Georges de La Tour (French, 1593–1652), The Magdalen with the Smoking Flame (ca. 1635–37), Oil on canvas. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (California)

The Gospel speaks about the suddenness of the end of time, be that the end of all time or the end of our own particular time. We have to be ready because the Lord will Come a Second Time when we least expect. As long as we are doing our best to live as his sons and daughters, we really don’t have anything to fear. In fact, we can look forward to the times prophesied by the first reading from Isaiah, a time when there will be at peace, a time when swords will be beaten into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks, and aircraft carriers into skateboard parks and tanks into chicken coops. The only thing we have to do, according to the conclusion of the first reading, is walk in the light of the Lord. What does that mean, though, “to walk in the light of the Lord.” St. Paul clarifies this in today’s second reading. He says that we need to throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. We need to conduct ourselves properly as in the day. We need to put on Jesus Christ and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. We need to walk in the Light of the Lord. Isn’t it amazing how things that do not belong to the Lord tend to be covered in darkness? Be they places that no Christian should go or actions that no Christian should do, it seems that there is a commonality to all immorality that much of it takes place in dark places. So we have to ask ourselves, do I want to pray over a particular decision or course of action be it in business, family, work? Or would I rather not pray over it? Would I rather just do something without considering my dignity as a son or daughter of God? Do I prefer the selfishness of the darkness over the selfless ness of the Light of Christ? Do I recognize my responsibility to others to live in the light? So, this First Sunday of Advent is inviting us to stay awake. Awake now and at the end of time. May we have the enough wisdom to distinguish what belongs to the darkness and what to the Light • AE

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Fr. Agustin’s Schedule for The First Sunday of Advent (2022)

St Dominic Catholic Church

Saturday November 26, 2022

3.30 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confessional)

Sunday November 27, 2022

12.30 p.m. Holy Mass (English Mass @ Main Church)

3.00 p.m. Santa Misa en Español (@ iglesia principal)

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Primer Domingo de Adviento (2022)

V. Van Gogh, La siesta, (1889), óleo sobre tela, Musée d’Orsay (Paris)

Un día la historia apasionante de los hombres terminará, como termina inevitablemente la vida de cada uno de nosotros. Los evangelios ponen en boca de Jesús un discurso sobre este final, y siempre destacan una exhortación: «vigilad», «estad alerta», «vivid despiertos». Las primeras generaciones cristianas dieron mucha importancia a esta vigilancia. El fin del mundo no llegaba tan pronto como algunos pensaban. Sentían el riesgo de irse olvidando poco a poco de Jesús y no querían que los encontrara un día dormidos. Han pasado muchos siglos desde entonces. ¿Cómo vivimos los cristianos de hoy?¿Seguimos despiertos o nos hemos ido durmiendo poco a poco? ¿Vivimos atraídos por Jesús o distraídos por toda clase de cuestiones secundarias? ¿Le seguimos a él o hemos aprendido a vivir al estilo de todos? Vigilar es antes que nada despertar de la inconsciencia. Vivimos el sueño de ser cristianos cuando, en realidad, no pocas veces nuestros intereses, actitudes y estilo de vivir no son los de Jesús. Este sueño nos protege de buscar nuestra conversión personal y la de la Iglesia. Sin despertar, seguiremos engañándonos a nosotros mismos. Vigilar es vivir atentos a la realidad. Escuchar el llanto del que sufre. Sentir el amor de Dios a la vida. Vivir más atentos a su venida a nuestra vida, a nuestra sociedad y a la tierra. Sin esta sensibilidad, no es posible caminar tras los pasos de Jesús. Vivimos inmunizados a las llamadas del evangelio. Tenemos corazón, pero se nos ha endurecido. Tenemos los ojos abiertos, pero no escuchamos lo que Jesús escuchaba. Tenemos los ojos abiertos, pero ya no vemos la vida como la veía él, no miramos a las personas como él las miraba. Puede ocurrir entonces lo que Jesús quería evitar entre sus seguidores: verlos como «ciegos conduciendo a otros ciegos». Si no despertamos, a todos nos puede ocurrir lo de aquellos de la parábola que todavía, al final de los tiempos, preguntaban: «Señor, ¿cuándo te vimos hambriento o sediento o extranjero o desnudo o enfermo o en la cárcel, y no te asistimos?» • AE

