As I write this message, I am literally en route to Portugal to join the pilgrims attending World Youth Day in Lisbon. I bring with me your intentions, and I cannot wait to offer them at the churches we will be visiting, and at the Masses we will be celebrating with Pope Francis.
This Sunday in the parish, particularly at the 12:30PM Spanish Mass, Father Carl Arcosa (in his capacity as the Vocations Director of the Diocese) will have a Parish Mission intended to promote vocations amongst our young people. Over the last 5 years, our parish community had been a home to seminarians – three of them are now priests (Father Huong, Father Ramon and just recently, Father Binh) – and I believe that from our parish community, too, local vocations can emerge because our our collective support and fervent prayers.
This weekend’s celebration of the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord is an invitation for all of us to to become faithful witnesses to this gift of vocation we all received at baptism – to be evangelizers! It is important for us to ask: “how we give testimony to Christ’s teachings and salvation?” We can proclaim the Gospel, and we should, but do we offer our lives for Christ as testimony? When we identify as Christians in the public square, do our lives speak to our faith?
When we have transfigured ourselves in the model of Christ and live out the Gospel message of caritas to all, then we will give true testimony to Jesus; and THT testimony can change the world, just as it did two thousand years ago.
At your service,
Father Erick
(For the Feast of the Transfiguration, 2023)