Jesus had spent the night in prayer, as he used to do. He begins the new day and filled with the Spirit he will proclaim the liberation of the captives and he will set the oppressed free[1]. Suddenly, a group of scribes and Pharisees burst in bringing a woman caught in adultery. They are not worried about the terrible future of the woman. No one questions her at all. She is already doomed. The accusers say it clearly: «The Law of Moses commands us to stone adulteresses. What do you say?”[2]. The situation is dramatic: the Pharisees are tense, the woman anguished, the people expectant. Jesus keeps a shocking silence. That woman will be executed. Is this the last word of God on her? Jesus, who is seated, leans towards the ground and begins to write some lines on the ground. He is thinking. The accusers demand an answer in the name of the Law. He will answer them from his experience of God’s mercy: that woman and her accusers, all of them, are in real need of God’s forgiveness. The accusers are only thinking of the sin of the woman and in the condemnation of the Law. As usual, Jesus will change the perspective. He will put the accusers before their own sin. Before God, all must recognize themselves as sinners. All of us need his forgiveness. As they continue to insist more and more, Jesus says, «Let him who is without sin cast the first stone at him.»[3] Who are you to condemn that woman to death, forgetting your own sins and your need for God’s forgiveness and mercy? Those men (the gospel does not mention women), are leaving one after another. Jesus points towards a coexistence where the death penalty cannot be the last word on a human being. Later, Jesus will say solemnly: «I have not come to judge the world but to save it.»[4] So this dialogue with that woman sheds much light about the heart of the Lord. The accusers leave, but the woman has not moved, she stills there and looks like she needs to hear one last word from Jesus. She does not feel liberated yet. Jesus tells him «Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more from now on.» Jesus offers her forgiveness and at the same time invites her to sin no more. So, God’s forgiveness does not cancel responsibility, but requires conversion. Jesus knows it very well: «God does not want the death of the sinner but that he convert and live»[5] • AE

[1] Cf Luke 4:18 [2] Cf Leviticus 20:10 [3] Cf Jn 8:1-11 [4] Cf  Id., 12:47 [5] Cf Ezekiel 18:32

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Fr. Agustin Schedule for the Fifth Sunday of Lent

Saturday April 2, 2022

3.30 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation @ Confessional

5.00 p.m. English Mass @ Main Church

Sunday April 3, 2022

12.30 p.m. English Mass @ Main Church

3.00 p.m. Misa en Español @ Main Church

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V Domingo de Cuaresma (Ciclo C)

Sorprende ver a Jesús rodeado de tantas mujeres: amigas entrañables como María Magdalena o las hermanas Marta y María de Betania. Seguidoras fieles como Salomé, madre de una familia de pescadores. Mujeres enfermas, prostitutas de aldea… De ningún profeta se dice algo parecido. ¿Qué encontraban en él las mujeres?, ¿por qué las atraía tanto? La respuesta que ofrecen los relatos evangélicos es clara. Jesús las mira con ojos diferentes. Las trata con una ternura desconocida, defiende su dignidad, las acoge como discípulas. Nadie las había tratado así. La gente las veía como fuente de impureza ritual. Rompiendo tabúes y prejuicios, Jesús se acerca a ellas sin temor alguno, las acepta a su mesa y hasta se deja acariciar por una prostituta agradecida. Los hombres las consideraban como ocasión y fuente de pecado. Desde niños se les advertía para no caer en sus artes de seducción. Jesús, sin embargo, pone el acento en la responsabilidad de los varones: Todo el que mira a una mujer deseándola, ya ha cometido adulterio en su corazón. Se entiende la reacción de Jesús cuando le presentan a una mujer sorprendida en adulterio, con intención de lapidarla. Nadie habla del varón. Es lo que ocurría siempre en aquella sociedad machista. Se condena a la mujer porque ha deshonrado a la familia y se disculpa con facilidad al varón. Jesús no soporta la hipocresía social construida por el dominio de los hombres. Con sencillez y valentía admirables, pone verdad, justicia y compasión: el que esté sin pecado que arroje la primera piedra. Los acusadores se retiran avergonzados. Saben que ellos son los más responsables de los adulterios que se cometen en aquella sociedad. Y entonces Jesús se dirige a aquella mujer humillada con ternura y respeto: “Tampoco yo te condeno. Vete, sigue caminando en tu vida y, en adelante, no peques más”. Jesús confía en ella, le desea lo mejor y le anima a no pecar. Pero, de sus labios no saldrá condena alguna. ¿Quién nos enseñará a mirar hoy a la mujer con los ojos de Jesús?, ¿quién introducirá en la Iglesia y en la sociedad la verdad, la justicia y la defensa de la mujer al estilo de Jesús? • AE

