The plan of the Father for the salvation of the world is centered on the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The passion and death of Jesus were part of the plan of God for the salvation of the world. God will not take away pain and suffering. This is the truth shown to us in the sufferings of Jesus on the cross. He is known as the Man of Sorrows. And anybody close to Him also shares in His sorrow. This is because love and suffering always go together. Love is self-giving. Self-giving always entails sacrifice and suffering.

Bishop Fulton Sheen said: "Love needs a constant purification and this happens only through sorrow. Love that is not nourished on sacrifice becomes trite, banal, and commonplace. It takes the other for granted, makes no more professions of love because it has sounded no new depths."

Suffering and pain are opportunities for us to develop our virtues, especially patience and self-sacrifice. They also help us strengthen our self-control and discipline. A Christian who is not tested is weak. Just as gold is subjected to fire to purify it, so also a Christian has to undergo trials and sufferings to purify his intentions and make him strong. And they also help us appreciate the blessings that come our way.

We often think like Peter. What we think is best for us. We insist on our plans, when we pursue our own will, apart from the will of God, we find ourselves fighting against God. We may have the best intentions, like Peter. But no matter how good our intentions are, if we don't follow God's plan, we will become His enemy.

In our Christian life, therefore, it is always important to know the will of God and follow it, to avoid the dangerous traps ahead and walk the way to salvation. God always knows what is best for us.

To know the will of God, two things are necessary: study and prayer. Studying is very important. Culpable ignorance is a sin against faith. We have to study the doctrines of our faith, read and reflect on the Scriptures, listen to and read various teachings of the saints and official Church teachers, and be fully attuned to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This is an essential part of the formation of a right and healthy conscience. We have to know the truth and the will of God.

Prayer is more important. There are many things we cannot learn in study. It is, ultimately, the Holy Spirit who will give us the truth. This is very clear in the case of the apostles. They have listened to all the teachings of Jesus, but they still could not understand. It was only after Pentecost that they fully understood everything. In the case of Peter, in last Sunday's Gospel, his answer was not a fruit of study but came from the heavenly Father. That is why we see Jesus oftentimes praying alone, and conversing with the Father, so that everything He does will be according to the will of God. When we pray and study, we will eventually be accustomed to knowing the will of God in our lives.

Knowing God's will is only half of the story. Ultimately what matters is doing the will of God. Knowing the will of God is indeed important so that we won't be misled and do things contrary to His will. However, following Jesus is not that simple and easy. He says: "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." Self-denial is important to be able to follow the only one commandment: love. Carrying the cross is also important so that our intentions are purified, our love becomes deeper and purer, and we can follow Jesus. Without the cross, there is no way we can follow Jesus. Jesus always has the cross. A Jesus without the cross is no Jesus at all.

We need not be afraid of suffering and pain; these are all part of the cross we have to bear to follow Jesus and to do the will of the heavenly Father. Rather, we should fear going through our earthly journey without Jesus. 

My dear brothers and sisters, we all remember the famous Gospel passage when Jesus says, "Unless you turn and become like little children, you shall not enter the Kingdom of God." (Matthew 18:3).

What Jesus means by this seems obvious: salvation involves a return to a state of moral innocence, like children. Yet, are children as innocent as their reputation makes them?

Don't infants show signs of extreme selfishness and self-centeredness from the very beginning? Don't toddlers give their parents' constant headaches with their rebellious antics? Don't kindergartners need to be disciplined so that they stop lying and tormenting their siblings?

Maybe Jesus was referring to a different kind of innocence when he made that statement - the innocence of wonder. For healthy children, the world is a wonder-full place. Seashells and starlight are magically mysterious.

Grasshoppers and green mountains inspire fascination and excitement. And isn't that way it should be? Isn't that the way Adam and Eve would have seen the world before original sin, as an inspiring collection of magnificent treasures given to them by their Creator? That's what creation is, a fabulous gift from an all-powerful God who is not an angry tyrant, but a wise and loving Father.

An attitude of wonder and awe in the face of God's gifts is something shared by all the saints. And it applies not only to natural gifts, but even more to the supernatural gifts of salvation and redemption.

That is why St Paul, after spending three chapters of his Letter to the Romans analysing and explaining the complex twists and turns of salvation history, breaks out in a hymn of wonder and awe: "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!" This is the cry of a childlike, grace-filled, healthy Christian heart.

The Strange Plan of the Papacy

St Paul tells us that God's judgments are "inscrutable" and his ways are "unsearchable." Not in a bad sense, but in a wonderful sense. God is always using creative ways to bring about his magnificent plan of salvation. One of the most creative is the papacy.

In today's Gospel passage, Jesus explains that the papacy is the indestructible foundation of his Church. To emphasize the point, he gives Simon a new name that symbolizes his ministry as the first pope: "Peter," which is Greek for "rock." This conversation took place just outside the city of Caesarea Philippi.

That glorious city was constructed on the top of a huge hill, one side of which was a towering, bare rock cliff. It gave the city an appearance of invincibility and magnificence. Precisely there, standing near that imposing cliff, Jesus explains that his Church will also be invincible, because it too will be founded on rock, the rock of Peter, Christ's Vicar, the first Pope. It will be indestructible; the "gates of the netherworld" will not prevail against it.

