Easter! He is Risen! Alleluia! It’s time to focus on the full meaning of the Life, Truth, Passion, Death, Resurrection and Gift of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ. The terrible tragedy of the persecution, arrest, horrible torture and crucifixion of a seemingly good but deluded messiah figure from the obscure village of Nazareth has become the Gospel – the Good News. He’s alive! He is with us! I’m forgiven! Heaven’s gates are open wide! Jesus is Divine Merciful Love Made flesh! In Him there is a marriage between Divinity and humanity; By his resurrection and Self-Gift of the Holy Spirit He has conquered death, sin and the devil! The time has come for me to repent, to believe the Good News, and to allow God to establish his Kingdom in my heart, so that I can freely, totally, faithfully and fruitfully live as part of God’s New Creation. I must get in touch with reality. Apart from Jesus, I can do nothing! (John 15:5). Apart from Jesus, I am a human creature with all kinds of limitations, living in a world that has been alienated from God by sin; in a body doomed to death; I am fearful, insecure and prone to selfish-self-reliance, with its manifestations of pride, misdirected-anger, lust, envy, self-indulgence, greed and laziness; I am a miserable slave of the devil in desperate need of salvation and I cannot save myself. Each of us needs to use the present moment to follow the trajectory of conversion followed by Saul of Tarsus who became Saint Paul. Salvation is a Gift! Everything is a Grace! God is Love! Through Jesus I have irrefutable evidence that I am infinitely loved, along with all my fellow human beings and poor sinners. Now is the acceptable time for my response of gratitude, devotion and obedience to the God who loves me first and always. “Now is the Day of salvation!”  ALLELUIA!!!
 
Passion Sunday Blessings, Fr. John 

​¡Pascua! ¡Ha Resucitado! ¡Aleluya! Es hora de enfocarnos en el significado completo de La Vida, La Verdad, La Pasión, La Muerte, La Resurrección y El Don del Espíritu Santo de Jesucristo. La terrible tragedia de la persecución, el arresto, la tortura horrible y la crucifixión de una figura del Mesías aparentemente buena pero engañada de la oscura aldea de Nazaret se ha convertido en el Evangelio: la Buena Nueva. ¡Está vivo! ¡Está con nosotros! ¡Estoy perdonado! ¡Las puertas del Cielo están abiertas! Jesús es Divino Amor Misericordioso Hecho Carne! En él hay un Matrimonio entre la Divinidad y la humanidad; ¡Por su resurrección y Auto Don del Espíritu Santo ha conquistado la muerte, el pecado y el diablo! Ha llegado el momento de arrepentirme, de creer en la buena nueva y de permitir que Dios establezca su Reino en mi corazón, para que pueda vivir libre, total, fiel y fructí-mente como parte de la nueva Creación de Dios. Debo ponerme en contacto con la realidad. ¡Aparte de Jesús, no puedo hacer nada! (Juan 15:5). Aparte de Jesús, soy una criatura humana con todo tipo de limitaciones, viviendo en un mundo que ha sido alienado de Dios por el pecado; en un cuerpo condenado a muerte; Soy temeroso, inseguro y propenso a la autosuficiencia egoísta, con sus manifestaciones de orgullo, mal dirigido-ira, lujuria, envidia, autoindulgencia, codicia y pereza; Soy un miserable esclavo del diablo en necesidad desesperada de salvación y no puedo salvarme a mí mismo. Cada uno de nosotros necesita utilizar el momento presente para seguir la trayectoria de la conversión seguida por Saulo de Tarso que se convirtió en San Pablo. ¡La salvación es un don! ¡Todo es una gracia! ¡Dios es amor! Por medio de Jesús tengo evidencia irrefutable de que soy infinitamente amado, junto con todos mis semejantes seres humanos y pobres pecadores. Ahora es el momento aceptable para mi respuesta de gratitud, devoción y obediencia al Dios que me ama primero y siempre. "¡Ahora es el día de la salvación!"  ¡¡¡Aleluya!!!
 
