Monday thru Friday: 9am-12pm & 1pm-5pm
Lunes a Viernes: 9am-12pm Y 1pm-5pm
Our parish is staffed by the
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (M.S.C.)
October 26, 2025
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
26 de Octubre de 2025
Trigésimo Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario
“El que se enaltece será humillado,
y el que se humilla será enaltecido.”
“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
Reflection on Sunday Readings by Fr. Luis and Fr. Rajesh
Reflexión sobre las lecturas dominicales del P. Luis y P. Rajesh
TRIGÉSIMO DOMINGO DEL TIEMPO ORDINARIO 2025
Queridos hermanos y hermanas: el domingo pasado, Jesús nos invitó a orar constantemente. Hoy nos invita a orar con humildad, reconociendo que somos nosotros quienes necesitamos a Dios, y no Él quien nos necesita a nosotros.
Permítanme compartir con ustedes algunas preguntas para este domingo:
¿Alguna vez algo o alguien te ha distraído en misa?
¿Alguna vez has criticado a alguien en la iglesia por su apariencia o por cómo viste?
¿Alguna vez has pensado que alguien es más religioso que tú por cómo camina, viste o reza?
¿Alguna vez te has comparado con otras personas por su fe?
¿Alguna vez te has sentido orgulloso de tu fe?
¿Sabías que el orgullo es uno de los siete pecados capitales?
Hermanos y hermanas, permítanme decirles que, si responden «sí» a alguna de estas preguntas, es posible que se equivoquen, ya que están juzgando a las personas por su apariencia y no por las intenciones de su corazón.
Jesús desafía a menudo nuestra forma tradicional de vivir la fe y cumplir con nuestros deberes cristianos. El Evangelio que leemos este domingo nos ayuda a comprender que Dios no se fija en las apariencias, sino en los corazones y en las intenciones, pues él ve lo que nosotros no vemos con nuestros ojos humanos. Hoy, Jesús nos muestra que, a veces, las personas muy religiosas que cumplen con sus deberes cristianos no son tan puras y santas como parecen, y que en el fondo solo hay egoísmo y orgullo. Jesús nos ayuda a comprender que, a veces, las personas «buenas» no son tan buenas como creemos, y que las «malas» no son tan malas como pensamos.
La parábola trata de dos personas que van al templo a orar. El primero es un fariseo profundamente religioso que va al templo, aparentemente, a orar. Sin embargo, tan pronto como escuchamos su oración, nos damos cuenta de que no está allí para buscar o alabar a Dios, sino para alabarse a sí mismo por sus buenas obras y por considerarse mejor que los demás, especialmente que aquellos a los que él considera pecadores. Es una persona que acude a Dios para demostrar lo orgulloso que está de sí mismo y de la forma en que profesa su fe. No se da cuenta de lo egocéntrico, pomposo, crítico e ingrato que es en su vida.
En la otra esquina estaba un publicano, una persona que trabajaba para el Imperio romano y que, debido a su trabajo, era considerado un pecador público. Esta persona se reconocía a sí misma como pecadora y acudió al templo en busca de Dios para pedirle compasión y misericordia por sus pecads. A los ojos de quienes solo ven la apariencia externa, es el fariseo quien está justificado por su buen comportamiento y actitud religiosa. Sin embargo, Dios ve más allá de las apariencias y penetra en el corazón del recaudador de impuestos, que fue justificado por su actitud humilde, honesta y sincera, a pesar de ser pecador.
Hoy hay una llamada de atención para todos nosotros, personas religiosas y buenas que tratamos de cumplir los mandamientos de Dios, ayudar a nuestros vecinos cuando tenemos la oportunidad, depositar nuestro sobre de la colecta en la cesta los domingos, rezar el rosario y otras devociones y acudir a misa los domingos para dar gracias a Dios. A partir de esta parábola, el Señor nos invita a examinar nuestra forma de ver a las personas, nuestra limitada capacidad de juicio, a examinar primero lo que hay en nuestro corazón y a conocer lo que hay en el de los demás antes de juzgar y despreciar.
Es importante que consideremos cómo rezamos y por qué acudimos a misa: ¿acudimos para dar gracias a Dios o para contarle nuestras virtudes?, ¿acudimos para adorarlo o para criticar a los demás? Y, por último, ¿acudimos a misa porque queremos mejorar nuestra relación con Dios o porque es solo una obligación?
Hermanos y hermanas, no olvidemos lo que nos dicen hoy la primera lectura y el Evangelio: la oración humilde y sincera siempre es escuchada por el Señor, que desea de nosotros sinceridad, humildad y pureza de corazón.