And Jesus' promise has come true. For the last 20 centuries, the papacy has continued intact. Even the secular encyclopaedias can trace an unbroken line of succession from St Peter, the first pope, through Benedict XVI, the 265th.

Although at times there have been corrupt, greedy, and weak men occupying the papal office, and although emperors, kings, and generals have kidnapped, murdered, and exiled numerous popes, no pope in history has spoiled the purity of the Gospel or interrupted the flow of God's grace through the sacraments.

The rock has stood the test of time - not because of the popes' human qualities, but because of the "riches and wisdom and knowledge" of God's divine and truly wonder-full providential care.

Benefits and Bolsterers of Christian Wonder

A healthy sense of wonder and awe in the face of God's natural and supernatural gifts helps us grow in wisdom and peace of mind. It increases peace of mind because it reminds us that God really can guide history towards the eternal happy ending, he has promised - in spite of all the tragedies and sufferings that sin causes along the way. Nothing escapes his providence: "from him and through him and for him are all things," as St Paul wrote.

This attitude of gratitude and wonder also makes us grow in wisdom, because we recognize that there is much more to the human story than appears in the newspapers. As Christians, we have x-ray vision; we know the origin and purpose of all things, because God has told us.

These are the benefits of a healthy sense of Christian wonder, and there are two things we can do to keep it healthy.

First, we can make a point of reading the lives of the saints. The saints and martyrs are Christian all-stars, spiritual gold-medal winners. They show us how to rise to the heights of Christian maturity and remind us of God's wonder-full deeds.

Second, we can make sure that our Sundays are different. Sunday Mass is a primary duty for every Catholic - so much so that to miss it on purpose is a mortal sin - but the Lord's Day shouldn't stop at Mass. We need to create space and time on Sundays to have a fresh encounter with the "riches and wisdom and knowledge of God," whether by family picnics and cookouts, or visits to the sick or poor, or relaxing with our favorite hobbies.

Today, whether our wonder-level is rickety or robust, let's stir it up during the miracle of this Mass, and ask the Lord to keep our Christian hearts healthy. 

Jason Tam

First, I would like to thank Fr. Taam [談雷濤神父] for guiding and encouraging me to write this article. I am a Catholic who has been baptized for 29 years.

Ever since I was a child, I have felt that God loves me very much and has given me a lot of grace. My sixth-grade primary school won the championship of the Hong Kong Children's Drawing Competition. Then, on behalf of Hong Kong, I went to Paris to participate in the World Children's Painting Competition. Fortunately, I won runner-up. When I was in middle school, I studied in a very good Catholic school which enlightened my understanding of Catholicism. When I was in college, I was lucky enough to be admitted to the University of Hong Kong where I met some good Catholic classmates. In this atmosphere and under the inspiration and guidance from the Lord, I decided to participate in a catechumen class to become Catholic.

In the process of catechism, I was very fortunate to find my middle school teacher, Fr. Chan [陳鴻基神父]. Fr. Chan readily agreed to teach me Catholic Catechism. At that time, Father Chen was already the principal of Tang King Po Secondary School in Kowloon, and he was studying for a master's degree. However, he took time out of his busy schedule to teach me one-on-one and baptized me on Easter in 1994. For this reason, I am grateful to Father Chen for enlightening and cultivating my faith!

After graduating from university as a Catholic under God's protection and care, my career and work was smooth sailing, and I was promoted. Soon, I became the youngest director of a large company in Hong Kong!

Just when I was confidently preparing to step to the next peak, I never expected that I would suddenly encounter the biggest setback in my life and experience a challenge that transcended life and death!

It all started in March last year. At that time, Hong Kong was facing a severe blow from the fifth wave of the epidemic. Due to an unusual headache, I had an MRI of my head at Canossa Hospital in Central. After the examination, the doctor found that I had a high-grade brain cancer that was bigger than a billiard ball! This kind of brain cancer is very dangerous, and the survival period of patients is generally only 8-12 months! The doctor said that my condition was very serious. The huge cancer caused severe cerebral edema as well as massive bleeding in my brain. If I did not receive surgical treatment in time, I could have fallen into a coma at any time or even died unexpectedly.

After listening to the doctor, I felt like it was the end of the world. Fortunately, I had my wife and son by my side to support and encourage me.

Before going to the hospital for surgery, I decided to go to St. Margaret's Hall to pray first. However, due to the severity of the epidemic, the church was open. So, I went to pray at the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in front of the church. I prayed sincerely, hoping that the Lord Jesus could support me through this difficult time. When I put my hands on the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and prayed, I suddenly heard a voice saying to me: Don't be afraid, just believe! Hearing this Bible verse, I immediately felt as if I was seeing light in the darkness! At the same time, my body, mind, and spirit were full of strength and confidence, which made me believe that I would be able to overcome this brain cancer!

After praying in the church, I was admitted to St. Teresa's Hospital. At that time, I saw a kind and gentle statue of the Virgin Mary in the hospital lobby. So, I walked up to the statue of the Virgin, held the hands of the statue of the Virgin, and prayed. At that time, a warm current poured into my body from the hands of the Holy Mother as if the Holy Mother was also comforting me!

