Dear Friends in Christ,

Science tells us that we can survive for about three weeks without food.  But can we really survive even for just a second without our true food, the living bread from heaven? I would say NO.  And Christ Himself would attest that indeed, we do need Him, we need His love, we need His forgiveness.  Without His mercies and healing graces, there would be no life in us, our lives will never find true satisfaction, meaning and purpose.

God longs to draw us to Jesus, who alone can give meaning to our lives, to all that we do, and to all our sufferings and hardships.  His sacrificial love on the Cross gives meaning to all the trials we endure for His sake.   In my current ordeal of bearing the pain of my gout and the pain of knowing that my sisters from my native island and their household are suffering from covid-19, I find strength trusting that Christ is shouldering this cross for me and my loved ones.

All of us have our own cross stories.  The cross you are carrying now with the Lord will draw you deeper to His Heart, will move you closer to Christ, the true living Bread we receive in the Eucharist, the Bread of eternal life whose forgiveness we receive in Reconciliation, whose love ignites us to respond in mutual love and service in our families and communities.

So let us in thanksgiving allow ourselves to be sealed by the Spirit of God's love, until Christ raises all of us on the last day, that day of redemption when we will all be gathered together in God's eternal banquet, where we shall taste and see the goodness of the Lord for all eternity.

God is love,

Fr. Al

Administrator