My Sisters and Brothers in Jesus Christ,

This Sunday, we celebrate the great mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. Too often, the Trinity is treated as a problem to solve, a math puzzle to explain, or an abstract doctrine far removed from daily life. But the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not a problem. God is not an object for us to master. God is a living communion of love into which we are invited.

In the Gospel, Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the darkness, searching for understanding. Jesus does not give him a theological diagram. Instead, he speaks of being born from above, of water and the Spirit, and of the Son of Man who descends from heaven. This is the movement of salvation: we do not climb our way up to God; God comes down to us. The Father sends the Son, the Son reveals the Father, and the Spirit gives us new birth and draws us into divine life.

Please know that we continue to pray for your intentions. You are welcome to share any prayer requests, burdens, thanksgivings, or hopes you would like lifted up before God. We entrust them to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit.
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This week, let us not merely think about the Trinity. Let us allow the relationships of the Trinity to permeate our lives and hearts. May our homes, friendships, communities, and ministries become places of communion, mercy, self-giving love, and peace.
Peace,
Rev. Ben

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My Sisters and Brothers in Jesus Christ,

At Pentecost, we remember the dramatic outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. The Acts of the Apostles gives us wind, fire, many languages, and amazement. It is a powerful reminder that God can break into human history in extraordinary ways. The Spirit can transform those who failed Jesus to proclaim the mighty works of God.

And yet the Holy Spirit does not always come with dramatic signs. Sometimes the Spirit works quietly, like the still small voice that revealed God’s presence to Elijah. In the Gospel, Jesus promises the Advocate, the Spirit of truth, and says, “You know him, because he dwells with you, and will be in you.” The Spirit is not only around us in great moments of grace; the Spirit abides within us in the ordinary, faithful, daily life of discipleship.

This is especially important in our own time. We live in a polarized world, where anger often speaks louder than charity, suspicion often replaces trust, and division can seem stronger than communion. In such a world, we need the fruits of the Holy Spirit more than ever: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are signs that the Spirit is truly at work in us. They are also the medicine our communities, our churches, our families, and our world desperately need.
Pentecost is not only something that happened long ago. It is a continuing invitation. The same Spirit poured out upon the first disciples has been given to us. We have received the gifts of the Spirit, but those gifts must be welcomed, nurtured, and lived. We are called to respond by becoming people through whom the Spirit can bring healing, reconciliation, courage, truth, and peace.
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So this Pentecost, let us pray earnestly for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Let us pray that the Spirit will transform our hearts, our Church, our nation, and our world. Let us ask the Spirit to make us more faithful, more compassionate, and more courageous.
Come, Holy Spirit. Kindle in us the fire of your love. Renew the face of the earth. Amen.
Peace,
Rev. Ben

My Sisters and Brothers in Jesus Christ,

Welcome to Saint Oscar Romero Ministries. We are grateful that you are joining us for prayer, worship, and reflection. Saint Oscar Romero Ministries is part of the Old Catholic Ordinariate for Specialized Ministries. Our charism is to bring the Gospel to people who may not otherwise hear the good news of Jesus Christ. We post weekly liturgy videos, along with frequent theology and faith formation videos, as a way of supporting prayer, discipleship, and sacramental life beyond the walls of a traditional parish setting. We invite you to share your prayer requests with us. If you have sacramental needs, would like pastoral support, or would like to host a liturgy in your home, please do not hesitate to reach out.

This Ascension II weekend, the readings invite us to come before Christ with confidence and thirst. The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that Jesus is our great high priest, but not a distant or untouchable one. He knows our weakness from within. He has prayed with tears, endured suffering, and entered fully into the pain of human life. Because of this, we are invited to approach the throne of grace with boldness, trusting that mercy is waiting for us there.

In the Gospel, Jesus cries out during the feast, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me.” This is a beautiful image for the Christian life. We come to Christ thirsty for mercy, healing, forgiveness, and the Holy Spirit. Yet Christ does not merely satisfy our thirst; he makes us into springs of living water for others. From his wounded heart flows the grace that heals the world, and from hearts renewed by him, that same mercy is meant to flow outward in compassion, prayer, service, and love.

