Young Life Renewal

Fall

2010-10-02T15:15:00.000-07:00

My dear young people,
The summer is over and it’s “back to school time”. I’m sure all of you had a very wonderful and a great time with your family wherever you were. It’s always wonderful to take a break from school, work and whatever we have been doing. The break always provides a time for rest and renewal. Even though we were supposed to rest, I do believe many of you got busy by securing yourself a job to earn a few dollars and also to help some people in some way. That was great indeed! Let me say congratulations to all of you who volunteered in one way or the other.

Another school year is here with us, another year of great opportunities and promise. Many of you are moving on to a new school to continue your pursuit of higher education; others are moving on to a new class in the same environment. Whatever the change may be we are all moving forward somehow. Let’s make use of this great and wonderful time to be in school. Promise yourself that you will work harder than you did last year, that you will endeavor to improve upon your performance in class and wherever you find yourself. Many people have trust in you especially your loving and wonderful parents, so don’t let them down.

I had the opportunity to join students from our school, St. Mark, for a day’s recollection to usher in the new school year. We had a wonderful speaker, Deacon Ron to lead us. It was really a day well spent. Thank you to all who were part of that great day. My friends, let’s work very hard and all our efforts would be crowned with success. Let’s remember that a new school year is like planting a seed; you need to water it to grow and bear fruit. Be resourceful and unleash all your intelligence than God has given you to make your stay in school this year a very successful one.

I wish each and every one of you a very wonderful and successful school year. Welcome back to school; let’s enjoy our school family and help each other to be better. You are all in my prayers. Keep in touch.

Father Andrew

July 2010

2010-07-05T19:41:00.001-07:00

My Dear Young People,

How time flies! So soon the school year is over, and summer is once again here with us. We need to thank God for being so gracious to us through out the year. We recognize his blessings, protection, love, and care for us. We also need to recognize the awesome sacrifice and patience of our teachers this year. They have really done so much for us: teaching and helping us stay focused. To them we are very grateful. Our parents have continued to support us and keep us in school in this difficult year. Our parents have done so much that we must be grateful for. Again there are so many other people who have been supportive through out this school year: our bus drivers and the non- teaching staff, just to name a few. These people have been at our service and contributed to make the school year fun and full of success. We express our gratitude to all of them.

The end of the school year has seen many of our good friends graduating on different levels of their educational pursuit. We congratulate all of you Graduates on your accomplishments; we are really proud of you. CONGRATULATIONS! But wait a minute; that is not the end of the road. There is so much ahead of you as you continue with your education. Let the sky be the limit, and do not allow anything to stop you in your tracks. Remember hard work always makes you better and better. To my good friends from Saint Mark's School, I say you have made all of us proud. We will certainly miss you as you will miss each other. But it is time to move on and I know all of you would endeavor to get connected in some way somehow.

As you take a deserved break from school to enjoy the summer, make a solemn pledge to take care of your self and try to stay out of any trouble. Be as helpful at home as you can and enjoy every single minute with the family and friends. Yes, it's summer, but find some time also to read, refresh yourselves, and be abreast with events around you. I will keep in touch, and do not forget to stay in touch as well. Have a great summer and stay healthy. God bless you!

150 Years of Faith and Service

2010-04-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

Good Evening (Morning)!
On this fourth Sunday of Easter, our parish community is also beginning the observance of the jubilee year of St. Mark Parish. Yes, our parish was founded in the year 1861 and in the year 2011 we will mark 150 years of faith and service as a community.

Together this (evening(morning), we join at our Lord's table to begin a year of prayer and preparation for our Jubilee Year. The jubilee theme is reflected in banners which now line our church: "Prepare, Share, and Prosper!"

Gathered together, here on the feast day of our parish patron St. Mark, may we ask for blessings upon our parish and community this special anniversary year. May the activities of this year, celebrating our past, present, and future, renew our parish and deepen our relationship with our Lord and each other.

(For the Sunday, April 25th Masses Only)
Our year will be marked by both prayer and celebration. Directly after our liturgy this morning, please come across the street for a pancake breakfast in the school cafeteria. Sharing the Eucharist at the Lord's table and sharing breakfast thereafter id s special beginning to the year we will celebrate together these next months.

Even if you can only come across for a few minutes, please do so as a sign of parish life and community.
Thank you

April 18, 2010

2010-04-23T16:04:00.000-07:00

My dear young people, Happy Easter to all of you, belated though! I believe each one of you had a reason to celebrate Easter. Certainly you did enjoy your Easter egg, bread and all the goodies that come along with this great feast. I should say I enjoyed Easter celebrations especially the opportunity to celebrate Mass on Easter Sunday and preach about the risen Christ to many families, some of whom I have not met before. It was a great joy for me and my heart really overflowed with great joy. It is my prayer that we continue to keep communion with God.

