Beloved in Christ,

"Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come! (Mt. 24:42).
The next four weeks of Advent are a period of preparation for the commemoration of the Lord's first coming. It is also an intense spiritual season for highlighting the necessity of staying alert for the second coming of Jesus Christ. We stay awake and keep running the salvation race that culminates in meeting Jesus Christ at the end of our earthly time. It is possible and most likely that we get tired, distracted, or derailed along the way, hence our need for spiritual support to keep us running toward Jesus Christ, our goal. Our parish provides this spiritual support during this season of awakening by offering more time and opportunities for prayers, penance, and purification. Opportunities are provided to us to prayerfully attend daily masses, go to confession in between Sunday masses and other indicated times, and give sacrificially to those most in need in our community.
Sin, the works of darkness (Rom 13:12), deadens our alertness to Christ’s presence and restrains running to meet him; therefore, we need to throw off the shawl of sin to stay awake! (Mt. 24:42). And then, we can go rejoicing to the house of the Lord (Psalm 122:1). Let’s stream toward the mountain of the Lord’s house; energized by prayers and penance, let’s run forth to meet Christ as we kick off our Advent season this Sunday. 

To aid us in running closer to union with Christ, to assist us in overcoming the dominion of sin in our lives, to help us stay alert and focused on Jesus, as we await his coming, we offer to the parish many gates to grace:
*Masses are celebrated daily. If God gives you the time and health, attend daily masses.
*Participate in daily eucharistic adoration from 7 am before weekday masses.
*Please plan to attend our monthly Eucharistic adoration on Monday, December 1.
*Get an Advent wreath candle, light one each week, and gather as a family around it to pray. 
*There are opportunities for the sacrament of reconciliation between masses on Sunday, and especially at our parish Advent penance service on December 12.
*The international Irish Tenor, Mark Forrest, will lead a Eucharistic-centered parish mission on Monday, December 15th. You don't want to miss the hour of grace.
*Create time for silence and meditation on the coming of Jesus by reading the relevant scripture passages daily.
*Advent has a penitential character (hence, no Gloria at Sunday masses, a limited display of flowers, purple vestments, etc), so make spiritual sacrifices and penance.

May your Advent season be filled with hope, peace, joy, and love.

In Christ our Hope,
​
Fr. Alayode Bernard Oniwe, OP
 

​Beloved in Christ,
 
The liturgical year comes to an end with the solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe. In this Sunday's gospel, the criminal crucified next to Jesus acknowledged Jesus as king when he said, "Jesus, remember me when you get into your kingdom" (Lk 23:42). A couple of verses earlier, the other crucified criminal said mockingly, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us." Unknown to him, the unrepentant thief was unveiling the truth that Jesus is the saving king of all the universe. He reigns; he has dominion over a kingdom of the saved. What goes against the grain here is that Christ did not establish the kingdom of the saved by physical, brutal power but by accepting death on the cross. On the cross, in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, is inscribed "The king of the Jews." In an attempt to mock Jesus, like the unrepentant criminal did, Pilate inadvertently acknowledged that Jesus reigns over his kingdom by way of crucifixion.
 
Our first reading from Second Samuel 5:1-3, on the anointing of David as king, links Jesus, the Son of David, to David's kingship and, more broadly, to Adam's kingship over the garden of Eden. As king like Adam. Jesus has dominion over all things, and he leads broken humanity back to paradise, to the original state of grace and bliss. In the gospel account, the repentant thief is transferred to the kingdom of God's beloved son, Christ, the savior who redeems and forgives sin (Col 1:13), Christ who makes "peace by the blood of his cross" (Col 1:20), the suffering king with the cross as his throne.
 
In the same way, our thrones are crosses, like Christ. We must yield lordship to Christ by accepting to share in his suffering to be glorified with him. Is Christ the Lord of our lives? Is he the king we adore? I once heard Bishop Ronald Gainer preach at a forty-hour Eucharistic service that if we are not adoring the Lord, we are adoring something else, we are adoring ourselves. Such must not be the case with us. Instead, we must adore the King of Kings by surrendering to redemptive suffering in union with his on the cross. Our king reigns over his kingdom from his throne on the cross; let's be subject to his dominion from our own crosses. Let us adore him, the king of the universe, by lovingly entrusting our lives to him. 
 
