Message from Fr. Brito:

We pray for the soul of Pope Francis and for Catholic Church as she prepares to chose his successor.

Prayer for the Election of a New Pope

O God, who in your wondrous love watches over your Church, fill the cardinal-electors with your Holy Spirit

to strengthen and inspire them as they choose a new Holy Father to lead us.

May they choose a shepherd for your Church

who will please you in his holiness and guide his flock

with love and watchful care, especially for the sick, the poor and the vulnerable.

We pray that your Holy Spirit will hover over the one who is chosen

to strengthen him to be a messenger of love, peace and unity in our world.

We offer our prayer through our Lord, Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

 

 

Happy Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday 2025

Today is the Sunday of the Divine Mercy. God loves us so much that he has taken upon himself the sins of the world. We, who seek his mercy, will find it in his son, our Jesus Christ. There is no other one who can save us. In today's Gospel we see Jesus appear to his apostles all, but Thomas. When Thomas finally arrives, the others tell him that Jesus is alive and that he has appeared to them. However, Thomas is the scientist in the group and as a good scientist he needs physical proof to believe.

"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."

 

Thomas has been chosen by Jesus himself to testify to a world that is full of skeptics. He will give testimony to all who need this kind of concrete evidence to believe.

 

Now the second, time that Jesus appears to his disciples, Thomas is present. I think the moment that Thomas sees Jesus that he knows and believes. But Jesus is not going to let Thomas off the hook and will allow him to test his declaration of what will bring him to believe.

The risen Lord says to Thomas:  "Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe."

The scientist declares his conclusion after having received his empirical evidence: "My Lord and my God!"

Thomas's statement transcends that of any other disciple to this point. He declared, without a doubt, that Jesus is God.

How many of you have seen Jesus as the disciples saw him? I have never seen him as such, but I believe with all my heart. I think most of you have not seen him either as such, but you still believe. Jesus said to Thomas: "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

When Thomas felt the love of Jesus, he felt the divine love of God. It was in his encounter with the heart of Jesus that he believed. He became like a child before God.

When we become like children it will be easier for us to follow the ways of God. That is, when we become humble.

In the second reading, John has a vision of the heavens:

"I saw seven gold lampstands
and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man,
wearing an ankle-length robe, with a gold sash around his chest”

The man who St. John sees is, of course, the Lord Jesus, and the seven candelabras are the seven sacraments of the Church:

These seven sacraments are God's way of pouring out his mercy on the world.

Beginning with baptism we receive the grace to live a life that pleases the Lord. The other sacraments feed us and strengthen us for this journey of life. The others sacraments help us to return to our baptismal grace when we have fallen away. The Eucharist is a sacrament in which we receive Jesus. What we receive looks like bread and wine, but we believe it is the body and blood of Jesus. Blessed are those who believe without having seen"

Jesus says: "Do not fear. I am the first and the last; I am the one who lives. I was dead and now, as you see, I am alive forever and ever "

During theses days, weeks and months that many of you are living apart from the special encounter with Jesus through the sacraments he left for the Church to celebrate, I pray and know that this time that you all have been separated from Christ in the Seven Sacraments will soon come to an end. Jesus Said: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” God bless you all,. Stay close to the merciful heart of our Lord Jesus and be not afraid. Amen

Fr. Brito

Prayer for a Deceased Pope 

God, Who, in Thine ineffable providence, didst will that Thy servant Francis ... should be numbered among the high priests; grant, we beseech Thee, that he, who on earth held the place of Thine only-begotten Son, may be joined forevermore to the fellowship of Thy holy pontiffs. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
Amen.

 

Lord Jesus, you have called Pope Francis to yourself. Thank you for the gift of his papacy. When he was with us, he tirelessly showed the Church your constant mercy toward sinners. Grant him now your mercy and let him rest eternally with you in your Kingdom. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.