This weekend’s faith formation video reflects on the meaning of true friendship through Aristotle and Saint Thomas Aquinas. Aristotle teaches that friendship can be based on utility, pleasure, or virtue, with virtuous friendship being the highest form because it seeks the good of the other for their own sake. Aquinas receives this wisdom and raises it into the light of Christian grace. For Aquinas, charity is friendship with God, made possible because God first shares his life with us.
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The video also offers practical habits for deepening friendship today: truth, presence, and gift. True friendship requires honest communication, faithful presence, and a willingness to serve without counting the cost. In a lonely and divided world, Christian friendship becomes a sign of grace. It reminds us that God does not save us as isolated individuals, but draws us into communion with himself and with one another. May Christ, the fountain of living water, renew our hearts and teach us to become friends of God and friends to one another.
Peace.
Rev. Ben

My Sisters and Brothers in Jesus Christ,

This weekend, we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord. This mystery is sometimes misunderstood as Jesus leaving the world behind. But the Ascension is not abandonment. It is the exaltation of the crucified and risen Christ, who goes to his Father and our Father, his God and our God.

In Acts, the disciples are told not to stand looking into heaven, but to receive the Holy Spirit and become witnesses “to the ends of the earth.” In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus blesses his disciples as he is carried up into heaven, and they return to Jerusalem “with great joy.” Their joy shows that Christ’s presence has not ended. He remains with his Church through the Spirit, the Gospel, the sacraments, and the mission of his people.

This week, we also released a new video on St. Thomas Aquinas and the human natural desire for God. Aquinas helps us understand the restlessness of the human heart. Our longing for truth, goodness, beauty, and lasting joy is not a flaw. It is a sign that we are made for God. Created things can bless us, but they cannot finally satisfy the infinite desire within us.

The Ascension and this desire for God belong together. Christ ascends not to leave us alone, but to draw our hearts toward their true home. He sends the Spirit, purifies our desires, and teaches us to live with wonder, charity, and hope.
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The ascended Lord has not abandoned the world. He reigns, blesses, intercedes, and sends us forth. In him, our restless hearts are given hope: we are made for God, and Christ has opened the way home.

Peace,
Rev. Ben

My sisters and brothers in Jesus Christ,

This weekend’s Scriptures remind us that every Christian is called to be an ambassador for Christ. An ambassador does not live merely for himself or herself. An ambassador represents another. An ambassador carries a message that is not self-invented, but entrusted. Saint Paul tells us that God has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation, and Jesus sends his disciples into the world with the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”

This mission is not reserved only for clergy, theologians, or those with official titles. By baptism, each of us is called to make Christ known in the world. We do this through our words, but also through mercy, forgiveness, patience, courage, humility, and love. We share the Good News when we point others toward the mercy of God, when we refuse to let division have the final word, and when we live as people who believe that, in Christ, old things can pass away and all things can become new.

The Gospel is not simply something we admire from a distance. It is something we are sent to embody. Christ says, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Because he is with us, we can go into our families, workplaces, communities, and daily responsibilities as witnesses of his reconciling love. Now is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation. Now is the time to live as ambassadors of Christ.

This weekend we also released a new video titled “Baptism in the Holy Spirit: Promise, Power and Purpose.” This reflection explores the biblical and practical meaning of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. It presents this gift not as a badge of spiritual superiority, but as God’s power for holiness, bold witness, spiritual gifts, unity, and mission. The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus, forms Christlike character within us, equips the Church for service, and empowers us to share the Good News with courage and love.
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We also continue to post videos of our weekend liturgies on YouTube and Facebook. As always, we welcome your prayer intentions. We need to support one another as the Body of Christ, so that together we may make Christ’s presence known on earth.
Peace,
Rev. Ben