As we get ready for the first Sunday of Advent, may Christ the King reign over us!
 
Happy Thanksgiving! All thanks to Christ, our King.
 
In His Love,
 
Fr. Alayode Bernard Oniwe, OP
 
 

Beloved in Christ,
  
This Sunday's readings highlight endings. I want to reflect on these endings in terms of the three Ps: persecution, perseverance, and Parousia. In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 21:5-19, Jesus speaks of the events that will lead up to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. He says in apocalyptic language of the cosmic upheaval that will precede the destruction of Jerusalem. The Jewish audience perceived the city and its temple as the center of the universe. Telling them that all will fall apart, that there "will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down," must have been traumatic. But before these, there will be a heavenly and earthly cataclysm like earthquakes, famine, plagues, as well as wars and insurrection. And before these, there will be persecution of Christians. And then, on the day of judgment, the Parousia will follow. There will be a sequence of events before the Day of Judgement, the day of wrath (Dies irae).

All the events Jesus prophesied about Jerusalem came to pass. In 70 AD, the temple and Jerusalem were destroyed by the Romans. Before the destruction, historians recorded that numerous fearful natural signs appeared in the sky and on earth. Then, the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple, a microcosm of the Temple of the Universe, took place. We must recognize that Jesus was prophesying on two levels here —the destruction of Jerusalem and the Universe; the destruction of Jerusalem is a type and sign of what will happen to the whole universe. In other words, as Jesus spoke of Jerusalem, he was also pointing to the end of the world. The first thing to happen is persecution. Christians will be persecuted, and they are still being persecuted today in both overt and subtle ways all over the world. We will suffer persecution for standing for the name of Jesus and his teachings: "You will be hated because of my name," Jesus says.
 
What do we do while the persecution lasts? What should Christians do as they await the Parousia, the second coming of Jesus, and the Day of Judgement? We must continue to live as Christians. We must live a life of prayer, sacrifice, service, and charity. We must persevere in our Christian obligations. With fortitude, hope, and trust in God's love and providence, we must continue to live out the Christian values. As Malachi said to his Jewish people in preparation for the day of judgment, we must live in fear of God's name (see Malachi 3:20). We must live knowing that Jesus is enough for us, even as we face persecution. We must trust in the grace provided by Jesus through His Church and the Sacraments. There is no time for idleness, as St. Paul instructs the Christian community in Thessalonica to live an orderly life of work and service, "toil and drudgery, night and day " (2 Thessalonians 3:8). Christians are to continue loving God and their neighbor until the end.
 
Pope Francis, in his apostolic letter Misericordia et Misera, designated the thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary time as "World Day of the Poor". Pope Leo has followed in the footsteps of Francis in his apostolic exhortation, Dilexi Te, where he instructs us "On Love for the Poor". So we must remember our Christian obligations to the poor, a people whose condition and care are at the heart of the Gospel. As we prepare for the Parousia and the coming day of judgment, heartfelt love and care for people experiencing poverty is a non-negotiable Christian duty.

In Christ's love,

Fr. Alayode Bernard Oniwe, OP
 

​Beloved in Christ,

As the Church celebrates this Sunday, the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, that is, the Pope, I could not resist the "temptation" of recalling my visit with thirty-two other pilgrims to this sacred space on September 18, 2025. As the picture of the basilica suggests, it is outstanding in its beauty and grandeur. The architectural grandeur highlights the glory and majesty of God. This basilica is a symbol of the unity of the Catholic Church under the leadership of the pope.
 
