Week of May 17, 2026

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