Bendiciones, Fr. John 
 

Does God suffer? On Passion Sunday and on Good Friday the whole Church contemplates in a solemn way the suffering of God. Jesus is true God and true man. He willingly entered into his Passion for our sake, from sweating blood in the Garden; to being beaten, spat upon mocked and insulted in his arrest and trial; to being cruelly scourged leaving three hundred open wounds; to having a clump of long thorns crushed into his scalp; to having his arms tied to a heavy cross-beam crushing down and wounding his shoulders; to falling multiple times on the steep cobblestone way of the cross with nothing to break his falls; to being stripped and nailed to a cross with spikes through his wrists and his feet; to agonizing nearly six hours from 9 am to 3 pm. At this point the devil thought he had won, thinking, “God may be merciful, but He could never forgive this. He will have to destroy them now.” Then Jesus cried out, “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.” On the third day he rose from the dead and returned to the world that crucified him with the words, “Shalom. Peace be with you. Receive the Holy Spirit. Your sins are forgiven. Now be ambassadors of my mercy to the whole world.” (John 20:22; 2Cor.5:20). Let us understand the logic of Divine Merciful Love that is being revealed here through Jesus’ Passion, Death, Resurrection and Gift of the Spirit. Jesus willingly went through the worst imaginable suffering to save us from sin and death; to crush the head of “the father of lies” and break his power over us. Jesus offers us His Self-Gift to bring about our reconciliation with God and with one another. Poor sinners, created in the image and likeness of Love, cannot be saved with a magic wand or with brute force. God the Father has chosen to save us through the Passion, Death, Resurrection and Gift of the Spirit of Jesus, the Son. There was no greater suffering. There is no greater love - the love of total self-sacrifice and self-gift! Divine Mercy, Reconciliation and intimate Communion with the Trinity is being offered to me. How will I respond? The ball is in my court.
 
Passion Sunday Blessings, Fr. John 

¿Sufre Dios? El domingo de la Pasión y el Viernes Santo toda la iglesia contempla de manera solemne el sufrimiento de Dios. Jesús es verdadero Dios y verdadero hombre. Él voluntariamente entró en su Pasión por nuestro bien, de sudar sangre en el jardín; a ser golpeado, de ser escupido, burlado e insultado en su arresto y juicio; a ser cruelmente azotado dejando 300 heridas abiertas; de tener un cúter de espinas largas aplastadas en su cuero cabelludo; de tener sus brazos atados a una pesada viga cruzada aplastando e hiriendo sus hombros; de caer varias veces en el empinado y adoquinado camino a la Cruz sin nada para amortiguar sus caídas; a desnudarse y ser clavado a una cruz con clavos atravesando sus muñecas y sus pies; a agonizar casi seis horas de 9 am a 3 pm. En este punto, el diablo pensó que había ganado, pensando: "Dios puede ser misericordioso, pero nunca podría perdonar esto. Tendrá que destruirlos ahora." Entonces Jesús clamó: "Padre, perdónalos; no saben lo que hacen. " Al tercer día se levantó de entre los muertos y regresó al mundo que lo crucificó con las palabras "Shalom. Que la paz esté contigo. Recibe el Espíritu Santo. Tus pecados son perdonados. Ahora sean embajadores de mi misericordia para el mundo entero." (Juan 20:22; 2Cor. 5:20). Entendamos la lógica del Amor Misericordioso Divino que se está revelando aquí a través de la Pasión, la Muerte, la Resurrección y el Don del Espíritu de Jesús. Jesús voluntariamente pasó por el peor sufrimiento imaginable para salvarnos del pecado y de la muerte; aplastar la cabeza del "padre de las mentiras" y romper su poder sobre nosotros. Jesús se nos ofrece Asi Mismo para traer consigo  la reconciliación con Dios y con los demás. Los pobres pecadores, creados a imagen y semejanza del amor, no pueden salvarse con una varita mágica o con fuerza bruta. Dios Padre nos ha escogido para salvarnos a través de la Pasión, la Muerte, la Resurrección y el Don del Espíritu de Jesús, el Hijo. No hubo mayor sufrimiento. No hay amor más grande-el amor total de auto-sacrificio y auto-regalo! La Divina Misericordia, la Reconciliación y la íntima Comunión con la Trinidad me son ofrecidas. ¿Cómo voy a responder? La decisión es mía.
 
