My Sisters and Brothers in Jesus Christ,

The older I get, the more I understand the temptation to stay home. After work, chores, responsibilities, and the ordinary demands of life, sometimes another invitation feels like too much. That is why this Sunday’s Gospel speaks so clearly. Jesus tells of a great banquet where the invited guests begin making excuses. Their reasons do not sound wicked. They sound ordinary: property, work, family, and responsibility. Yet this is the uncomfortable warning of the parable. We do not always reject God through open rebellion. Sometimes we simply become too busy, too tired, too distracted, or too comfortable to respond when grace invites us deeper.

The good news is that the banquet is not canceled. The master sends his servant into the streets, lanes, roads, and hedges to bring in the poor, the wounded, the forgotten, and those others may not have thought worthy of a place at the table. This is the generous mercy of God. Every Eucharist is a foretaste of that heavenly banquet. Christ prepares the table and invites the tired, the sinful, the lonely, the hungry, and the distracted to come.
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This week, may we hear again the words of the Gospel: “Come; for all is now ready.” The question is not whether Christ is inviting us. He is. The question is whether we will enter, or whether we will keep making excuses. May we have the grace to accept the invitation, take our place at the table, and allow the mercy of God to reshape our lives.
Peace,
Rev. Ben

Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,

As part of the mission of Saint Oscar Romero Ministries, please know that we are here to pray for your intentions and to walk with you in faith. If you carry a burden, grief, fear, hope, or need, you are not alone. We would be honored to pray with you and for you.
As we enter Trinity Time, sometimes called Ordinary Time, we are reminded that the Holy Trinity is not an abstract idea. God is communion, relationship, and self-giving love. If God is love, then those who worship God must learn to love.
But love is difficult.

It is easy to say, “I love you.” It is easy to admire compassion from a distance. But Christian love is not merely a feeling or a matter of words. Love is revealed in action, faithfulness, and our willingness to be present when another person’s need becomes inconvenient.

In the Gospel story of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man is not described as violent. He simply ignores Lazarus at his gate: poor, wounded, hungry, and visible. That is the warning. We cannot claim to love the invisible God while treating visible human beings as disposable.

Saint Oscar Romero saw the suffering of the poor, the voiceless, and the forgotten. He spoke for those whose cries were ignored. Yet his love did not become hatred, resentment, or violence. His love remained rooted in Christ.

May we hear the Gospel’s challenge and refuse to sell love out for cheap substitutes: feelings, slogans, comfort, preference, or mere words. May God’s love become in us mercy, courage, prayer, faithfulness, and action.
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Brothers and sisters, let us love because God first loved us.
Peace,
Rev. Ben

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

My Sisters and Brothers in Jesus Christ,
It can be difficult to speak of the victory of Jesus Christ when so much around us seems to say otherwise. War, violence, politics, illness, environmental degradation, and death press in on every side. The world often feels wounded and restless, and many people understandably wonder where resurrection hope is to be found in the middle of such sorrow. Yet the Gospel accounts remind us that the risen Christ often comes to his people in ways they do not immediately recognize. The disciples on the road to Emmaus did not expect to meet him. They were walking in grief, confusion, and disappointment, and yet Jesus was already walking beside them. That remains true for us. Easter does not deny suffering. It proclaims that suffering, violence, and death do not have the final word. Christ is risen, and because he is risen, even the roads marked by grief and uncertainty can become places of encounter, grace, and renewed hope.
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The story of Emmaus is especially important because it reminds us that people come looking for Jesus in many different ways. Some seek healing. Some seek direction. Some seek comfort. Some, like the women at the tomb, seek him with love but through tears. And some, like the disciples on the road, are not really seeking him at all so much as trying to make sense of a broken world. Yet it is often there, in confusion and disappointment, that the risen Christ draws near. We do not always recognize him at first. Our hearts may burn before our eyes are opened. But he is not absent simply because he is hidden. He still meets his people in the opening of the Scriptures, in the breaking of the bread, and in the quiet companionship of grace along the road.

This same Easter hope shaped a video I released this past week, “The Resurrection of Jesus: Hope for our Grief and Dying.” In it, I reflect on how the resurrection does not ask us to pretend pain is unreal. Jesus himself wept, and Christians are free to grieve honestly before God. Grief is not a lack of faith. It is part of our humanity, and it must be brought into the presence of the Lord. At the same time, the resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of our hope. It is not merely a mood or a seasonal sentiment, but the pledge that death has been broken open from within. Those we love who have died are safe in Christ, and we remain in communion with them through prayer, the Eucharist, and the communion of saints. Even our own mortality no longer has to be faced with despair, because Jesus Christ has gone before us through death into life.

In a wounded world, we are not meant to carry our burdens alone. We are called to lift one another up in prayer, to stand with each other in faith, and to support one another through grief, fear, illness, and uncertainty. That is one reason we continue to post prayer videos several days a week along with our Sunday liturgy: to help keep prayer at the center of our common life in Christ. If you have a prayer request, please share it with us. Let us be a community that prays for one another, bears one another’s burdens, and reminds each other that the risen Christ is still near, still acting, and still leading his people into hope.
Peace,
Rev. Ben

​My Sisters and Brothers in Jesus Christ,

Christ is risen, and because he is risen, everything is changed. The resurrection of Jesus is not only a historical event we remember, but the transforming truth by which we now understand all of life. In the risen Christ, sin and death are defeated, hope is restored, and the Lord still speaks his word of peace to a fearful and wounded world. Easter teaches us to see our lives through the victory of Jesus Christ and to live as people of the resurrection—with faith, hope, love, and courage.

This week we also invite you to watch our new video, The Resurrection Accounts of the Sacred Scriptures. This presentation traces the hope of resurrection from the Old Testament, through the signs in the ministry of Jesus, to the glory of Christ’s resurrection and its meaning for believers today. It reflects on the unity of the Gospel witness and the great gifts revealed in Easter: forgiveness, new creation, and enduring hope.
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We invite you to join us online for liturgy and to send us your prayer requests. We would be honored to pray for you.
Peace,
Rev. Ben