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Anonymous American Artist, New York City (1848), Oil on wood panel, Collection American Folk Art Museum (New York)

Mother Teresa of Calcutta told this story in her speech to the National Prayer Breakfast in 1994. «One evening several of our sisters went out, and we picked up four people from the street. One of them was in a most terrible condition. So, I told the other sisters, ‘You take care of the other three: I will take care of this one who looks the worst.’ So, I did for the woman everything that my love could do. I cleaned her and put her in bed, and there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She took hold of my hands and said two words in her native language, Bengali: ‘Thank you.’ Then she died. » Mother Teresa continued: «I could not help but examine my conscience and ask: ‘What would I say if I were in her place?’ My answer was simply that I would have tried to draw a little attention to myself. I would have said, ‘I am hungry…I am dying…I am in pain.’ But the woman gave me much more; she gave me grateful loving, dying with a grateful smile on her face. It means that even those with nothing can give us the gift of thanks». How much was this woman like our Pilgrim ancestors who took time to be grateful even though they had every reason to be ungrateful. Their first thanksgiving celebration in Plymouth Colony in 1621 was not born out of abundance. They had suffered a hard journey to this land. They experienced the harshness of their first New England winter and lost countless of their members as a result of travel, weather and disease. They were strangers in a strange land and the land did not yield an easy welcome. And yet they did not shy away of saying “Thank you” …to each other and above all to God. I really like that quote from the great mystic, Meister Eckhart, who wrote: “If the only prayer you said in your life was, “thank you,” that would suffice.” That’s what this feast is all about. Saying “thank you.” Thank you not just for the good but “thank you” for all aspects of life. “Thank you” for each and every event, friendship and love of our existence. And “thank you” not just to each other and for our country…but “thank you” to God without whom there would be no blessings. I always end my Thanksgiving Sermon by quoting the words of the great American, Benjamin Franklin, from a sermon that he gave Thanksgiving Day at the dawn of our great country. He wrote:

«Who is rich? He that is happy with what he has.

A home, a wife, children, these are the great gifts of life.

Wealth is not his that has it, but his that enjoys it.

He who is content has enough, and he that complains

has too much.

Having been poor is no shame, but being ashamed of it, is.

You are only poor when you want more than you have.

Enjoy the present hour, be mindful of the past, and

neither fear nor wish the approaches of the future.

If you would have guests, be happy with them, and be

happy yourself.

Nothing dries sooner than a tear.

A long life may not be good enough, but a good life is long

enough.

Wish not so much to live long, as to live well.

Great beauty, great strength, and great riches are

really and truly of no great use:

a good heart stands above all.

Proportion your charity to the strength of your

wealth, or God will proportion your wealth to the

weakness of your charity.

To bear other people’s afflictions, everyone has

courage and enough to spare.

People who are wrapped up in themselves make

small packages».

May we who celebrate this Eucharist of gratitude this morning and who will share the meal of Thanksgiving never fail to be aware of the countless blessings that enrich our lives and which we so often take for granted. Happy Thanksgiving! • AE

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St. Dominic Catholic Church

Thursday November 24, 2022 at 8.30 a.m. at the main church

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https://youtu.be/LcMkIKN05LY

