​Beloved in Christ,
 
The ultimate goal of every Christian is heaven. After the celebration of the Ascension of Jesus into heaven this past Thursday, the church presents us with readings on this Sunday before Pentecost that suggest that the remainder of our stay on earth should be motivated by a longing for heaven, where Jesus has gone ahead of us to prepare a place for us. Our entire Christian life, from baptism to death, must replicate that of Christ. In other words, through baptism, we have been made sharers in the life of Christ, that is, his paschal mystery. Hence, our lives must imitate his passion, death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven.
 
In Stephen's martyrdom in Acts 7, the first Christian martyr, "filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God." In the ascension scene, the disciples looked up to heaven as Jesus was taken up in the clouds. Here, Stephen looks up and sees "the heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." All of us must desire heaven even as we plant our feet firmly on the earth. We must never lose our heavenly focus even as we face trials, temptations, and suffering. Jesus is waiting to welcome us home as he did Stephen. In an unusual act, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, enthroned at the right side of the Father in heaven, is seen standing. Jesus rose from his throne to show honor and welcome home the first Christian martyr. What an encouraging message!
 
Revelation 22 also reminds us of our heavenly calling and longing to see Jesus face-to-face in heaven. Amidst the earthly trials of Christians, there is the joyful expectation of the return of Jesus to judge the living and the dead and, afterward, take us into heaven. As long as we live out our baptismal call and are sustained on the living bread derived from the "tree of life," we will satisfy our thirst for the life-giving water, which is the Holy Spirit. 
 
The Holy Spirit plays a pivotal role in uniting us to Jesus and the Father. Jesus prays for us to be united in him and the Father and in one another and wishes that where he is, we may also be. He is in heaven, and he prays for us to be with him. However, we need the help of the Holy Spirit to witness to Jesus and live a life like His, a life that is the key to heaven. Let us continue to pray the Pentecost Novena for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which we began on Friday after the Ascension. We need the Holy Spirit as our advocate on earth, as Jesus is our advocate in heaven. We pray, "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Rev 22:20) and also cry out, "Come, Holy Spirit!"
 
I invite you all to the Pentecost rally, which will be held at the parish social hall on Sunday at 6 pm, to celebrate the birthday of the church and pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We will pray and praise God as we expect to receive healing and new life that only the Holy Spirit can give and will give to those who believe and thirst for him.
 
Come, Holy Spirit!
 
In the Life-Giving Spirit of Christ,
 
Fr. Bernard Alayode, OP
 

 Beloved in Christ,
 
We celebrated our annual Forty Hours Eucharistic Devotion this past week. Several individuals and families took turns to stay with the Eucharistic Lord in prayer as he implored us, his disciples, to spend an hour with him during his agony (see Matthew 26:40). I express a profound gratitude to all who sacrificed their time to ensure Jesus was never left alone in the sanctuary throughout the three days of our worship. My thanks extend to everyone involved in the success of our Eucharistic devotion, from the sanctuary to the kitchen. I pray that Jesus rewards your demonstration of faith and love. I hope you were all nourished and enlightened by the inspiring reflections by Fr. Stephen Logue. I believe he renewed our belief in the Christian virtues of the sacredness of the Eucharist, God's mercy, and the necessity of humility to approach the Lord in Eucharistic sacrifice.
 
Having acknowledged in thanksgiving the grace received in the past week, I would like you to keep in mind two parish spiritual events coming up in June. We will be celebrating the great feast of Pentecost, which concludes the season of Easter, on June 8. Two weeks after Pentecost, precisely on June 28, we will celebrate the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as Corpus Christi. As we have done in previous years, we will have a procession from the church on the hill to the historic church. After our procession, we will celebrate with a picnic at the rectory grounds. Please keep these dates in mind; make it a priority for you and your family to participate prayerfully in them and expect the Lord to renew and strengthen your faith.
 
As part of preparation for the great feast of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, "the advocate whom the Father will send" in Jesus' name, the Spirit that will remind and teach us all things Jesus told us (Jn 14: 26), the Spirit who guided the disciples and the early church in their decisions on how to lead the church (Acts 15: 28), novena to the Holy Spirit will begin on Friday, May 30. Please, make it your goal to pray the Novena to the Holy Spirit in private, in church, or both. We need the prompting and help of the Holy Spirit to encounter and witness to Christ as individuals and the church. We will celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Sunday, June 8, at 6 p.m. in the parish social hall. The music band, Forgven, and our youth group will provide praise and worship music for the evening of the Pentecost celebration. Please invite your friends, Catholics, and other Christians.
 