Bendiciones del Domingo de la Pasión de Cristo, Fr. John 

GO SEE UNPLANNED! It’s never been more important to pray and work for the end of abortion in America and throughout the world. If you need motivation, go see the true-story movie, UNPLANNED. It is being called “A Cultural Pivot.” It is a movie that dispels all the euphemisms about “women’s rights” and “re-productive healthcare.” It shows abortion for what it actually is. Part of what you see will be gut-wrenching. The movie also shows the Gospel of Jesus Christ being lived. It shows Christians who hate the sin but still love their fellow sinner in a non-judgmental way; who hate the evil of abortion, but still love the abortionists and those who work in the abortion industry. It shows the beauty of the God-given meaning of human life, human sexuality, human marriage and family. It shows the triumph of God’s merciful-healing love in the lives of those most hurt by the grievous evil of abortion.
For even more motivation, to pray and work for the end of abortion and all its related evils, ponder these truths spoken by Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta: “Abortion is the greatest destroyer of peace today. Abortion…is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even His life to love us. So, the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love, that is to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts. …Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.” (February 3, 1994 – St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.) Pray for, and participate in, the Heart of California Walk For Life on May 11th here in Madera, sponsored by our own Catholic Daughters of America. More information in the bulletin.
 
Blessings, Fr. John

​¡Vaya a Ver la Película Inesperado! Nunca ha sido tan importante orar y trabajar para terminar con el aborto en Estados Unidos y en todo el mundo. Si necesitas motivación, ve a ver la película de la historia real, Inesperado. Se le llama "Un Pívot Cultural". Es una película que disipa todos los eufemismos sobre los "derechos de las mujeres" y la "salud reproductiva". Muestra el aborto por lo que realmente es. Parte de lo que ves será desgarrador. La película también muestra la vivencia del evangelio de Jesucristo. Muestra a los cristianos que odian el pecado, pero aún aman a sus compañeros pecadores sin juzgarlos; quienes odian el mal del aborto, pero aún aman a los abortistas y a aquellos que trabajan en la industria del aborto. Muestra la belleza del significado dado por Dios a la vida humana, la sexualidad humana, el matrimonio humano y la familia. Muestra el triunfo del amor misericordioso de Dios en las vidas de los más heridos por el grave mal del aborto.
Para aún más motivación, para orar y trabajar por el termino del aborto y todos sus males relacionados, reflexione sobre estas verdades dichas por la Santa Madre Teresa de Calcuta: “El aborto es el mayor destructor de la paz en la actualidad. El aborto ... es una guerra contra el niño, un asesinato directo del niño inocente, asesinato por la propia madre. Y si aceptamos que una madre puede matar a su propio hijo, ¿cómo podemos decirles a otras personas que no se maten entre sí? ¿Cómo persuadimos a una mujer para que no aborte? Como siempre, debemos persuadirla con amor y nos recordamos que el amor significa estar dispuesto a dar hasta que duela. Jesús dio incluso su vida para amarnos. Entonces, a la madre que está pensando en abortar, se le debe ayudar a amar, es decir, hasta que le duela sus planes, o su tiempo libre, de respetar la vida de su hijo. El padre de ese niño, quien quiera que sea, también debe dar hasta que le duela. ... Cualquier país que acepte el aborto no está enseñando a su gente a amar, sino a usar la violencia para obtener lo que quiere. Esta es la razón por la cual el mayor destructor del amor y la paz es el aborto ". (3 de febrero de 1994 - La Santa Madre Teresa de Calcuta habla en el Desayuno Nacional de Oración en Washington, DC) Ore y participe en el Corazón de California Caminata Por La Vida el 11 de mayo aquí en Madera, patrocinado por nuestras Catholic Daughters of America, para más información en el boletín.
Bendiciones, Fr. John 