When we hear the word «king» perhaps we think of the splendor of Versailles of Louis XIV of France, or the Russian court of Catherine the Great, or even the modern British court. The thought of these monarchs invokes scenes of lavish banquets, with plates of gold and silver flasks. We also think of absolute despotism. This is certainly not the type of king presented in today’s readings. In today’s Gospel, the scene is Calvary. Jesus is abandoned by his people. Only Mary, John and Mary Magdalene and perhaps a few others are there. The rest of the Twelve, the huge crowds that had pressed so hard on the Lord forcing Him to do things like preach from a boat off the shore, the crowds are gone. Where were all these people? Surely they heard of His arrest. Where were they all? Had they decided that Jesus could not lead them? Yet, it is on the cross that Jesus is proclaimed to be a King. And this was really not by the sarcastic sign over his head, “This is the King of the Jews.” On the cross, Jesus was proclaimed to be a King by one of the criminals who was dying with him. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Why would this man call Jesus a King? What did he realize that so many others had blocked out of their lives? The thief had to realize that Jesus possessed the Power of the Spiritual, the Power of God. Jesus demonstrated this power when he turned to the repentant criminal and said, «This day you will be with me in Paradise.» He is our King. His Kingdom is, as today’s Preface, the prayer we say immediately before we sing the Holy Holy, tells us, is a Kingdom of truth and life, a Kingdom of holiness and grace, a Kingdom of justice, love and peace. We have given the keys of our lives to our King. We have now been called to imitate him at his most regal moment: reigning on the Cross sacrificing himself for others, reconciling, forgiving. We are called to realize with our lives the Kingdom of truth and life, holiness, grace, justice, love and peace. We ask Christ today to help us to sacrifice as he sacrificed. Sacrifice is noble. It is also no fun. All of us literally run out of gas, giving to those who are continually demanding. But there was no limit to Christ’s sacrifice. There is no limit to the extent He wants us to follow Him. Perhaps the greatest sacrifice we are called to make is the sacrifice of forgiving those who have hurt us. On the cross Jesus forgave those who conspired against Him to kill Him. He forgave the soldiers who brutalized Him. He forgave His disciples who deserted Him. He forgave us. He saw our sins, your sins and mine, and embraced the cross to restore grace, not just for the world in general, but for you and me. It is harder to say «You are forgiven» than it is to say, «I am sorry.» But that is the way of the King on the cross. Forgiveness is the way of the Kingdom. The Church year is over. Like the conclusion of a good book, the final chapter sums up the essence of the book. The Solemnity of Christ the King sums up the Church year by proclaiming: Jesus is the central mystery of our faith. He lived, He died, He rose, and He will come again. He allowed us to be called Christians. May we have the courage to be faithful members of His Kingdom • AE

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Fr. Agustin’s Schedule for The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (2022)

St Dominic Catholic Church

Saturday November 19, 2022

12. 00 p.m. Sacrament of Matrimony for Andrew and Gardenia.

3.30 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confessional)

5.00 p.m. (English Mass @ Main Church)

Sunday November 20, 2022

7.30 a.m. Holy Mass (English Mass @ Main Church)

10.00 a.m. Holy Mass (English Mass @ Main Church)

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Solemnidad de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo, Rey del Universo (2022)

El día en que celebramos a Jesus como Rey del universo la liturgia de la Iglesia nos presenta uno de los pasajes en los que se narra su muerte en la cruz. ¿Por qué? Quizá porque quiere hacernos reflexionar que Jesus es un rey que establece su reino de justicia y paz desde su propio sufrimiento y su propia sangre, y que quiso salvar a la humanidad a través de su propio dolor y no a través del dolor de los demás. Asi ¿podría este Jesús crucificado decirnos algo válido, vivo, concreto a los hombres y mujeres de hoy? ¿Es el mensaje de la cruz, digamos, salvador y redentor? ¿Qué sentido puede tener mirar con cuidado la cruz con el crucificado en medio de un mundo que busca apasionadamente el confort, la comodidad, el máximo bienestar? ¿Hemos de seguir alimentando un cristianismo obsesionado por la agonía de Getsemaní, los estertores del Gólgota y las llagas del Crucificado? Sin embargo, cuando los cristianos adoran la cruz, no ensalzan el sufrimiento, la inmolación y la muerte, sino el amor, la cercanía y la solidaridad de Dios que ha querido compartir nuestra vida y nuestra muerte hasta el fondo. No es el sufrimiento el que salva, sino el amor de Dios que se solidariza con la historia dolorosa de los hombres. No es la sangre la que, en realidad, purifica sino el amor infinito de Dios que nos acoge como hijos. Por esto, ser fiel al Crucificado no es buscar con masoquismo el sufrimiento, sino saber acercarse a los que sufren solidarizándose con ellos hasta las últimas consecuencias. Descubrir la grandeza de la cruz no es encontrar no sé qué misterioso poder o virtud en el dolor, sino saber percibir la fuerza liberadora que se encierra en el amor cuando es vivido en toda su profundidad. Quizás hemos de recordarlo hoy más que nunca. Desgraciadamente, no es la sangre tan fácilmente vertida entre nosotros, la que nos conducirá automáticamente hacia una sociedad mejor, sino el esfuerzo paciente de los que día a día luchan por una convivencia más fraterna y solidaria. Una esperanza debe, sin embargo, alentar nuestros corazones. A una vida crucificada, vivida con ei mismo espíritu de amor, fraternidad y solidaridad con que vivió Jesús, sólo le espera resurrección. Quizás las cruces que nuestros antepasados levantaron sobre nuestras montañas, apuntando hacia los cielos, nos lo puedan recordar en este domingo en el que miramos a Cristo, y éste crucificado • AE

