Easter Sunday: Do you remember your own baptism? I wish I could; I was baptized as an infant, just a few days old. I envy the adults I have seen baptized at the Easter Vigil. Hopefully, they experience what St. Paul says in the epistle we hear at the Vigil. For Paul, Baptism is a sign of dying and rising to new life. Sounds like Easter to me. So when Jesus died, he rose from the dead. Is Paul telling us that we will rise from the dead, too?

Holy Saturday. Today, Holy Saturday, there are no “readings of the day,” but those of us attending the Easter Vigil will have more than enough Scripture to make up for it. Hearing the readings, we will see a beautiful picture of our salvation won for us in the Paschal Mystery, the apex of human history. This salvation was planned for us from the beginning of time. The readings of the Easter Vigil take us from the creation of the world through the Fall, the wanderings of the Israelites, the promise of the New Covenant, and the Incarnation and Resurrection.

Good Friday. Our hearts sink with sadness as we recall the Death of our Lord on this day. The Church invites us to fast and pray as we seek to unite our hearts with His. We read in today's Gospel how our Lord humbled himself and was treated like a criminal, on the way to Calvary.

Holy Thursday. In today's reading, Christ takes on the ultimate work of service and radical love for his disciples by washing their feet. We are instructed by Christ to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. To do this, we are given vocations, or callings, where we can best serve God.

Domingo de Ramos. Este año escuchamos la Pasión del evangelio de Marcos. Algo único de esta lectura es el énfasis en el abandono de Jesús por sus discípulos. Primero, los líderes de los discípulos, Pedro, Santiago y Juan, ni siquiera pueden apoyar a Jesús en su agonía en el huerto. Se quedan dormidos tres veces. Luego, Judas busca a los sumos sacerdotes para hacer un trato con ellos, Pedro niega a Jesús tres veces, y los discípulos huyen cuando es arrestado. Las multitudes gritaban "¡Hosanna!" unos días antes y ahora piden que lo crucifiquen. Incluso Simón el Cireneo tuvo que ser obligado a ayudarlo a llevar la cruz.

Palm Sunday. This year, we hear the Passion from the gospel of Mark. One thing unique about this reading is the emphasis on Jesus being abandoned by his disciples. First, the leaders of the disciples, Peter, James, and John, cannot even support Jesus in his agony in the garden: They fall asleep, three times. Then there is Judas, who seeks out the chief priests to make a deal with them, Peter, who denies Jesus three times, and the disciples who flee when he is arrested. The crowds who cried, “Hosanna!” a few days before, now call for him to be crucified. Even Simon the Cyrenian had to be forced to help carry the cross.

Quinto domingo de Cuaresma.La promesa hecha por el Señor en la primera lectura es muy audaz. Dice que todos lo conocerán, sin tener que ser enseñados por otros. No restringe la promesa sólo a las personas más santas. Dice que la manera en que las personas lo conocerán es a través del perdón de sus pecados. Acuérdate que está hablando a los israelitas, que tenían tantas leyes y mandamientos que necesitaban escribas y fariseos para seguirlos. Cuando rompían un mandamiento o una ley, quedaban aislados de la comunidad. Así que, la promesa de que Dios pondría su ley en sus corazones significaba que serían libres de hacer la voluntad de Dios porque quisieran, no porque temieran el castigo o el rechazo.

Fifth Sunday of Lent. The promise made by the Lord in the first reading is very bold. He says that all people shall know him, without having to be taught by others. He doesn’t restrict the promise to only the holiest people: He says that the way people will know Him is through forgiveness of their sins. Remember, he is speaking to the Israelites, who had so many laws and commandments, they needed scribes and Pharisees to keep track of them. When they broke a commandment or law, they were isolated from the community. So the promise that God would place his law in their hearts meant they would be free to do God’s will because they want to, not because they were feared punishment or rejection.

On behalf of the Divine Mercy Adoration Chapel Committee and the Oshkosh parishes, we thank everyone for praying for resolve to this unsettling situation. The committee is working with the Green Bay Diocese to reopen the chapel in its former location at the Most Blessed Sacrament – St. Mary site with new security measures in place, both for adorers and for the blessed sacrament. New measures align with United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Adoration chapel guidelines.

Cuarto domingo de Cuaresma. San Pablo nos dice en su carta a los Efesios que somos salvados a través de la gracia. Las acciones de Dios de enviar a su Hijo a morir por nosotros y resucitar a Jesús de entre los muertos muestran el amor que Dios tiene por nosotros. Proviene enteramente de Dios. Somos salvados por nuestra fe en Jesús, pero incluso esa fe viene de Dios. Así que, cuando Pablo dice que nadie puede presumir sobre ser salvado, quiere decir que no podemos sumar las buenas obras como puntos de recompensa para el cielo. También quiere decir que no podemos presumir de nuestra fe porque podemos recitar el credo o irnos al altar cuando nos inviten. Entonces, si ser salvado no es cuestión de decir las cosas correctas o hacer buenas obras, ¿qué es?