After feeling the consolation of the Holy Mother, I entered the operating room and underwent a craniotomy and brain surgery that lasted more than five hours. It was a complicated, dangerous operation that crossed the line between life and death. I would also have 20 courses of radiation therapy after the surgery. In this way, I was hospitalized in St. Teresa's Hospital for a total of 40 days and experienced a 40-day journey of God's wonderful salvation journey. So much happened in those forty days that I could write a novel. But to put it simply, I fully felt the grace and love bestowed on me by God and Our Lady!

Under the grace and protection of God, coupled with the care and help of Our Lady, after seven days and seven nights of sincere prayer, a miracle happened. The pathology test report after brain surgery confirmed that my high-grade brain cancer was a benign brain tumor. From a high-grade brain cancer that cannot be treated and meant certain death, it turned into a benign tumor in the end. This is simply a world-class miracle. This is a great gift from God to me. It is God and Our Lady who rescued my life from the valley of death!

After the operation, I had a nearly 20 cm-long wound scar on my head. Despite such a long-wound scar, I have had no pain since the operation, and I don't even need painkillers. A craniotomy is very dangerous. After undergoing brain surgery, most people face many postoperative sequelae, such as long-term coma, general or hemiplegia, incoordination/inflexibility of hands and feet, language, vision, or hearing impairment. However, thanks to God's grace for me, I have not had any postoperative sequelae at all.

And the 20 radiation therapy sessions I received after surgery did not cause any damage to my body either. I want to thank God for His saving graces!

I was able to get out of bed and move freely 24 hours after the operation. 48 hours after surgery, I could have a conference call with the CEO of a large listed company. 72 hours after the operation, I could participate in video conferences with the Singapore and Hong Kong teams of a large investment fund. My clients couldn't believe I had just undergone such a major, life-threatening surgery. Everyone admires me. Even the doctors thought I was so fit, and fast, and my amazingly quick recovery was unbelievable! God's salvation is truly amazing!

All these unbelievable events and miracles are God and Our Lady giving me the grace of salvation. If not for their extensive salvation, I am afraid that I would have been in the valley of death. After experiencing this wonderful journey of salvation led and blessed by God and the Holy Mother, my views and attitudes towards life, especially my faith, have completely changed.

My friends often say that this time I "survived a catastrophe, there will be future blessings!" But I believe that my "surviving a catastrophe" this time is a "blessing from the Lord"!

Indeed, my experience may seem, in one respect, to be a great catastrophe or a misfortune. But it was a "blessing in disguise"! After these 40 days of a wonderful salvation journey, I fully felt the infinite salvation of grace, meticulous care, and unreserved support from God and Our Lady. What a blessing, what a blessing, for me, a very ordinary, ordinary Christian.

In the eyes of outsiders, this time the doctor successfully removed a huge brain tumor in my head. But, this time, it was God who managed to remove a huge "rock ladle" in my head that was too rational, very stubborn, and self-righteous! At the same time, God opened a bigger atrium and a bigger ventricle in my heart, and gave me a stronger heart valve, so that I no longer used "pure reason, pure professional knowledge, and an overly "stubborn and self-righteous" mentality to look at and understand God's will. On the contrary, God now allows me to do God's will with a more open and humble attitude, wholeheartedly, wholeheartedly, and wholeheartedly.

Another important change in my faith was my total trust and reliance on Our Lady. First, before the surgery, I held the hands of the statue of the Virgin and prayed in the hospital. I felt the warmth and comfort of the Virgin in my heart, which made me perform the extremely dangerous craniotomy without fear. After the operation, I prayed to God and recited the Rosary every day. The grace of God and the Holy Mother turned my brain cancer into a benign tumor, and my recovery progressed as fast as possible. At the same time, I did not have any sequelae of surgery and radiotherapy. So, I am very grateful to Our Lady for her infinite love and support during my most difficult time. Because of this encounter, now I have developed a good habit of reciting the Rosary diligently every day so that my body, mind, and spirit can be nourished by Our Lady and the peace she bestows every day.

Moreover, now I am more than happy to share with others the amazing journey of salvation that I have been through, I very much hope that through the sharing of my testimony for the Lord, the believers will increase their faith; at the same time, it will also enable non-religious members to know God's salvation and His gospel.

With the trust and support of Fr. Kim, on May 20th of this year, in the "Meeting in the Rose Garden" prayer music evening at the month of Mary's event in the chapel of Christ the King, for the first time, I used the story of my wonderful journey of salvation as the main theme. Testimonies were shared. There were more than 300 people, including priests, nuns, and brothers and sisters present that night. I felt very honored!

In the future, I am hoping to contribute to the evangelization work of different parishes. I think this is an opportunity, direction, and task that God has given me. Looking forward to the future, I will continue to use the golden verse of "Don't be afraid but believe" (Mark 5:36) as my motto in life, and strive to do a good job in the work God has given me and to be a good Catholic! 

My dear brothers and sisters, the heart of God can be moved because God is a person, not a force. This Christian truth shines through in today's Gospel. Jesus had a particular mission to accomplish during his earthly lifetime.

He was to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies and lay the foundation of the Catholic Church. The parameters of this mission did not include Canaanites (ancestral enemies of the Israelites). And yet, Jesus makes an exception to these parameters after his encounter with the Canaanite woman.

