Today’s feast marks the Presentation of the Lord Jesus in the Temple, forty days after he was born. As the firstborn, he belonged to God. According to the Law, Mary and Joseph were required to take him to the Temple and “redeem” him by paying five shekels. At the same time, the Law required the child’s mother to offer sacrifice to overcome the ritual impurity brought about by childbirth.

So, the feast we celebrate shows a curious turn of events. The Redeemer seems to be redeemed. She, who is all-pure, presents herself to be purified. Such is the humility of our God. Such is the humility of the Blessed Virgin. They submit to the law even though they are not bound by it.

However, the Gospel story nowhere mentions Jesus’ “redemption,” but seems to describe instead a religious consecration such as a priest might undergo. Saint Luke tells us that Jesus is “presented” in the Temple, using the same verb that Saint Paul uses to describe the offering of a sacrifice. Another parallel is the Old Testament dedication of Samuel to the Temple as a priest. The drama surrounding Jesus’ conception and birth began in the Temple when the Archangel visited Mary’s kinsman, Zechariah the priest. And now the story of Jesus’ infancy comes to a fitting conclusion, again in the Temple.

All the readings today concern Jerusalem, the Temple, and the sacrificial rites. The first reading comes from the Prophet Malachi, who called the priests to return to faithful service and foretold a day when a Messiah would arrive with definitive purification of the priesthood. Christ now arrives as the long-awaited priest and redeemer. He is also the sacrifice. Indeed, as His life will show, He is the Temple itself.

There are lessons we can draw from these readings for our lives today: 1. Reconfirm our commitment to God’s will. Joseph’s and Mary’s obedience in presenting Jesus at the Temple shows the importance of aligning our lives with God’s. 2. Recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Cultivate a life of prayer, reflection, and openness to the Holy Spirit to discern God’s presence and guidance in everyday moments of our lives. 3. Our hope and patience in God’s promises, like Simeon’s declaration, show the reward of waiting faithfully for God’s promises and trusting in God’s timing, maintaining hope even during long seasons of waiting, knowing he fulfills his word. 4. The recognition of universal salvation—Simeon acknowledges Jesus as a light for Revelation to the Gentiles and glory for Israel, emphasizing God’s inclusivity. Embrace a broader vision of God’s work, understanding that his love and salvation are for all people, not just a select group. 5. Endurance through challenges—Simeon prophesied the suffering Mary would face, reminding us that growth often involves trials. Accept difficulties as opportunities for refining faith and deepening trust in God’s purpose. When we have trials and challenges, let us always think about Mary and Joseph. They had gone through all these in their lives. God Bless you all.

Love and prayers,

Fr. Charley

We need background to understand what’s happening in today’s First Reading. Babylon having been defeated, King Cyrus of Persia decreed that the exiled Jews could return home to Jerusalem. They rebuilt their ruined temple and under Nehemiah finished rebuilding the city walls.

The stage was set for the renewal of the covenant and the re-establishment of the Law of Moses as the people’s rule of life. That’s what’s going on in today’s First Reading, as Ezra reads and interprets the Law and the people respond with a great “Amen!” Israel, as we sing in today’s Psalm, is rededicating itself to God and His Law. The scene seems like the Isaiah prophecy that Jesus reads from in today’s Gospel.

Please read all of Isaiah 61. The “glad tidings” Isaiah brings include these promises: the liberation of prisoners; the rebuilding of Jerusalem, or Zion; the restoration of Israel as a kingdom of priests; and the forging of an everlasting covenant. It sounds a lot like the First Reading.

Jesus, in turn, declares that Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in Him. The Gospel scene, too, recalls the First Reading. Like Ezra, Jesus stands before the people, is handed a scroll, unrolls it, then reads and interprets it. If you compare Luke 4:16–17, 21 and Nehemiah 8:2–6, 8–10, you will get it clearly.

We witness in today’s Liturgy the creation of a new people of God. Ezra started reading at dawn of the first day of the Jewish new year. Jesus also proclaims a “sabbath,” a great year of Jubilee, a deliverance from slavery to sin, a release from the debts we owe to God. The people greeted Ezra “as one man.” And, as today’s Epistle teaches, in the Spirit the new people of God—the Church—is made “one body” with Him.

