Recent weeks and months have been a time of unprecedented turmoil and unrest. Protests on our city streets for justice and equality have been relentless. Sometimes peaceful protests have been taken over by trouble-makers who have resorted to violence and looting. Opposing groups have decided not only to stare down but also combat each other and, as a result, they force our police to enter the fray. All this has led to more violence and mayhem. If there is one thing we are longing for, it is peace. We wish that peace and serenity would return to our country and to our streets.
We meet some interesting characters in the gospels. In addition to the usual suspects such as the apostles and the disciples, every now and then we encounter someone who makes an impression on us. In last Sunday’s readings, we met a Canaanite woman whom the Gospel of Matthew does not name. Even though we know hardly anything about her identity, her meeting with Jesus teaches us certain lessons that we cannot ignore. We have to keep in mind that she was a Canaanite, and the Canaanites were the ancestral enemies of the Jews.
The Covid-19 virus has disrupted our lives and devastated our economy. Many of us keep wondering when we will be able to return to our “normal life” whatever it may look like. It also has affected deeply the practice of our Faith. In more than 38 years as a priest, I never imagined that we will shut down our churches and that people will not be able to receive the Eucharist. Things we have always taken for granted have become rarities. Even as I look forward to the day when we can have all our parishioners in church for Sunday Masses, I have a serious concern.
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Born in India to deeply-committed Catholic parents, Fr Britto is one of seven children. He joined the Salesians of Don Bosco as a young man and was ordained a priest in 1981.
After he completed his priestly formation and his early education in India, he came to the US for his graduate degree in Journalism at...Read more...
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8:30 am - Upper Church
4:30 pm vigil - Upper Church
7:30 am - Upper Church
9:00 am - Holy Family Chapel
10:30 am - Upper Church