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A Prodigal son. A Forgiving Father. We have heard today’s parable so many times that most of us can repeat it almost line for line. It is such a beautiful story told by the Lord with so much drama that we can vividly picture each scene. We can see the nasty younger son, demanding his piece of the inheritance so he can spend it foolishly. We see the scene of his wild parties and then his so-called friends deserting him when his money ran out. We can picture his disgust at the smell of the pigs, and here he was, a Jew, feeding pigs and longing to eat pig slop. We can picture the father, looking out across the fields every day hoping that perhaps his son will return, and then the tears of joy when he saw the boy. We can picture the older brother, furious that the one who had caused his family so much pain was now being welcomed back into the fold. And we can see the pain of the father when the older brother refuses to join in the Banquet of the Father’s Love. Perhaps, though, the parable is so familiar that it has lost its impact. We have to remember over and over that the Forgiving Father does not want us sitting in misery on our rocks, overwhelmed with guilt and shame. No, the Forgiving Father wants to embrace us and bring us home. This is Laetare Sunday, the Sunday where we express joy that the celebration of our redemption is only three weeks away. But there is more to our joy than that. This is the Sunday when we come to a more profound understanding of how deep our Father’s love is for us. He doesn’t care about what we have done. He doesn’t care about how we have hurt him, whether its squandering his money, running away from home and embracing a horrible life, destroying his hard work in the fields, or whatever it is that might lead us to sit on a rock shuddering in shame. All that God the Father cares about is that we were lost, but now are found. He just wants to put his arm around us and say, “Let’s go home.” This beautiful parable gives us a hint at how deep is God’s mercy, and how profound is his compassion. May we have the humility to seek forgiveness. And may we forgive others as we have been forgiven • AE

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Fr. Agustin Schedule for the Fourth Sunday of Lent

Saturday March 26, 2022

3.30 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation @ Confessional

5.00 p.m. English Mass @ Main Church

Sunday, March 27, 2022

12.30 p.m. English Mass @ Main Church

3.00 p.m. Misa en Español @ Main Church

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IV Domingo del Tiempo de Cuaresma (Ciclo C)

Jesús no queria que quienes lo escuchaban sintieran a Dios como un rey, un señor o un juez. Él lo experimentaba como un padre increíblemente bueno, así fue que en esta parábola (que más bien deberíamos llamar «Del padre bueno»), nos presenta la forma en la que él experimenta a su Padre. Dios es como un padre que no piensa en su propia herencia. Respeta las decisiones de sus hijos. No se ofende cuando uno de ellos le da por muerto y le pide su parte de la herencia. Lo ve partir de casa con tristeza, pero nunca lo olvida. Aquel hijo siempre podrá volver a casa sin temor alguno. Cuando un día lo ve venir hambriento y humillado, el padre se conmueve, pierde el control y corre al encuentro de su hijo. Se olvida de su dignidad de señor de la familia, y lo abraza y besa efusivamente, como una madre. Interrumpe su confesión para ahorrarle más humillaciones. Ya ha sufrido bastante. No necesita explicaciones para acogerlo como hijo. No le impone castigo alguno. No le exige un ritual de purificación. No parece sentir siquiera la necesidad de manifestarle su perdón. No hace falta. Nunca ha dejado de amarlo. Siempre ha buscado su felicidad. Él mismo se preocupa de que su hijo se sienta de nuevo bien. Le regala el anillo de la casa y el mejor vestido. Ofrece una fiesta a todo el pueblo. Habrá banquete, música y baile. El hijo ha de conocer junto al padre la fiesta buena de la vida, no la diversión falsa que buscaba entre prostitutas paganas. Así le sentía Jesús a Dios y así lo repetiría también hoy a quienes olvidados de él, se sienten lejos o comienzan a verse como perdidos en medio de la vida. Cualquier teología, predicación o catequesis que olvida esta parábola central de Jesús e impide experimentar a Dios como un Padre respetuoso y bueno, que acoge a sus hijos perdidos ofreciéndoles su perdón gratuito e incondicional, no proviene de Jesús ni transmite su Buena Noticia de Dios. No lo olvidemos • AE