The Gospel is the all-powerful and all-merciful word of God for us today. It’s a life-giving word that has supernatural power to change, transform, and bring freedom and healing to those who accept it as the living word of God. When the president of the synagogue called on Jesus to read from the book of the prophet Isaiah, Jesus chose to read Isaiah’s description of what the Messiah would do when he came to restore God’s kingdom for the people of Israel.

The Lord Jesus speaks this same word to each of us today—he comes to bring us healing and restoration, pardon, and freedom from the oppression of sin, despair, hopelessness, and destruction. We shall believe his word with expectant faith and trust. The Lord will not refuse to pour out his Spirit on all who trust in him. Ask the Lord Jesus to renew in us the joy of the Gospel and the freedom to live each day with trusting faith, joyful hope, and fervent love.

Love and prayers,

Fr. Charley

Think of these first weeks after Christmas as a season of “epiphanies.” The liturgy is showing us who Jesus is and what He has revealed about our relationship with God. Last week and the week before, the imagery was royal and filial—Jesus is the newborn king of the Jews who makes us coheirs of Israel’s promise, beloved children of God. Last week in the liturgy we went to a baptism. This week we’re at a wedding. We’re being shown another dimension of our relationship with God. If we’re sons and daughters of God, it’s because we’ve married into the family.

Have you ever wondered why the Bible begins and ends with a wedding—Adam and Eve’s in the garden and the marriage supper of the Lamb. Throughout the Bible, marriage is the symbol of the covenant relationship God desires with His chosen people. He is the groom, humanity His beloved and sought-after bride. We see this reflected beautifully in today’s First Reading.

When Israel breaks the covenant, she is compared to an unfaithful spouse. But God promises to take her back, to “espouse” her to Him forever in an everlasting covenant. That’s why in today’s Gospel Jesus performs His first public “sign” at a wedding feast.

Jesus is the divine bridegroom, calling us to His royal wedding feast. By His New Covenant, He will become “one flesh” with all humanity in the Church. By our baptism, each of us has been betrothed to Christ as a bride to a husband.

The new wine that Jesus pours out at today’s feast is the gift of the Holy Spirit given to His bride and body, as today’s Epistle says.

God often reveals his glory to us in the unlikeliest of places—in a cold stable at Bethlehem, at a village wedding party in Cana, on a bloody cross at Golgotha, or on the road to Emmaus. In today’s Gospel reading we see the first public sign and miracle which Jesus performed. The miracles of Jesus demonstrate the power of God’s love and mercy for his people. God’s kindness knows no limits. We shall thirst for God and for the abundant life and blessings he always offers to us.

We shall also intercede to Our Blessed Mother who always shows kindness and mercy towards her children on earth. She always intercedes for us and prays for us to her Son Jesus Christ. Always pray through her and she will never abandon us.

Love and prayers,

Fr. Charley

The Liturgy last week revealed the mystery of God’s plan—that in Jesus all peoples, symbolized by the Magi, have been made “coheirs” to the blessings promised to Israel. This week, we’re shown how we claim our inheritance.

Jesus doesn’t submit to John’s baptism as a sinner in need of purification. He humbles Himself to pass through Jordan’s waters in order to lead a new “exodus”—opening up the promised land of heaven so that all peoples can hear the words pronounced over Jesus today, words once reserved only for Israel and its king: that each of us is a beloved son or daughter of God.

Jesus is the chosen servant Isaiah prophesied in today’s First Reading, anointed with the Spirit to make things right and just on earth. God put His Spirit upon Jesus to make Him “a covenant of the people,” the liberator of the captives, the light to the nations. Jesus, today’s Second Reading tells us, is the One long expected in Israel, “anointed . . . with the Holy Spirit and power.” The word messiah means “one anointed” with God’s Spirit. As in 2nd Samuel 23:1-17 we see that King David was “the anointed of the God of Jacob.” The prophets taught Israel to await a royal offshoot of David, upon whom the Spirit would rest.

That’s why the crowds are so anxious at the start of today’s Gospel. But it isn’t John they’re looking for. God confirms with His own voice what the angel earlier told Mary: Jesus is the Son of the Most High, come to claim the throne of David forever.

