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October 13, 2023Compassion Week (Oct 7th – 15th), brings together local faith communities to support and assist different charitable causes and nonprofits. Since it launched in 2012, over 21,000 volunteers have participated in Compassion Week, assisting over 85 non-profits. My problem isn’t with Compassion Week itself, but rather . . .Read More -
October 6, 2023Many young people around the world feel that too little is being done to stop a climate crisis from happening. They see huge territory of forests burning every summer: In Southern Europe, in the Western states of the U.S. or in Canada and other parts of the world. At the same time...Read More -
September 29, 2023The topic of Pro-Life and Pro-Choice provokes strong reactions for many people. Not being a woman myself, I respectfully offer this reflection for Respect Life Month. I hope to offer a gentler perspective and new conversation. I think it is important to first recognize the common ground both sides have: The desire for compassion, supporting the would-be mother, and the impact on society...Read More -
September 22, 2023One of the great insights of priestly ministry in recent years is our need for affirmation. Yes, priests need affirmation — from their brother priests, bishops, parishioners, families, and friends.Read More -
September 15, 2023This year’s Catechetical Sunday reminds us of the invitation we receive from the Lord Jesus to follow Him and the promise that He doesn’t want to add to our burdens; he wants to lighten them...Read More -
September 8, 2023Nervous smiles, giggling girls, bright new hairbows, shiny white sneakers, and bags brimming with new supplies are a few sights of the first day of school. Our new school year has begun and the quiet campus that was repaired and scoured throughout the summer now feels normal again as students arrive each day ready to ...Read More -
September 1, 2023We applauded Peter last Sunday when he professed in the Gospel that Jesus is the Messiah! We see a different Peter today however when he takes Jesus aside to stop Him in his Passion in Jerusalem. The intention of Peter was definitely good. He did not like Jesus to suffer! But ...Read More -
August 25, 2023If you have yet to visit the Vatican Museums in Rome, make sure that you don’t skip the “Stanze di Raffaello” also known as the Raphael Rooms on your way to the Sistine Chapel. Among the many frescoes done by the great Renaissance Master, Raphael, perhaps his most famous is The School of Athens, representing reason or philosophy. On the opposite wall is another fresco . . .Read More -
August 18, 2023I have to admit: I love the summer break! Everything slows down a bit. Everything is less hectic; including for those who have to keep working. There is a certain atmosphere that no other time offers. A French song that embodies that summer feeling for me is “Lueur d’été” from the movie “Les Choristes.” The lyrics are almost like a poem dedicated to summer . . .Read More -
August 11, 2023I write to you outside the very chapel where Our Lady of Fatima appeared to three children during a time in Portugal where anti-Catholicism was high. It's 104 degrees today yet I see thousands of pilgrims on their knees crawling to the holy ground. I ask myself, what can the world offer that would inspire such devotion?Read More -
August 4, 2023Most of us think of “transfiguration” as something that happened only to Jesus, once upon a time, a long time ago, on a distant mountain in a land far away. Not so fast! It is something that happens to each one of us. God is all about life, and life is all about change.Read More -
July 28, 2023It’s still summertime; vacations are in full swing, the 17 is packed as expected as many transverse the mountain to get to the beach, and post COVID crowds are at the movies. Summer at the movies bring us a time to escape if we choose, but if we look closely into storylines of the films we can see the themes can bring us right back to our faith journey.Read More -
July 21, 2023Everybody looks forward to summer vacations. I just had mine a few weeks back. I flew my parents back home to the Philippines. We were in the air across the Pacific for almost 14 hours. I don’t enjoy flying but there’s no other way to reach my country. I observe one thing every time I fly. I become extra prayerful–especially when there are bumps along the way!Read More -
July 14, 2023When I first arrived in Italy, I assumed – like other hungry foreigners before me – that Italian restaurants are basically like American restaurants. You enter the place, sit down, ask for a menu, then proceed to order. And while the results were usually at least “molto buono” with this method, I soon found that my Italian friends followed a different strategy, with very different results.Read More -
July 7, 2023“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” ~ Proverbs 29:18Read More
The priests of our Diocese are collaborating with Bishop Cantú to develop a Pastoral Plan that will lay out a vision for our Church over the next several years. I want you to be informed of the work we are doing, so when the time comes for our parish to begin the implementation process, we will be ready. -
July 1, 2023As the saying goes, “what goes around comes around.” My life journey all started at St. Joseph College Seminary off Grant Road and Foothill Expressway. It was 1980. I was only eighteen. Now some forty-three years later, I arrive as the second pastor of the parish of St. Nicholas & St. William. It will be my twenty-sixth consecutive year as a pastor. Watch out, Cal Ripken!Read More
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June 23, 2023Fr Fr John Poncini: As my final days wind down as pastor of our wonderful parish of St. Nicholas & St. William, and St. Nicholas School, I want to take this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the kind, uplifting, and heartfelt words that I have received from so many...Read More
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June 16, 2023“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (Matthew 18:6). I remember reading this quote from Jesus long before I ever had children and feeling the weight of these words. Over the years I often wondered if I would be up to the challenge of being a good Catholic father...Read More
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June 9, 2023Bro. Keiran Fenn of the Marist Brothers used to say that the people of God should be fed from the two tables–the table of the Word and the table of the Eucharist. And he is right. Jesus feeds the people from the table of the Word through his preaching. He also feeds their souls with words that come from his lips. "Man doesn’t live on bread alone but also on the words spoken by God."Read More
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June 2, 2023Among the Body of Christ, there are those who, in this day and age, are persecuted for the good fruit they bear for Christ. We remember and stand with these believers who are persecuted yet remain rooted in their faith. Let us pray today for these believers who bear good fruit in some of the harshest environments. You can find out more at https://www.opendoors.org/. During Religious Freedom Week the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB.org) invites Catholics to pray, reflect, and act to promote religious freedom. Since 2018, under its patrons Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, this week annually highlights how religious freedom allows the Church to live out our faith in public and to serve the common good.Read More
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