Teaching the Faith

The Commandments of the Law of God are ten:

The first three refer to the honor of God and the other seven, to how we relate to our neighbor.

1. Love God above all things.

2. You shall not take the name of God in vain.

3. You shall  keep the sabbath Holy.

4. Honor your Father and your mother.

5. You shall not kill.

6. You shall not commit impure acts.

7. You shall not steal.

8. You shall not give false testimony or lies.

9. You shall not consent to impure thoughts or desires.

10. You shall not covet the property of others.

Brothers, and sisters the ten commandments are the way to lead a life in peace with God and with our neighbor. The Christian who follows the ten commandments pleases God. Through the commandments God shows us the way to find happiness here in this life and in life eternal. I invite you to live a life in peace, with God through the fulfillment of the ten commandments and teach them to your children.

God bless you.

Br. Barrera

Teaching the Faith

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: 
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary…

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary…

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. 

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen. 

Teaching the Faith
An Act of Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.

Teaching the Faith

Act of Consecration to the Holy Spirit

O Holy Spirit,
Divine Spirit of light and love,
I consecrate to you my understanding,
heart, and will,
my whole being for time and eternity.
May my understanding be always submissive
to your heavenly inspirations,
and to the teaching of the Catholic Church,
of which you are the infallible guide;
may my heart be ever inflamed
with love of God and of my neighbor;
may my will
be ever conformed to the divine will;
and may my whole life
be a faithful imitation of the life
and virtues of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
to whom with the Father and Thee
be honor and glory forever.   Amen.

Pastoral Message

Dear brothers and sisters, as we begin this new year I want to wish all of you a joyous 2020 and may God bestow upon all of you the gift of His Holy Spirit. I invite all of you to consecrate yourself to the Holy Spirit during the new year. To guide you consecrate yourself, I had included the Act of Consecration in the bulletin.

May God Bless You all.

Fiat,

Fr. Barrera

Teaching the Faith

The Joyful Mysteries are marked by the joy radiating from the event of the Incarnation.
To meditate upon the joyful mysteries is to enter into the ultimate causes and the deepest meaning of Christian joy. It is to focus on the realism of the mystery of the Incarnation and on the obscure foreshadowing of the mystery of the saving Passion. Mary leads us to discover the secret of Christian joy, reminding us that Christianity is, first and foremost, evangelization, “good news”, which has as its heart and its whole content the person of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, the one Savior of the world.
                                                              – Pope John Paul II

Christmas Prayer

Ever most Holy Trinity Father, Son and Holy Spirit I adore you profoundly, I thank you perpetually, for the gift of salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ, which we celebrate during this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas to all of you.

Fr. Barrera

Teaching the Faith
Transubstantiation
The Catechism of the Catholic Church in paragraph (1376), tells us that during the Eucharistic celebration after the words of the institution pronounced by the priest, the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the Consecration the priest clearly pronounces the words of consecration pronounced by our Lord.
Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my Body, which will be given up for you.
Likewise, consecrated the wine with the words:
Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my Blood, The Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, using the words of consecration converts the bread into His Body and the wine into His Blood.

In the Eucharist, Christ is present under the species of bread and wine. That is why it is important to approach with reverence and devotion to receive Him in Holy Communion, with the certainty that Jesus is really present in this sacrament.

It is Faith that gives us the certainty that Christ is present in the Eucharist. The Church invites us to approach Jesus in the Holy Eucharist with reverence and love. The mass is an opportunity to come and present our afflictions, sorrows and joys to Jesus, when we receive the Eucharist is important to be in the estate of grace to be able to receive all the graces that flow from the Eucharist so to be able to do God’s Will in our daily life.

As we continue walking by Faith during this time of Advent, we ask Our Mother the blessed Virgin Mary to intercede for us that our eyes may be open to the light of faith, so that we can recognize her Divine Son in the Holy Eucharist, during this time of Advent so that we can see him through the eyes of Faith.
May God bless you!
Fr. Barrera

Teaching the Faith

The Holy Eucharist

The greatest of the seven sacraments is the Holy Eucharist. The Catholic Church teaches that in the Eucharist, Our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and true man, is really present under the appearances of bread and wine. Our Lord is not merely symbolized by the bread and wine; nor is he present only through the faith of those present. Rather, the two material things, bread and wine, are completely changed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ, leaving behind only their sensible appearances. Thus, through the words of consecration spoken by the priest, Jesus, without ceasing to be present in a natural way in heaven, is also present sacramentally, body, blood, soul and divinity, in many places throughout the world.

The Eucharist is not only a sacrament but also a sacrifice. In it Jesus, acting through the priest, makes present again in an unbloody manner the sacrifice which he offered once for all by shedding his blood on Calvary. In Holy Communion, by obeying Jesus’ command to eat his flesh and drink his blood, the faithful are also united spiritually with Jesus himself, and they unite their own prayers, works and sufferings to his perfect sacrifice.

From the Cathecismo of the Catholic Church