​Beloved in Christ,
 
"This is my beloved Son, listen to him" (Mt 17: 5). What does it mean and cost to listen to Jesus, God's beloved Son? To listen to Jesus is to deny oneself, take up the cross, and follow him (See Mk 9:34). Abram, our father in faith, trusted God when asked to leave his home for the unknown. God made him promises without any concrete sign of fulfilment, but “Abram went as the LORD directed him” (Gen 12:4). We must listen to God and obey his commandments even if it leads to affliction and suffering. God never abandons us in our suffering; he provides us strength and hope. God continues to speak to us his words of conversion and faith. Lent is a season we must commit to listening to the word of God as Abram did. Pope Leo’s 2026 message of Lent, “Listening and Fasting,” calls us to listen to the word of God: “The willingness to listen is the first way to demonstrate our desire to enter into relationship with someone,” Pope Leo says.
 
The story of the transfiguration of Jesus on the holy Mt. Tabor is God's remedy to the Christian experience of suffering. The revelation of divine glory in the transfiguration of Jesus will aid the apostles when they see Jesus go through his passion and when they, too, encounter suffering in the world, as they listen to and obey Jesus' teachings. This event on the mountain points to a central truth of our Christian faith- that the cross is the key to heavenly glory. The cross eventually leads to the resurrection. Without the cross, there is no resurrection. We should never forget that our sufferings and afflictions are not the end of the story. When we continue to listen to and obey God's commandments, we should always trust that God will not abandon us, even if we feel that way in real-time. God will always point to the transfiguration of his Son as the definite end of our prayerful walk with Jesus, the denial of self, picking up our cross, and following him. The transfiguration is a source of hope in the midst of the trials we face as we live our faith.
 
One of the most instructive pious devotions in Lent, which captures the spirit of Jesus' passion, is the Stations of the Cross. The Via Crucis or Via Dolorosa, the way of the cross or way of sorrows/suffering, is an effective and impactful way of contemplating the suffering of Christ and a way of drawing inspiration and strength to endure our suffering as we strive to live our lives in obedience to the Gospel of Christ.
 
I strongly encourage everyone to make it a priority during Lent to attend the parish's Stations of the Cross every Friday at 7 p.m., after we finish our Lenten fish fry dinner. Jesus invites us to pick up our cross and follow him; let us listen to him!
 
In Christ,
 
Fr. Alayode, OP
 

​Beloved in Christ,
 
We come to the First Sunday of Lent after beginning our union with Jesus in his forty days in the desert on Ash Wednesday. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, "By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert" (540). In Jesus' temptation in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11), the Bible reveals how the Son of God comes to reverse or recapitulate the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:1-7. Jesus, God-Man, who is like us in all things but sin (Heb. 4:15) succeeds where the first Adam fails. Jesus is not only the new Moses but the New Adam who conquers the "triple concupiscence" of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (Cf. 1 Jn 2:16) which the first Adam fell to.
 
How, like Jesus, can we conquer these threefold foundational temptations? Jesus shows us how, in our reading from Matthew 6 on Ash Wednesday, in the three pillars of Lent- almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. These spiritual disciplines are the tools of God's grace to help us in spiritual battle against sin; they are our weapons for self-mastery. When we fast, whether from food or social media, we are renouncing the dominance of pleasure over us; when we give alms, we detach ourselves from possession by earthly goods; and when we pray, we humble ourselves to the Lordship of God.
 
Do you want to grow in holiness and grace this Lent? Do you want to walk closely with Jesus? Do you want to overcome the lures of the tempter, the Serpent? Lent provides a good opportunity to walk with Jesus, to be with him in the desert. In the desert of silence and self-examination, we are alone with our very selves, naked before God, in confrontation with ourselves. In the desert with Jesus, we come to recognize the devil's lies, which distort truth, make sin plausible, and lead us down a false path in moments of weakness. We gain grace from the example of Jesus. Jesus has led the way; he has shown us how to win spiritual battles. All we need to do is go into the desert and allow Jesus to lead us. 
 
We have opportunities, especially during Lent, to unite ourselves as a community with Jesus by attending Mass and adoration, going to confession, praying the Stations of the Cross, and praying the Rosary as a community. Please consider giving more of yourself to Jesus through the discipline of Lent. Fast, give Alms, and pray more than you did before Lent.
 
Have a Happy Lent!
 
Fr. Alayode, OP
 

​Beloved in Christ,
 
"Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him" (Sirach 15: 17). Making choices is integral to human end, temporal and eternal. The human person, made in the image and likeness of God, is equipped with intellect and will to decide the end they desire. Each choice we make carries consequences. In making choices, we have immediate and eternal goals. Our choices are moral in nature and purpose. God created us with the capacity to make good choices that lead to eternal life, but God also gives us the freedom to choose either the path to life and good or the contrary path. God has placed a huge responsibility on us. And we make our choices about what and where we want to be time and time again throughout our lifetimes.
 
Lent is a liturgical time that the Church offers us to make those choices. In a matter of days, we will begin Lent with the imposition of ashes on our foreheads, indicating our mortality and the choices we have to walk or not walk the path of the cross that leads to a good and holy life. Lent. We have been here before. We have gone through the path of the liturgical circle over and over. If we look back, we can determine whether we made good, life-enhancing choices. Did we? Or, did we discover that we did not take advantage of the sacred season, with all the opportunities it provides for the good of our souls? Do we find ourselves just going through the motions, making little or no sacrifices that engender growth in good and towards life?
 