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In a second incident, Jesus mentions that eighteen other people were killed when a tower fell in the city of Siloam. Sadly, this is a common tragedy in construction, even in the time of the Lord. But it wasn’t an everyday event for the families of the dead. They were in turmoil. How can anyone make sense of their loss? People have always suffered. Whether it is through disease, or the results of violence, or the result of natural disasters. It is normal for people to ask, as perhaps you have asked, “Has God lost control? Doesn’t he recognize what is happening to his people?” In the Gospel for today Jesus says, «God knows,» but the time is not yet ready for him to come to judge all people, to bring evildoers to their just ends and to protect the innocent victims of evil. Just as the farmer gives the fig tree one more chance to bear fruit, God gives mankind in general and us in particular a little more time to change our ways. This same teaching is found in the Book of Revelations, the Fifth Seal[1]. The Book of God’s Plan for mankind is brought forward, but it is bound by Seven Seals. When the Fifth Seal is broken, the blood of the martyrs is heard calling out to God from underneath the Altar of God, “How long O Lord, Holy and True, how long until you judge those who live on earth and avenge our blood.” And they are each given a white robe and told to rest until the full number of witnesses to the Lord is complete. Then God will come with power, the power of his name. Then all people will recognize him just as the Pharaoh of Egypt was forced to recognize who God was after Moses proclaimed God’s name in power. When the power of God is revealed then we, who are no longer under a cloud of uncertainly as our ancestors of the Old Testament times were, as St. Paul says in today’s second reading, when the power of God comes then we will stand before God and present ourselves and our lives to him[2]. The fig tree only has so long before it has to produce fruit. We are the fig tree. In all of this, Jesus is saying, “Life is short. Make the best use of whatever time you have.” Life is short, and at the same time, life is a journey. On this journey there is joy and there is turmoil. There are continual crises. There are continual celebrations. There’s the drudgery of everyday chores and the joy of completing our chores with and for the ones we love. All of life has meaning to the extent that we walk with the Lord. We have to take the responsibility of letting him into our lives. He wants to walk with us. We still have time. It is Lent, the time for us to face up to the evil that is around us and within us. Lent is the time for reconciliation. Great word, reconciliation. Lent is the time for us to recognize our own participation in the cumulative effects of evil in the world. Lent is a time for us to view our own personal tragedies as resulting from the effect of evil on the innocent. Lent is a time for us to ask for forgiveness and courage so that we might bear fruit. Lent is a time for us to face up to our own failings as we recognize that God can and will heal us and help us. Towers fall. Massacres take place. Loved ones die. But God gives us the strength and the courage to overcome these tragedies. It is not too late! The fig tree has been given another year. May God give us the courage to use his time and our time wisely. May we bear fruit • AE

[1] 6:9- 10 [2] Cf. 1 Cor 10:1-6, 10-12.

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Fr. Agustin Schedule for the Third Sunday of Lent

Saturday March 19, 2022

3.30 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation @ Confessional

5.00 p.m. English Mass @ Main Church

Sunday, March 19, 2022

12.30 p.m. English Mass @ Main Church

3.00 p.m. Misa en Español @ Main Church

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III Domingo de Cuaresma (Ciclo C)