Dear young people, Easter is what we still celebrate at this time of year. We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We celebrate new life over death, victory over defeat, hope over despair and courage over fear. Easter is about a new beginning, a new hope, a life that has meaning and is worth living. Jesus Christ died and rose to life to assure us of our own resurrection and eternal life. As we celebrate and continue to rejoice in this Easter season let us be mindful of the new hope Christ gives us. It is a hope which never dies, hope which overcomes despair, hope which keeps us going in the face of the challenges of our youth, society and environment, hope which endures to the end. The world around us often creates despair, fear, and hopelessness. Nevertheless the resurrection of Christ revives our hope because God is in control of the world. And because Jesus lives again today and forever we can pull through the challenges of the present time.

Dear friend, never give up on yourself even if things do not go the way you would like. In Christ Jesus you are victorious so look ahead and move forward. Do not be distracted by your challenges and difficulties-they are temporal. Let Easter remind you that with God in your camp you can turn things around, you will surely overcome and you will have a new beginning, a new hope and anew life you can be proud of.

You know, we inch closer to the end of another school year so do not give up on your studies. Work hard and it will make you better. Take good care of yourself and always remember that hard work does not kill but makes you better.

Do not be afraid to open your heart to Christ. I will catch you again. Peace and blessing to you.

Father Andrew

2010-03-13T10:49:00.000-08:00

THE TIME IS NOW...

My dear young people I'm very sure you are all fimiliar with the acronym "MYOB" (MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS). Sometimes we find ourselves telling people we perceive to be meddling in our affairs to stay away. I guess it is something that we have been brought up with. We have been told several times to mind our own business, don't be nosy we have been told. It think it is good to really not poke our nose into anyone else's. Nevertheless we must also guard against being indifferent to our brothers and sisters. This past Sunday's Gospel from Luke 13.1-9 seems to bring a similiar idea for our reflection. Jesus is told about some people who suffered terrible tragedies as a result of their sins. Jesus takes a different approach. He tells us that we should look into our own life and see what is going on there. What kinds of fruits are we in our lives bearing? We should not assume that others suffer tragedies because they might have done terrible things in their life. Jesus wants us to understand that our brothers and sisters who experience tragedies are not worse sinners then any one else. There is always a tendency to have a sense of false security in our lives and think that we are doing alright. St. Paul cautions us in these words: "whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall" 1Cor 10-12). We all need repentance, a change in the way we live relative with other people. This is what the season of Lent is about; a time for conversion, a time for turning toward God and away from anything that would seperate us from God. This converstion is not something that is achieved once and for all, but involves a process of growth and development. It is an ongoing process.

Young people we may want to look at the way we relate with our friends, family; we may want to take another look at the way we preceive other people in our lives. Is there anything we need to work on to improve? I believe the call to repentance and change in attitude was the basic message that Jesus preached about 2000 years ago. This message has not changed and is very relevant for us today. Many have heard it but not all have reponded. We must carry this message to our peers, and let it resound in our world once again. That message you carry is the way you conduct yourself each day; it's the way you relate to others, it is the way you perceive them. Take advantage of each new day and strive to be a better person, strive to change what is not good in your life and you will experience real peace and happiness. God loves you and He gives you a chance each new day, don't let it go to waste; live in His grace and live fully. I will catch you again in the coming week. Till then stay blessed and be good.

Father Andrew

The Holy Season of Lent

2010-02-27T11:46:00.000-08:00

Hello my dear young people, Peace and love to all of you!

All too soon the season of Lent is here with us. Lent as we all know is a great time in the life of the Church as we prepare to celebrate the passion, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. It is a journey which begins on Ash Wednesday. On Ash Wednesday, I believe many of you had the opportunity to attend Holy Mass with your families to receive ashes on your foreheads. The ashes remind us of our weakness, frailty, and our human condition which is prone to sin. But again this season of Lent brings awareness tot he fact that in spite of our weakness and sin, God's love abounds for each of us. This is great news! It is His love for us which makes it possible for us to receive His mercy and foregiveness. Lent is thus a time to receive God's grace not in vain.

Lent is a time to combat our weaknesses; a time to fast from our desires so we can feed our spirits and join ourselves in Christ. Lent is dying to our own self-centeredness in order to bring life to others. Lent is about sharing life, and the good things of life with others. Many of us will recall the Gospel of Ash Wednesday about prayer, fasting and alms giving. Prayer enables us to draw more closer to God and listen to Him speak to us about the way we should follow His way this great season; fasting enables us to die to our desires and live for others; alms giving enables us to share with others.