She touched his heart because she had what Christ's heart most yearns for: love, faith, and humility. Her love comes across in her self-forgetfulness. She was so concerned for her daughter that she was even willing to make a humiliating spectacle out of herself, tagging along behind a Jewish rabbi in public, screaming to get his attention.

Her faith comes across in how she addresses Jesus. She calls him "Lord" and "Son of David." This shows that although she was a Canaanite, she knew about the Jewish religion and accepted God's promise to send a Messiah. And when he finally stops to listen to her, she falls on her knees and does him homage; she knows she is in God's presence.

She believed in Jesus, so much so, in fact, that Jesus himself compliments her on her faith! Her humility comes across in the way she makes her request. She didn't come to him burning with anger at God for allowing her innocent daughter to be tormented by demons.

She understood that miracles were undeserved gifts from God, just like existence itself. This humble attitude strengthened her, enabling her to absorb the Lord's initial rejection, and then come right back with another petition.

Love, faith, and humility: these are the ingredients for prayer that move the heart of God - a heart that can be moved, because God is a person, not a force.

St Therese Saves a Sinner

Is our own prayer characterized by that kind of love, faith, and humility? When St Therese of Lisieux was just 14 years old, before she had entered the convent, she and her sisters heard about a notorious criminal, a murderer, who was going to be executed.

His case was all over the newspapers at the time because he had led a lifetime of horrendous crime and was vocally defiant and unrepentant. As his execution date approached, Therese and her sister Celine began to pray insistently for his repentance.

They prayed rosaries and novenas and offered Masses. But up until the last day, he refused to see a priest. They kept praying. And not only did they pray for his repentance, but they boldly asked God to give them some kind of a sign that he had repented.

Finally, the execution day arrived. Even as they marched him out of his prison cell to the guillotine, he declined to speak to the priest. They strapped him to the plank and prepared the blade. Suddenly, with his neck already inside the guillotine, a wild look came into his eyes, and he blurted out, "A cross, a cross!"

The priest reached over and held his crucifix up to the criminal's face. The condemned man kissed the crucifix three times, to the utter shock of the spellbound crowd, and then calmly laid down his head. Therese's prayers had been answered.

Prayers offered with real faith are always answered, and we need to remember that whenever we pray - here at Mass included. God doesn't always answer them as we like, but he hears and responds to all of them with his infinite wisdom and limitless love.

The slightest movement of our hearts towards him inspires leaps and bounds in his heart towards us.

Pleasing Christ and Letting Our Hearts Be Moved

Jesus changed his specific plans because his encounter with the Canaanite woman fit into his overall plan - to overcome the power of the devil and win all hearts back to God. This should give us unbridled confidence as we, like the Canaanite woman, bring our needs to the feet of Christ.

Today he will become truly present under the appearance of bread and wine during this holy Mass. And when I [the priest] elevate the host after the words of consecration, all of us will be here on our knees giving homage to our Lord, just like the Canaanite woman.

When that moment comes, let's open our hearts to Christ, showing him as much love, faith, and humility as we can muster. Perhaps we can do that by praying - at that moment of the Mass - passionately for a loved one who is ill or separated from God, as the Canaanite woman did.

Perhaps our prayer will be more personal - asking God to strengthen us for our own struggles during this coming week. However we do it, let's give Christ the pleasure of knowing that we truly believe in him and trust that he can make the crucial difference in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

And then, when we return to the hustle and bustle of life during the rest of the week, let's make sure that we stay flexible enough to allow the needs of our neighbours to change our personal plans, whenever Christ's overall plan may require it.

Jesus never turns a deaf ear to the cries of our hearts. And so, we should never turn a deaf ear to the often-hidden cries of our neighbours. 

My dear brothers and sisters, at the beginning of today's Gospel, St Matthew tells us that Jesus went up into the hills by himself to pray. He had just finished a very long day teaching the crowds, healing the sick, and performing the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves.

Let imagine, at the beginning of that day he had received the news about John the Baptist's death. At the time, he had wanted to go off alone to reflect, pray, and mourn the loss of that great prophet, who was also Christ's cousin. But the crowds wouldn't let him.

Now we see that although he delayed his time of prayer out of compassion for the crowds, he didn't skip it altogether, even though he must have been exhausted. Now as the sun sets, he climbs up the mountain to pray. And he doesn't appear again until about 3 o'clock in the morning - six hours later. We know from other Gospel passages that Jesus frequently went off alone to pray.

Isn't that kind of strange? Jesus was God, true God from true God, as we profess in the Creed. So why would he have to dedicate large chunks of time to pray? Because he was also true man, the Word made flesh, born of the Virgin Mary.

Jesus had two natures, divine and human. And because he was human, he needed pray. Human nature is not meant to go it alone. As the Catechism tells us, "Man was created to live in communion with God, in whom he finds happiness." And no one can have communion with God without a life of prayer.

Today Jesus is teaching us to keep first things first; if he who is the Son of God needed time alone in prayer, only an arrogant fool would claim not to need some.

Peter's experience during the storm, which we just heard about in today's Gospel passage, is a beautiful parable about the role of prayer in our life.

He and the other Apostles were in the boat, crossing the Sea of Galilee. As the Apostles are crossing the lake, the weather goes bad, it halts their progress. The night progresses, the wind storm gets worse; they just can't seem to make any headway.