As this Sunday's Liturgy of the Word reveals, the temple of God is more than a physical building. It is a physical building in a direct sense, but more importantly, it is a sacred place that demands reverence because it is the place where we encounter God. In this chosen and consecrated place, God's name is honored forever (see 2 Chronicles 7:16). On a deeper level, it serves as a metaphor for the Body of Christ. The physical building, the basilica, reflects the true nature of the Church, which is constituted as the body of Christ, the central place of worship. As Jesus says in the gospel, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up" (Jn 2:19). As it was later clarified, "Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body" (Jn 2:21). Jesus identifies his body as the New Temple, succeeding the old covenant temple we read about in our first reading from Ezekiel 47. And from this New Temple, the Body of Christ, flows all the graces for redemption, especially the Sacraments of baptism and the Holy Eucharist. The body of Jesus is the church, the focus of worship and fount of grace. The Lateran Basilica is symbolic of Christ; it represents and reminds us of the true nature of the Catholic Church.
 
We, too, are in a sense a body of Christ. We are the temple of the living God; we are part of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles with Christ as the cornerstone (cf. Ephesians 2:19-22). Hence, we should respect our bodies because the Spirit of God dwells in us. As St. Paul would also say, we should offer our bodies as a spiritual sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God (cf. Rm 12:1). Do we now have a deeper understanding of the nature of the Church? Do we understand how it is a sacred place and the dwelling of God? Do we also know that we are, in a sense, the body of Christ, we who are made in the image and likeness of God, chosen and consecrated for the glory of God? We should consider these realities more often and what they demand of us.
 
In Christ,
Fr. Alayode, OP
 

Beloved in Christ,
  
What's God's plan for us after death? Eternal life in His presence. God sent us his Son, Jesus, to save us for everlasting life with him in heaven. However, he also gives us the freedom to choose otherwise. An eternity of separation from God is what we call hell. We were not called or chosen for hell. When God chose or called us in Christ Jesus, He intended for us to see him face to face after death. We find this claim in the verses from this Sunday's gospel, John 6:37-39. Jesus says to us the following words of comfort: "I will not reject anyone who comes to me" and "I should not lose anything of what he (God) gave me." Jesus never dismisses anyone or sends them to hell. Those who choose eternal life can have it, but they cannot choose to live against God's will at the same time.
 
As I said earlier, verses from this Sunday's pericope are encouraging and consoling to us who remember and mourn loved ones. We pray for our departed brothers and sisters because we know God will not abandon those who lived for Christ while alive after death. God will not reject those who follow Jesus. If they followed the path of salvation, we have in God's promise "hope that does not disappoint (Rom 5:5). How does this work? Jesus describes the path to eternal life when he says: "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life."
 
As it turns out, the popular aphorism, "Seeing is believing," is false. Some see and do not believe. To have everlasting life after death, we must see and believe in Jesus. What does this mean and entail? What does it mean biblically to "see" and "believe"? Let us turn to that. In biblical spirituality, seeing Jesus is recognizing him as God and developing a desire for a relationship with him. It is a desire for communion and friendship with him. To believe in Jesus is to have absolute faith and trust in his power to save us. In other words, believing in Jesus is to entrust oneself totally to Him who died and rose to save us. A life of trusting in Jesus, with whom we have a relationship, is the guaranteed pathway to eternal life with God after death.
 
Why do we pray for our dead friends and relatives if they belonged to Jesus; if they believed in Jesus while they lived? We pray for them because, though they might have died in a state of grace and in friendship with God, it is possible that their will and heart were still attached to the sins they had repented of and forgiven. There is a likely scenario in which our righteous loved ones in Christ are not fully purged and purified of attachment to sin. While they may be on their path to God's presence, the beatific vision, there may still be a need for purification from temporal punishment due to sin. Our prayers, penances, and almsgiving hasten their purification. Purgatory is the word that describes this process of purification that advances them into heaven. If we must express our charity to our faithful departed, our belief in the communion of saints gives us reason to pray for the repose of their souls. 
 
Pray for the souls of your dead loved ones that they may attain God's plan for them post-mortem. God chose them for eternity with him. Help them achieve this purpose. We remember them at our 10:30 am mass and at Eucharistic adoration at 3:00 pm.
  
In Christ,
 
Fr. Alayode, OP