Daily Prayer for Priest O my Jesus, I beg You on behalf of the whole Church ... give us holy priests. You yourself maintain them in holiness.
O Divine and Great High Priest, may the power of Your mercy accompany them everywhere and protect them from the devil's traps and snares, which are continually being set for the souls of priests.
May the power of Your Mercy, O Lord, shatter and bring the naught all that might tarnish the sanctity of priest, for You can do all things. - St. Faustina (Diary, 1052)
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However, We Must Be Humble And Obedient Just Like Sheep!
My Dear People,
Jesus is Our Good Shepherd. This concept is very difficult for city dwellers to comprehend. Sheep are very simple minded. They are vulnerable to attack. Without a protector or shepherd, wild animals would come to sweep them all away. Jesus Christ gives us his ultimate protection from His suffering and death on the Holy Cross. Jesus is our Ultimate Shepherd.
Upon the Holy Cross is where He defeated the devil. Every time we look to the Holy Cross and contemplate the power of Our Lord’s Precious Blood flowing from His Holy Wounds, we are saved from the evil one. The devil despises the power of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection. The evil one hates the power of the Holy Cross, and he hates us. Jesus knows each of us by name. He cares for and always watches over us, protecting us from the enemy. Just as a shepherd leads the sheep to safety through the sheep gate, so too does Jesus lead us to the Gates of Heaven. So like sheep, we need be humble, obedient and trusting always in Him. Place all of your cares into the hand of the Good Shepherd.
Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,
Fr. Mark Bozada
As good stewards, may we always trust in the care of our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.
My Dear People,
The road to Emmaus account is yet another Resurrection narrative read during Easter.  In this account we find Jesus defining for us the boundaries for our present day mass. As Jesus shared with His Disciples, they were prevented from knowing Him because He has not yet ascended to the Father. Our Lord begins by sharing the Sacred Scriptures. We do this at every mass in the Liturgy of the Word. Then, after their hearts were set on fire with the Word, Jesus breaks bread with them just as He did at the Last Supper with the Apostles. With that their eyes were opened, and Jesus vanished from their sight. This breaking of bread is what we do in the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
At the words of consecration, the bread and wine become the Body and Bread, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Himself. Just as Our Lord was them taken from the sight of the disciples, so too is Jesus taken from our sight at Holy Communion time. We must then see with the eyes of “faith”. Jesus preformed many other signs of His Resurrection that were not written in the Gospels. He calls all of us to believe in Him, so that we might have LIFE in His Holy Name.
Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,
Fr. Mark Bozada
May we always be eager to take advantage of the Great Grace of Jesus’ Divine Mercy.
My Dear People,
.jpg "Divine Mercy Image & Blessed Pope John Paul") Divine Mercy Image & Blessed Pope John Paul St. Faustina was given the great grace to have many apparitions of Jesus our Divine Mercy. A contemporary of Pope John Paul ll, she lived on a few miles from our future pope. Dying at the young age of thirty-three years old, St. Faustina received a lot of infused knowledge. It all centered on the closing of an age of salvation history that would be given the grace of God’s Mercy. Mercy expands the heart and soul and allows it to receive more of God’s Love.
Before his death, Pope John Paul ll established the Feast of Divine Mercy on the second Sunday of Easter. During the eight days of the Resurrection, we close the final day with the invitation to immerse ourselves in Jesus’ Sacred Heart to benefit from His Mercy. The Church requires us to go to Confession, pray for the intentions of the Holy Father, and to pray reverently the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Come and take advantage of this grace and the plenary indulgence that is attached to this grace.
Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,
Fr. Mark Bozada
May we always be eager to take advantage of the Great Grace of Jesus’ Divine Mercy.
May The Risen Lord’s “New Fire” Ignite Our Hearts and Souls!