Pidamos a san Pablo que nos dé el valor para decir, como él: «He competido bien. He terminado la carrera; he guardado la fe. A partir de ahora me espera la corona de justicia, que el Señor, el juez justo, me otorgará en aquel día». Compitamos bien haciendo la voluntad de Dios, haciendo el bien a todos y agradando a nuestro Señor Jesucristo. Amén
P. Luis Segura M.S.C.
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THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 2025
Dear brothers and sisters, last Sunday, Jesus invited us to pray constantly. Today, he invites us to pray with humility, recognizing that it is we who need God, not He who needs us. Let me share with you some questions for this Sunday:
Has something or someone ever distracted you at Mass?
Have you ever criticized someone in church for their appearance or how they dress?
Have you ever thought someone is more religious than you because of how they walk, dress, or pray?
Have you ever compared yourself to others because of their faith?
Have you ever felt proud of your faith?
Did you know that pride is one of the seven deadly sins?
Brothers and sisters, let me tell you that if you answer "yes" to any of these questions, you may be mistaken, for you are judging people by their appearance and not by the intentions of their hearts.
Jesus often challenges our traditional way of living our faith and fulfilling our Christian duties. The Gospel we read this Sunday helps us understand that God does not look at appearances, but at hearts and intentions, for He sees what we do not see with our human eyes. Today, Jesus shows us that sometimes very religious people who fulfill their Christian duties are not as pure and holy as they seem, and that deep down, there is only selfishness and pride. Jesus helps us understand that sometimes "good" people are not as good as we think, and that "bad" people are not as bad as we think.
The parable is about two people who go to the temple to pray. The first is a deeply religious Pharisee who goes to the temple, ostensibly, to pray. However, as soon as we hear his prayer, we realize that he is not there to seek or praise God, but to praise himself for his good works and for considering himself better than others, especially those he considers sinners. He is a person who goes to God to show how proud he is of himself and the way he professes his faith. He doesn't realize how self-centered, pompous, critical, and ungrateful he is in his own life.
In the other corner was a publican, a person who worked for the Roman Empire and, because of his job, was considered a public sinner. This person recognized himself as a sinner and went to the temple to seek God's compassion and mercy for his sins. In the eyes of those who see only outward appearances, it is the Pharisee who is justified by his good behavior and religious attitude. However, God sees beyond appearances and penetrates the heart of the tax collector, who was justified by his humble, honest, and sincere attitude, despite being a sinner.
Today there is a wake-up call for all of us, religious and good people who try to keep God's commandments, help our neighbors when we have the opportunity, place our collection envelope in the basket on Sundays, pray the rosary and other devotions, and attend Mass on Sundays to give thanks to God. Through this parable, the Lord invites us to examine our way of seeing people, our limited capacity for judgment, to examine first what is in our own hearts and to know what is in the hearts of others before judging and scorning.
It is important that we consider how we pray and why we attend Mass: Do we attend to give thanks to God or to tell Him about our virtues? Do we attend to worship Him or to criticize others? And finally, do we attend Mass because we want to improve our relationship with God or because it is simply an obligation?
Brothers and sisters, let us not forget what the first reading and the Gospel tell us today: humble and sincere prayer is always heard by the Lord, who desires from us sincerity, humility, and purity of heart.
Let us ask Saint Paul to give us the courage to say, like him: "I have competed well. I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on, the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just Judge, will award to me on that day." Let us compete well, doing God's will, doing good to all, and pleasing our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Fr. Luis Segura M.S.C.
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Humility before God…
The Gospel of today’s Liturgy presents us a pharisee and a publican (cf. Lk 18:9-14), that is, a religious man and an avowed sinner. Both of them go up into the Temple to pray, but only the publican truly lifts himself up to God, because he humbly descends within his true self and presents himself as he is, without a mask, with his own poverty. We could say, then, that the parable lies between two movements, expressed by two verbs: to ascend and to descend.
The first movement is to ascend. Indeed, the text begins by saying: “Two people went up into the temple to pray” (v. 10). This aspect recalls many episodes in the Bible, where in order to encounter the Lord, one goes up to the mountain of his presence: Abraham goes up on the mountain to offer the sacrifice; Moses goes up Mount Sinai to receive the Commandments; Jesus goes up the mountain where he is transfigured. To “go up”, therefore, expresses the heart’s need to detach itself from a dull life in order to go towards the Lord; to lift oneself up from the plateaus of our ego, to ascend towards God, freeing oneself of one’s own “I”; to gather what we live in the valley, so as to bring it before the Lord. This is “ascending”, and when we pray, we ascend.
