April 24: Easter Sunday

Gospel: Mt 28:1-10


That Nature is a Heraclitean Fire and of the comfort of the Resurrection
A poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ

CLOUD-PUFFBALL, torn tufts, tossed pillows ' flaunt forth, then chevy on an air- 
built thoroughfare: heaven-roysterers, in gay-gangs ' they throng; they glitter in marches. 
Down roughcast, down dazzling whitewash, ' wherever an elm arches, 
Shivelights and shadowtackle in long ' lashes lace, lance, and pair. 
Delightfully the bright wind boisterous ' ropes, wrestles, beats earth bare
Of yestertempest’s creases; in pool and rut peel parches 
Squandering ooze to squeezed ' dough, crust, dust; stanches, starches 
Squadroned masks and manmarks ' treadmire toil there 
Footfretted in it. Million-fuelèd, ' nature’s bonfire burns on. 
But quench her bonniest, dearest ' to her, her clearest-selvèd spark
Man, how fast his firedint, ' his mark on mind, is gone! 
Both are in an unfathomable, all is in an enormous dark 
Drowned. O pity and indig ' nation! Manshape, that shone 
Sheer off, disseveral, a star, ' death blots black out; nor mark 
                Is any of him at all so stark
But vastness blurs and time ' beats level. Enough! the Resurrection, 
A heart’s-clarion! Away grief’s gasping, ' joyless days, dejection. 
                Across my foundering deck shone 
A beacon, an eternal beam. ' Flesh fade, and mortal trash 
Fall to the residuary worm; ' world’s wildfire, leave but ash:
                In a flash, at a trumpet crash, 
I am all at once what Christ is, ' since he was what I am, and 
This Jack, joke, poor potsherd, ' patch, matchwood, immortal diamond, 
                Is immortal diamond.

April 17: Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

Each week during Lent and Easter, a young adult from the Archdiocese offers a reflection on the upcoming Sunday's Gospel.

Gospel: Mt 26:14-27:66

“The greatest and most overwhelming work of God’s love.” 

- St. Paul of the Cross – description of Jesus.

I’m personally a huge fan of St. Paul of the Cross.  I’m not sure why, but I just am.  When I saw this quote from him describing who he thought Jesus was, it got me thinking.  What was the greatest act of love that was ever shown for us?  You’ll hear scholars say it was the Crucifixion…but, I tend to think it’s the whole Passion of Jesus. 

Jesus knows what is going to happen.  In fact, he says it when he’s in the Garden of Gethsemane “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will.”  Jesus knows how much suffering this is going to be…and yet, even though our Father will not take this away from him, he’ll still go through everything because of that love he has for us. After all the trials, beatings, and suffering Jesus experiences, he is crucified on Golgotha.  We, as Christians, are called to look at the cross, and to realize that tremendous love that Jesus went through for us…his saving love as it were.  It goes beyond this though.  

"Love is filled with struggle, pain, and moments of real darkness. When we gaze upon the cross of Jesus, there we see God’s love revealed to us in the concrete, in flesh and blood. We perceive with our own eyes the lengths to which God would go to reach out to us, to redeem us and raise us up.”

– Fr. Robin Ryan, cp.

As we enter into Holy Week, let us all remember that Jesus died for us, not just so the prophecy could be fulfilled, but to show how much God loved us. 

Michele Fanara
St. Martin of Tours, Los Angeles

April 10: Fifth Sunday of Lent

Each week during Lent and Easter, a young adult from the Archdiocese offers a reflection on the upcoming Sunday's Gospel.

Gospel:  Jn 11:1-45

While reading thru this passage I can’t help but notice that Jesus already has a plan. When they came to notify Jesus he didn’t run to Lazarus right away, He waited for 2 days because rushing to Lazarus’s side would not fit with God’s plan. We must also wait on Jesus sometimes, just like the two sisters had to. Jesus is working according to His schedule, so that it will all fit with the Father’s plan. The waiting is usually the difficult part, and there is no indication on how long it will take. That’s one of the problems with our generation. We want everything NOW; if it’s not NOW I don’t want it. Sound familiar? Brothers and sisters, we must be patient with God, for He is working on his schedule. We must stay strong in faith that Jesus will also come through with a miracle in our own lives.

The part of the story that touched me the most is when Jesus wept. Even though Jesus knows what the plan was and that Lazarus would soon be resurrected from death, he is still deeply touched by their sorrow. He cried with them, He cries with you. I wish my hands could express what my heart feels when I read that. Jesus cries for us, cries with us. When we are going through a difficult time and when we are hurting and in pain, he cries with us. He knows the plan that God has for us, and like this story there might be a breakthrough just around the corner. Something that we can all learn from this story is that we must have faith in Jesus and be patient for we are living on his time.

Vidal Gutierrez

St. John Vianney, Hacienda Heights

Feel free to share your thoughts below.