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Jesus prophesied that the Temple would be demolished. He then goes on to say that the whole world will be destroyed. He says that natural disasters, earthquakes and hurricanes, and political turmoil demonstrate that the world is coming to an end. At the same time he says that when you see these things, know that the end is still in the future. Jesus says that there will be many claiming that the end is at hand. In fact, every few years someone pops up with a list of why the world is going to end at a specific time. Remember what Jesus says: «Ignore them.» Jesus is adamant that we Christians are not to get flustered, distraught, or full of anxiety. These are the feelings of those who refuse to commit their lives to the Kingdom of God. What we need to do is to give witness to Christ, particularly in the face of persecution. The Lord was not just addressing the early Christians when he said that you will be delivered up to those who will murder you for being faithful. He was also talking to Archbishop Oscar Romero, Jane Donovan and the Maryknoll sisters and the six Jesuits who were all murdered in El Salvador for demanding that the poor be treated with respect. He was talking to Maximilian Kolbe and all the religious leaders particularly from Poland as well as many parts of Europe who were put to death by Nazis and Communists during the last blood stained century. He was talking to the Catholics and other Christians who are being persecuted and killed right now in Egypt, the Sudan and throughout the world. And He is talking to everyone of us who is mocked for hanging on to what the media presents as a dated morality. When Jesus spoke about persecution, He pointed His words to all of us who fight for traditional family values and responsibility against those that deify self-gratification. All people, from the martyrs of the past to those living in your house, may be put to death, or at least commit social suicide for their Christian witness. But patient endurance will save their lives. Patient endurance will save our lives! That phrase, «patient endurance» is the New Testament catch word for martyrdom. By patient endurance we will be saved. By becoming martyrs we will be saved. We Christians are called to martyrdom. That is the challenging part of today’s Gospel. We must become witnesses to Jesus Christ, martyrs, to be saved. Affirming our Christianity demands suffering. All Christians experience this in many ways. The world and those who live by its values may appear to be winning. But their victories are hollow, their lives are shallow. Through patient endurance of all this and more, you are saving your life. The Temple that was built in Jerusalem might be destroyed, but the Temple that is the Life of Christ within us will never be destroyed. In the sixth chapter of the Book of Revelation, the Book of God’s plan for mankind is brought forward, sealed with seven seals. When the fifth seal is opened the voice of the martyrs cries out from their place underneath the altar, the place where the blood of sacrificial animals was caught. «How Long, O Lord, How Long?» they shriek. Our pleas join theirs. «How long, O Lord, how long do we have to keep on suffering while evil doers prosper? When will the world see the purpose of our suffering? When will we be vindicated? Today’s gospel is challenging. It is challenging because Jesus demands that we give witness, become martyrs, if we want to be saved. It is challenging because the Lord demands that we stand up for him, his kingdom and the Christian way of life in a materialistic, self-centered world. It is challenging because it demands that we accept grief from those who mock us. It is challenging because it proclaims that only by patient endurance can we be saved. This is the challenge of Christianity! We pray today for the grace to endure patiently any trials that are essential to our affirmation of our identity as followers of Lord Jesus Christ • AE