Unos desconocidos le comunican a Jesús la noticia de la horrible matanza de unos galileos en el recinto sagrado del templo. El autor ha sido, una vez más, Pilato. Lo que más los horroriza es que la sangre de aquellos hombres se haya mezclado con la sangre de los animales que estaban ofreciendo a Dios. No sabemos por qué acuden a Jesús. ¿Quieren que les diga algo a las víctimas? ¿Quieren que les explique qué pecado han podido cometer para merecer una muerte así? Y si no han pecado, ¿por qué Dios ha permitido aquella muerte sacrílega en su propio templo? Jesús responde recordando otro acontecimiento dramático ocurrido en Jerusalén: la muerte de dieciocho personas aplastadas por la caída de un torreón. De ambos sucesos hace Jesús la misma afirmación: las víctimas no eran más pecadores que los demás. Y termina su intervención con la misma advertencia: «y si ustedes no se arrepienten, perecerán de manera semejante». La respuesta de Jesús hace pensar. Antes que nada, rechaza la creencia tradicional de que las desgracias son un castigo de Dios. Jesús no piensa en un Dios «justiciero» que va castigando a sus hijos e hijas repartiendo aquí o allá enfermedades, accidentes o desgracias, como respuesta a sus pecados. Después, cambia la perspectiva del planteamiento. No se detiene en teorías sobre el origen último de las desgracias, hablando de la culpa de las víctimas o de la voluntad de Dios. Vuelve su mirada hacia los presentes y los enfrenta consigo mismos: han de escuchar en estos acontecimientos la llamada de Dios a la conversión y al cambio de vida. Estamos estremecidos por la tragedia de la guerra entre Rusia y Ucrania ¿Cómo leer esta tragedia desde la actitud de Jesús? Ciertamente, lo primero no es preguntarnos dónde está Dios, sino dónde estamos nosotros. La pregunta que puede encaminarnos hacia una conversión no es «¿por qué permite Dios esto?», sino «¿Estoy contribuyendo con mis pequeños grandes odios y resentimientos a lastimar la paz?”. Al Dios crucificado no lo encontraremos pidiéndole cuentas a una divinidad lejana, sino identificándonos con las víctimas. No lo descubriremos protestando de su indiferencia o negando su existencia, sino colaborando de mil formas por mitigar el dolor alrededor de nosotros. Entonces, tal vez, intuiremos entre luces y sombras que Dios está en las víctimas, defendiendo su dignidad eterna, y en los que luchan contra el mal, alentando su combate • AE

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On the Second Sunday of Lent we consider the way we are following the Lord. And there are many questions that we could ask ourselves today in our time of prayer. Do we allow ourselves to be exposed to the spiritual? Do we pray, really pray? Do we allow the spiritual to become real in our lives? Are we allowing God’s plan to take effect in our world? Are we living as citizens of heaven, or is our glory the mere external following of our religion? If someone were to ask any of us, “What exactly is a Catholic?” In what terms would we form our answer? If we were to answer the question in terms of religious practices, such as “a Catholic is a person who goes to Church on Sundays, receives the sacraments, says the Rosary, etc.,” we would be given far too much importance to what we do and not enough importance to what God is doing. However, if we were to answer the question, “What is a Catholic?” in terms of what God does, if we were to say, “A Catholic is someone united to God in such a way that others experience the Mystery of God working in him,” then it is God and his works that are the essence of lives. Few people are drawn to Catholicism because they want to do the things that Catholics do. People are drawn to Catholicism because they want to experience God as Catholics experience Him. Spiritually alive, living with God, united in the Holy Spirit, we can become the Divine Magnet for the world. We began today’s Gospel with Jesus at prayer, in union with the Father, entering into the mystery of his Being. He is transfigured. The disciples call out, “It is good for us to be here.” Yes it is! It is good for all of us to be here in the presence of the Lord. We also are called into the mystery of our being, the depth of whom we are where physical, and spiritual unite. We are called into our depth, into union with the Holy Spirit so others might say, “It is good for us to be here.” So, may the Lord transform us. Transfigure us. Me he help us so that the spiritual can be real in our lives. He knocks on the door of our hearts. May we let him in and may he help us to fight for the reign of the spiritual, the mystical. Help us to be vehicles of his presence! • AE

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Fr. Agustin Schedule for the Second Sunday of Lent