April 3: Fourth Sunday of Lent

Each week during Lent and Easter, a young adult from the Archdiocese offers a reflection on the upcoming Sunday's Gospel. 
Gospel:  John 9: 1-41 – Jesus heals the blind man

“I transcend the capacity of your eyes…” (Danielle Rose)

Sometimes our darkest moments are also our greatest opportunities for grace. We are often put in situations we don’t understand, facing circumstances we feel we don’t deserve and thinking that perhaps God is punishing us for some past sin we may have committed. Woe is me…indeed. But the reality of it all is that where we are is where we need to be at that very moment, and that our situations or circumstances are actually part of a process that will eventually lead us towards a greater blessing that God has in store for us…and perhaps even for those around us. If our hearts are open to His will, He will work in and through our lives (whether we know it or not). And in all likelihood, if we knew He was doing His work through us, we’d probably try to control things - try to make the situation end up in the best way that we see fit. But what God sees goes beyond what we’re even capable of seeing. It’s bigger than what we could ever imagine or even try to comprehend.

Have you ever had one of those amazing moments where God has sent you someone that works wonders in your life? Maybe it was through a family member, friend, loved one, or even a stranger that you have felt His presence during a very difficult time. Or, perhaps, you were that person for someone else. God uses these moments of grace to open the eyes of our hearts so that we can fully see His hand at work and experience His love. The blind young man in the Gospel lived in darkness every single day of his life, and Christ brought light into his world. The man was unknowingly being used as an instrument of hope through Christ’s love. And here we are now, reflecting on his life…you never know who your own lives will touch. The blessing of sight that he received that day helps to open the eyes of our hearts to see the splendor of God’s love, compassion, and grace. How can we as Catholics open our eyes and hearts to His awesome presence in our lives today, and in doing so, fully recognize and experience Christ’s light in the world?

“…I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see…” (John 1:39)

Natasha Asinas

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles

March 27: Third Sunday of Lent

Holy Family Parish in South Pasadena has compiled an online journal with reflections from parishioners based on each day's readings during Lent.

The reflection for this Sunday can be found at http://www.holyfamily.org/Lent/#/40/.

March 20: Second Sunday of Lent

Each week during Lent and Easter, a young adult from the Archdiocese offers a reflection on the upcoming Sunday's Gospel. 

Gospel:  Matthew 17: 1-9

"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."

To experience the transfiguration means to penetrate the intimate relationship between Father and Son, until the point in which we could say: “I am God’s beloved.”   With the gift of life, we too have received God’s irrevocable love, but do we always recognize it?   When I can come to the point of accepting God’s love without hesitation, despite the betrayal of my sin, my infidelity and my hypocrisy; then I can accept God’s infinite loving mercy and kindness.

In the end, the greatest sadness for any person is to feel and believe they are not loved.  So let us ask ourselves…“Do I feel loved?  Can I give a name to one who loves me unconditionally?”  Often times we know that it is not easy to answer yes to these questions.  But today’s Gospel tells us that if we could not rely on any other person’s total capacity of love, there is someone who wants to “convince” us of His love.  God, with these words reveals a love and irrevocable decision for us of His unconditional fatherly love when He states “This is my beloved!”  Though God does not “need” our love to be complete, He desires it with passion so that we might be complete in Him.  

God realizes his dreams in us when we respond with the same love of the Son.  So I challenge you to ask yourself: how will I accept and respond to His all-embracing love in week ahead?

Sr. Bernadette Mota

St. Mary, Los Angeles


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March 13: First Sunday of Lent

Each week during Lent and Easter, a young adult from the Archdiocese offers a reflection on the upcoming Sunday's Gospel. 

Gospel:  Matthew 4:1-11

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus went to the desert for forty days and nights to pray. After the time of praying and fasting, he was then tempted by the devil. The devil first tempted him with food, then to use Jesus’ power to prove God would send angels to help Him if he jumped from the top of temple, and finally Satan offered Jesus all power and glory if he worshipped him alone.  To each temptation, Jesus held to what he knew was God’s will for him. 

As young adults, it’s difficult in this day to fall to the temptations of the secular world (the latest gadgets, fashion styles, cars, sex, etc.) and yet be able to live with strong Christian beliefs.  The word tempt in English usually means “to entice or allure to do something often regarded as unwise, wrong, or immoral.” However, the scriptural word used here also means test in the sense of proving and purifying someone to see if they are ready for the task at hand.  Each day, we encounter challenges and trials to live out the gospel, some bigger than others.  How can each and every one of us hold firm to our faith while in the midst of so many temptations this world offers?

Now as the season of Lent is upon us, we are not alone in our tests of faith.  In the words of St. Paul, “No testing [temptation] has overtaken you that is not common to everyone.  God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).  Just as Jesus was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit, so are we in this season of Lent able to endure the trials of this life and rise with Him to the next.

Melinda Evangelista
St. John the Baptist, Baldwin Park