The Lord Jesus is ever ready to renew and refashion us in his likeness through the gift and working of the Holy Spirit—and he anoints us for mission as ambassadors of his kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy. We are called to be the “light” and “salt” of his kingdom that radiate the beauty and aroma of his mercy and goodness to those around us. The Lord Jesus wants his love and truth to shine through us that many others may find new life, freedom, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Ask the Lord Jesus to fill us with his Holy Spirit that we may radiate the joy of the Gospel to those around us.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and with the fire of your love and goodness. May I always find joy and delight in seeking to please you in doing your will just as you have delighted in the joy of pleasing your Father and doing his will. Help me to do the Heavenly Father’s will in my daily life and be true and faithful to you always. Amen.

Love and prayers,

Fr. Charley

An “epiphany” is an appearance. In today’s readings, with their rising stars, splendorous lights, and mysteries revealed, the face of the child born on Christmas day appears.

Herod, in today’s Gospel, asks the chief priests and scribes where the Messiah is to be born. The answer Matthew puts on their lips says much more, combining two strands of the Old Testament promise—one revealing the Messiah to be from the line of David, the other predicting “a ruler of Israel” who will “shepherd his flock” and whose “greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth.”

Those promises of Israel’s king ruling the nations resound also in today’s Psalm. The psalm celebrates David’s son, Solomon. His kingdom, we sing, will stretch “to the ends of the earth,” and the world’s kings will pay him homage. That’s the scene, too, in today’s First Reading, as nations stream from the East, bearing “gold and frankincense” for Israel’s king.

The Magi’s pilgrimage in today’s Gospel marks the fulfillment of God’s promises. The Magi, probably Persian astrologers, are following the star that Balaam predicted would rise along with the ruler’s staff over the house of Jacob. Laden with gold and spices, their journey evokes those made to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba and the “kings of the earth.” Interestingly, the only other places where frankincense and myrrh are mentioned together are in songs about Solomon. One greater than Solomon is here. He has come to reveal that all peoples are “coheirs” of the royal family of Israel, as today’s Epistle teaches.

St. John Chrysostom, an important Early Church Father who served as Archbishop of Constantinople, explains the significance of the star of Bethlehem this way: “Note how fitting was the order of events: the wise men saw the star, were received by the Jews and their king; they heard prophecy to explain what had appeared; the angel instructed them; and then they journeyed from Jerusalem to Bethlehem by the guidance of the star. From all this we learn that this was not an ordinary star, for no other star has this capacity to guide, not merely to move but to beckon, to ‘go before them,’ drawing and guiding them along their way. The star remained after bringing them to the place, in order that the child might also be seen. For there is nothing conspicuous about the place. The inn was ordinary. The mother was not celebrated or notable. The star was needed to manifest and illumine the lowly place, until they had reached their destination at the manger.”

We do have a star now which leads us to Jesus, that is “The Holy Bible.” Follow it, read and meditate every day on a passage from it, then we will also reach Jesus Christ Himself. The Bible is our daily guiding Star to reach Him.

Love and prayers,

Fr. Charley

Why did Jesus choose to become a baby born of a mother and father and to spend all but His last years living in an ordinary human family? In part, to reveal God’s plan to make all people live as one “holy family” in His Church.

In the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, God reveals our true home. We’re to live as His children, “chosen ones, holy and beloved,” as the First Reading puts it.

The family advice we hear in today’s readings—for mothers, fathers, and children—is all solid and practical. Happy homes are the fruit of our faithfulness to the Lord, we sing in today’s Psalm. But the Liturgy is inviting us to see more, to see how, through our family obligations and relationships, our families become heralds of the family of God that He wants to create on earth.

Jesus shows us this in today’s Gospel. His obedience to His earthly parents flows directly from His obedience to the will of His heavenly Father. Joseph and Mary aren’t identified by name, but three times are called “his parents” and are referred to separately as his “mother” and “father.” The emphasis is all on their familial ties to Jesus. But these ties are emphasized only so that Jesus, in the first words He speaks in Luke’s Gospel, can point us beyond that earthly relationship to the Fatherhood of God.

In what Jesus calls “my Father’s house,” every family finds its true meaning and purpose. The Temple we read about in the Gospel today is God’s house, His dwelling. But it’s also an image of the family of God, the Church.

When God sent his only begotten Son into the world, Jesus was born into a human family as a Jew who was raised according to the teaching and wisdom of God’s word in the Hebrew Scriptures and the religious customs of his people. Jesus was born under the law of Moses and was circumcised on the eighth day and given his name, Yeshua in Hebrew (Jesus in English) which means “God saves.”