“When’s the last time you went to confession?” … I began to think about it. I couldn’t remember. At least I wasn’t sure. “I think it was on the last youth group retreat.” Talk about resistance. If there is one battle that resistance has dominated in the hearts and minds of Catholics for the past fifty years, it surrounds confession. We just stopped going. On one level it makes complete sense. … Mediocrity seeks comfort and going to confession isn’t comfortable. It’s uncomfortable to look at ourselves, assess our selfishness and sinfulness, and tell another human being about it. But wow, is it good for us. We all have a great need for healing. We all need to be liberated from our self-centeredness. We need to grow in awareness of how what we do and say affects the people around us and people on the other side of the world. But we resist it. We resist God. We resist his forgiveness. We resist happiness.  … For more than twenty years I have been going to confession regularly. There is always a temptation to put it off.  Resistance puts a barrier between me and going to confession, and as always, I have to break through that barrier, slay resistance, and go. The interesting thing is, whenever I go, I am always glad I went.” (Taken from the book, Resisting Happiness, pp. 138-139, by Matthew Kelly)
On the first Sunday of Lent, St. Joachim Parish finished giving out 1,500 copies of Resisting Happiness for the purpose of promoting a fruitful Lenten journey for at least that many individuals and families in our parish. At least twenty persons have thanked me for the book and have told me that it is really making a positive difference in their lives. I consider the book to be a gold mine of practical inspiration for growth in holiness and genuine happiness. I encourage everyone who received a copy of this book to finish reading it and then to pass it on to someone you care about so that the treasure can be shared and keep bearing good fruit.
 
Blessings, Fr. John 

​¿”Cuando fué la última vez que fuiste a confesarte?”… Empecé a pensar en eso. No podía acordarme. Al menos no estaba seguro. “Creo que fue en el último retiro del grupo de jóvenes.”
Hablando de la resistencia.  Si hay una batalla que la resistencia ha dominado en el corazón y en la mente de los católicos por los últimos cincuenta años, tiene que ver con la Confesión. Simplemente dejamos de ir.  En un nivel, tiene sentido... La mediocridad busca la comodidad e ir a confesarse no es cómodo. Es incómodo mirarnos, evaluar nuestro egoísmo y nuestra pecaminosidad, y hablarle de eso a otro ser humano.  Pero qué bien nos hace. Todos tenemos una gran necesidad de sanción. Todos necesitamos ser liberados de nuestro egocentrismo.
Necesitamos desarrollar nuestra conciencia de cómo lo que hacemos y decimos afecta a las personas que nos rodean y a las personas al otro extremo del mundo... Pero nos resistimos a eso. Nos resistimos a Dios. Nos resistimos a Su perdón. Nos resistimos a la felicidad… Yo he estado yendo a confesarme con regularidad por mas de veinte años. Siempre has la tentación de no hacerlo. La resistencia pone  una barrera entre ir a confesarme y yo y, como siempre tengo que romper esa barrera, matar la resistencia, e ir.. Lo interesante es que simpre que voy me alegra haber ido.
(Tomado del libro, Resistirse A La Felicidad, págs. 148-149, por Matthew Kelly)
 
En el primer domingo de Cuaresma, la parroquia de San Joaquín terminó de dar 1,500 copias de Resistencia A La Felicidad con el propósito de promover un fructífero viaje cuaresmal  por lo menos a esos individuos y familias en nuestra parroquia. Al menos veinte personas me han agradecido por el libro y me han dicho que realmente está haciendo una diferencia positiva en sus vidas. Considero que el libro es una mina de oro de inspiración práctica para el crecimiento de la santidad y la felicidad genuina. Animo a todos los que recibieron una copia de este libro para terminar de leerlo y luego pasarlo a alguien que te importa para que el tesoro pueda ser compartido y seguir dando buenos frutos.
Bendiciones, Fr. John

Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against evil spirits. To Arms! It’s time to take up our most powerful spiritual weapons against our deadly enemy, Satan and his demons. Therefore, you are invited to participate in an extraordinary event for our 2019 Lenten Journey toward Easter: All Night Adoration and Confessions - Friday - Saturday - March 29 - 30.
In recent Pastor’s Corners I have been describing root causes and deadly consequences of the Satanic attack on the God-given meaning and dignity of human nature, human sexuality, marriage and family. The Satanic attack has been increasing in scope and intensity from the time of the Fatima apparitions in 1917 to the present. The war on the unborn through abortion, which is now being extended to infanticide in a number of states, is especially egregious. The destruction of marriage and family through pornography, lust, promiscuity, contraception, sterilization, infidelity, gender confusion and easy divorce, is increasing day by day. Archbishop Gomez of Los Angeles sums it up with the words, “Without God society has lost its humanity.”
 Many of you are involved in the battle. You already participate in our ordinary schedule of daily Masses, weekly devotions, Saturday morning and Wednesday evening Confessions, and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Our parish provides adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in our side chapel on Monday and Tuesday from 8:40 am to 9:00 pm. Then, adoration from Wednesday 8:45 am, day and night, all the way through Friday 6 pm. Wednesday evening has Rosary, Mass, and a Holy Hour of Adoration of the blessed Sacrament in the main church from 6 pm to 9 pm. Repentance, Reconciliation with God through the Sacrament of Confession, and Adoration, amplifies the Grace to enter into deeper Friendship with the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit through Prayer of the Heart. This is the constant prayer God wills for us and grants us though His Gift of the Holy Spirit. This Spirit-led constant longing for God is able to animate all of the individual disciplines of prayer: Holy Mass, Liturgy of the Hours, the Rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, Spiritual Reading, Prayer before meals, Thanksgiving after meals, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Praise, Thanksgiving, Entrustment of needs to God, Reparation, Meditation and Contemplation. We add Fasting and Works of Mercy which are the prayers of the body. To Arms!!!
Lenten Blessings for a New Springtime of Christianity,
Blessings, Fr. John 

Nuestra batalla no es contra la carne y la sangre, sino contra los malos espíritus. ¡A las Armas! Es hora de tomar nuestras armas espirituales más poderosas contra nuestro enemigo mortal, Satanás y sus demonios. Por lo tanto, usted está invitado a participar en un evento extraordinario para nuestro 2019 viaje cuaresmal hacia la Pascua: Adoración toda la noche y confesiones - viernes y sábado - del 29 al 30 marzo.
En los últimos rincones del párroco he estado describiendo las causas profundas y las consecuencias mortales del ataque satánico sobre el significado y la dignidad de la naturaleza humana, la sexualidad humana, el matrimonio y la familia. El ataque satánico ha ido aumentando en alcance e intensidad desde la época de las apariciones de Fátima en 1917 hasta el presente. La guerra contra el feto a través del aborto, que ahora se extiende al infanticidio en varios estados, es especialmente atroz. La destrucción del matrimonio y la familia a través de la pornografía, la lujuria, la promiscuidad, la contracepción, la esterilización, la infidelidad, la confusión de género y el divorcio fácil, está aumentando día a día. El arzobispo Gómez de los Ángeles lo resume con las palabras: "sin Dios la sociedad ha perdido su humanidad."
Muchos de ustedes están involucrados en la batalla. Usted ya participa en nuestro horario ordinario de Misas diarias, devociones semanales, el sábado por la mañana y el miércoles por la noche confesiones, y la adoración del Santísimo Sacramento. Nuestra parroquia ofrece la adoración del Santísimo Sacramento en nuestra capilla lateral el lunes y martes de 8:40 am a 9:00 pm. Entonces, la adoración del miércoles 8:45 am, día y noche, hasta el viernes 6 pm. El miércoles por la noche hay Rosario, Misa, y una hora Santa de adoración del Santísimo Sacramento en la iglesia principal de 6 pm a 9 pm. El arrepentimiento, la reconciliación con Dios a través del Sacramento de la confesión, y la adoración, amplifican la gracia para entrar en una amistad más profunda con el padre, Jesús y el Espíritu Santo a través de la Oración del Corazón. Esta es la oración constante que Dios quiere para nosotros y nos concede a través de su don del Espíritu Santo. Este anhelo constante de Dios, dirigido por el espíritu, es capaz de animar todas las disciplinas individuales de la oración: Santa Misa, liturgia de las horas, el Rosario, La Coronilla de la Divina Misericordia, lectura espiritual, oración antes de las comidas, acción de gracias después de las comidas, adoración del Santísimo Sacramento, alabanza, acción de gracias, encomienda de las necesidades a Dios, reparación, meditación y contemplación. Añadimos el ayuno y las obras de misericordia que son las oraciones del cuerpo. ¡¡¡A las Armas !!!
Bendiciones cuaresmales para una Nueva Primavera del Cristianismo,
Bendiciones, Fr. John 