The Apostles suddenly see a human figure approaching, walking across the surface of the water, illuminated by the light of the moon reflected by the flitting clouds. They are scared out of their wits - they think it's a ghost.

But Peter takes control of the situation: he asks the mysterious figure to enable him to walk across the violent waves - only Christ could do something like that.

So, Jesus tells him to come, and Peter steps out of the boat; the other Apostles are in shock. But Peter takes one step, then another, and soon he too is walking across the surface of the stormy sea.

At first, he is overjoyed as he looks into the smiling face of his Lord and walks towards him. But then he feels the strong wind; he hears it howling; and the waves around him seem to get bigger.

They seem to threaten him, and he takes his eyes off Christ to look at them. And as soon as he does that - he starts to sink.

Prayer is keeping the eyes of our heart focused on Christ, so that his grace can bring us safely through life's storms. As long as our prayer life is strong, waves of temptation, discouragement, and sin can surge and billow all around us, but Christ will keep us safe.

Most of us don't live in monasteries, so what can we do to make sure our prayer life keeps growing, to make sure that we pray better at age 40 or 50 than we did at age 10?

Jesus himself has given us a secret weapon for growth in prayer: the Eucharist. Prayer is spending time with God, speaking to him about what matters to us and what matters to him. And the Eucharist is the real presence of Christ, body, blood, soul, and divinity.

In the hustle and bustle of our busy, twenty-first century lives, we need a time and place where we can be sure to find Christ, 24/7 - something that's objective, not dependent on our moods or feelings.

That's the Eucharist: the rock-solid foundation for a healthy life of prayer. When we receive Holy Communion, when we gaze upon the Host at Mass, when we come and kneel before the Tabernacle containing the Sacred species, or when we pray in adoration before the Eucharist solemnly exposed, we are doing what Peter did as he stepped out of that fishing boat: fixing our gaze on Christ the Lord, cultivating our personal relationship with him - praying to the one whose love and grace gives meaning, direction, and strength to our lives.

This miracle of Jesus walking on the water takes place right after the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. The two miracles have to do with bread and with Christ's body - just like the Eucharist.

Today, as Christ recommits himself to us in this Mass, let's recommit ourselves to a healthy life of prayer. Let's promise him that we will never let a day go by without coming to visit him, to speak with him heart-to-heart in the Eucharist, even if only for a minute, so that he can keep deepening our soul's communion with God, in whom alone we will find happiness. 

On November 01, 1950, Pope Pius XII issued the Apostolic Constitution "Munificentisimus Deus" which officially declared the dogma of the Assumption of Mary: "We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by God that the Immaculate Mother of God, Mary ever Virgin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven."

In using the phrase, "when the course of her earthly life was finished", the dogma leaves open the question of whether or not the Blessed Virgin died before her assumption. Many Catholics over the centuries believed she did not die, but just fell asleep. That is why they use the term "Dormition of the Theotokos". Still many others believe she died but was miraculously resurrected before being taken up to heaven. Both views may be considered valid and legitimate, but whether Mary had a physical death has not been dogmatically defined.

Death, in the strict sense as a consequence of punishment of sin, cannot be applied to the Blessed Mother. Being the Immaculate Conception, she is free from any stain of sin, original and personal. However, since her body is also of mortal nature, and in conformity with her Jesus, her Son, it is also subject to the general law of death. Pope St. John Paul II said that since she was united with her Son in His suffering on the cross, the logical conclusion is that she also followed Him through her own death as well, "so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son."

God, however, cannot allow her body to undergo corruption. The first reason is because she is free from all sins. And so her body is not subject to the consequences of sin, which includes physical death and corruption. The second reason is, her body is absolutely holy and perfectly pure, having been prepared by God from all eternity to bear and nurse the Divine Redeemer. God cannot allow such a perfect and most holy body, the "New Ark of the Covenant" that carried His Eternal Son, to suffer corruption.

Hence, her body, whole and intact, is taken up into heaven together with her soul. That is why, there is not a single a relic that is said to be of Mary's actual body. The dogma of the Assumption of Mary, together with that of the Immaculate Conception, naturally and logically arises from her role as Theotokos, the Mother of God.

We may ask: what does the Assumption of the Blessed Mother mean for us? The Preface of today's Mass answers this question: "Today the Virgin Mother is taken up into heaven to be the beginning and the pattern of the Church, and a sign of hope and comfort for your people on their pilgrim way."

Mary is the beginning of the Church, for from her came forth the Savior of mankind, Jesus her Son. And being the first and most perfect disciple of Jesus, she is also the pattern of the Church. As her children, we are expected to model ourselves after the example of her holiness and complete obedience to the will of God.

Secondly, she is the 'sign of hope and comfort' for all of us on our pilgrim way to our heavenly home. Mary's Assumption should be seen, not as abandonment, but an assurance of her unceasing motherly care for all of her children. Being now with God in heaven, she has complete powers to come to our assistance at all times. As Pope Benedict XVI said: "precisely because Mary is with God and in God, she is very close to each one of us. While she lived on this earth she could only be close to a few people. Being in God, who is actually 'within' all of us, Mary shares in this closeness of God." The Catechism confirms this: "In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death."

Finally, the Assumption of Mary is a preview of our future glory. The Catechism states: "The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians." Mary has shown us that heaven is our final destination. In God's time, we will all share in the glory and victory of God's children in heaven.