But in order to live the encounter with him and be transformed by prayer, to rise up to God, a second movement is necessary: to descend. Why? What does this mean? In order to ascend towards him, we must descend within ourselves: to cultivate the sincerity and humility of the heart that give us an honest outlook on our frailties and our inner poverty. Indeed, in humility, we become capable of bringing what we really are to God without pretense: the limitations, the wounds, the sins and the miseries that weigh down our hearts, and [capable] of invoking his mercy so that he may restore us,
heal us, and raise us up. It will be he who raises us up, not us. The more we descend with humility, the more God raises us up.
Indeed, the publican in the parable humbly stops at a distance (cf. v. 13) — he does not come close, he is ashamed — he asks for forgiveness, and the Lord raises him up. Instead, the Pharisee exalts himself, self-assured, convinced that he is fine: standing up, he begins to speak with the Lord only of himself. When we think of them, let us look at ourselves: let us confirm whether, in us, as in the Pharisee, there is the intimate presumption of being righteous (cf. v. 9) that leads us to despise others. It happens, for instance, when we seek compliments and always make a list of our own merits and good works, when we concern ourselves with how we appear rather than how we are, when we let ourselves be trapped by narcissism and exhibitionism.
Let us ask the intercession of Mary Most Holy, the humble servant of the Lord, the living image of what the Lord loves to accomplish, overthrowing the powerful from their thrones and raising the humble (cf. Lk 1:52). [Synthesized from Pope Francis, Angelus, 23 X 22]
Rev. Jos Rajesh Peter M.S.C
30th Sunday – C
My friends, the very first sentence of today’s gospel is powerful and straight to the point:
“Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.” Note that Jesus said the Pharisee “spoke this prayer to himself.” Does that mean the Pharisee was praying to God in silence – or was the Pharisee praying to himself, instead of God ?
It seems that when Jesus told a parable about someone who was insincere and self-righteous, many times he would talk about a religious leader. In today’s gospel, he used a Pharisee as an example. Now, according to the Jewish culture and religious setting during the time of Jesus, Pharisees were the “good guys” and Tax Collectors were the “bad guys.” Pharisees, much like today’s clergy, preached the Word of God and led the people in prayer and worship.
Tax collectors, on the other hand, collected money from Jews on behalf of the Roman Empire. Many times, the Tax Collectors would collect additional money for themselves. There was no secret about this extortion and that’s why Tax Collectors were despised by Jews.
In today’s gospel, Jesus turns everything upside down. The Pharisee prayed: “O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity – greedy, dishonest, adulterous – or even like this tax collector.”
It’s true that this Pharisee obeyed Jewish Law and even more so:
He fasted twice a week. Jewish law prescribed only one obligatory day of fasting per year, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).
Also, he paid tithes on his entire income.
So interesting that the Pharisee began his prayer to God, thanking God for making him “better and holier” than everyone else on earth. I wonder if he really believed this – or was trying to convince God about his “righteousness…”
The Tax Collector. He was probably one of the Tax Collectors who extorted money from fellow Jews because of his sincere prayer: “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.” This man repented, he confessed his sinfulness, and changed his life, as Jesus said: “he went home justified.”
My friends, the way to holiness and spiritual growth is to know our failures and shortcomings. That’s how we recognize the necessary changes in our life which must be made. This is not to say that we have to do more “good” things to achieve holiness, as most of us have been taught. We cannot “earn our way to Heaven.” Try as we might, we cannot attain spiritual perfection. There is only one who is perfect and that is God.
One of the good and holy persons I have known in my life is my Uncle Barney, who died of Covid in 2021 at the age of 93. Uncle Barney once told me that he was thankful for every day because it allowed him to pray daily, “Lord Jesus, have mercy on me for I am a sinner.”
As mentioned earlier, Jesus turned everything upside down. Jesus often used a sinner as an example of repentance and change to holiness: The Prodigal Son; the sinful woman who anointed Jesus’ feet and bathed them with her tears; the parable of the Lost Sheep; and when Jesus was dying on the Cross, he told the Good Thief “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”
My friends, when sincere people move away from God and then become aware of their imperfection and see the need for change in their life – that’s when they find our merciful God, who has been there all along, patiently waiting. That’s why Jesus concludes this parable with:
“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
“Before you speak of peace, you must first have it in your heart.” –Francis of Assisi
“Antes de hablar de paz, primero debes tenerla en tu corazón”. –Francisco de Asís