My Dear People,
 He is RISEN…Alleluia! This is the cry of the Church for eight straight days. The “octave” of Easter celebrates Our Lord’s coming forth ALIVE from the tomb from the Holy Sepulcher. In Jerusalem, near the burial place of Jesus, Holy Christians beg for the fire of the Holy Spirit to come and ignite the Easter Fire. Once lit, the NEW FIRE is blest and is used to light the Paschal Candle blessed so reverently on Holy Saturday. How great a celebration this is for the whole universal Church! We pray that the same NEW FIRE ignites our own hearts and souls in preparation for our own holy deaths.
It is this light of Christ that will eventually lead us to the throne of Our Heavenly Father. We long to see Him face to face; to adore and worship Him for all eternity. The New Adam, Jesus Christ, gives us our resurrected bodies, the means by which to enter into Paradise. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. AMEN!
Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,
Fr. Mark Bozada
May we always be eager to praise and glorify the Father in all of our acts and deeds. We long to see You face to face!
Visit Him In The Confessional!
 My Dear People,
One might think that if someone could raise the dead, that their credibility might be somewhat solid. This was not the case with Jesus. Lazarus had been dead for four days. He was in the tomb. Lazarus was buried and the period of his mourning was at hand. Martha and Mary, his sisters, were grieving, each in their own way. Martha goes out to give Jesus a piece of her mind. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would never had died.” Instead of dealing with her concern, Jesus poses another. “Do you believe that your brother will rise from the dead?” He asks, “Yes, in the Resurrection on the last day” Martha answers. She goes on to repeat the confession of St. Peter. “I believe that you are the Christ.”
Having received her confession of faith, Jesus approaches the tomb and calls Lazarus out. Still bound in burial clothes, the dead man raised up, hobbles forth. To the great amazement of the crowds, Lazarus is returned to his sisters. “Untie him and set him free.” From that point on, many Jews came to believe in Jesus. This Lent, allow Jesus to set you free. This is best accomplished in the confessional. Remember your Easter duty this year… a minimum of one confession each Lent unless you are in a state of mortal sin. Come let Jesus heal you.
Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,
Fr. Mark Bozada
May we always turn to the confessional for a great healing of our souls.
By Confessing Our Many Sins And By Seeking Mercy.
My Dear People,
When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, He was desirous of her faith. “Get me a drink”,  Jesus asked the woman at the well. Like the Jews who wandered in the desert, we too can get lost in this world. It is so easy to be misled. Jesus desires for us to be “found” in Him. So Jesus meets the woman on her won turf. “I am the Living Water”, Jesus told her. “Give me this Water, Sir, so I may not keep coming to this well for it.” At this point, Jesus introduces the notion of eternal life to her.
Thirst for her faith, Jesus draws her into himself. As He teaches this Samaritan about the springs of eternal life, she is intrigued. Unfolding the pages of her life, Jesus addresses the five marriages she consummated. He then goes on to unveil the new worship that will take place apart from the Temple in Jerusalem. Jesus would become the central focus for that worship. This was a very radical notion for the Jews. We will adore the Father in Spirit and truth. Jesus finally reveals Himself as the Messiah by saying. “I am He”. Many of the Samaritans came to believe in Jesus as the Christ, by the testimony she gave to her friends.
Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,
Fr. Mark Bozada
May we seek the living God this Lent, confessing our many sins, and choosing to live a more merciful life.
My Dear People,
Take the Lenten Challenge to Make God Your First Priority
Jesus was led into the desert by the devil to be tempted. In the first temptation, the devil tells Jesus to change stones into bread. Our Lord refused to make idols of things that have no life in them. We are tempted to make animation objects come alive. TV, the internet, money, homes can all take a life of their own if we allow them. The second temptation involved the sin of presumption. “Call down your angels to rescue you after leaping from the parapet of the Temple.” Jesus refused to temp the Lord God. How many times do we presume, because of our pride, that it is OK to assume authority that is not ours? The third temptation involved lusting after the goods of this world. Jesus refused to worship anything that was not glorifying His Heavenly Father. When do we chase after the goods of the earth, in place of loving Our God first.