We know little about Jesus’ early life at home in Nazareth. Luke tells us that Jesus was obedient to his parents—Mary, his mother and Joseph, his foster father. As devout and God-fearing Jews, Joseph and Mary raised the boy Jesus according to the Scriptures and Jewish customs. It was the duty of all Jewish parents to raise their children in the instruction and wisdom of God’s word in the Scriptures. We shall also raise our children in the instruction and wisdom of God’s word in the Scripture and in the fear of God always. And pray for our children every day of our life. May God bless us and our families abundantly.

Love and prayers,

Fr. Charley

My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,

I understand it is sometimes difficult to see the good when we feel so overwhelmed by despair, but Christmas reminds us of something critical to keep in our minds, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:5). My friends, there are many more reasons to be grateful and filled with hope because of our faith. God has and will continue to help us to see all of this through.

Therefore, we are reminded that we are a Christmas people and that Jesus is incarnated in every act of love and kindness we extend to one another. God can reach us beyond all the barriers the world can create and revive us by giving us strength in times of great distress. So, we can do this, and we will overcome because we are the Church, the body of the risen Christ!

Now, I pray that you may see a bright future awaiting. I believe, as many of you do, too, that God is leading us into a new season of life and ministry together. We have grown so much as a parish family. My only request is that we continue to do so by inviting others, getting to know each other, and showing appreciation of each other. We have done well at this and I am pleased to see such a friendly and welcoming spirit! Let us continue to grow together and in such a spirit let us celebrate many more Christmases together.

As your pastor, along with our staff, we are called to serve alongside you.

With this, I invite you to stay connected and don’t underestimate the value of your presence (online or in-person), service, prayers, witness, and giving/pledging for the renovation of the old school building. We need each other more than ever before. Please reach out to each other and encourage one another, particularly as we may be tempted to give up hope. Ask for help if you need it.

I am privileged to be your pastor, and I feel incredibly blessed and honored to be with you. My prayers are with you always. You are remembered in my Masses and in my daily prayers. Thank you for all your support and keep me, too, in your valuable prayers.

May you be filled with the wonder of Mary, the obedience of Joseph, the joy of the angels, the eagerness of the shepherds, the determination of the magi, and the peace of the Christ child. Amen.

I wish you all a very Happy and Peaceful Christmas and a very Prosperous New Year 2025.

With gratitude, love and Prayers,

Fr. Charley

On this last Sunday before Christmas, the Church’s Liturgy reveals the true identity of our Redeemer: he is, as today’s First Reading says, the “ruler…whose origin is from…ancient times.” He will come from Bethlehem, where David was born of Jesse the Ephrathite and anointed king. God promised that an heir of David would reign on his throne forever.

Jesus is that heir, the One the prophets promised would restore the scattered tribes of Israel into a new kingdom. He is “the shepherd of Israel” sung of in today’s Psalm. From His throne in heaven, He has “come to save us.” Today’s Epistle tells us that He is both the Son of David and the only “begotten” Son of God, come “in the flesh.” He is also our “high priest,” from the mold of the mysterious Melchizedek, “priest of God Most High,” who blessed Abraham at the dawn of salvation history.

All this is recognized by John the Baptist when he leaps for joy in his mother’s womb. Elizabeth blesses Mary for her faith that God’s Word would be fulfilled in her.

Mary marks the fulfillment not only of the angel’s promise to her, but of all God’s promises down through history. Mary is the one they await in today’s First Reading, “she who is to give birth.” And the fruit of her womb should bring us joy—she is the mother of our Lord.

God gives us supernatural joy with hope in his promises: there is a certain paradox for those “blessed” by the Lord. Mary was given the “blessedness” of being the mother of the Son of God. That blessedness also would become a sword which pierced her heart as her Son died upon the cross. Anselm, a teacher and Archbishop of Canterbury, spoke these words in a homily: “Without God’s Son nothing could exist; without Mary’s son, nothing could be redeemed.” To be chosen by God is an awesome privilege and responsibility. Mary received both a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow. Her joy was not diminished by her sorrow because it was fueled by her faith, hope, and trust in God and his promises.

