St. John the Baptist Catholic Church

Friends,

I just read an interesting article about prayer.  Here are a couple of points from the article.

1.      Research shows that faith contributes to both health and healing.

2.      Ill people get well sooner if they know that someone is praying for them.

3.      An Episcopal priest and surgeon found that church attendance adds two to three years to your life, but exercise adds three to five years. That means you should go to church, and also get some good exercise.

4.      Parishioners benefit from the social support of a church, but they benefit even more if they help others.

What does this mean to us?  Primarily it means that faith and prayer make a real difference in our health and in our healing when we are sick. Also, prayers for others really work and prayers make a difference in the prayer’s life and in those we pray for. Lastly, we thrive when we reach out and help others.  I would add especially the poor and needy.  All of this makes good sense to me, and I hope it makes sense to you.

In this vein, I would like to ask your prayers for Fr. Emmanuel Foro, our wonderful Jesuit priest.  He has been suffering with sickle cell anemia, which causes severe headaches and a devastating lack of energy.  That is why Fr. Jean Baptiste Ganza took his place last Sunday with the preaching.  Fr. Emmanuel is finishing his doctoral thesis on reconciliation as seen in the Rwanda genocide.  Your prayers will make a difference.

Peace,
Fr. John Maxwell

This video is from the upcoming DVD release “The Priests Live at Armagh Cathedral.” DVD In Stores April 7, 2009

Friends,

Today in the Gospel, we see Jesus cleansing the temple.  Jesus tells us that the House of God is a holy place, and that is why he drove out those who desecrated the temple with buying and selling.  What does this mean to us?  Here are a couple of reflections:

1. Our little church of St. John the Baptist on San Pablo Avenue is also the “House of God.”  We Catholics believe that God dwells in our church.  We Catholics believe that in the tabernacle, the Body of Christ resides in a very special way.  We have a lighted candle near the tabernacle to remind us of God’s living presence in our church.  When we come into our church, we reverence the tabernacle by either genuflecting (going down on one knee) or bowing before the Lord.  This is how we reverence the tabernacle and reverence our church as the “House of God.”

2. In the course of our services, our church gets messy.  We imitate Jesus in cleansing the temple when we do our share to keep our church clean and neat.  I am very proud of the people who clean the church on Saturday mornings and the ushers who pick up after the 12:30 Mass on Sundays.  However, we all should do our share to keep God’s house clean and presentable.

3. We are proud of our church and our services to honor and praise God.  Therefore, we do not hesitate to invite friends and neighbors to come to our church and worship with us.  This past week, we were blessed to have Mark Price and the Salesian High School Mystery Players help us spend Lent in a more prayerful mood……..We love our church as the House of God on San Pablo Avenue, and we thank God for allowing us to be a part of this holy place.

I received an e-mail from Sr. Denise, and she is struggling with a bout of malaria.  This disease is very, very common in Haiti.  Please pray for her and her sisters.  Likewise, she told me that the town of Baraderes had been flooded with recent rains.  This just adds to the poverty of the good people in the town next to our sister parish.

Peace,
Fr. John Maxwell

Friends,

In the second reading today, St. Paul tells us: “If God is for us, who can be against us?”  Isn’t that a great insight?  Our God is always FOR us.  God is on our side.  God has a special place in His heart for us.  We are special to God.  That is most consoling to know that God is really and truly for us.  This concept reminds me of an old Bible hymn: “What a friend we have in Jesus.”  We all need friends, and Jesus is the best friend we can ever have.  Jesus will always be there for us.  With a fantastic friend like Jesus, we can change the world.  That is what the great saints did.  With Jesus by their side, the saints did wonders.  Just think of Mother Teresa.  Jesus inspired her to give her life to serving the poorest of the poor.  As a result, Mother Teresa did little things with great love.  Jesus was with her every step of the way.

And Jesus can be with us in exactly the same way if we only believe.  If we offer all of our good works to Jesus and if we trust completely in His love for us, we, too, can do wonderful things.  If God is for us, then no one can be against us.  Just believe it.

Happy Lent,

Fr. John Maxwell

Friends,

Welcome to Lent. Each year the church gives us a special time to walk with Jesus in this critical time of His life. For 40 days we prepare for his gathering with his followers to give us the Eucharist on Holy Thursday. For 40 days we anticipate his betrayal and his abandonment by his chosen disciples. For 40 days we get ready for Jesus’ trial, scourging, crucifixion and burial. This truly is a holy period, but … we must take advantage of these 40 days. It is up to you to determine how you are going to walk with Jesus for 40 days. The danger is that we will do nothing. We have a devilish tendency to do nothing special. It is entirely up to you to make these 40 days extra special. In our parish, we have some special services to help you. We have two Masses each weekday: 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. We have Stations of the Cross each Friday after the 8 a.m. Mass. We will have a wonderful Lenten mission with Mark Price, who will re-create Saints. Peter and Paul. We have invited the Franciscan Mystery Players from Salesian High on Friday, March 13. We have Rice Bowls for you to assist the poor of our world, especially the poor in Haiti. All of these are opportunities to walk with Jesus during the sacred 40 days of Lent. You might want to pick up a good religious book and read that for your Lent. You might want to fast or to abstain from meat. You might want to check your alcohol or sugar intake during Lent. IT IS ALL UP TO YOU.

I really want to thank all of you who made our Marti Gras Hot Garlic Crab Feed the best we have ever had. I cannot name all of the wonderful good stewards who worked so hard to make Saturday evening such a fantastic success. God knows and has a very special reward for you.

Believe it.

I am very, very proud of our parish.

Peace,