Making choices can be cruel. What do I mean? So often, we have to decide between the pleasure or comfort we are accustomed to and a new, difficult path that the Spirit of God will reveal to us. The old, familiar path, even when it hasn't drawn us deeper into the moral good, is always difficult to let go of. We always have the opportunity, especially during the penitential seasons like Lent or Advent, to re-route our path. That is the choice we must make. It can be painful, but we are capable of making that choice because God's grace is sufficient for us. What are the good and life-giving choices we want to make during this holy season of Lent? How can we make this a transformative Lent and avoid the same old routine that has not brought growth to our spiritual life? 
 
We must think about this year's Lent differently. We must remember that we have a God-given potential to choose the good and life. We must be willing to do the hard work of surrendering all to the Holy Spirit, who molds and renews us. The sacrifices and penances the season of Lent offers us abound. We begin with abstinence and fasting on Ash Wednesday. We have a choice to make: either make a big deal of it or fall into our old routine of doing nothing significant to indicate our desire for encounter or intimacy with God. Will the ashes remind us of our mortality and the need to enter into the narrow road that leads to eternal life? Are we going to strive to grow in virtue? Are we going to pray and fast more? Are we going to make a good confession? Are we going to be a moral light and salt in the world? Are we ready to choose to see the Gospel truth and live by its spirit or decide to stick to our old, sometimes unexamined ways, not in conformity with God's will?
 
Come this Ash Wednesday, let us choose to enter deeply into the spiritual warfare to choose moral good and eternal life by joining Jesus in the desert. Let's commit as much as we can, choosing life and good over death and evil. God promises to give us what we choose, what we seek, what we will, with the help of his grace. What is your choice going to be? life or death, good or evil? You are the one to make that choice. I get to make my choice as well.
 
Have a spiritually enlightening Lent.
 
In Christ's love,
Fr. Alayode, OP
 

Beloved in Christ, 
 
In his sermon on the mountain, spanning chapters five to eight of the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus clearly spelled out the vocation and mission of the disciple. Speaking metaphorically and symbolically, Jesus demands that his followers put the spirit of the beatitudes into practice; good deeds and actions must follow the practice of virtues and faith. He says to his disciples, "You are the salt of the earth" and "the light of the world." Faith isn't just spiritual or private; it has public implications. Loving God includes actively working for justice in the world. Faith demands recognition of the dignity of every human person, as Isaiah writes in chapter fifty-eight, our first reading: "Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own" (58:7-8). Prophet Isaiah adds, "if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday" (58:10).
 
What does it mean to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world? References to these two metaphors, which indicate how Christians and the Church should be perceived in the world, abound in the Sacred Scriptures. His Jewish audience understands the central role of salt in their culture, economy, and sacred rituals. Salt is a preservative. It brings out flavor in food. Salt has qualities of permanence, lastingness, and necessity for life, and it also brings other benefits. Salt translates to keeping the Gospel message received from Jesus permanent and unaltered, making the message of Christ a force for good and transformation in the world. The Christian message must bring about spiritual and corporal benefits, such as forgiveness of sin, eternal life, and care for the good of man and the universe.
 
In the same manner, the Christian's actions and deeds must shed light on a dark world. The life of the Christian must speak truth to the world. Just as light cannot serve its purpose by being placed under a bushel basket, likewise, the Christian life, with all its blessings and graces, cannot be kept private. It must be seen in action and in its practice of social justice, bringing light upon the world and ridding it of all kinds of evil towards fellow human beings, friends and enemies, family and strangers alike. The Church must be set on the lampstand to give light to the world. Whenever and wherever corporal works of mercy and the Church's social teachings, rooted in the dignity of every human person, are practiced, we become light that shines through the darkness (see Ps. 112). 
 
As the salt of the earth, we must not lose our taste. As the light of the world, we can't afford to hide ourselves. We must live out our Christian faith without any compromise or fear of persecution. We must allow the Word of God and the Sacraments we receive to transform us into a force for human and social good. When we translate our faith into action in the world, bringing about the honor and improvement of all human beings, family and foes alike, friends and strangers alike, only "Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!"
 
Today is World Marriage Day. As we do every Sunday, we celebrate married couples who continue to live out their vows through the grace of God and personal discipline. We pray for all married couples and those preparing for marriage. Today is also World Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking. This scourge is real and alive in your country and county. We seek the intercession of St. Josephine Bakhita for an end to this menace. On Wednesday, the Church will celebrate World Day of the Sick. I will be praying for the sick at the daily mass at 8 am. Send your special intentions to me and, seeking the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes, I will pray to the Lord for spiritual and physical healings.
 
One more piece of information. It is ten days to Lent. Let's begin to think about ways we want to draw closer to the Lord.  Next Sunday, during our Sunday assembly, we get to sing alleluia during the liturgy for the last time before Lent. Let's come to mass ready to sing multiple Alleluias before we start fasting from it in the spirit of sober reflection and sorrows for our sins.
 
In His Joy,
Fr. Alayode, OP