Let us, therefore, strive to be close to Mary while we are still in this world. Pope St. John Paul II assures us: Our Lady "knows our hearts, can hear our prayers, can help us with her motherly kindness. She always listens to us and, being Mother of the Son, participates in the power of the Son and in His goodness. We can always entrust the whole of our lives to this Mother." 

So what does St. Francis Xavier have in common with St. Dominic?

As we saw in the video from Fr. Isaiah, at the heart of each of these great saints was a true missionary spirit, such a love for God and His people that both desired to give themselves entirely to God and leave everything behind to follow Christ into foreign lands for the salvation of souls. And while St. Dominic didn't quite get the mileage in as St. Francis Xavier did, St. Dominic's missionary zeal was such an inspiration to St. Francis Xavier, a zeal that hearkens back to the sending out of the 72 by Christ Himself, that St. Francis Xavier chose to honor the founder of the Order of Preachers by offering his first Mass of Thanksgiving as a priest at the tomb of St. Dominic in Bologna.

As our mission grows, we are exceedingly grateful for the incredible spiritual support and ministerial collaboration of the friars, sisters, and nuns of the Order of Preachers as we labor together for the salvation of souls. Thank you and God bless you on this special feast day!

…Did you know??

A number of Dominican friars not only provide spiritual support to our mission, but they believe so strongly in it, they financially give from their poverty as well. They are among a number of priests, sisters, and other religious — Dominicans, Jesuits, Franciscans, Missionaries of Charity, and more who have taken a vow of poverty and yet still give what they can to help financially support our mission to evangelize the Gospel in Asia and beyond.

If you would like to honor their commitment and offer your own generous gift to support proclaiming Jesus Christ to the nations, we ask you to first pray, then click the button below. Thank you for doing your part to share the beautiful gift of our Christian faith with others!

Do you want to know more? If you want to support their mission, please contact Fr. Isaiah at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or contact Sally at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. St. Francis Xavier Lay Missionary Society at P.O. Box 20211 Stanford, CA 94309-0211 USA 

A Glimpse of Glory

My dear brothers and sisters, today we celebrate Our Lord's transfiguration, the moment where he gave his closest disciples a glimpse of his divinity and glory to help them for the ordeals of his Passion that were about to come.

Today's First Reading recalls the prophet Daniel's vision of one "like a Son of man" receiving a lasting dominion and glory from the "Ancient One," long before the Incarnation. This prophecy concerned the Messiah appearing before God the Father in glory.

Note the nuances of the language. He is "like" a Son of man. In prophetic language "Son of man" refers to human beings, yet this Messiah is "like" a human being. Christ is truly God and truly man: he is "like a Son of man."

The night his Passion begins, standing before the Sanhedrin, he quotes the passage of Scripture to identify himself as the Messiah, and the Sanhedrin condemns him for blasphemy, even though he has spoken the truth: "the high priest said to him, 'I order you to tell us under oath before the living God whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God.' Jesus said to him in reply, 'You have said so. But I tell you: From now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.' Then the high priest tore his robes and said, 'He has blasphemed! What further need have we of witnesses? You have now heard the blasphemy; what is your opinion?' They said in reply, 'He deserves to die!'" (Matthew 26:63–66)."

In today's Second Reading Peter recalls the experience he had on the mountaintop to remind the believers that the wonders of the Lord's earthly life we not just myths, but events.

The first listeners of Peter were familiar with the pagan gods that surrounded them and the myths that tried to fuel their existence in the minds of the pagan believers. Our Lord was not a myth: he was born in Bethlehem, lived in Galilee, preached the Kingdom through Palestine, and died on Calvary.

He was also Transfigured on a mountaintop and raised from the dead. There were eyewitnesses to both the Lord Transfigured and the Lord Risen. All believers are not just repeating myths, but handing on testimony, as the Apostles did.

In today's Gospel, the Lord reveals his divinity and glory to his closest disciples: Peter, James, and John. It's an event recalled in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In Matthew's account, the Lord's clothing becomes as white as light. John in the prologue to his Gospel described the Lord as the true light that enlightens every man. Christ is not only illuminated but illuminating.

The Lord is flanked by Moses and by Elijah to show that he is the culmination of the Law (represented by Moses) and the prophets (represented by Elijah). They converse with Jesus and show their deference to him. It's interesting that Peter says something to Jesus in "reply": Jesus doesn't seem to have said anything, but the scene speaks to Peter, and he struggles to formulate an adequate response in the face of so much glory. Maybe a shrine?

This gradually paints the portrait that Our Lord is not only worthy of glory but divine. He clothes don't just radiate light, but his face as well. The Messiah is not just an incredible man; he is God. If there was not already enough evidence of his divinity the voice of the Father booms from Heaven and declares Jesus to be his beloved and pleasing Son, worthy of their attention.

That's too much for the apostles, who fall prostrate in fear. Almost as soon as it happens it is over: Jesus gets them up, tells them not to be afraid, but also makes sure they will recount the vision to the others after he is risen from the dead. Even the Transfiguration is an event meant for everyone, not just a trusted few.

If the Transfiguration really happened, and it did, that may call for a Transfiguration of Our Lord in your own life. Is Our Lord just an amazing historical figure in your life, or is he God the Son, the Lord of life and history?