Jesus promised his disciples that “no one will take your joy from you.” The Lord gives us a supernatural joy which enables us to bear any sorrow or pain and which neither life nor death can take away. Therefore, we shall put our trust in the Lord Jesus in all the situations of our lives. Lord, increase our faith more as we go through our joys and our sorrows. Let your will be done in our lives.

Love and prayers,

Fr. Charley

There was a reason that thousands came out to hear John the Baptist’s preaching. It had been many hundreds of years since a prophet had spoken out and performed signs in the land of Israel. God had promised his people through the patriarchs of the old covenant (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), and through the prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, etc., and rulers of Israel like Moses and David, that he would send them a Redeemer who would save them from their sins, free them from oppression, fill them with the joy of his presence, and bring them his everlasting kingdom of peace and righteousness. John broke the long silence with the sudden announcement that the Messiah (God’s Anointed One) was about to appear.

The people recognized that John was an extraordinary man of God and a true prophet who spoke in God’s name. They came out to hear the “good news” which he preached to them. And they willingly submitted to his baptism of repentance at the Jordan River. The people in today’s Gospel are “filled with expectation.” They believe John the Baptist might be the messiah they’ve been waiting for. Three times we hear their question: “What then should we do?”

The messiah’s coming requires every man and woman to choose—to repent or not. That’s John’s message and it will be Jesus’, too. John’s message of renewal and repentance was very practical. He told the people three things: first, every follower of God must share what he possesses (his personal goods and resources) with his neighbors, especially with those who lacked the basic necessities of life. Second, John pointed out the sacred duty to give each and every person what is his due and not take from them what rightfully belongs to them. God commands that each person be treated with respect and that honor be given where honor is due. John told the tax collectors that they must not coerce people to pay more tax than what was rightfully owed. John instructed soldiers not to abuse their authority or power to compel people. And third, John exhorted his listeners to be content with what they had and not covet what belonged to others. John basically called the people to turn back to God and to walk in his way of love and righteousness.

Ask ourselves if we put into practice what John told them. We have the obligation to fulfill all those duties in our daily lives, too. We shall ask the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his fire and fulfill the commandments of love of God and neighbor in our daily lives, especially during this Advent Season.

Love and Prayers,

Fr. Charley

Luke is telling us that the story which he is sharing with us is not a myth or a legend. Luke is telling us that Christianity is an historical religion that makes very real historical claims. He is saying that the saving events that he is about to tell us are not divorced from everyday life. They don’t occur “once upon a time.” They took place in a very special time and place. The incarnation means that the Son of God became flesh and dwelt among us in a particular place and a particular time.

Today’s Psalm paints a dreamlike scene—a road filled with liberated captives heading home to Zion (Jerusalem), mouths filled with laughter, tongues rejoicing. It’s a glorious picture from Israel’s past, a “new exodus,” the deliverance from exile in Babylon. It’s being recalled in a moment of obvious uncertainty and anxiety. But the psalmist isn’t waxing nostalgic.

Remembering “the Lord has done great things” in the past, he is making an act of faith and hope—that God will come to Israel in its present need and that He’ll do even greater things in the future.

This is what the Advent readings are all about: We recall God’s saving deeds—in the history of Israel and in the coming of Jesus. Our remembrance is meant to stir our faith, to fill us with confidence that, as today’s Epistle puts it, “the one who began a good work in [us] will continue to complete it” until He comes again in glory. Each of us, the Liturgy teaches, is like Israel in her exile—led into captivity by our sinfulness, in need of restoration and conversion by the Word of the Holy One.

That’s the message of John, introduced in today’s Gospel as the last of the great prophets. But John is greater than the prophets. He’s preparing the way not only for a new redemption of Israel but for the salvation of “all flesh.”

John quotes Isaiah 40:3 to tell us he’s come to build a road home for us, a way out of the wilderness of sin and alienation from God. It’s a road we’ll follow Jesus down, a journey we’ll make, as today’s First Reading puts it, “rejoicing that [we’re] remembered by God.”

Today’s message of the Gospel is: Luke is telling us that John the Baptist is the curtain raiser to the rescue mission of Jesus the Messiah. Against the backdrop of one of the greatest rescue missions in Jewish history—the return from Babylon—God once again is decisively entering human history in this place and at this time, but now for the greatest rescue mission of all.

Love and Prayers,

Fr. Charley