For this year 2024, Pope Francis' message for the 18th World Mission Day has the motto: "Go and invite everyone to the banquet" (cf. Mt 22:9). Every Christian, from his baptism, is called to be a Disciple/missionary of Christ. And this is the task of the Christian Community. Vocation and task, that is, the call and commitment of all to: First, have a "personal encounter" with the Lord Jesus, who invites and exhorts us to conversion, to the transformation of life. Second, after the encounter comes the "following", that is, living in Christ as the WAY, TRUTH AND LIFE. Such following entails a commitment to change and renewal of life and history.

My Dear People of God,

Within this busy month of September, the Church invites us to pause and reflect upon one of her feast days: the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, September 14. This is the only day outside of the Good Friday Liturgy, with the Veneration of the Cross, that we are called to give attention to the wood of the Holy Cross. On September 14, we are invited to behold the mystery of the cross.

Hello, my St. Stanislaus family!

It is so good to be back inside the church on Maze Blvd.! So much so that I feel bad that we are not utilizing it more often as it is such a beautiful church. In consulting with many people, including the clergy of the parish, we are going to being “Wednesdays at Maze.” This means that as much of the liturgies and sacraments we can celebrate at the church on Maze on Wednesdays, we will.

In this week’s Gospel of Mark, Jesus speak in his native Aramaic language. He says “Ephphatha!” Meaning, “Be opened,” as he touched the man’s ears and his tongue, to heal his deafness and his speech impediment. In Christ’s healings, he restores the people from their defects and their wounds, a consequence from Original Sin.

“Oh, I praise that mercy of yours which is beyond praising, and I adore in thanksgiving your most loving kindness from the depths of my nothingness.” – St. Gertrude

This week’s gospel reading is a beautiful reminder that we should never despair of the power of God. There is no soul here on Earth that is too hardened, no task too impossible, to be penetrated by Christ’s love and power. In times of spiritual drought or discouragement, it's essential that we remember that God's love and forgiveness can penetrate even the hardest hearts and revive stagnant souls.

How beautiful is God, because out of pure love He created us in His image and likeness.

We can see how great God is, since in order to give us the clearest direction on how to be pleasing in His eyes and thus be able to reach His side in His glory, from the beginning He left us some commandments that He asks us to keep and fulfill, since it is our wisdom and prudence. This is what the first reading tells us, and in the second He leaves us His living word through the gospels, inviting us to listen to it and put it into practice.