Sunday, February 13, 2022

7.30 a.m. English Mass @ St. Dominic Catholic Church

10.00 a.m. English Mass @ St. Dominic Church

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II Domingo de Cuaresma (Ciclo C)

Uno de los mayores riesgos de los creyentes es ir llenando la palabra “Dios” de cualquier contenido y seguir pensando todavía que uno cree e invoca al Dios verdadero. Más aún. Con bastante frecuencia, nuestra imagen deformada de Dios puede ser, de manera inconsciente, el mayor obstáculo para descubrir el verdadero rostro de Dios. Estamos llenos, qué duda cabe, de caricaturas de Dios. El “Dios intimista” que nos compensa de nuestras frustraciones, nos consuela en nuestras tribulaciones y nos tranquiliza en la ansiedad, pero no nos estimula a vivir la fraternidad y la solidaridad con el necesitado. El “Dios de nuestros intereses” puesto al servicio de cruzadas y estrategias políticas diferentes, utilizado para “rearmes religiosos” interesados y apoyo de ideologías de un signo y otro. El “Dios popular” con quien se negocian favores temporales y eternos a base de promesas, ritos y oraciones. El “Dios riguroso” y terrible, reflejo de una sociedad autoritaria, en quien es difícil confiar o el “Dios permisivo” y complaciente de los nuevos tiempos, que no exige ni inquieta porque le hacemos decir sólo lo que queremos oír de Él. El “Dios encerrado” en una parcela privada de nuestra vida, que no tiene apenas influencia alguna en esferas importantes de nuestra vida como los negocios, la profesión, la actividad pública o el comportamiento afectivo. El “Dios irrelevante” que no tiene apenas impacto alguno en la vida real de cada día y cuya desaparición no cambiaría de manera notable la existencia de quienes se dicen creyentes. La gran pregunta es ¿Dónde podríamos purificar nuestras imágenes deformadas de Dios y descubrir el verdadero rostro de Dios? El verdadero camino -en realidad el único- es Jesucristo. Los apóstoles escucharon esa órden: “Éste es mi Hijo, mi escogido; escúchenlo”. Para acoger al verdadero Dios es necesario seguir a Jesús, escuchar su mensaje, vivir su experiencia, dejarse animar por su Espíritu. Si: todo éso. Los cristianos habríamos de purificar nuestra fe de tantas adherencias y deformaciones, volviendo de nuevo a Jesucristo, el Señor ¿Cuándo? ¡La Cuaresma es un tiempo estupendo para hacerlo! • AE

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Every year we begin Lent with one of the accounts of the temptation of the Lord. The account this year is taken from the Gospel of Luke. Forty is an important number in the Bible. It usually refers to a period of preparation. For example, Moses was on Mount Sinai for forty days before he received the Law of God.  When we consider the 40 days of Lent, we focus on preparing for Easter. That is one reason for Lent, but only one. We are also preparing ourselves for the full sharing in Jesus’ Resurrected Life that will take place when we pass from this life to the next. We are preparing for eternal life. That is why during Lent we need to consider our personal battles against evil. As human beings, we will always be confronted with the temptation to do wrong. As long as we have human bodies we are going to be tempted to seek joy in places where the Lord is not found. If you get to the end of the day and can honestly say, “I had no temptations of any kind today,” you should take your pulse. You are probably dead! Jesus himself was tempted to accept the pleasures of the world rather than remain united to the Father. One of the problems we have, though, is that we live in a society that gives little weight to temptation. Instead, it suggests that whatever we do is acceptable as long as, supposedly, no one gets hurt. This is the lie that claims that there is such a thing as a victimless crime. Many of us buy into an additional lie of society that it is psychologically unhealthy to deny yourself. This is not true. When we fall for this psycho babel temptation, we are really saying that doing evil is a good thing. We are falling for the initial temptation of the devil in Genesis. “Do it and don’t worry about God. It’ll be good for you.” Taken to its logical conclusion, this is also saying that there should be no morality of any kind or level in society. Everybody should do whatever they want whenever they want to do it. People should not have to live together in a way that respects each other and their Creator. Of course, we could decide that others should follow the laws of morality, as long as we are not held to the same moral principals. In which case we condemn ourselves to hypocrisy. Society also tries to convince us that human beings are too weak to combat temptation. This leads some parents to insult their children by expecting them to behave like animals when they become teenagers, or leave home for college. These are the parents who provide alcohol for the Teen’s parties or give their children the opportunity for sexual immorality, or put their daughters on birth control because, they argue, “They are going to have sex anyway.” These parents are basically saying that their children cannot resist temptation, so they provide the temptation for them. They don’t consider the fact that when parents facilitate sin, they carry a deeper guilt than their children for the sin and have more for which they will need to answer to God. I often tell the young people that they are not animals, that they have the dignity of being sons and daughters of God. They have the right to demand that others respect their dignity. We have the power to resist sin, to defeat the temptation. But we have to want to resist it. We have to be determined to do the Will of God. Jesus was determined to do the will of the Father. It is great, wonderful, that so many people approach the sacrament of penance during Lent. Along with the forgiveness of sin, and perhaps even as important, the sacrament of penance strengthens our resolution to avoid sin. So, how determined are we to live the Life of the Lord? Do we really want to fight off temptation? Do we really want to be healed? These are the deep questions we ask ourselves at the beginning of Lent. We pray for strength during Lent, strength not just to fight off evil, but to want to fight it off •AE

