St. John the Baptist Catholic Church

Friends,

In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses the example of a fig tree.  The master came looking for figs and found none.  The gardener tried to feed and pamper the tree for three years and still no fruit …  This a parable about you and me.  God has blessed each one of us with wonderful graces.  God is going to expect that we produce good fruit.  However, we can waste our talents, and God will have to cut us down and make firewood.

During Lent, the scripture asks us what sort of fruit we are bearing.  Are we bearing any fruit at all?  Are we doing something for our neighbor?  Remember we love God 100%, and we love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  We have all sorts of chances to share our resources with others: now the terrible earthquake in Chile and the on-going disaster in Haiti.  We have lots of homeless people right here in El Cerrito and Richmond.  We have relatives who seek our forgiveness and reconciliation.  We have sick and elderly people who would love a visit or a phone call …  These are our fruits.  Lent is a perfect time to really produce good fruit.

Peace,

Fr. John

Friends,

The Gospel of the Transfiguration is highly symbolic.  Jesus went up a mountain with his three chosen followers.  In scripture, mountains are holy places.  Moses went up Mount Sinai, and God gave him the 10 Commandments and when he came down, his face was glowing with a bright light.  On Mount Tabor, Jesus is radiant with a divine light as he talks with Moses and Elijah, great figures of the Old Testament.  Luke asserts that Jesus’ path has been given to him by God in the same way that God guided the paths of Moses and Elijah.  However, at the end of this Transfiguration scene, God speaks only about Jesus: “This is my chosen Son.  Listen to him.”

What this Gospel tells me is that God has chosen a path for me, and God expects me to follow that path by listening to Jesus.  I truly believe that God has chosen each one of us through Baptism, and God has chosen a path for each one of us to follow.  Listening to Jesus is the key to not getting lost on our journey.  Lent is a perfect time to reflect upon the path God has chosen for you.  And Jesus is the key to staying on that path.  Listen to him.

Peace,

Fr. John

Friends,

It seems that we just finished celebrating Christmas, and now we are in the sacred season of Lent.  The Church knows that we need a lot of help to prepare for the Holy Week, when Jesus celebrated the Eucharist with his friends, and then the next day was betrayed, suffered, died and was buried.  The fantastic miracle of Jesus rising from the dead on Easter morning is the culmination of Lent and Holy Week.  We all need help in remembering these wonderful events of our salvation, and that is why we have the season of Lent.  Here at St. John’s, we will start our Lenten observance with our old friend Mark Price.  Mark will bring Judas Iscariot to life at all the weekend Masses on the First Sunday of Lent.  And then on the next Monday at 7:30, Mark will re-create the image of St. Joseph.  I think this is a great way to begin Lent.  Come and be renewed by Mark Price.

Also during Lent we will have two daily Masses: our usual 8 a.m. Mass and an evening Mass at 7 p.m.  When we attend Mass, we are participating in the real presence of Jesus.  That might be something you could do as your personal Lenten observance.

Traditionally, some of us make sacrifices during Lent.  We give up candy or something else.  We pick up our Bibles and do some extra reflections and prayers.  We give some alms or money to the poor.  The key is TO DO SOMETHING.  God has blessed us abundantly.  Lent is a time to say thanks by using this sacred time to improve our spiritual life.

Peace,

Fr. John

Friends,

Happy St. Valentine’s Day …  Even though the actual man we celebrate today might not have even existed, the idea behind St. Valentine is still very potent.  St. Valentine and Valentine’s Day is about LOVE.  We can never have enough love.  We can never love enough.  We can summarize the basic message of Jesus in the word: LOVE.  “Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love others as you love yourself.” (Mark 12:30)  That fits in perfectly with Valentine’s Day as a day of love.  Here is a suggestion: think of someone who is lonely, sick, home-bound or just trying to survive.  On Valentine’s Day, give them a phone call or pay them a visit.  That is love in practice.

I got my first e-mail from Sr. Denise.  She survived the earthquake because of a young girl who helped her out of the Mother House.  Sr. Denise calls this a miracle, and the young girl a real angel sent from God.  Sr. Denise is back in Baraderes and our sister parish.  However, she is not well.  The results of seeing all of the dead and the destruction of the city and the convents and churches is a huge psychological trauma.  I believe Sr. Denise is suffering from post-traumatic syndrome, as well as her high blood pressure.  Say a very special prayer for her and our sisters and brothers in Haiti.  That is love.

Much love,

Fr. John

Friends,

I am so proud of you for your generous response to the earthquake in Haiti.  When we took up a special second collection, you dug deep into your pockets and gave more than $13,000.  That is a huge collection and love offering.  Then last weekend, our kindergarten children led our 9:30 liturgy and this one grade gave me a check for $2,028 that they have been collecting since September.  (Richard Keller figured out that if we used this $2,000 only for a beans and rice dinner, it would feed 50,000 people.)  Your generosity both pleases me and amazes me.  Our Sister Parish Committee will send this money to Haiti and let the sisters decide when it can be best used.  I assure you that every cent will be spent for the poor.

