Dear Parishioners, Advent is upon us and Happy New Year! The First Sunday of Advent always marks the beginning of a new liturgical year for us and in every beginning there will always be exciting possibilities. As we enter the Holy Season of Advent, our preparation for our Lord’s coming is once again put into focus. Let us be mindful of the…

Dear Parishioners, You have read this before but I will say it again. Thanksgiving Day is truly something that should be celebrated all over the world! It is a wonderful practice that builds relationships not only among people but also and more importantly, it builds relationship with God – the One who is truly worthy of all praise and thanksgiving. The celebration…

Dear Parishioners, You probably don’t want to “hear” this right now but from today, Sunday November 17, we’re only 38 days from Christmas! I know some tend to panic when Christmas time draws near and it seems that it is always too early to talk about it. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet (!) but there are already Christmas decorations in the malls…

Dear Parishioners, As you all already know, I was in Portland this past week to attend two meetings. First (last Wednesday), was the joint meeting of the College of Consultors and the Archdiocesan Finance Council and second (last Thursday), the Presbyteral Council meeting. I always treasure these meetings with the Archbishop and his councils that I get to attend. Quite honestly, sometimes…

Dear Parishioners, Every time we come close to the first and second of November, we should be reminded of our oneness as members of the mystical Body of Jesus Christ – the Church. With Jesus as our head, we are the body – Jesus is the head of the body to which we belong. This is what we profess we believe every…

Dear Parishioners, During the All Parish Leaders Meeting at Shepherd of the Valley two weeks ago, the keynote speaker was Bishop Peter Smith. He talked about the challenges of doing ministry in an environment where the culture is rejecting God. Decades ago, the people of faith in the American society used to be accepted and respected, but not anymore. Some of you…

Dear Parishioners, “Congratulations and welcome to the United States!” my friend told me when I shared that I will have my Naturalization Oath Ceremony in Portland. At that time, it felt funny because I have been living in the US since 2006. I know 13 years is not a very long time, but I see myself spending the rest of my life…

Dear Parishioners, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.” The Gospel that we have for this weekend reminds us that faith plays an important part in our own salvation. Without faith, it would really be hard for us to be saved especially if we already know who our God is. There are times when we claim that we have faith…

Dear Parishioners, As always, the convocation of the priests of the Archdiocese in Newport was successful. It was a great time to see and visit (and yes, have a little bit of fun too) with my brother priests from the different parishes around Western Oregon. This year we continued with the pastoral planning for the Archdiocese and the plans will be discussed…

Dear Parishioners, October is the month of the Holy Rosary and I would like to remind you of our special connection to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. For those who do not know yet or who might have forgotten, before we became known as Our Lady of the Mountain Parish, we used to  be known as “Our Lady of the…

Dear Parishioners, Thank you for all your prayers, we had a wonderful pilgrimage. Please know that I prayed for all of you as well. I brought your intentions with me to the different sites and churches we visited during the pilgrimage and I prayed for each of those intentions at every site. Thank you for giving me the chance to take them…

Dear Parishioners, Greetings from the Eternal City – Rome!!! The pilgrimage is going well, after more than 24 hours of travel (flight delays) we made it to Rome last Tuesday evening. The first three days of the pilgrimage are spent in Rome and it truly is a wonderful city. I am so blessed to have this opportunity of seeing God’s greatness through…

Dear Parishioners, As we remember the birthday of our Blessed Mother (September 8), let us be mindful of her powerful intercession for us. We are so blessed to have our Mother as our patroness; let us truly develop a relationship with her that leads us to our Lord. I know how sometimes some people have a hard time going to the Blessed…

Dear Parishioners, As we begin another school year, I would like to ask you to once again prayerfully discern how you can involve yourselves in our parish community’s many activities and ministries. It is always good to remember that the different activities and ministries that we have in our parish community are all meant to help us grow in our faith and…

Dear Parishioners, Last Thursday (August 15th) we celebrated our parish feast day in the celebration of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Happy Feast Day!!! Aside from the fact that it is our parish feast day, the Solemnity of the Assumption is truly something to celebrate because it gives us hope that one day we shall also share…