Repent, says the Lord;
the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way
they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!
Or those eighteen people who were killed
when the tower at Siloam fell on them—
do you think they were more guilty
than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!”

And he told them this parable:
“There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard,
and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none,
he said to the gardener,
‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree
but have found none.
So cut it down.
Why should it exhaust the soil?’
He said to him in reply,
‘Sir, leave it for this year also,
and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;
it may bear fruit in the future.
If not you can cut it down.’”

• Table of St. Joseph on March 19^th, pausing annually to honor St. Joseph
  • Sfingi di San Giuseppe/St. Joseph Cream Puffs
  • We prepare this Table of St. Joseph to display the generosity of God in our life as St. Joseph and the Holy Family generously prepared a table for the Holy Family.
• A true story about Fig Trees:
  • 40 years ago, as the new pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, I was finding my way around the parish, learning to access the different doors to the church, the rectory, the halls …
  • A man in the parish, came up to me about a fig tree on the hillside near Rayen Avenue, saying, “You have a fig tree on that hillside, but you have no way to take care of it … You can’t even open the doors in the parish!”
  • I let him take the fig tree home, where he cared for it, and for many years to come, it bore LOTS of figs, which he shared with the parish.
  • And 15 years ago, when I became pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Church, I discovered two fig trees in the backyard, too.
  • They were damaged in a severe frost in that first year, and by year two they did not bear much fruit because of the damage the cold had done to them.
    • My elders would not have been pleased with me; I let those fig trees down.
    • It is a mark of success to have in one’s back yard a wonderful fig tree.
    • People even bring them into their homes or wrap them in blankets in the winter.
    • I still feel badly for having lost them; there is a beauty of a fig tree in the backyard.
• Our Lord teaches that life has its share of tragedies – storms, wars, violence, accidents but none of that should stop us from committing ourselves to Him.
  • With His grace, we live in firm hope that our lives, too, will bear LOTS of fruit!
• Recently, a person who recognized the Roman collar that I was wearing, came up to me and shared that she does ALL the right things…
  • Prays daily, reflects on Scripture, Mass every Sunday, even frequent Confession, prayer, and fasting, and works of mercy … the whole ball of wax!
  • “But inside I still feel empty,” she said.
  • I replied, “Ma’am, the Devil works overtime! Keep doing those things! And he will eventually give up on you, having been won by the Lord.”
  • And as the Lord’s, you will be the beautiful fig tree, bearing much fruit, both in this life and in Life Eternal.
• Eucharistic Prayer II includes the words, “Let Your Spirit come down upon us like the dewfall.”
  • The word “dewfall” refers to the manna in the desert.
  • God delivered His people from slavery to the Pharaoh. And while they journeyed toward the Promised Land, they were hungry in the desert.
  • God sent manna “like the dewfall” covering the desert floor, literally Bread from Heaven.
  • Let us now feed upon the Bread Come Down from Heaven – Jesus Christ, once dead, now risen, His very Body and Blood.
  • Let Him enter your heart, your soul, your mind, every fiber of your being, that you may have Life, and bear much fruit.

Monsignor Michael J. Cariglio, Jr., Pastor & Rector, Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Saint Anthony Parish

Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro,
the priest of Midian.
Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb,
the mountain of God.
There an angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in fire
flaming out of a bush.
As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush,
though on fire, was not consumed.
So Moses decided,
“I must go over to look at this remarkable sight,
and see why the bush is not burned.”

When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely,
God called out to him from the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
He answered, “Here I am.”
God said, “Come no nearer!
Remove the sandals from your feet,
for the place where you stand is holy ground.
I am the God of your fathers, “ he continued,
“the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.”
Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
But the LORD said,
“I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt
and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers,
so I know well what they are suffering.
Therefore I have come down to rescue them
from the hands of the Egyptians
and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land,
a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Moses said to God, “But when I go to the Israelites
and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’
if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?”
God replied, “I am who am.”
Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites:
I AM sent me to you.”

God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites:
The LORD, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob,
has sent me to you.

“This is my name forever;
thus am I to be remembered through all generations.”

R. (8a)  The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills,
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
The LORD secures justice
and the rights of all the oppressed.
He has made known his ways to Moses,
and his deeds to the children of Israel.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,
that our ancestors were all under the cloud
and all passed through the sea,
and all of them were baptized into Moses
in the cloud and in the sea.
All ate the same spiritual food,
and all drank the same spiritual drink,
for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them,
and the rock was the Christ.
Yet God was not pleased with most of them,
for they were struck down in the desert.

These things happened as examples for us,
so that we might not desire evil things, as they did.
Do not grumble as some of them did,
and suffered death by the destroyer.
These things happened to them as an example,
and they have been written down as a warning to us,
upon whom the end of the ages has come.
Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure
should take care not to fall.

It has long been a Catholic understanding that when circumstances prevent one from receiving Holy Communion, it is possible to make an Act of Spiritual Communion, which is a source of grace. Spiritual Communion is an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament and lovingly embrace him at a time or in circumstances when one cannot receive Him in sacramental Communion. The most common reason for making an Act of Spiritual Communion is when a person cannot attend Mass. Acts of Spiritual Communion increase our desire to receive sacramental Communion and help us avoid the sins that would make us unable to receive Holy Communion worthily.

Spiritual Communion Prayer

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.

I love you above all things and I desire to receive you in my soul.

Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally,

Come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace you as if you were already there

And unite myself wholly to you.

Never permit me to be separated from you.

Amen.