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Beloved Parishioners,

As we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday today, which was instituted by John Paul II, I would like to share a reflection on Pope Francis the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church who passed onto the Lord on Easter Monday by Roman Time 7:35am at the age of 88. He comes across to many people as a great shepherd of the flock, a reformer, a pastor of souls, and to some as a controversial Pope.

Beloved Parishioners,

Easter teaches us to always hope in Christ, to always believe in him because he makes all things new. The Easter proclamation invites us to be aware we have a living God who is alive and with us even when it may be difficult to see him with our physical eye, but he is risen and alive.

Beloved Parishioners,

I wish to conclude my reflection on almsgiving which was started last week. As I said previously, almsgiving is a strong component of our Lenten observance and when practiced in humility draws the person closer to God and to the poor. Furthermore, almsgiving during Lent invites the Church to consider the root causes of poverty.

Beloved Parishioners,

As we continue our journey of Lent my reflection is focused on Almsgiving which is one of the three pillars of Lenten observance, alongside prayer and fasting, and is seen as an invitation to grow in solidarity with the poor and the marginalized in recognition that Christ himself identified with the poor.

Beloved Parishioners,

As we continue our journey into this Lenten season I share with you reflection on the transformative nature of Christ. Transformation happens when we accept Christ and open to his guidance of the Holy Spirit. Christianity, in functionality and practice is execrably transformative. Who can deny this? The birth of Christ remarkably changed the course of human history and introduced us to a new way of marking date — the Anno Domini (AD), year of the Lord.

Beloved Parishioners,

As we continue in our journey of Lent during this season, I wish to reflect on Temptation as Jesus himself was tempted by the devil after forty days of fasting.

Beloved Parishioners,

I wish to conclude the reflection I started on February 23rd on a topic I titled Simeon’s Hope. Many of you who follow my reflection in this column will remember that I had shared some part of the reflection from the Solemnity of February 2nd , the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus on the altar.

Beloved Parishioners,

As we begin this great season of Lent my reflection is focused on the battle we engage to combat the flesh to be able to journey with Our Lord these forty days of Lent. The image of soldiers throughout history has been a symbol of courage, discipline, and die-hard commitment to a cause.

Beloved Parishioners,

I lack the words to express my profound appreciation to everyone for the successful outing of our parish festival. The festival by all standards was a huge success. My joy was more at how the festival brought many of us together as a worshipping community. This is the first time ever we had so many parishioners volunteering at one event.

Beloved Parishioners,

On February 2nd, the Church celebrated the Feast of the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple. It was on this day that Simeon made this statement from which our reflection of today took its theme.

Beloved Parishioners,

A few months back in this platform I shared a reflection on living the beatitudes. Thus, today’s gospel on the beatitudes according to Luke’s account offers me an opportunity to look at the practical aspect of the reflection. The Beatitudes offer us a practical blueprint for Christian living.

“Sola Scriptura” (The Scriptures alone) is one of the doctrines propagated by Martin Luther when he nailed his 95 theses on the door of the Cathedral of Wittenberg on the 30th of October 1517. This doctrine became a rallying cry during the Reformation and thus, a foundational doctrine for our separated brethren. The great repercussion following it is that it became a continuing source of rift and division to the Body of Christ.