The human side of Jesus is perfect but insufficient. He gave us a sneak preview of his divinity and glory for a reason. Explore that reason this week and embrace him not only as a historical figure, but as a wise teacher, good friend, and Lord. 

All of us have special places in our life. Special places are memorable. But, what makes a place more than that? What makes a place sacred and holy? That is to say, what makes it set apart? What makes it somehow blessed? The sacred place is where we meet something beyond ourselves.

A church is holy because it is first of all dedicated to God. It becomes a place of meeting with God. In the church, holy things happen there. In the church, prayers have been offered. Weddings and meals have been offered. Even bitterness and anger have been offered. All those offerings make the actual, physical place holy. The actual physical place has provided the space for our human struggle to meet divine grace.

The first Christians did not build churches because for about the first three hundred years of Christianity Christians faced on and off persecutions. The Catechism says, "When the exercise of religious liberty is not thwarted, Christians construct buildings for divine worship" (CCC 1180). Building an identifiable building dedicated to the worship of the Christian God would have marked the places where they could be found to be arrested, tortured, and killed. Once Christianity was accepted and legalized in the Roman Empire, the construction of church buildings and the "conversion" of Roman civil basilicas into Christian places of worship followed shortly thereafter.

What exactly is a church building? The church building is more than just the place where Christians gather. The Catechism explains, "Visible churches are not simply gathering places but signify and make visible the Church living in this place, the dwelling of God with men reconciled and united in Christ" (CCC 1180). The word "church" is used to describe both the Mystical Body of Christ and the building in which Christians worship and pray because a church is meant to be an icon, image, and representation of the Church and of all that the Church is called to be.

So what is a church? Canon law defines a church simply as "a sacred building designated for divine worship" (CIC 1214). The Catechism expands on this describing a church as "a house of prayer in which the Eucharist is celebrated and reserved, where the faithful assemble, and where is worshipped the presence of the Son of God our Savior, offered for us on the sacrificial altar for the help and consolation of the faithful" (CCC 1181). It also instructs that "this house ought to be in good taste and a worthy place of prayer and sacred ceremonial" (1181), and that a church "must also be a space that invites us to the recollection and silent prayer that extend and internalize the great prayer of the Eucharist" (1185).

A church building is not a multi-purpose space or another busy and noisy place among many. It is a building that has been built and set apart expressly for sacred things: for the celebration of the sacred mysteries, for the offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Sacred Liturgy, for the worship and adoration of the Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and quiet prayer in His Presence. In the busyness and craziness of our lives what a gift it is to have such a place. 

Food for the Homeless

We will do charity work by serving food for the homeless on Saturday August 12. There are many ways you can take part: 

First, you can make a donation, in the form of either money or the ingredients themselves. 

Second, you can come to the Church on that day to prepare food, and 

Third, you can distribute the food to the homeless. 

For more information, please see the poster on the news board.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus continues to teach us a lesson about the Kingdom of Heaven. Today Jesus gives us three stories. One of the stories was about a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. This story teaches us a crucial lesson about the Church: It is made up of both good fish and bad fish.

The net symbolizes the Church, and the fish are the members of the Church - you and me. The water symbolizes the world of human history, in which the Church exists and with which the Church interacts. And at the end of history, there will be a judgment. Jesus will "come again to judge the living and the dead," as we pray every week in the Creed. At this judgment, some of the fish in the net will be saved, but others will be thrown back, "into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."

Both kinds of fish, the "righteous and the wicked," were inside the net, inside the Church. In other words, it's not enough just to be an official member of the Church, just to say we're Catholic, just to go through the motions of being Catholic on the outside.

We need to do that so that we find ourselves inside the net. But we also need to let God's grace penetrates our minds and change our lives, so that we follow in Christ's footsteps all week long, not just on Sunday morning.

Like the farmer and the merchant in the other stories, we have to sell everything to take full possession of the treasure and the pearl. We have to actively fight against our selfish, sinful habits to enter fully into friendship with Jesus Christ, the only treasure that will fill us with everlasting joy. It is possible to work in the field without possessing the treasure, and that's exactly what Christ wants us to avoid.

I rejoice exceedingly in all my tribulations.

From a homily on the 2nd letter to the Corinthians by Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop

Again, Paul turns to speak of love, softening the harshness of his rebuke. For after convicting and reproaching them for not loving him as he had loved them, breaking away from his love and attaching themselves to troublemakers, he again takes the edge off the reproach by saying: Open your hearts to us, that is, love us. He asks for a favour which will be no burden to them but will be more profitable to the giver than to the receiver. And he did not use the word "love" but said, more appealingly: Open your hearts to us.

Who, he said, has cast us out of your minds, thrust us from your hearts? How is it that you feel constraint with us? For, since he has said earlier: You are restricted in your own affection, he now declares himself more openly and says: Open your heart to us, thus once more drawing them to him. For nothing so much win's love as the knowledge that one's lover desires most of all to be himself loved.

For I said before, he tells them, that you are in our hearts to die together or live together. This is love at its height, that even though in disfavour, he wishes both to die and to live with them. For you are in our hearts, not just somehow or other, but in the way I have said. It is possible to love and yet to draw back when danger threatens; but my love is not like that.