I wish you all a Happy Memorial Day. As we remember our deceased service men and women, remember to pray for their souls and visit their places of rest in cemeteries. May you all have a sunshine-filled summer.
 
In Christ,
 
Fr. Bernard Alayode, OP
 

​Beloved in Christ,
 
At the beginning of Jesus' farewell discourse, he gives his followers a new commandment: "Love one another" (Jn 13 34-35). This is the new commandment Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper. What is new about this commandment, and what does it entail? The commandment to love is not new in that the commandments Moses gave implied a divine demand for love of God and our neighbor. This law is later spelled out in Matthew 22. But this love is new in the sense of self-sacrificial and self-giving love. How Jesus loves us, as demonstrated in his outpouring of his life to save us, is new. As a Divine Person, it is a new form of love. God's love for us is demonstrated in his glorification, that is, the laying down of his life. Love receives its finest expression in Christ's death, his glorification. 
 
Jesus goes further to describe this new love demanded of his disciples. He says love one another, even as I loved you. We put love to the test and action by thinking less of ourselves and more of others. The most significant and consequential act of a Christian is to love others. In demonstrating love for one another, Christians tell the world they are Christ's disciples. It matters to Jesus that we bear witness to the world that we are his disciples. The witness to discipleship is borne in the love that followers of Jesus show and bear for one another, love that imitates Jesus' selflessness and unrestricted pouring out of his life for us.
 
To love one another and be seen by the world to be so is the disciple's task. We must continue to measure the quality of our Christian faith by the extent to which our love is likened to the way Jesus loved us. Do we love in a Christ-like way? Is our love for our friends and family a selfless giving of ourselves? Is it done to help in the salvation of others? Do we sacrifice and suffer to bring about the salvation of others? This is true love. Self-sacrificial acts in bringing about the salvation of the souls of others are the ultimate goal of love. Let's go forth from mass today to show the love of Christ to others. Jesus commands us to have selfless and sacrificial love for others.
 
Jesus reveals his continuing witness to self-sacrificial love for us in the Eucharist. In the Eucharist, we see the sacramental form of Jesus' sacrificial love for us, the source and inspiration for our love for one another. As we begin our forty hours this Sunday, let us find time to adore Jesus and receive strength to love as he loved us. We welcome Fr. Steve Logue as he guides us to seek and find love in his reflections on the Eucharist.
 
In Christ's love,
 
Fr. Bernard Alayode, OP
 

​Beloved in Christ,
 
On the fourth Sunday of Easter, the Church traditionally reads about the "Good Shepherd Discourse" from various pericopes of John 10. The focus on the shepherd in this gospel passage accounts for nicknaming this Sunday Good Shepherd Sunday. In the section of John 10 assigned for our reflection on this day of the Lord, Jesus says, "My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me" (v. 27). The sheepfold is under the shepherd's care. The shepherd is close to them because, while caring for and protecting them, they become accustomed to his person, especially his voice, and they listen to him when he calls them.
 
In the Old Testament, the symbol of the shepherd is used to describe the relationship between God and the people of Israel. So often, the shepherd failed in their role. Nevertheless, God promised to shepherd his people. Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy. Jesus is the true Chief Shepherd. He, however, delegated this role to Peter, the servant of the servants, the vicar of Christ on earth. The pope, and precisely, the new pope, is the shepherd of the flock of Christ, the Church. There are, however, others who share in this ministry: the priests, and by extension, permanent deacons and religious in consecrated life.
 
Today is World Day of Prayer for Vocation, designated by the church. We pray for vocation to the priesthood and consecrated life, especially from our parish. There is a vocation here; we haven't been attentive and proactive enough in identifying and encouraging them. My father and parish priest were the first to encourage me to consider a vocation to the priesthood and religious life. They must have noticed some possibility in me that I was unaware of. On each occasion I was asked to consider the priesthood, I quickly answered "NO!" As I have shared several times, I had plans to marry and have at least eight daughters! Weird as it sounds, it is the truth. But God called me into something else, he called me to be a religious ( a Dominican ) and then a Catholic Priest. I have no regrets and would do it again despite the challenges the vocation attracts.
 