Sunday has become another day of the week. We work, shop, become consumed by sports activities all in the name of “pleasure” and convenience. And where does this leave Our Lord? Jesus gained for us all the graces that we need so we will not offend God by committing these sins. Lent is a time to reflect and re-arrange our lives to better know, love and serve God. Take the Lenten challenge to make God your first priority.
Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,
Fr. Mark Bozada
May we seek the living God this Lent, confessing our many sins, and choosing to live a more merciful life.
When We Frequent The Confessional
My Dear People,
Get revenge and “show no mercy” is the signature of our culture. Terrorism defines our age.  Matthew’s gospel tells us no one can serve two Masters; either he will love one and hate the other; or serve one and not the other. Who is the master of your heart? Does Jesus the Divine Mercy reign over your soul, or does the evil one of unforgiveness and hate? Both cannot co-exist. Either you will live God’s Divine Mercy or the devil’s unforgiveness. When we allow hate and unforgiveness to fester in our hearts, it drains it of our Lord’s Mercy.
St. Faustina reminds us that we always have access to the ocean of Jesus’ Divine Mercy. Only sin and hate suffocate this great grace. Frequent confession causes us to leave our offertory gift at the altar, until we are reconciled with God and neighbor. We may not be able to fix all relationships making them new again, but we can pray and implore God’s Mercy upon them. This is why we must frequent the confessional. It is here that Jesus makes all things new again. Please remember, if you go weekly to Holy Communion you should frequently to to confession. Otherwise, you will waste the Divine graces given at Communion and end up bringing condemnation upon your soul. Pray now to be reconcile with all through Christ.
Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,
Fr. Mark Bozada
May we always be ready to meet Jesus in the confessional, so we may benefit from all the graces of Holy Communion.
My Dear People,
Many Christians are confused about the difference between religion and faith. The term religion is a reference to the organized aspect of the denomination. One might belong to a congregation, and fulfill all of their requirements, but Jesus could be totally absent from the picture. This is why Our Lord was so frustrated with the Pharisees. They were very religious. They knew Jewish Law, but God was absent from the picture. So it is possible to be Catholic in name and practice, but not to know who Jesus is.
That is where “faith” enters in. You have faith in a person, not a religion. It is possible to be a Catholic your whole life, and not grow in your faith in Jesus Christ.It is why in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus calls us to be the salt of the Earth, a light to the world. We must be ready to share the person of Jesus Christ with one another. He is our Light… That is the recipe for growth in our faith!
Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,
Fr. Mark Bozada
May we always be ready to share our Faith fearlessly, so that others may come to know Jesus Christ.
Will God Judge Us Accordingly?
My Dear People,
Isaiah, a major prophet of the Old testament, focuses on the servant role of Israel in our readings this week. The Lord has formed me as a servant from the womb, Isaiah states. Israel is to be a light to the nations, glorious in God’s sight. Is this how the world views Israel today? Is she a pillar of goodness and light? Does she draw all nations unto the Lord? While in Jerusalem a few years ago, I had the opportunity to speak with an orthodox Jewish rabbi at the Wailing Wall. He made the distinction between “cultural Jew” and “observant Jews”. Over 90% of Israel was non-observant, meaning Jewish in name only. Very, very few Israeli Jews practice any religion at all. This rabbi went on to say that his nation was a “scandal” unto the Lord, and that God would judge them accordingly.
It made me think about the Catholic Church. Are we the same? Cultural non-practicing Catholics, few faithful and obedient unto the Lord are we? Are we not a scandal unto the Lord? Our divorce rate, abortion rate, pro-homosexual view, and church attendance is not much like our pagan brothers. Is God going to judge us accordingly as well?
Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,
Fr. Mark Bozada
May we always be grateful for the fullness of our Roman Catholic faith.
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