Fr. Agustin will be out of town this weekend. He will resume his regular schedule on Saturday March 12, 2022. St. Dominic Catholic Church will continue in its regular Mass schedule both weekdays and weekends.

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Primer Domingo de Cuaresma (Ciclo C)

El relato de las tentaciones de Jesús no es un episodio cerrado, que acontece en un momento y en un lugar determinado. El evangelista advierte que «el demonio se marchó hasta otra ocasión». Las tentaciones volverán en la vida de Jesús y en la de sus seguidores. Quizá por esto mismo los evangelistas colocan el relato antes de narrar la actividad profética de Jesús. Sus seguidores han de conocer bien estas tentaciones desde el comienzo, pues son las mismas que ellos tendrán que superar a lo largo de los siglos, si no quieren desviarse de él. En la primera tentación se habla de pan. Jesús se resiste a utilizar a Dios para saciar su propia hambre: «no solo de pan vive el hombre». Lo primero para Jesús es buscar el reino de Dios y su justicia: que haya pan para todos. Por eso acudirá un día a Dios, pero será para alimentar a una muchedumbre hambrienta. También hoy nuestra tentación es pensar solo en nuestro pan y preocuparnos exclusivamente de nuestra crisis. Nos desviamos de Jesús cuando nos creemos con derecho a tenerlo, y olvidamos el drama, los miedos y sufrimientos de quienes carecen de casi todo En la segunda tentación se habla de poder y de gloria. Jesús renuncia a todo eso. No se postrará ante el diablo que le ofrece el imperio sobre todos los reinos del mundo: «Al Señor, tu Dios, adorarás». Jesús no buscará nunca ser servido sino servir. También hoy se despierta en algunos cristianos la tentación de mantener, como sea, el poder que ha tenido la Iglesia en tiempos pasados. Nos desviamos de Jesús cuando presionamos las conciencias tratando de imponer a la fuerza nuestras creencias. Al reino de Dios le abrimos caminos cuando trabajamos por un mundo más compasivo y solidario. En la tercera tentación se le propone a Jesús que descienda de manera grandiosa ante el pueblo, sostenido por los ángeles de Dios. Jesús no se dejará engañar: «No tentarás al Señor, tu Dios». Aunque se lo pidan, no hará nunca un signo espectacular del cielo. Solo hará signos de bondad para aliviar el sufrimiento y las dolencias de la gente. Nos desviamos de Jesús cuando confundimos nuestra propia ostentación con la gloria de Dios. Nuestra exhibición no revela la grandeza de Dios. Solo una vida de servicio humilde a los necesitados manifiesta su Amor a todos sus hijos. El verdadero poder, es el servicio, como tanto nos ha repetido el Santo Padre Francisco ¿estamos dispuestos a caminar por ahí? • AE