All of us want to have a very fruitful Lenten season which is a wonderful idea. But I think we can accomplish that when we allow the agenda of God to take first place in our lives. What is it that God wants from me this season of Lent? This is a question we should reflect on as we journey with Jesus through Lent. As I said earlier, let us not take the grace of God in vain, but rather make use of the graces of the sacrament of reconciliation and the holy Eucharist. Let us spend time reading and meditating on the World of God, a weapon to overcome our weakness. Pray more than you have before and God will surely hear and answer you. Let us journey together in faith with Jesus as we contemplate His Love for each one of us. God Bless and keep you throughout this wonderful season of Lent. Have a very fruitful Lent. I hope to catch up to you again next week.

Father Andrew

Our Advent Preparation

2009-12-18T10:31:00.000-08:00

Dear Young People,

Already we are in the fourth week of Advent, a time set aside to prepare to celebrate Christmas. One may wonder what kind of prearations are needed for Christmas. I'm sure since "Black Friday" many people have been shopping, buying new stuff as presents for family, friends and also for themselves. Many of us still have been moving stuff from the closet, basement or attic to make way for decorations. When ever I drive in our neighborhood I see beautiful decorations of light and other symbols pointing to Christmas. Christmas is about Jesus Christ, the Son of God born to save us. So what we are preparing ourselves and our homes for is to celebrate the birth day of Jesus Christ. His birth changed the world because he came to teach us love of God and love for one another. I think it is certainly an event we must celebrate with pop and pagentry. But, wait a minute, were are we in our lives to prepare for Christ. We have heard in church in the past weeks how John the Baptizer preached and invited his country men and woman to prepare them selves in readiness for Jesus Christ the one who comes to save the world. They responded with eagerness to the call. They repented and submitted themselves to baptism. They asked John the Baptizer what they should do as a way to prepare themselves to see the Savior. John told them in simple terms to share, to care and be kind with one another.

My young people we can also make a good preparation for Christmas; we can decorate and give gifts to other people. But more importantly, we can leave a space in our hearts for Jesus Christ. A space that he will fill with his love, humility, kindness, caring and happiness for us and the world. I invite you from now until Christmas day to care about other people. Be kind to others and try as much as possible to share your life with others. We can make a good preparation for Christmas. It is not to late, you have a week to go. Step up your preparations and be truly ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

Take care and stay tuned for next week's posting. God Bless You.

AFTER THANKSGIVING......

2009-11-29T14:47:00.000-08:00

Dear friends, I have been off the Internet for the past several weeks because I had a little problem with my computer. Today I'm happy to be back and linking up with you.
My dear young people how fast time flies! So soon the long awaited Thanksgiving celebration is over. I should like to think that many of you, if not all, really had a good time with your respective families. What a wonderful time to be with family and people who are very dear to us. Thanksgiving is always a special time to be with family, the first place we learn to love and live with others. It reminds us of our need to show gratitude to God for His love, care, protection and peace. We also show gratitude for the lives of each member of our families. We recognize that God has done so much for us as individuals, as families and as community. Let us count our blessings and see what the Lord has done for us and our families. God has blessed us in the past in so many ways and with so many gifts. We owe God some gratitude.
Even though things have not been too good for our nation and families because of the economic downturn confronting our nation and the whole world, we still have every reason to say "thank you God". In all the difficulties of the times we still have the precious gift of life. Let us continue to thank God for everything, and as we do so have the deep faith and trust that all will be well again.
This Sunday we begin the joyful season of Advent - our preparation in anticipation of the birthday of Christ at Christmastime. Event though it is seen by many as a time to do shopping for our Christmas presents, it is more of spiritual preparation since the event we look forward to carries a spiritual message for us. Over the weekend I hope to share a few thoughts with you on how we as young people can have a wonderful preparation for Christmas. Make a date with me then. As always take very good care of yourself and work hard. Keep in touch and God bless you week.
Father Andrew

CHANGING OUR BAD HABITS

2009-10-12T16:16:00.000-07:00

Dear young people, this week I would want to share a thought with you about habits. We all have bad habits and there is always the possibility of falling back into those bad habits. It is something we all experience at least with respect to eating or the best use of time.
One lesson probably is that it is not enough to break a bad habit; we need also to replace it with some good habit. Otherwise, the vacuum, the void or the gap invites some new evil or the return of small old bad habits. An effective change of life or repentance includes turning to something better or making some good plans, or resolutions. Time spent on sleazy reading or TV viewing needs to be replaced with time spent on more positive interests and activities.
A habit of badmouthing others or being excessively critical or mean, needs to be replaced by a habit of looking for the positive and good in others and speaking of it. Each of us can think of what needs to replace the old bad and deficient in our life and what new habit or practice needs to be taken up.
None of this is a matter of technique, but needs to be rooted in prayer and reflection leading to self-knowledge. Our falling back into old bad habits teaches us that change is never simply a matter of strong determination on our part, but change is primarily a matter of being open to God's love, grace and action in us. I wish you all every best during this week. Keep well and let me hear from you. God bless you!

