The Lord called Isaiah in our first Bible reading today, Paul and Sosthenes in the second, and John the Baptist in the Gospel.  The Lord calls each of us to be His servant, to be a light to the nations, that salvation might reach the ends of the earth. All we can say is: “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.”  How will you serve the Lord this week?  What is God’s will for you to bring light to others and point them to Jesus? This week, I’ll be joining Fr Brad and other pr

As Advent ends and Christmas begins, it is fitting that today’s Bible readings show the intensity of God’s perfect and passionate love for each of us.  What great love and patience our heavenly Father has shown us throughout the ages! God’s love culminates in the gift of His own Son, Jesus Christ.  This is the peace that the world cannot give. What can we possibly offer in return?   All we can offer is our entire lives as gift in return!  Living our stewardship way of life wi

Good news, everyone! Father Carlos is back from vacation, and we are half-way to Christmas!  It is time to take a moment to rejoice in the Good News that our Savior will come again in triumph one day. Today’s Bible readings on this Gaudete (“Rejoice”) Sunday are filled with reminders of God’s final victory over suffering and injustice, and encouragement to remain steadfast in our mission to live as faith-filled disciples. Such a day almost seems too good to be true, especiall

Thank you for joining us this Second Sunday of Advent in this Jubilee Year of Hope.  As we draw another week closer to Christmas, our hope in Jesus gets stronger as we honor our Blessed Mother, Mary with two great feasts:  Her Immaculate Conception, on Monday, December 8 (A Holy Day of Obligation) and as Patroness of All the Americas under her title of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Friday, December 12. This week, please pray with me this beautiful prayer to Our Lady of the America

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!  Welcome to family and friends visiting us here this weekend!  We “burned our mortgage”.  Now, we look ahead with hope.  What more can we do for Jesus and His Church? Today we begin the beautiful season of Advent. It is a season meant for preparation. But what exactly are we preparing for?  In the weeks leading up to Christmas, it seems everywhere we turn we are pushed to spend more, do more, entertain more, and generally rush ar

How exciting that the annual Castle Rock Star-Lighting this weekend coincides with this great Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe!  Jesus is truly the light of the universe that shines in the darkness of sin and death!   Our Bible readings today show us that we serve the greatest of Kings, who is at the same time the humblest of Kings. Christ is the perfect model of servant leadership. And what an indescribable privilege that He has called us to be servant le

Thanks to everyone who helped to pay off our parish building debt.  Capital improvements and ongoing maintenance, of course, will continue.  Our monthly DEBT envelope will change into a CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT envelope in the months to come.  Our biggest project will be a new sewer line that is estimated to cost between 700,000-800,000 dollars.   We appreciate your ongoing support. Fr Mark Zacker Here are a few moments from the burning of the mortgage! (Thank you, Patty H., for f

The Feast of the Dedication of the St. John Lateran Basilica is unusual in the Church's calendar because it is a feast for a building rather than a saint or an event in salvation history. The Basilica of St. John-dedicated to both St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist-is the cathedral of Rome, the mother church of the mother diocese of the world. Most people think St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is the cathedral of Rome, but it is not. St. John's church, locate

On this commemoration of All Souls’ Day, the Church turns our gaze toward all the faithful departed, entrusting them to God’s mercy and proclaiming once again our hope in the Resurrection. The Bible readings selected for this day speak with one voice: death does not have the final word, for those who live and die in Christ will share in His victory over the grave. This is where the message of our good stewardship comes into focus. Thanks to everyone who completed your annual

I was praying with this Gospel before daily Mass, and I immediately thought of all of us trying to get into our parking lot these days!  — “Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.” (Luke 13:22-24) Why is Jesus inviting us to pass t

One of the wonderful aspects of our annual Stewardship Appeal is its balanced approach to all areas of life. We see this balance in play as we make our commitment to give our time in prayer, our talent in ministry, and our treasure in financial offerings.  As stewards, aware of our total dependence on God for everything, we come in awe and gratitude every Sunday. At the same time, we approach our Lord with an awareness of the great dignity He has given us, creating us in His

It's the mother of all questions, addressed to us now in the twenty-first century. We might look at our families, nation, or world in despair sometimes and conclude that faith in the God of peace has all but vanished. A better approach might be to dig deeper into your own faith in the God of peace and Jesus's way of love, and pray, "I believe in you, God of peace, saving Jesus, Holy Spirit of love, and, come what may, I will continue to adore you, love you, and serve you." Le

This week we begin our Annual Stewardship Appeal . For the last three years each one of us have been making a conscious effort to commit specific time to prayer, talent to ministry, and treasure to the Church. Our parish is growing and more people are coming here to the love of Jesus! Gratitude is the key to this whole way of life. Thank you for your prayer, ministry, and generous financial offerings. Today’s Bible readings demonstrate the power and vital importance of gr

Sobre esta roca edificaré mi iglesia During June, we have celebrated deep mysteries in the life of the Church — Pentecost, the Most Holy...

¡El Renacimiento Eucarístico superó las expectativas! Today’s Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) marks...

Domingo de la Trinidad, Día del Padre y el Don del Credo The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity that we celebrate today happens to be...

When we consider the Christian way of life we live, we often focus on the challenges it poses. Surrendering ourselves to the Holy Spirit is indeed a challenging way to live. But it leads to a life that is exciting, creative, and deeply rewarding. Being a Christian allows us to experience life as a great adventure because it is a life guided and directed by the very source of power and creativity— the Holy Spirit!  

On this Feast of the Ascension, we celebrate Christ’s triumphant return to the Father after accomplishing His mission on earth. But we can also view this Feast as a celebration of the “launch day” of our mission as Christ’s disciples. Being Christ’s disciples with its emphasis on the use of our time, talent, and treasure, helps us to live in such a way that our very lives speak as a witness of the Good News of the Gospel. While we take time to reflect and renew our commitm

Maestras, mentoras, líderes: Mujeres en el corazón del ministerio pastoral Jesus promised the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to continue to...

Please join me in continued prayer and rejoicing for our new Pope, Leo XIV!  I mentioned at Masses last weekend that we graduated from the same seminary!  This happened way back in the 1900s.  Remember the 1900s?  Pope Leo (Robert Prevost) earned his Master of Divinity degree from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago (CTU) in 1982.  I earned mine in 1995.  We never met each other, but I pray that since we share some of the same formation, I might share in some of his cha