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Autumn Readings

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Fr. Agustin’s Schedule for the Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

St Dominic Catholic Church

Saturday November 12, 2022

3.30 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confessional)

5.00 p.m. (English Mass @ Main Church)

Sunday November 13, 2022

7.30 a.m. Holy Mass (English Mass @ Main Church)

10.00 a.m. Holy Mass (English Mass @ Main Church)

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XXXIII Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (Ciclo C)

Cómo vivir estos tiempos de crisis religiosa con lucidez y responsabilidad, sin desviamos del Evangelio y sin hundimos en la desesperanza? Ésta es, tal vez, una de las preguntas más inquietantes que se despiertan hoy, 2022, en quienes creemos en Jesucristo. Es claro que la fe cristiana no se puede vivir ni comunicar desde actitudes negativas. Es inútil alimentar el victimismo, vivir de la nostalgia o acumular resentimiento. Todo eso nos aleja del espíritu con el que vivía Jesús. Los cristianos debemos leer y vivir estos tiempos de manera más positiva, confiada y evangélica. La llamada que hoy nos hace el Señor en el evangelio a perseverar, debería hacernos reflexionar. Es un error demonizar la crisis actual viviéndola como una situación imposible. Dios no está en crisis. Nunca lo ha estado, Él continúa actuando en cada ser humano. Ninguna crisis puede impedir que Él siga ofreciéndose, comunicándose y salvando a cada uno de sus hijos e hijas por caminos que a nosotros se nos escapan. Esta humanidad tan querida por Dios vive sufriendo. No acierta con el camino que la podría conducir a una vida más digna y más dichosa. La crisis religiosa de la que tanto hablamos los creyentes es sólo un fragmento de una crisis más global que lo sacude todo. Nos puede inquietar qué va a ser de la Iglesia entre nosotros, pero, si miramos las cosas desde Dios, lo que nos ha de preocupar es qué va a ser del mundo. Lo importante es perseverar, es seguir caminando, sin quitar los ojos del Evangelio; buscando siempre el Reino de Dios y su justicia, no nuestros pequeños intereses, y actuando desde el espíritu de Jesús, no desde nuestro instinto de conservación. No nos engañemos: el que realmente piensa en la felicidad de todos es Dios, no nosotros. Perseverar no es repetir de manera vacía palabras que ya no dicen nada, sino encender nuestra fe en contacto directo y personal y diario con Cristo. Perseverar no es ponemos a la defensiva ante ciertos cambios, sino mantener la capacidad de escuchar la acción de Dios en nuestros días. Perseverar no es exigir a otros, sino vivir en continua, diaria conversión, contagiando nuestra fe; atrayendo a los demás por el amor con el que vivimos • AE

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¿Qué Leer?

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Heaven is a reality that Jesus also speaks about in today’s Gospel when he is confronted by the Sadducees who refuse to accept the possibility of life after death. Basically he told them that their question was rather infantile. He said that the reality of life after death is beyond human comprehension. “They are like angels and are children of God.” Many of us view heaven as though it were earth done right. This is due to our staying on the concrete level of thinking of the little child, where everything needs to be seen and experienced. We consider those who have gone before us, and are looking forward to once more having a good laugh with them. But the spiritual is so much more, infinitely more, than our minds can grasp. We do not know what it is like to be “like the angels,” because we cannot comprehend angelic life, but we do know that it will be better than our fondest imagination. In the third book of Dante’s Divine Comedy, the Paradisio, Dante ascends through the ten spheres of heaven. He comes upon various souls who inhabit each sphere. The inhabitants are able to tolerate deeper and deeper am ounts of God’s love than those of the sphere below them. This is all still envisioning heaven in very concrete terms, but then Dante changes the level of thinking. He is led by St. Bernard to Mary, Queen of Heaven. St. Bernard asks her to pray to God that Dante may look upon Him. She does, and Dante looks into the Eternal Light. He sees the image of the Holy Trinity and ponders the mysteries of God. All of a sudden there is a brilliant flash of light as God bestows all the answers to all questions upon Dante. At that point Dante’s soul is at one with God. Now, this is merely Dante’s explanation of heaven. I see its value in the way it ends. There are times in our lives when we feel a deep peace. These are the times that we are one with God. We were created to know, love and serve God in this life and to be happy with Him forever in the next. Heaven is that place, that state of being, where we are happily united with God forever. St. Paul tells the Corinthians that if our hope is in this world only we are the most pitiable of men (1 Cor 15:19). There is far more to life than the physical. There are wonders beyond our imagination waiting for us! The Almighty Creator of the universe loves us so much that he sent his son to become one of us and die for us. Now when we love someone, we want to give him or her everything we can to express our love. God gave us His Son in this life. What must he have in store for us in the next life? The answer to that question can merely be summarized in the term, heaven. We are only on this world for a brief time. We have to make the most of the period of our lives that is both physical and spiritual. We do this by leading the physical to the spiritual. That is why we are called to nurture the Presence of Christ within ourselves. That is why we are called to make Christ present to others. We only have one life. We pray today for the courage to allow God to perfect this life. May we always be united to Him, here and hereafter • AE

