Being a True Disciple

07-31-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Chris Nunes

Dear fellow disciples,

The parable in today’s Gospel is a warning against the uselessness of greed. Jesus condemns the accumulation of wealth as an end to itself when life is so fragile and death being always around the corner.

Our journey as disciples of His kingdom leads in the opposite direction. Jesus teaches us the beauty of using our wealth to benefit those less fortunate than us.

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Heart to Heart Talks

07-24-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Chris Nunes

Dear Fellow Disciples,

This Sunday Jesus' prayer inspires us to address the Father as our Abba (daddy). It also teaches us, as His disciples, to transform our prayer into a continuous dialogue with the Father. God is before all, in Jesus's teaching, Our Father and we are brothers and sisters. So He cares and will care for us.

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Called First To Be

07-17-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Chris Nunes

Dear Fellow disciples, peace and blessings.

The story Martha and Mary in today's Gospel sheds light on our idea of discipleship. Many people have never heard the D word (Discipleship) and others who heard it sometimes think that it refers only to religious persons and priests. Neither Martha nor Mary were religious sisters or priests. So, the first fallacy to expel is that discipleship is just for those especially chosen.

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Divine Grace

07-10-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Chris Nunes

My Dear Fellow Disciples, peace,

“If only we would learn how great it is, to possess divine grace and how many riches it has within itself.” -St. Rose of Lima

With this beautiful quote from our Patron St. Rose of Lima, I would like to thank each and every one of you for your warm welcome to Fr. Javier, Fr. Cyriac, and myself. We feel so blessed to be here with you all already.

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Beginning a New Chapter

07-02-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Chris Nunes

Dear people of God in the Parish and School of Saint Rose of Lima, 

Peace and all of God’s blessings. 

It is with a sense of wonder that I, along with Frs. Cyriac and Javier, start the new chapter of my ministry as a priest and pastor, and also this new chapel of my discipleship following Jesus in His Church. Our hope and prayer is that we may assist and accompany Saint Rose of Lima’s community (Church and School) as we continue to grow, strive and prosper in faithfulness, holiness, and unity as true disciples of Jesus in His Church. 

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Come, Follow me

06-26-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. John Sims Baker

The priests' convocation a couple of weeks ago was held at the new lodge at Paris Landing State Park on Kentucky Lake. It is a beautiful place, both the building and the setting. One especially striking feature is the view from the room set up to be our chapel. It was perfect! It has a pitched ceiling and a glass wall looking out onto the lake. Every time I saw this view during prayer or Mass, I kept being reminded of an experience from my pilgrimage to the Holy Land. When we visited Magdala on the Sea of Galilee -- it's actually a lake -- we entered a chapel there that had a glass wall facing the water, like the lodge at Paris Landing! The views were remarkably similar.

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Going Forward, Looking back

06-19-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. John Sims Baker

A few weeks ago, I was in Washington, D.C. for an ordination and to visit my sister, who teaches at Catholic University of America. One day we had taken the metro into downtown Washington and were returning to the CUA/Brookland area where she lives. On trains like that, you can end up in a seat facing backwards, even as you move forward. I know that some people don't like seats like that, but they don't bother me. As my sister and I were sitting facing backward, we saw a young man coming forward, approaching us from the back of the car. He came right up to us.

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Corpus Christi Procession

06-12-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. John Sims Baker

I would like to invite everyone in the parish to the Corpus Christi procession after the 5:00pm Mass on Sunday, June 19. Corpus Christi ("Body of Christ" in Latin) is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Before we move out of the cycle of preparation for and celebration of the Easter Mysteries which started at the beginning of Lent, the Church gives us one more Sunday to focus exclusively on the gift of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist before we move into the Sundays of Ordinary Time once again.

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Introducing Fr. Christiano Nunes da Silva, our new pastor

06-05-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. John Sims Baker

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the new pastor of Saint Rose, Fr. Christiano Nunes da Silva – “Fr. Chris.” He will be beginning in the parish on Monday, June 27. Father was born in Fortaleza, a city on the northeast coast of Brazil, in 1972. He pursued studies in the sciences with the goal of becoming a veterinarian. Along the way, he worked as a quality control supervisor in the clothing industry and as an administrator at a center for medical imaging in his hometown.

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Come, Holy Spirit!

05-29-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. John Sims Baker

In a time of transition, it is good to remember the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Soon, we will celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit empowered the Apostles to live in peace and confidence as the Mystical Body of Christ present in the world. After the Ascension, they returned to Jerusalem and spent nine days in prayer with the Blessed Virgin Mary. As promised by the Lord, the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost in the form of wind and fire. Then the Apostles went out and preached Jesus Christ in the city where He had been crucified only weeks before. The Holy Spirit empowers us in the same way!

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Moving Forward

05-22-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. John Sims Baker

As a part of the parish facilities master plan produced by the strategic planning committee, initial recommendations include restoring the Marian Center and selling the old rectory on Maymont Drive. These are both located at the southwest corner of the parish property, behind the church. The parish is moving forward on both of these recommendations, and I want to report to you on that progress.

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Peaceful and positive transition

05-15-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. John Sims Baker

Parishioners keep asking me if I am excited about my move to the monastery, and the answer is yes. But frankly I don't have much time to think about it -- the time will come for that -- because of all the good things happening in the parish and the preparations for a peaceful and positive transition for the new pastor. First, we don't know who that is yet, but keep praying for him anyway! One fixed point we know is that the day of transition will be Monday, June 27. We will know the new pastor before then!

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Stewardship of Treasure

05-08-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. John Sims Baker

I want to reiterate the invitation to stewardship of talent from last week, especially for service in the liturgy. Thank you to those of you who have volunteered! Please look here to sign up, if you have not: https://bit.ly/3vAr5zV

It has been quite some time since I have addressed stewardship of treasure with the parish. I have made appeals for the diocese and for special collections, but I have not addressed our parish stewardship needs much during the pandemic.

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Stewardship of Talent

05-01-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. John Sims Baker

I apologize that this message is mainly for those who attend the English Masses at Saint Rose because most of these updates have already been implemented at the Spanish Masses thanks to the hard work of our dedicated parochial vicars! The pastor has been lagging behind. Of course, like everything else at Saint Rose, anyone in the parish is welcome!

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