Like Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13), there are difficulties, persecution, and even today, mockery of the office of the priesthood. However, Jesus, the Chief Shepherd of the Church and priests, continues to guide all priests through those trials and obstacles. Please pray for your priests, deacons, and religious. But more so, pray for vocation to the priesthood and consecrated life from our beloved St. Peter parish. I want to commend the efforts of our Vocation Awareness Ministry, led by Don Heffner and his team. They are actively working behind the scenes to encourage vocations in our parish. Please, reach out to them if you want to suggest a young boy or girl you think has potential for the priesthood or religious life. If any young man here is interested in giving vocation to priesthood a shot, please talk to them or me. You can attend a Diocesan program to help you discern vocation to the priesthood; it is called Quo Vadis. There are pamphlets in the narthex that explain how it works. If you hear the voice of Christ the Shepherd calling you today, do not harden your hearts. Say YES to the call and follow, as I did thirty-two years ago.
 
Today, we celebrate the most important person in the lives of most of us- our mothers. On this Mother's Day, we once again express gratitude to our mothers for all the sacrifices they make in choosing to bring us to life and nurture us into who we are today. Thanks, mom!
 
Happy Mother's Day! Pray for your mother, call your mother, celebrate your mother while you still have them.
 
In Christ,
 
Fr. Alayode Bernard, OP
 

​Beloved in Christ,
 
"Follow me," says Jesus to Peter after the latter's triple confession of love to the former. In the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus to his apostles and disciples, they don't initially recognize him in his glorified body, but after they come to some form of comprehension of his identity- a divine person, they are moved to make a confession and commitment to witness to his life. The disciple whom Jesus loved was the first to recognize the risen Christ. "It is the Lord!" the beloved disciple exclaimed (Jn 21:7). There is a process to following Jesus, as this section of the Gospel of John shows. First, Jesus reveals himself in his glorified body. Second, they come to recognition after initial failure to do so. Thirdly, Jesus addresses them, leads them to faith, and invites them to follow him.
 
Knowing, loving, and following Jesus is the goal of all Christians, not just Peter. We must note, however, that Peter was given primacy among the twelve. He is the one Jesus directly engages in discussion with at breakfast. To Peter, the first Pope, the vicar of Christ, the visible head of Christ's Church after his ascension to heaven, Jesus gave the command to follow him, to teach the way and life in his name and lay down his life "for the sake of the name" (Acts 5: 28, 41 ). Followers of Jesus are to teach that to Jesus, the divine one, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, all creatures in heaven and earth must render adoration (Rev 5:13 ). Jesus restores the dignity of leadership that Peter lost when he denied him thrice during his passion. Jesus leads Peter to renew his confession of love for Jesus as he takes up anew his role as the shepherd of the Church.
 
At the same time that Jesus confirms the primacy of Peter in the body of Christ, so does Jesus renew the primacy of love as a precondition for anyone who wishes to follow him. Christians must affirm their love for Jesus in words and deeds to truly follow him. Like Peter, Jesus addresses us: "Do you love me?" Do we love Jesus? We should not be too quick to answer that question in the affirmative. We must process what our confession of love for Jesus means or entails. Do we love him like he loves (agapao) us? Jesus knows we may not live up to the promise to love (agape) as he loves us, but he is willing to accept our fraternal love (phileo) for him if that is all we can offer as humans. Whatever the status of our love, it is a fundamental requirement in following Jesus. We must continue in line with Jesus by asking ourselves questions about our love for him: Do we love him above all other persons? Do we love him more than our work, lifestyle, livelihood, and place of shelter? Do we have a greater love for him than others in this culture do? Everyone, from the pope to the most inconspicuous Christian, must strive to answer these questions about love to respond to Jesus' command to follow him.
 
As the Easter season progresses, we must continue to grow in our knowledge and love of the Risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We cannot allow all Lent's gains to be lost. Instead, we are called to follow Jesus more closely, living and witnessing through the power of the resurrection. We need Jesus to sustain us in this call to love and follow him. This is why we must never flag in zeal in worship. As an indication of love, we must pray intensely and intentionally at every opportunity the Holy Spirit offers us. One such opportunity is our parish's monthly Holy Hour Eucharistic adoration this Monday at 6 p.m. Come to adore Jesus, the sustainer of our faith, in sacred songs and silence.
 
In Christ's love,
 
Fr. Bernard Alayode, OP