In the Gospel today, Jesus calls poor fishermen to come and follow him and be the nucleus of the early church.  Jesus likewise calls each one of us to follow Him and be the Good News to the poor.  At your Baptism, you were chosen to be a child of God and a follower of Jesus.  Each one of us has a job to do in bearing witness to the love of Jesus.

Gratefully yours,

Fr. John Maxwell

Dear Parishioners,

Several points: 1. Thank you so much for your generosity last week for Haiti.  We will see that your precious love offerings will go directly to the Little Sisters of St. Therese and Sr. Denise.   Your sharing and caring means a lot to me personally.  We’ll keep you informed.

2. Last Sunday GRIP held its annual meeting and reviewed the past year and plans for the future.  Our church was signaled out with a certificate of appreciation for our many volunteers in all aspects of GRIP, from the board to serving food to financial support.  I am very proud of Joe Orr, who served as vice chair of GRIP.  There is always room for you to participate.  Just phone the rectory.

3. The second reading of St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is about love.  “Love is patient, love is kind, love is never jealous … it is not inflated … it does not brood over injuries … it does not rejoice in wrong-doing … it bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails.”

I am so proud of the many members of our church who live this life of love and service.  Jesus is pleased with your stewardship.

Peace,
Fr. John

Dear Parishioners,

My heart breaks for Haiti and our sisters and brothers who have been devastated by a huge earthquake.  For the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, this is a disaster of epic proportions.  The major casualties took place in the capital city, Port-au-Prince.  Our sister parish in Fond Tortue is in the mountains, a good distance from the epicenter.  We know little of the damage in our sister parish.  However, we simply must send prayers and support to those affected by the earthquake.  To this end we are collecting money to help relief efforts in that country.  Financial donations should be made out to St. John the Baptist Church – Haiti.

St. Paul in today’s reading reminds us that we are all members of the Body of Christ.  When one member of the body hurts, the whole body is in pain.  Let’s try in our small way to relieve some of the suffering of our sisters and brothers in Haiti.

Peace,

Fr. John Maxwell

Dear Parishioners,

In the second reading today, St. Paul tells the Corinthians – and he also tells us at St. John’s Church – that the Holy Spirit gives unique gifts to each one of us.  That is wonderful to think about.  The Holy Spirit has a plan for each one of us.  The Holy Spirit gives us special talents and gifts and also time to use these blessings to build up the Body of Christ in El Cerrito.

Please take a few moments to ask yourself: “What are my gifts?”  “What special talents did God give me?”

Some of our gifts seem unimportant, but they are critical to living our lives as God intended.  For example: Some of us can make wonderful soup that feeds not only the body but also the soul.  Some of us are great cleaners, and we use our talents to beautify the church and perhaps our sick neighbor’s home.  Some of us have a compassionate heart, and that allows us to reach out to the sick and lonely and frail.  Some of us have the gifts of deep prayer, and our mission in life is to pray for others.  Some of us are teachers, and we use our gifts to educate both children and adults.

The bottom line is that we are all gifted Christians.  Our challenge is how we use these gifts of the Holy Spirit to make this world a better place.

Pease,

Fr. John

Dear Members and Visitors:

I am so glad that you came to worship with us on this very holy day.  God has special blessings in store for you …  Do you realize that you are loved by God?  It is absolutely true.  You are loved by God; you are a beautiful child of God.  I am afraid that we do not appreciate this fantastic love.  As humans, we can love a few people, but God is infinite.  He can love each and every one of us with a wonderful love.  There is a hymn that says: “I have loved you with an everlasting love.  I have loved you, and you are mine.”  That is the basic message of Jesus.  Jesus, as the Son of God, loved each of us so much that he was willing to die for us.  Now that’s real love!

Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  As you look on the crib, just remember how much you are loved with a mighty and everlasting love.  “I have loved you, and you are mine.”

Have a beautiful Christmas, filled with love.

Fr. John Maxwell

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The priests and staff of St. John’s wish everyone a blessed Christmas and joyous New Year.

Dear Parishioners

Our patron keeps telling us: “Prepare the way of the Lord.”  The disciples of John the Baptist asked another question: “What should we do?”  Most of us hear these challenging words and do nothing.  I have a suggestion: When was the last time you went to confession?  Most of us do not like confession.  We do not like to accuse ourselves of our sins.  But ignoring the reality of sin is not preparing the way of the Lord in our personal lives.  We are all sinners.  We can fool ourselves, but we cannot fool God.

Now here is the suggestion: on next Monday evening, Dec. 21 at 7:30 p.m., we will have a beautiful community penance service.  I have invited six priests to help us.  We will gather with our friends and neighbors and pray that our loving and gracious God will forgive all of our sins and mistakes.  We need this forgiveness, and the penance service is a perfect time to prepare our bodies and souls to receive the Christ Child on Christmas Day.  I really invite you to come on Monday and leave your sins at the foot of the cross.  Try it.  You’ll like it.

Peace,

Fr. John Maxwell