kneel on the ground. It was as though God were present there in a tangible way. "Now that I look back on it," wrote Griffiths, "it seems to me it was one of the decisive events of my life." Up until that time, Griffiths said he had been a normal schoolboy, content with the world as he found it. Now he saw the world in a whole new way. Read more...

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...

This week we celebrate Catholic Schools Week throughout the whole Diocese and beyond. Catholic Schools Week is an opportunity to showcase the value of an education rooted in the Catholic worldview, and what a treasure we have in our schools. The Diocese of Dallas is home to 27 grade schools and 8 high schools, as well as the Notre Dame School for students with intellectual disabilities. Finally, the Diocese is home to the University of Dallas, a top-ranked liberal arts university with a solid Catholic identity, of which I am a proud alum. Read more...

Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!" is a very familiar expression for us Catholics. We sing or recite it at every Mass. Today’s gospel reading tells us how John the Baptist, on seeing Jesus coming towards him, presented Christ to his listeners and to the world by announcing him as the Lamb of God. Read More...

Jesus’ baptism is attested in all four Gospels, with the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove as He emerges from the waters. This is reminiscent of the story of Noah, as the dove returns with an olive leaf as the flood waters recede, signifying a fresh start to creation. This points to an aspect of Jesus’ mission, as He renews creation, now not through the destruction of sinners, but by redeeming us in Himself. Read more...

Each year at every Mass for Epiphany, we read about the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus. As seen in today’s gospel: “They [the Magi] prostrated themselves and did him [Jesus Christ] homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” What pushed the Magi to undertake this tedious journey from the east? The answer is found in the connection between the ancient meaning and the Christian meaning of the gifts the Magi presented to Jesus. Read more ...

The family can be described as a school of love: in it, we learn to love first by being loved by our parents and siblings and extended family; as we mature, we learn to reciprocate by participating in family life, thinking of others instead of just ourselves; and finally, we learn to love without counting the cost when caring for those who cannot reciprocate, like an infant or an infirm parent or spouse. This points to how God loves us, selflessly and generously, as we could never fully repay Him for everything we have received. Read more ...

Join us for VBS True North, June 16th - June 20th

Crisis can easily be managed when it threatens only the present, but when it threatens the future, it becomes an existential crisis. That happens when you seem to be lost about the future and the next steps to take. That is exactly the time to take a walk with God. Read more ...

Have you ever walked past a sign that might keep you safe and healthy without noticing it? Like a STOP sign on the road, or an “Out of Order” sign on a restroom door? Psychological studies show that we naturally tune things out sometimes to keep from being overwhelmed with new decisions to make. But we also see from these examples that this can lead to bad consequences. This can also be true in the spiritual life. Read more ...