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Fr. Agustin’s Schedule for the

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

St Dominic Catholic Church

Saturday November 4, 2022

3.30 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confessional)

5.00 p.m. (English Mass @ Main Church)

Sunday November 5, 2022

7.30 a.m. Holy Mass (English Mass @ Main Church)

10.00 a.m. Holy Mass (English Mass @ Main Church)

3.00 p.m. Santa Misa en Español (iglesia principal)

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XXXII Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (Ciclo C)

Hay muchas formas de imaginar el cielo. A veces se ha considerado el paraíso como una especie de país de las maravillas situado más allá de las estrellas, el happy end de la película terrestre, olvidando prácticamente a Dios como fuente del cumplimiento definitivo del ser humano. Otras veces, por el contrario, se ha insistido casi exclusivamente en la visión beatífica de Dios, como si la contemplación de la esencia divina excluyera o hiciera superflua toda otra felicidad o experiencia placentera que no fuera la comunión de Dios con las almas. Se habla también con frecuencia de la paz eterna que expresa bien el fin de las fatigas de esta vida, pero que quizá lleva a pensar en el cielo como algo inerte, monótono y desde luego poco atractivo. La teología es sobria al hablar del cielo. Los teólogos se cuidan mucho de describirlo con representaciones ingenuas. Nuestra plenitud final está más allá de cualquier experiencia terrestre aunque la podemos evocar, esperar y anhelar como el fascinante cumplimiento en Dios de esta vida que hoy alienta en nosotros. Lo mejor es acudir al lenguaje del amor y de la fiesta. El amor es la experiencia más honda y plenificante del ser humano. Poder amar y poder ser amado de manera íntima, plena, libre y total: ésa es la aspiración más radical que espera cumplimiento pleno. Si el cielo es algo, ha de ser experiencia plena de amor: amar y ser amados, conocer la comunión gozosa con Dios y con las criaturas, experimentar el gusto de la amistad y el éxtasis del amor en todas sus dimensiones. Pero, «donde se goza el amor, nace la fiesta». Sólo en el cielo se cumplirán plenamente esas palabras de san Ambrosio de Milán. Allí será «la fiesta del amor reconciliador de Dios». La fiesta de una creación sin muerte, rupturas ni dolor; la fiesta de la amistad entre todos los pueblos, razas, religiones y culturas; la fiesta de las almas y de los cuerpos; la plenitud de la creatividad y de la belleza; el gozo de la libertad total. Los cristianos de hoy miramos poco al cielo. No sabemos levantar nuestra mirada más allá de lo inmediato de cada día. No nos atrevemos a esperar mucho de nada ni de nadie, ni siquiera de ese Dios revelado como Amor infinito y salvador en Cristo resucitado. Se nos olvida que Dios, como nos dice hoy el Señor en el evangelio, «no es un Dios de muertos, sino de vivos». Un Dios que sólo quiere una vida dichosa y plena para todos y por toda la eternidad • AE

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