I am filled with consolation. What consolation? That which comes from you because you, being changed for the better, have consoled me by what you have done. It is natural for a lover both to complain that he is not loved in return and to fear that he may cause distress by complaining too much. Therefore, he says: I am filled with consolation, I rejoice exceedingly.

It is as if he said, I was much grieved on your account, but you have made it up for me in full measure and given me comfort; for you have not only removed the cause for any grief but filled me with a richer joy. Then he shows the greatness of that joy by saying not only I rejoice exceedingly but also the words which follow in all my tribulations. So great, he says, was the delight that you gave me that it was not even dimmed by so much tribulation but overcame by its strength and keenness all those sorrows which had invaded my heart and took away from me all awareness of them. 

My dear brothers and sisters, in the Gospel of the 15th Sunday Ordinary Time, Our Lord teaches us that evil will be present in the world until the last days of Judgement when the fruits of all are measured. Evil festers in hearts; it is not always seen on the surface.

Holiness is characterized by meekness and humility, so it is not always seen on the surface either. Like wheat, holiness is in the world trying to grow into something good. Like weeds, evil is at work doing the opposite, preying on the good in parasitic way to serve nothing other than itself. It can be hard to tell the difference and, therefore, we need to be on guard against a holiness that is only skin deep.

Today's First Reading reminds us that we can try to be masters of moral disguise, but the Lord sees beyond the surface and measures us by our deeds, not just appearances. The Lord never misjudges anyone, yet people still try to deceive him, if they believe in him at all.

The Lord gives the unjust time to change their ways, to seek his forgiveness, usually for far longer than we would, because he truly cares about them. The Lord is willing to put up with a lot of things, but in justice, he cannot ignore insincerity.

When we sincerely try to do good and to be good, even with moments of weakness, he forgives and helps us, and that gives us cause for hope. If we're insincere, we don't trust him, and all that's left is justice. The Lord shows us justice is necessary, but that doesn't put kindness on hold.

In today's Second Reading Paul reminds us that holiness is something that comes from the depths of our soul because it consists of making the Spirit of God our spirit. The special ingredient in a Christian life is that even when we're weak, the Holy Spirit helps us to be holy.

The Spirit is the protagonist in our sanctification, from the sacraments we receive to the prayers we say. If the "one who searches hearts" finds the Holy Spirit there, he knows he has found one of the "holy ones." The three parables in today's Gospel teach us that holiness is often hidden, even small in the eyes of the world, but makes good things spread and grow, unlike parasitical weeds.

The moment of harvest is a moment of reaping fruits. Our Lord's listeners in Matthew's Gospel have just heard the parable of the sower (see the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle, A), and now they hear their lives compared to wheat, leaven, and a tiny mustard seed.

Wheat is not very glamourous, but if we want bread, a symbol of life, it is essential. When we eat a sandwich, we don't think much of the wheat that went into it, but we certainly enjoy the sandwich. Leaven is useful not only for baking bread but for baking delicious bread. When we receive the Eucharist, made from unleavened bread due to Passover traditions, we note the difference from the bread we eat every day.

Leaven does its job by quietly being sifted throughout the flour used to make the bread, but it makes a big impact on the recipe. Mustard seeds average between 1-2 millimetres in size and may seem small and inconsequential, but on a hot day, the shade and shelter of a tree that grows up to twenty feet tall and wide is not to be ignored. The mustard seed in today's parable also shows that the Church may start small and seemingly insignificant but is meant to spread far and wide. 

From a sermon by Saint John Damascene, bishop

By Their Fruits You Will Know Them

Anne was to be the mother of the Virgin Mother of God, and hence nature did not dare to anticipate the flowering of grace. Thus, nature remained sterile, until grace produced its fruit. For she who was to be born had to be a first-born daughter, since she would be the mother of the first-born of all creation, in whom all things are held together.

Joachim and Anne how blessed a couple! All creation is indebted to you. For at your hands the Creator was offered a gift excelling all other gifts: a chaste mother, who alone was worthy of him.

And so, rejoice, Anne, that you were sterile and have not borne children; break forth into shouts, you who have not given birth. Rejoice, Joachim, because from your daughter a child is born for us, a son is given us, whose name is Messenger of great counsel and universal salvation, mighty God. For this child is God.

Joachim and Anne, how blessed and spotless a couple! You will be known by the fruit you have borne, as the Lord says: By their fruits you will know them. The conduct of your life pleased God and was worthy of your daughter. For by the chaste and holy life you led together, you have fashioned a jewel of virginity: she who remained a virgin before, during and after giving birth. She alone for all time would maintain her virginity in mind and soul as well as in body.

Joachim and Anne, how chaste a couple! While safeguarding the chastity prescribed by the law of nature, you achieved with God's help something which transcends nature in giving the world the Virgin Mother of God as your daughter. While leading a devout and holy life in your human nature, you gave birth to a daughter nobler than the angels, whose queen she now is.

Girl of utter beauty and delight, daughter of Adam and mother of God, blessed the loins and blessed the womb from which you come! Blessed the arms that carried you, and blessed your parents' lips, which you were allowed to cover with chaste kisses, ever maintaining your virginity. Rejoice in God, all the earth. Sing, exult and sing hymns. Raise your voice, raise it and do not be afraid.