Let us heed these exhortations from two “golden-tongued” Doctors of the Church: “There are three things, my brethren by which faith stands firm, devotion remains constant, and virtue endures. They are prayer, fasting and mercy. Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, mercy receives. Prayer, mercy and fasting: these three are one, and they give life to each other. Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. Let no one try to separate them; they cannot be separated. If you have only one of them, or not all together, you have nothing. So, if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ears to others, you open God’s ear to yourself” (St. Peter Chrysologus).
“Prayer and converse with God is a supreme good: it is a partnership and union with God. …I do not mean the prayer of outward observance but prayer from the heart, not confined to fixed times or periods but continuous throughout the day and night. …Our spirit should long for God and call him to mind, so that these works, (fasting and mercy), may be seasoned with the salt of God’s love. …I speak of prayer, not words. It is the longing for God, love too deep for words, a gift not given by man but by God’s grace. The apostle Paul says: We do not know how we are to pray but the Spirit himself pleads for us with inexpressible longings. When the Lord gives this kind of prayer to a person, he gives riches that cannot be taken away, heavenly food that satisfies the spirit. One who tastes this food is set on fire with an eternal longing for the Lord: his spirit burns as in a fire of the utmost intensity” (St. John Chrysostom).
 
Lenten Blessings, Fr. John 

“The days of Evil are numbered. It is Evil that must be afraid.” (Pope Francis). The Seasonof Lent is meant to be a Springtime of Renewal for our spiritual lives. Through the disciplines of Prayer, Fasting and Works of Mercy we are to take ground away from the devil and apply the Victory of Jesus to every aspect of our lives.
Given the devil’s primary attack on marriage and family by substituting lust for love, this Pastor’s Corner will focus on the Virtue of Chastity. Though not the most important virtue, (Charity and Humility are), the Virtue of Chastity is Crucial for conquering one of the most dominant evils of our day. The words below seek to condense the Wisdom of the Saints for resisting sins of lust into one paragraph.
When facing the temptation to focus on and indulge oneself in intense sexual pleasure at the expense of God’s Will, one’s own dignity and the dignity of other persons, the wisdom of the saints is to crowd it out rather than struggle against it. This means that I need to become enamored with the awesome, holy and sacred, truth, goodness and beauty of the God-given meaning of human personhood, sexuality, marriage and family. By focusing on what is true, good and beautiful, the counterfeit of lust will lose its force of attraction over me. God created sexual pleasure to be good. In God’s plan, sexual pleasure is not meant to be the focus, rather it is meant to accompany a loving act of total, free, faithful, open-to-new-life, Gift of Self to a spouse in the renewal of a marriage covenant. This God-given meaning of sex is awesome, sacred and worthy of reverence. It can inspire the virtues of self-mastery, chastity and authentic love. The blessings and the virtues of true love draw their meaning and their power from the love of Jesus, who is the true bridegroom of the human race, of the Catholic Church and of every human soul. In Jesus the counterfeit of love, which is lust, can be resisted, crowded out and purified. I can encounter Jesus decisively in the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist. Jesus’ Gift of Self to me enables me to resist the sins of lust and every other sin as well.
 Lenten Blessings, Fr. John 

