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Queridos hermanos y hermanas: Al comenzar nuestro viaje a través del Tiempo Ordinario, hacemos una pausa para rezar y pensar en la Santísima Trinidad. Nos damos cuenta de que es un misterio de nuestra fe y, la Iglesia ha llegado poco a poco a los conocimientos y la comprensión de este dogma. En los primeros siglos, la Iglesia realizó algunos concilios con el fin de aclarar directa o indirectamente las enseñanzas de la Santa Trinidad. Ninguna sorpresa, Jesús dijo a sus discípulos antes de su Ascensión al Cielo, “Aun tengo muchas cosas que decirles, pero es demasiado para ustedes por ahora” (Juan 16:12). Ha habido muchas imágenes creadas por artistas con el objetivo de ayudar a comprender este misterio. Uno de los primeros símbolos de la Trinidad es el triángulo equilátero, un triángulo que tiene lados de la misma longitud y los ángulos tienen igualdad en los grados. La igualdad de las tres partes del triángulo representa la unidad y la distinción de las tres personas de la Trinidad. Mirando el triángulo podemos leer lo siguiente, el Padre no es el Hijo, el Hijo no es el Espíritu Santo, y el Espíritu Santo no es el Padre. Al mismo tiempo, podemos leer que el Padre es Dios, el Hijo es Dios y el Espíritu Santo es Dios. La Iglesia, hermanas y hermanos, enseña y nos invita a creer en un Dios que es Padre, Hijo y Espíritu Santo. Este Dios trinitario no es un ser único, sino tres personas que están siempre en constante comunicación entre sí. Hemos sido creados por Dios a su imagen y semejanza. Por lo general no pensamos en esto, pero si hemos sido creados por un Dios trinitario, ¿me veo a mí mismo como una persona trinitaria? ¿De qué manera me parezco al Dios trinitario? En la solemnidad del Dios trinitario, oremos para que Él nos siga revelando su verdad y su amor. Que Dios los bendiga.  Dear brothers and sisters, As we begin our journey through Ordinary Time, we pause to pray and think about the Holy Trinity. We realize that it is a mystery of our faith and so the Church has come gradually to the knowledge and understanding of this dogma. In the first centuries, some councils were held by the Church in order to clarify directly or indirectly the teachings on the Holy Trinity. No surprise, Jesus told his disciples before his Ascension into Heaven, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now” (John 16:12). There have been many images created by artists aiming to help us understand this mystery. One of the earliest symbols of the Trinity is the equilateral triangle, a triangle that has sides of equal lengths and angles of equal degrees. The equality of the three parts of the triangle represents both the unity and the distinctness of the three persons of the Trinity. Looking at the triangle we can read the following, the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father. At the same time we can read that the Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God. The Church, brothers and sisters, teaches and invites us to believe in One God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This Trinitarian God is not a unique being but three persons who are always in constant communication among one another. We are created by God and in His image and likeness. We usually do not think about this, but if we have been created by a Trinitarian God, do I see myself as a Trinitarian person? In what way do I reflect the likeness with the Trinitarian God? On the solemnity of the Trinitarian God, we pray that He will continue to reveal to us his truth and love. God bless you. 
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 Dear community, This weekend, May 23 and 24, we celebrate Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary. With this great feast, we conclude Easter time and enter into, what we call in the liturgy, ordinary time. Let us seek wisdom and inspiration from sacred scriptures: Jesus said to his disciples, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming.” (John 16:12) The Ascension of Jesus into heaven was a great blessing for all of us. With the mystery of the Ascension, not only do we enjoy now the presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, but we receive the company of the Holy Spirit with us. Now, it is not only Jesus with us but the Holy Spirit as well. Let us pray to the Holy Spirit to keep us in his gift of unity. Fr. Lopez Querida comunidad,
Este fin de semana, mayo 23-24, celebramos Pentecostés, la venida del Espíritu Santo sobre los apóstoles y la Santísima Virgen María. Con esta gran fiesta concluimos el Tiempo de la Pascua y entramos la lo que llamamos en la liturgia el Tiempo Ordinario. Los invito a que nos dejemos guiar por las sagradas escrituras: Jesús le dice a sus discípulos, “Aún tengo muchas cosas que decirles, pero todavía no las pueden comprender. Pero cuando venga el Espíritu de la verdad, él los irá guiando hasta la verdad plena, porque no hablará por su cuenta, sino que dirá lo que haya oído y les anunciará las cosas que van a suceder.” (Juan 16:12) La Ascensión de Jesús al cielo fue una gran bendición para todos. Con el misterio de la Ascensión no solamente gozamos de la presencia de Jesús en la sagrada Eucaristía sino que a la ves gozamos de la presencia del Espíritu Santo. Ahora no solo Jesús está con nosotros sino también el Espíritu Santo. Pidámosle al Espíritu de la verdad que nos guie y sostenga en la comunión como familia parroquial. Padre Lopez Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Several social media sites have reported that a Eucharistic miracle has occurred at our parish of St. Patrick in Rochelle. While our faith leads us to believe in miracles and the manifestation of Christ’s presence among us, unfortunately this was not one of those times. The facts of the matter are these: a Communion wafer (unknown if it was consecrated or not) was found and, by holy protocol, the wafer was placed in water to be