If God wants to place me in vulnerable situations
I accept that God is leading me - whatever happens, happens.
Jesus tells us not to be afraid though bad things
may happen to us in following him.
With God’s gracious presence in our lives,
our fears are under God’s guiding hand
and there is nothing to be afraid of.
November 14, 2020
November 13, 2020
Casa del Migrante (Migrant House) is one of the shelters in ciudad Juárez, Mexico, under the management of the diocese. Migrants usually only stay for a short time, and most of the residents are from central America, specifically Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and the different states of Mexico.
November 13, 2020
Fortify me with the grace of Your Holy Spirit
and give Your peace to my soul
that I may be free from all needless anxiety,
solicitude and worry.
Help me to desire always
that which is pleasing and acceptable to You
so that Your will may be my will.
November 12, 2020
Lord, in times of pride I parade my success,
or fame or fortune for all the world to see.
Then in times of illness
I see how weak I really am, and how vain.
Let me rather walk humbly with You.
Let me trust in You,
rather than in my own strength,
let me step out with confidence in You,
for Your weakness is greater than all my strength.
November 11, 2020
During a recent visit to Peru, Maritza Upiachiwa and her husband Jorge Sanchez invited me to celebrate Sunday Mass for the community of the chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Chuquitanta in Huandoy parish on the north side of Lima.
November 11, 2020
Dear Lord, Today we honor our veterans,
worthy men and women who gave their best
when they were called upon to serve
and protect their country.
We pray that You will bless them for their
unselfish service in the continual struggle
to preserve our freedoms, our safety,
and our country's heritage, for all of us.
November 10, 2020
God our Father,
you will never allow the powers of hell
to prevail against Your Church,
founded on the rock of the apostle Peter.
Let the prayers of Pope Leo the Great
keep us faithful to Your truth
and secure in Your peace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
November 9, 2020
The phone woke me from a deep sleep. I turned on the light. The clock read 2:35 a.m., and the caller was Saiyun, a church leader in DaGuan village. Her mother is elderly and in poor health. I thought something had happened to her mother, and I answered the call. “Father, the church has burned down,” Saiyun said through sobs and tears.
November 9, 2020
My Queen! my Mother!
I give you all myself, and,
to show my devotion to you,
I consecrate to you my eyes,
my ears, my mouth, my heart,
my entire self.
Wherefore, O loving Mother,
as I am your own,
keep me, defend me,
as your property and possession.
November 8, 2020
I believe that You, O Jesus,
are in the most holy Sacrament.
I love You and desire You.
Come into my heart I embrace You.
Oh, never leave me.
May the burning and most sweet power
of Your love, O Lord Jesus Christ,
I beseech You, absorb my mind
that I may die through love of Your love,
who were graciously pleased to die
The Columbans are a society of missionaries, including priests and lay people, who minister to people of various cultures as a way of witnessing to the universal love of God.