What is the Root Cause of Social Problems of divorce, broken families, misery, addictions, crime, greed and injustice? Connecting the Dots: In prior Pastor’s Corners I have been pointing out that the forces that attack and weaken our human community in its very foundations, are the forces that weaken and destroy marriage and family. During my last year of high school (1967), I was taught through the secularized media that the root cause of misery and poverty in the world is over-population. Therefore, the solution would seem to be birth-control. After entering the seminary, my eyes were re-opened to the Truth that the root cause of misery and injustice in the world, is, and always has been, SIN, that is, a broken relationship with God. A lack of trust in our Creator and sustainer always has a negative impact on the way we relate to one another. Therefore, the real solution is reconciliation with God. And the Good News is, God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him, may not perish, but may have eternal life (John 3:16). As disciples of Jesus and members of His Body, the Church, we are called and empowered to be part of the solution, instead of part of the problem. Why have so many people rejected the Catholic Church’s teaching on sexual morality – on the God-given meaning of human personhood, authentic love, sexuality, marriage and family? Why is our society awash in the politically correct propaganda that lust, pornography, “safe-sex”, promiscuity, shacking-up, same-sex experimentation, contraception, sterilization, embryonic stem cell research, abortion-on-demand and gender confusion are civil rights? I believe that St. Paul answered the question about the Root Cause of Social Problems most concisely in his Letter to the Romans: Therefore, these men are inexcusable. They certainly had knowledge of God, yet they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks; they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise they became fools. … For this reason God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves. … They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator. (Romans 1: 20-22, 24-25).
Blessings, Fr. John

​Cuál es la Causa Fundamental de los Problemas Sociales del divorcio, las familias rotas, la miseria, las adicciones, el crimen, la codicia y la injusticia? Conectando los Puntos: Anteriormente en el Rincón del Párroco he estado señalando que las fuerzas que atacan y debilitan a nuestra comunidad humana en sus propias fundaciones, son las fuerzas que debilitan y destruyen el matrimonio y la familia. Durante mi último año en la escuela secundaria (1967), me enseñaron a través de los medios secularizados que la causa fundamental de la miseria y la pobreza en el mundo es la sobrepoblación. Por lo tanto, la solución parecería ser el control de la natalidad.  Después de entrar en el seminario, mis ojos fueron reabiertos a la Verdad que la causa fundamental de la miseria y la injusticia en el mundo, es, y siempre ha sido, el pecado, es decir, una relación rota con Dios. La falta de confianza en nuestro creador y sustentador siempre tiene un impacto negativo en la forma en que nos relacionamos unos con otros. Por lo tanto, la solución es la reconciliación con Dios. Y la Buena Noticia es que tanto amó Dios al mundo que le dio a su Hijo único, para que todo el que crea en él no perezca, sino que tenga vida eterna (Juan 3:16). Como discípulos de Jesús y miembros de Su Cuerpo, la Iglesia, somos llamados y empoderados para ser parte de la solución, en lugar de parte del problema.  ¿Por qué muchas personas rechazaron la enseñanza de la Iglesia Católica sobre la moralidad sexual – en el sentido dado por Dios de la persona humana, amor autentico, sexualidad, matrimonio y familia?  ¿Por qué nuestra sociedad está inundada en la propaganda políticamente correcta que la lujuria, la pornografía, el “sexo seguro”, la promiscuidad, la fornicación (shacking-up), experimentación con el mismo sexo, anticoncepción, esterilización, investigación de células madre embrionarias, aborto a petición y la confusión de genero son derechos civiles? Creo que San Pablo contesto la pregunta sobre La Causa Fundamental de los Problemas Sociales mas concisamente en su carta a los Romanos: Por lo tanto, estos hombres no tienen excusa. Porque habiendo conocido a Dios, no lo han glorificado, ni le han dado gracias, sino que han puesto sus pensamientos en cosas sin valor y sus mentes se han oscurecido. Alardeando de sabios, se han hecho necios.  … Por eso Dios los ha entregado, siguiendo el impulso de sus apetitos, a una impureza tal que degrada sus propios cuerpos.  ...Cambiaron la verdad de Dios por la mentira, y de haber adorado y dado culto a la criatura en lugar de dárselo al Creador. (Romanos 1:20-22, 24-25).
Bendiciones, Fr. John 