dissolved for proper disposal according to Catholic norms. As the wafer dissolved it developed a red coloration which raised hope in a supernatural phenomenon. After careful examination, I determined this transformation part of a natural disintegration by bacterium and mold and the wafer was disposed according to the norms of the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, a photo had been taken and posted raising hopes that a miracle had occurred. The very core of our Catholic faith teaches us that we receive the Real Presence of Christ at each Eucharist so we can never casually dismiss that, throughout history, over one hundred Eucharistic miracles have been formally recognized and we have no reason to doubt that miracles are indeed part of our modern lives. Despite the conclusion of this specific case, in no way is our firm belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist diminished and we are pleased and privileged to still be able to receive him every day at Mass in our faithful community of St. Patrick of Rochelle. Father Johnson Lopez Pastor, St. Patrick Parish- Rochelle  Dear community: As usual, every Sunday we meet in our church to celebrate our faith and friendship with God. There are always things for which we should be grateful for. For example, this weekend we want to say thank you to God for our mothers. Thank you, Lord, for the love that you express for us through them. Thank you for filling them with patience and wisdom. Thank you for communicating your gift of faith through them. We also want to thank you for our spiritual mother, Mary Most Holy. We know that she is always concerned for us, and is ready to protect us from all dangers of this world; and for that, we are infinitely grateful. In this, the sixth Sunday of Easter, we also want to thank you Lord for the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Thank you for sharing with us your Body and Blood, and for allowing us to enter into communion with you. In particular, we thank you for calling to the banquet of the Eucharist our boys and girls, who for the first time have received you this weekend. We ask that, through your grace, their faith will grow more each day and that doubt will never enter into their hearts, so that with confidence, they will worship you, present in the Most Holy Eucharist. Lord Jesus, we are filled with joy to know that you consider us your friends. Give us the grace that we may live according to your commandments, especially the commandment of love. Blessed and praised be the Lord, now and forever. Amen. Father Lopez  Sexto domingo de Pascua
Querida comunidad: Como es costumbre, cada domingo nos reunimos en nuestra parroquia para celebrar nuestra fe y amistad con Dios. Siempre hay cosas por las cuales debemos estar agradecidos con Él. Por ejemplo, este fin de semana le queremos decir a Dios ¡gracias! por nuestras madres. ¡Gracias! Señor por el amor que nos expresas a través de ellas, ¡gracias! por llenarlas de paciencia y sabiduría, ¡gracias! por comunicarnos a través de ellas tu amor y el don de la fe. También te damos ¡gracias! por nuestra madre espiritual, María Santísima. Sabemos que ella siempre se preocupa por nosotros y está pronta para protegernos de todos los peligros de este mundo y, por ello estamos infinitamente agradecidos. En este sexto domingo de Pascua también le queremos dar gracias, Dios Padre por el sacramento de la Sagrada Eucaristía. ¡Gracias! por compartir con nosotros tu Cuerpo y tu Sangre, por permitirnos entrar en comunión contigo. En particular, te damos gracias, por llamar al banquete de la Eucaristía a nuestros niños y niñas que te han recibido por primera vez este fin de semana. Te pedimos que, a través de tu gracia, ellos puedan crecer cada día más en la fe y, que la duda no tenga lugar en sus corazones para que con confianza te adoren a ti presente en la Sagrada Eucaristía. Señor Jesús, nos llena de alegría el saber que tú nos consideras tus amigos. Danos la gracia para que podamos vivir según tus mandamientos, en especial el mandamiento del amor. Bendito y alabado seas Señor ahora y para siempre. ¡Amén! Greetings in the Risen Christ,
This weekend, May 2nd and 3rd, is our Diocesan Stewardship Appeal. This year’s theme is ‘Many roads; one path.” My hope is that every one of us will take part in this diocesan stewardship effort, so that we will be able to continue the mission that Christ entrusted to us. Let us meditate on sacred scriptures, “Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:18). The Diocesan Appeal is an opportunity for us to express our love to God and His church in deed and truth. Rightly so, you may ask, what are the programs and ministries supported through our offerings? This weekend at every mass, we were shown a video, created by the Diocese, in which we were shown the different programs and ministries supported through our contributions. I am a priest today because of your support for our diocese. As you learn more about the many good works of our Diocese, I ask you to prayerfully consider participating by being good stewards, who for the love of God share their gifts of time, talent and treasure with God’s Church. This year, the parish goal for Diocesan Stewardship Appeal is $50.052.00. This amount is easily achievable if most of us give even just a little from the heart. When we are unable to fully meet our goal, the parish budget needs to make up for the difference; and yet any amount we may be able to collect that is above and beyond our goal will be returned to us for our own special use. I pray that our parish will be generous with the coming Diocesan Stewardship Appeal, and that there will be an extra amount for the parish to help fund our ministries. May the Lord in His love and mercy bless you for your generosity. |
Rev. Johnson LopezFather Lopez is Pastor of Saint Patrick Catholic Church in Rochelle, IL. Categories
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