Sunday June 21, 2020 -Father’s Day weekend
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
Our parish begun our Sunday Masses last weekend. Please come and join us we have masses in the church 100 and outside with no limit. Today is the Father’s Day, I wish all the fathers of our parish with God’s blessings joy and peace. Please continue to support our parish with your weekly donations. During the last 2 months of Pandemic Corvid 19, our parish had lost about 130, 000 dollars, please be more generous with your contribution so we can pay our bills. Please also support PSA 2020 so Bishop Vann will be able to help the organizations and charity in our diocese. May the Lord through the intercession of Our Lady of La Vang bless all of you with peace love and joy! Happy Father’s Day to all our fathers!
Our scripture for this Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time is a call to preach Christ through our words and lives without fear. The first reading tells us how the prophet Jeremiah trusted in the power of God while he faced opposition for his prophetic ministry. The psalmist in today’s responsorial psalm repeats the same trust in the kindness and great mercy of God when he is misunderstood and ill-treated even by his brothers and relatives. In the second reading Paul assures the Christians in Rome that they need not be afraid of opposition because they share in the death of Jesus and his resurrection or they are united with Christ the new Adam in his resurrection. Today’s gospel passage is from the end of Jesus’ instruction to his disciples as he sends them forth to carry on his mission of preaching and healing. He asks them to live simply and to expect opposition and rejection. After having predicted the future opposition and persecution Jesus encourages his disciples to stand firm. Three times they are urged, "Do not fear!" "Do not be afraid!" Instead of shrinking from their task, they are to proclaim the Gospel boldly, because they will be protected just as Jeremiah was assured of God's protection. Hence Jesus commands his disciples not to fear their persecutors. He presents before them the image of the sparrow to reinforce the disciples’ trust and hope in God. The readings hint at the opposition we future Christians will encounter as we carry on the work of Jesus in the world and they encourage us to persevere in doing the work of Jesus. They assure us that we will be successful despite the opposition we encounter.
Be not afraid: Sometimes we are afraid that we will make a wrong decision. At other times, we are afraid of what others will think when we speak up for Jesus. We are afraid of what the future will bring our children. We are also afraid of growing old. Sometimes we are afraid of what bad health will bring us. At the root of these fears is the fear of loss. Every fear we have is grounded in the knowledge that we have something or someone to lose. I can lose my job, family, house, money, health and even life itself. Rejection and loss are the basis of our fears. But we forget one thing: whatever trouble or crisis affects us, we know that God understands it better than we ourselves. Our heavenly Father knows exactly what is happening. What a release from fear it is to know that God is on our side; that our life is in the hands of a loving God. The next time fear grips our life we need to remember that being faithful to Christ wherever we meet him in this life is much more important than our fear of rejection and loss. Also let us take a moment to recall some of the great promises of God. Let us remind ourselves that God cares – we are each a dear child of his and he cares for each of us. "Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." The last verse of Psalm 27 sums it up nicely, "Trust in the Lord. Have faith, do not despair. Trust in the Lord."
Sincerely yours in Jesus Christ and Our Lady of La Vang!
Reverend Joseph Luan Nguyen- Pastor.
List of bulletins 2020
March
- March 22, 2020 Fourth Sunday of Lent
- March 15, 2020 Third Sunday of Lent
- March 8, 2020 Second Sunday of Lent
- March 1, 2020 First Sunday of Lent
February
- February 23, 2020 Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A
- February 16, 2020 Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A
- February 9, 2020 Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A
- February 2, 2020 The Presentation of the Lord Year A
January
- January 26, 2020 Third Sunday of Ordinary
- January 19, 2020 Second Sunday of Ordinary
- January 12, 2020 The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord Year A
- January 5, 2020 The Epiphany of the Lord Year A