In this 5th Sunday of Lent, we continue our Lenten journey with a magnificent meditation from the Gospel of John, the story of raising Lazarus from the dead. The details of John’s Gospel are meant to capture a deeper purpose. In this story, we hear about a man named Lazarus, which means “God helps”. He […]

This week's readings remind us of our blind spots: areas that we may have willfully chosen to ignore.

“Many Samaritans from that city believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I have ever done’” (John 4:39)

Enable us to feel the power of your word - a word that is incarnate and living; a word that must be proclaimed, received and experienced; a word that commands our worship and veneration.

God does not preclude us from temptations but He sustains us in the midst of them

We are called to be imitators of Christ; to be holy and “perfect” as our Heavenly Father is perfect.

“Blessed are you, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth; you have revealed to the little ones the mysteries of the kingdom” (Gospel Acclamation Ma 11:25).

My heart is at peace in following Jesus’ descending path to lowliness, which is really the ascending path to see God face-to-face.　

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. It is also known as Candlemas since traditionally, blessings and procession of candles are included in the liturgy to signify that Christ is the light of all nations. It is another “epiphany” celebration as it echoes the Solemnity of Christmas […]

Our Sunday Gospel reports the Lord’s calling of his first disciples. What is it about this scene that is so peaceful and right, and why is it related to our mission?

Here are some things that may be dividing us at St. Anthony’s: A few people don’t think we should be using Alpha; a few didn’t want us to give 10% of our annual collection to those in need; some don’t like the one hour, 20-minute Masses; some disagree with our stance on moral issues like abortion, talking about mortal sin, getting drunk, etc.; some have even complained about my homilies (gasp!).

We are “formed” by God; “called to be saints” and chosen to bring the Good News to all; to testify for our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s deal with two problems regarding friendships. First, what’s called being “unequally yoked,” a term from St. Paul (2 Cor 6:14), which now refers to a marriage or a couple dating where one spouse or person is spiritually stronger than the other. When two animals with a yoke over their shoulders are of different strength and speed, there can be injuries.

"Let it be so for now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15)

Bob was only 13 when his father left the family. Being the second oldest of seven children, Bob felt he had to become the man of the home. Weeks later, he was also devastated when his basketball coach tried to molest him. The pain continued a year later when his father eventually started a second family and when his family moved to Florida.

The time has come for all barriers to come down, all hatreds to disappear, and all hostilities among the nations to vanish.

How do you want this year to be better than last year? I’ll ask again: How do you want this year to be better than last year? From my experience, it’s unfortunate that most of us will make the same mistakes, because we can’t break out of the cycle of our daily lives. Most of our lives have a momentum that we can’t stop.

This Sunday, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family. The Gospel reading is from Matthew 2:13-23, which describes the Holy Family's flight into Egypt to escape King Herod the Great's proclamation that all male children under the age of two be killed. This was foretold by the Pharoah's proclamation in the Book of Exodus that all male Jewish children be killed. At that time, only Moses was saved by the princess who rescued him from the water; now, only Jesus was saved by Joseph who brought Him into Egypt. Moses and Jesus both played the role of saviour: Moses saved his people from slavery, while Jesus saved both His people and the entire world from slavery to sin. When Herod died, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to return to the Holy Land. In fact, the Joseph of the New Testament shares many similarities with the Joseph of the Old Testament: both were dreamers, both had fathers named Jacob, and both were persecuted by a king and his brothers respectively. The Holy Family later moved to Nazareth, a small town whose population numbered no more than 480 people at the time. Joseph led a humble life there as a carpenter, teaching us the road to sanctity: to perform well our duty to pray and work in front of the Child Jesus, and in doing so grow with Him.

As the people of God, we are encouraged to go beyond our natural families into the supernatural family of God

Like Joseph and Mary, we, too, are called to accomplish the most extraordinary mission with the most ordinary means.

Icons from the Byzantine Church do not just deliver a unique visual appeal, they also guide the viewers to connect with the person or mystery being depicted. "Prep for Christmas" takes you into the world of Byzantine icons.

Let us take a moment from our busy Christmas preparations to contemplate on what “the Lord is near” means for us (Philippians 4:5)

Two takeaways from this Sunday’s readings. Both are powerful prophecies of Isaiah.

Three weeks ago, we gathered donations for the seven people who lost their belongings in a fire that burned their three-storey apartment building in our neighbourhood. Two of them, Fernanda and Curtis, are part of our parish family, so, an e-mail blast about the fire went out to the whole Alpha team, of which Fernanda’s a part. If you got that e-mail, how would you respond? Who here would offer them sympathy in the e-mail? What about prayer? What about a place to stay for the next week?