VALUE WHO YOU ARE

2009-10-05T08:12:00.000-07:00

Dear young people, I believe you are all in great shape and keeping busy with your studies as well as all the good things which bring you fulfilment. Most of all I do hope you are taking advantage of the many wonderful opportunities which come your way to be a better person in your studies and at home.
I would like to share a few thoughts with you about how special each one of us is; we have a special place in the eyes of God. Sometimes we undermine our worth and value because we dwell so much on our limitations and inadequacies. Yes, we make mistakes because we are human and not perfect. But we need also to recognize the good in us and the many abilities we have. We are capable of being better. Let us not dwell on our mistakes but rather look forward with confidence and trust in what we can achieve with our God-given abilities. Value yourself, take pride in who you are and always be mindful of the fact that there is something inherent in you given by God which is more powerful and capable than your mistakes, the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God strengthens you in your weakness and gives you strength and renews your capacity to be what God wants you be to, a better person. So my friends, let's value who we are and do not let your mistakes and limitations stop you from unleashing all the wonderful gifts and talents God has given you to live a purposeful life.
God loves and values you because you matter to Him in the scheme of everything in this world. Let's continue to renew ourselves by recognizing our worth, our value and the assurance that we are loved by God just as we are. Keep in touch and stay blessed. Have a wonderful week.

humility

2009-09-20T05:52:00.000-07:00

Young people, we continue to renew our lives each day with the many wonderful opportunities that come our way. One such opportunity is the lesson of this Sunday's Gospel from Mark 9.30-37. It's about greatness, and I believe all of us have that secret ambition to be great some day. We are being challenged today to examine our own lives and ask ourselves, "who have been the important persons in our lives?" Just take a moment and bring to mind those that have been the most important persons in your life. They are our loving parents, family and teachers. Very much so!
But I think I cannot fail here to mention those who teach us how to love God, who transmit the Gospel values to you, who mentor you by their example of good Christian living, who nurture you in the life of our Church and the Sacraments. I'm talking about our wonderful Catechists! They teach us how to proclaim the Word of God with our simple lives: kind words, good actions, little help, kind correction and many more you can think of. They are, in a word, your servants, placing themselves before you on life's banquet table the necessary food for your soul.
The meaning of greatness then, truly is service. That is why Jesus places a little child, the most vulnerable and the most dependent of us all, before our eyes. The true test of your life and mine is how we deal with those who are weaker than we are, more dependent than we are, more vulnerable than we are. We can ignore them, or we can devote our lives to caring for them.
Dear young people, that is the choice Jesus gave his followers(disciples), and that is the choice Jesus puts in front of you and me today. Our greatness lies in placing ourselves at the service of others. So this week let's reflect on how best we can be of service at school and wherever we find ourselves. Let's renew our lives by our humble service to others. God loves you.! Stay in touch and hope to catch you again.

September 2009

2009-09-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

We are back to school young people. I am sure you had a wonderful summer where ever you were. I also had a nice time in Rome as I mentioned earlier in my postings. To be back in school is a great feeling because once again we will have the chance to meet new friends, wonderful teachers and most of all continue shaping our future with what we study in class. So you see being in school is very crucial for the life that awaits us in the future. Education as we all know is that powerful key we need to unlock the good promise of our future. That is why we have to sieze this rare opportunity to do all we can to study very hard and prepare ourselves for what tomorrow awaits us. Think of the sacrafices Mom and Dad had to make to get your stuff ready for school. I am sure you all got what you wanted, the nice sneakers and all. It means a lot, they want you to be ready. They feel proud that you are back to school and they want you to study and study hard to fullfill their dreams for you and your future. Remember, our parents always share in our dreams and we make then proud when we stay on course to fullfill those dreams. So young people, lets work hard as school gets underway and lets stay focused. Let's try to be of help to all people. Let's show respect, humility and dedication in all we do. Stay in touch and remember life is a gift, let's renew it every day.

Surviving Rome July 2009

2009-08-07T10:13:00.000-07:00

I am back on American soil after a month's stay in Rome, the "Eternal City". Guess What? It was a great opportunity to be in Rome to see what I have read, what I have studied and the stories that I have heard about this magnificant city. What a wonderful experience and unforgettable time I had. Rome is very hot at this time of the year but the magnificance of it's history brings a chillknowing where I walk, many have come before me. By the way did you know that Italians have a reputation for delicious cuisine that they are proud to maintain wherever they are; at home or abroad. Later as I recount my experience I will share with you in detail some of the wonderful sites and my feelings as I toured the city. There are many opportunities out there, look out for them and when you set eyes on them sieze them. As they say: "Opportunity comes but once". Young people enjoy the summer but take very good care of your selves and don't forget, you are our future. Let me hear from you.

Waiting

2009-07-07T04:15:00.000-07:00

If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, you will never plan anything and never harvest anything.