Holyrood Church 715 West 179 Street, Upper West side Manhattan, USA, 212-923-3770 mzepeda@holyroodsantacruz.org

The Red Corner of Fr. Luis

The unguarded tongue

Submitted by holyroodchurch on 22 January, 2020 - 13:08

The book of James is a powerful treatise on the Christian life. Specifically, the practice of the Christian life. James writes to encourage believers to move faith from principle to practice. Readers of James recognize very sensitive subjects early on in his writing; issues of class distinction, the relationship of faith to good works, and others that cause people to squirm.

 

A Radical Touch

Submitted by holyroodchurch on 20 January, 2020 - 09:48

How many of you have worked with or known people who have done things and they had no concerns about what people thought?  Well, today I invite you to look to a woman in Mark 5:25-34 who broke “religious protocol” and did so for only one reason: she was seeking Jesus.

 

Jesus at the center

Submitted by holyroodchurch on 18 January, 2020 - 23:02

Allowing Christ to enter your home (and this may be the place where you live or simply your life) always has very beautiful consequences. From the Gospel of Mark (2: 1-12) we can identify a key question that will help us understand what happened. This narrative answer the following question:  What happens when Christ comes into your home?
 
First, Christ will bring joy to your home: A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home (Mark 2:1). This meeting resulted in a great celebration full of joy.
 

The forgiveness

Submitted by holyroodchurch on 16 January, 2020 - 11:32

I've been meditating on forgiveness for a few weeks and today I decided to share some thoughts with you. The Epistle of Colossians (3:13) tells us: Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as God forgave you. In other words, it is a mandate; we must forgive. Forgiveness is a choice we make. It is a decision of our will, motivated by obedience to God and his command to forgive.

 

God's call

Submitted by holyroodchurch on 13 January, 2020 - 15:41

Jesus begins his ministry by proclaiming the “good news” of the gospel, which is that “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near” (Mark 1:15). Consider also that Mark portrays Jesus' proclamation of the kingdom coming not only as a gift ("good news"), but also with a demand ("repent").

 

Feast of the Baptism of Jesus

Submitted by holyroodchurch on 11 January, 2020 - 09:46

Good morning, happy Saturday and blessings my dear Holyrood family.

Tomorrow, Sunday, January 12, when we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus, we will also enter our Annual Meeting as a vigorous and revitalized church.

The Gospel for today

Submitted by holyroodchurch on 30 December, 2019 - 08:42

The Gospel for today (Luke 2:36-40) is the story of Anna the prophetess. It might seem like a bit too much to ask a person to be praying day and night. This is the case only if we have a very limited vision of prayer, namely that prayer is recitation of devotional formulas in front of the Blessed Sacrament. There is far more to prayer than this. Our whole life ought to be one long prayer to God.

 

The empty tomb

Submitted by holyroodchurch on 27 December, 2019 - 11:46

First, the Gospel tells us that a woman, Mary Magdalene, was the first witness of the resurrection of Jesus because when the rest of the disciples hid because they were afraid or too entertained with the affairs of the daily life , she did not lose faith and went out to meet the risen Jesus. And here the invitation for today is that we don't lose faith, that is, don't let them discourage us. That is why today I want to find the resurrection of finding heaven here on earth. That is, to live this transformation you don't have to die, you just have to learn to live.

 

Compassion over pain and shame

Submitted by holyroodchurch on 21 December, 2019 - 16:48

Good morning, happy Saturday and blessings my dear Holyrood family. I remind you that tomorrow Sunday we will have our Community Masses and Eucharist ‪at 10:00 am‬ in English & ASL and in Spanish ‪at 12:00 pm‬. 
 
During the sermon I want to take a moment to consider the faithfulness of Joseph. We hear a lot about Mary, and rightly so. She was, after all, the mother of Jesus, the only person constant in the life of Jesus from the cradle to the grave. But what do we know about Joseph? So, in the sermon we are going to take just a moment to give Joseph his due.
 

Mary dissipates

Submitted by holyroodchurch on 20 December, 2019 - 10:18

In the Gospel of Luke 1:35-38 we will be reflecting on the humility, in particular, the submission in Mary's spirit when she responded to the angel in this way: Behold the servant of the Lord; be done with me according to your word. For example; Are you currently facing an unexpected situation that you don't know how to solve? Are you going through economic problems? Do you suffer anguish and fear for having to leave your home country? Have you experienced the immense pain of losing a loved one?

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