I wrote this paper in 2005 for a Principles of Biblical Studies Class with Dr. Scott Hahn. The paper is an attempt at understanding Jesus’ interaction with the Canaanite woman in the Gospel of Saint Matthew, this weekend’s Gospel passage. Reading over it I noticed a bit of redundancy towards the beginning, that may be evidence of the college student’s art of expanding a paper to reach the required length for the paper. First you will read the Gospel passage... Read more

[Homily preached while covering at Saint Peter Claver Parish, Macon, Georgia] At least once during the year-long cycle of readings of Mass, we are presented with an essential and fundamental element of the Gospel: The Gospel of Jesus Christ is universal. Jesus offers salvation to all peoples with absolutely no exceptions. Nationality, ethnicity, race, legal status, intelligence, wealth and so many other elements which often create divisions in society do not matter to the eyes of God when it comes... Read more

I came across this book by Allen Hunt while I visited a priest’s rectory last weekend to cover his Masses while he was gone. I knew very little of Allen Hunt, but had heard him speak several times on a local radio station in Warner Robins. I knew he was a convert to Catholicism and had been a guest speaker once at the Annual Atlanta Eucharistic Congress. I picked up the book and read the introduction. I was hooked. That... Read more

  I have found through personal experience that more people are familiar with the story of Saint Francis than the story of Saint Dominic. These two contemporaries founded the first mendicant orders challenging the status quo of religious life in the Church and both were radical in their evangelization methods. Domingo de Guzman was born into a noble family in Spain. Highly educated and a priest, he became a canon at the Cathedral of Osma. In the year 1203 Dominic... Read more

This weekend I had the opportunity to cover at the parish in Douglas and its missions. I was there as a seminarian in 2005 and always enjoy returning to Saint Paul in Douglas, Holy Family in Willacoochee and Saint William in Fitzgerald. Here is this weekend’s homily. Where do you find God? Where in your daily or weekly routine do you encounter the presence of God? Some people say they encounter God in the beauty of nature, when they see... Read more

Hace poco leí un articulo donde acusaban a los católicos de no leer la Biblia porque la Biblia dice que no debemos de crear imágenes de Dios porque estas son ídolos. En el Antiguo Testamento, los tiempos antes de Jesús, Dios siempre permaneció un Dios invisible. Nunca mostró su rostro y prohibió construir ídolos de El. Ídolos son estatuas o imágenes a las cuales se le atribuyen la presencia divina, osea la estatua misma es Dios. Dios si permite imágenes,... Read more

Here is a translation of my homily for Peru’s Independence Day. I concelebrated and preached at a Mass held at Saint Benedict Parish in Duluth, Georgia on Friday, July 29th. You can see some pictures on the previous post. A few days ago I was telling a parishioner that there are no coincidences for God. God, in his infinite wisdom, sends us what we need as long as we remain close to Him. God does not act because He’s bored... Read more

Anoche celebre una Misa por Fiestas Patrias en la parroquia de San Benedict en Duluth, Georgia, organizada por el Consulado del Perú en Atlanta. Nunca había visto tantos peruanos juntos en Georgia. El Cónsul Francisco Rivarola y su esposa Malena organizaron una noche muy amena con comida y música típica peruana. A continuación mi homilía. For translation in English click here Hace unos pocos días le decía a una parroquiana que para Dios no hay coincidencias. Que Dios, en su... Read more

Today is Peru’s 190th Independence Day. On July 28th, 1821 Jose de San Martin declared Peruvian independence from Spain. Below is a link to hear Peru’s National Anthem with nice pictures from various places throughout the country. The anthem is sung by Juan Diego Florez, a world-known Peruvian tenor. Before the link you will find a loose translation of the words of the National Anthem. You will notice it speaks strongly of the oppression suffered by Peruvians, first by the... Read more