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…

Dear Parishioners, For this letter, I would like to encourage you to make a conscious effort to see how beautiful the Mass is. There are so many things to consider when attending the Mass and so many reasons why the Mass is beautiful. There are times when everything becomes automatic to us and everything becomes part of a routine; let not the…

Dear Parishioners, The Gospel that we have for this Sunday (July 21st) made me ask the question, “Is there anything more important than serving the Lord?” I think there is. It is none other than the Lord himself. Mary in the Gospel chooses to be with Jesus rather than to busy herself preparing many things for him and for the other guests…

Dear Parishioners, Most of you already know that I just celebrated my 10th year anniversary of ordination as a priest and I would like to again thank you for our love and kindness. I was thinking about the ministry I’ve had as a priest for the past ten years and I can only be grateful for the grace of God working in…

Dear Parishioners, Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, given to us to be our food and drink. The Gospel that we have today foreshadows the gift of the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ. Jesus first speaks to the crowd, and then feeds them with the bread and fish. It is the…

Dear Parishioners, Happy Birthday!!! The Solemnity of Pentecost (Pentecost Sunday) is always considered the birth of the Church and it is truly something to be celebrated. It is one of the three major celebrations that we have in our liturgical calendar (Christmas and Easter are the other two). In this celebration we are reminded of our mission. In all the four gospels,…

Dear Parishioners, I would like to thank all of you for your prayers for me and my family these past few days. We had a wonderful celebration of my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary and I had a great time visiting with family and friends – I did not realize how much I miss them until I saw them again – some of…

Dear Parishioners, Our Gospel for this Sunday is a Gospel of beautiful promises. The first promise of God’s love and indwelling in those who love and obey Jesus. Jesus makes clear again that true love for him is shown by deeds: “Whoever loves me will keep my word.” Jesus’ word that we must keep is his command that we love one another…