Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, a Solemnity that invites us to reflect on the kingship of Jesus—a kingship unlike any other. Jesus is not a king who seeks power or wealth; He is the Servant King who reigns through love, humility, and self-sacrifice. His throne is the cross, and His crown is made of thorns.

As we approach the end of the liturgical year, our Readings bring us face-to-face with themes of finality and judgment. Jesus speaks about the end of time, reminding us that everything we see—the heavens and earth—will one day pass away. However, His message is not one of fear but of hope and readiness. In the Gospel, Jesus says, "heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away".

Dear Fellow disciples, peace.

In today’s readings, we see two women of great faith and generosity—the widow of Zarephath in the first reading and the widow in the Gospel. Both are poor and vulnerable, yet they each offer all they have, trusting that God will provide.

Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

This Sunday we hear Jesus' powerful summary of the law in Mk 12:28-34: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength... and love your neighbor as yourself." Here, we're reminded that our faith must be more than words; it's a call to relationship - with God and with others. To love God fully means embracing His love and allowing it to overflow to those around us.

Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

The Gospel today calls us to reflect on the foundation of Christian life: love. When Jesus is asked to identify the greatest commandment, His answer is simple yet profound—“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). These two commandments are not separate but deeply interconnected. We cannot claim to love God if we neglect our neighbor, and true love for our neighbor flows from our love of God. The true disciple learns in the school of Jesus, the Church, to live and show love al- ways.

Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

This Sunday the readings focus on themes of service, humility, and the example of Jesus Christ as the Suffering Servant. In today’s Gospel, James and John approach Jesus with a bold request: they want places of honor when Jesus comes into His glory. They’re imagining positions of power and prestige.

from Hamlet, Act III, Scene I, William Shakespeare

Is that really the question? Brothers and sisters, this week the Gospel opens a very important question for those who believe in Jesus Christ. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Well just as Shakespeare asks this question to follow it will be noble to suffer. Now we ask ourselves, when we said we would follow Christ, is it noble to do the will of the father? To go out of us and do his will?

We heard those words this week in the readings. Jesus as well in the first reading set to us a teaching of marriage. One of the themes for us in the parish as we move forward in this catechetical year, is focused on the Holy Family and the Domestic church. The domestic church is a vocation for all the Christian families.

Brothers & Sisters in Christ,

In the first reading from the Book of Numbers, we see Moses exclaim to Joshua, “Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets!” What exactly does it mean to be a prophet? For the people of the Old Covenant, it meant calling back the sinful Israelites and foretelling the doom they would undergo if they did not repent. It meant proclaiming that one day God would send a savior, the Messiah, to right all the wrongs of the world. However, what does it mean to be a prophet under the New Covenant?

Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

In today’s Gospel Jesus teaches His disciples a profound lesson on humility and service. The disciples are arguing about who among them is the greatest. Jesus, aware of their conversation, turns the world’s idea of greatness upside down. He tells them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”

Marian Center
Design work for the new Marian Center is progressing. Bauer Askew Architects have delivered floor plans and renderings, which have been shared through various channels and are on display in the Narthex. Parishioners were invited to vote on the roof design, with over 90% favoring the gable roof option. On August 29, the Finance Committee reviewed the project along with the schematic-level cost estimates and gave their approval to proceed with the final design.

Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

Today's Gospel focuses on a critical question Jesus poses to His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" (Mk 8, 29). This question invites both reflection and response. Not just for the disciples of Jesus' time but, even more, for the disciples of today.

Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

In this Sunday's Gospel we witness Jesus healing a deaf man with a speech impediment. This passage is powerful in its simplicity, illustrating the compassion and healing power of Christ. Jesus takes the man aside, away from the crowd, away from distraction, and intimately engages with him. He touches the man's ears and tongue, looks up to heaven, and with a deep sigh, says, "Ephatha", meaning "be opened".

Dear Fellow Disciples, peace.

As we return to meditating on the Gospel according to Mark, we are confronted with Jesus' critique of the exterior acts of devotion and worship performed by his contemporaries. Acts without depth or conversion of heart and life.

Jesus follows the example of the prophets of Israel, who denounced the peoples' faith and devotion which were based only in exterior actions but empty of interior meaning and conversion. We also risk such empty faith and devotion.