Fourth Sunday of Lent. St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians that we are saved through grace: God’s actions of sending his Son to die for us, and raising Jesus from the dead show the love God has for us. It comes entirely from God. We are saved by our faith in Jesus, but even that faith comes from God. So when Paul says that no one can boast about being saved, he means that we can’t add up our good deeds like reward points for heaven. He also means that we can’t brag about our faith because we can recite the creed or answer an altar call. So if being saved is not a matter of saying the right things, or doing good deeds, what is it?

Como ya han pasado unas semanas de la Cuaresma, podemos echar un vistazo a lo que significa alejarse del pecado y ser fiel al Evangelio. Un buen lugar para empezar serían los Diez Mandamientos. La lectura del Éxodo nos presenta una de las primeras listas de los Mandamientos. En este pasaje, Dios explica algunas leyes para mostrar cuán serias son. En el primero, Dios incluye hacer imágenes para adorarlas. Ahora, se podría llegar a la conclusión de que todas las estatuas y crucifijos dentro de las iglesias deben ser destruidos. No es así.

As we are now well into Lent, we can take a look at what it means to turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel. A good place to start would be the Ten Commandments. The reading from Exodus presents us with one of the first listings of the Commandments. In this passage, God explains some of the laws to show how serious they are. For the first one, God includes making images to be used for worship. Now you might jump to the conclusion that all the statues and crucifixes in our churches must be destroyed. Not so.

Segundo domingo de Cuaresma: Antes me preguntaba cómo Dios podía mentirle a Abraham acerca de sacrificar a su hijo Isaac, pero la historia comienza diciéndonos que Dios puso una prueba a Abraham. El propio Abraham parece saber que es una prueba: en los versículos omitimos o en esta lectura, les dice a los sirvientes que él e Isaac regresarán después del sacrificio; también le dice a Isaac que Dios proporcionará la ofrenda. Al parecer, yo soy el único engañado por Dios.

Second Sunday of Lent: I used to wonder how God could lie to Abraham about sacrificing his son Isaac. But the story begins by telling us God put Abraham to the test. Abraham himself seems to know it’s a test—in verses left out or our reading, he tells the servants that he and Isaac will return after the sacrifice; he also tells Isaac that God will provide the offering. Apparently, I’m the only one fooled by God.

On February 5, Fr. Jerry Pastors of Most Blessed Sacrament received an anonymous letter from an individual admitting to be the person that had stolen the Eucharist from the chapel in December.  

Primer domingo de Cuaresma: Generalmente la primera lectura tiene algo en común con el evangelio. La de hoy, sin embargo, tiene más en común con la segunda lectura de San Pedro. Ambos hablan de Noé y del arca, donde las pocas personas buenas se salvaron al pasar por el agua. Pedro compara eso con las aguas del bautismo, en las que somos salvados por Dios. También tiene una imagen interesante de Jesús, que “fue a proclamar su mensaje a los espíritus encarcelados”. Se refiere a los ángeles caídos cuya desobediencia lleva al resto de la población a alejarse de Dios. Como Dios lavó el mal del mundo en las aguas del diluvio, de la misma forma las aguas del bautismo nos convirtieron en un nuevo pueblo que tiene la conciencia limpia, tanto porque Dios ha perdonado nuestros pecados como porque prometemos seguirlo sólo a Él.

First Sunday of Lent: Usually, the first reading has something in common with the gospel. Today’s however, has more in common with the second reading from St. Peter. They both talk about Noah and the ark, where the few good people were saved by going through the water. Peter compares that to the waters of Baptism, in which we are saved by God. He also has an interesting image of Jesus “preaching to the spirits in prison.” It refers to the fallen angels whose disobedience lead the rest of the population to turn away from God

Sexto Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario: La semana pasada escuchamos a San Pablo decir que se había hecho todo a todos. Esta semana escuchamos que intentó dar gusto a todos. Para los oídos modernos, esto suena más a un vendedor de autos usados, que tiene una oferta apropiada para cualquier comprador. Pero eso no era lo que Pablo quería decir. La clave del estilo de vida de Pablo es la última línea de la segunda lectura: “Sean, pues, imitadores míos, como yo lo soy de Cristo”. (1 Corintios 11,1)

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Last week we heard St. Paul saying that he was all things to all people. This week, we hear that he tried to please everyone. To modern ears, that sounds more like a used car salesman, who has just the right deal for any buyer. But that wasn’t what Paul meant. The key to Paul’s way of life is the last line of the second reading: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Cor 11:1)