Saint Pope Paul VI prophetically warned the world in 1968 about the serious consequences that would follow if there was wide-spread disobedience to the God-given meaning of human sexuality, marriage and family. Find below Section 17 of his Encyclical Letter, Humanae Vitae – On Human Life.
Responsible persons can be still more easily convinced of the solid grounds on which the teaching of the Church in this field is based, if they stop to reflect upon the consequences of the use of the methods of artificial birth regulation. Let them consider, first of all, how wide and easy a road would thus be opened to conjugal infidelity and to a general lowering of morality. One does not need much experience to know human weakness and to understand that human beings – especially the young, who are so vulnerable on this point – have need of encouragement to be faithful to the moral law, and must not be offered an easy means to evade its observance. It can also be feared that the man who becomes used to contraceptive practices, may in the end lose respect for his wife, and no longer caring about her physical and psychological well-being, will come to the point of considering her a mere instrument of selfish enjoyment, and no longer his respected and beloved companion.
Consider also the dangerous weapon that would thus be placed in the hands of those public authorities who have no concern for the requirements of morality. Who could blame a government for applying, as a solution to the problems of the community, those means acknowledged to be permissible for a married couple in solving a family problem. Who will prevent rulers from favoring, and even imposing upon their people, the method of contraception they judge to be the most effective, if they should consider this to be necessary? In this way, men, while wishing to avoid the individual, family or social difficulties they encounter in observing the divine law, would come to place at the mercy of the intervention of public authorities the most personal and most private of conjugal intimacy. (HV-17)
Next week I will explain Why dissent from the teaching in Humane Vitae is a Root Cause of our society’s most devastating problems.
 
Blessings, Fr. John 

 Sr. Lucia, one of the seers of Fatima, revealed that Satan’s attack on humanity in the end times would focus on the destruction of marriage and family. The family is the fundamental cell of society and the domestic church. By attacking marriage and family, Satan is able to weaken society and the church at its very foundations. One alarming survey showed that 98% of men in prison were raised in families with no father in the home.
Let’s go back 51 years to the publication of, “Humanae Vitae – On Human Life,” by Saint Pope Paul VI. There was a lot of pressure from the media and modern society for the Church to change its teaching against using contraceptives, like the new birth-control pill, in order to help couples plan their families and avoid unwanted pregnancies. All hell broke loose when Saint Paul VI reaffirmed the Church’s teaching that it was an intrinsic evil to deliberately sterilize the “marriage act” through chemical, barrier, or surgical methods. Providentially, some modern and highly effective “natural” methods for avoiding, or, achieving, pregnancy, were developed at this time (late fifties) cf. the “Billings Method.” These methods, were based on a woman being able to accurately track her days of fertility by the physical signs in her body. Given a responsible and unselfish reason to avoid pregnancy, the couple could abstain from the marriage act during the relatively few days when the woman’s body was fertile.
Saint Paul VI prophetically warned the world about the serious consequences that would follow if there was wide-spread disobedience to the God-given meaning of human sexuality, marriage and family that he had re-affirmed in the Encyclical Letter, Humanae Vitae.
Next week I will share Saint Paul VI’s prophetic statements.   
 
Blessings, Fr. John