From the heart of Deacon Doug.
Orange County Cursillo | communications@occursillo.org | occursillo.org In our gospel today, Matthew 16:13-19, Jesus asks a very important question of his disciples – “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answers him, “You are the Messiah, the son of the living God”. For his reply, Jesus tells Peter he will build his Church Read more
Orange County Cursillo | communications@occursillo.org | occursillo.org The Spirit drove Jesus into the desert for 40 days where he was tempted. We have begun our 40 days of Lent and for sure we will be tempted also. Today our Catechumens sign the Book of the Elect as they journey towards the Easter Sacraments. They Read more
Orange County Cursillo | communications@occursillo.org | occursillo.org At the time of Jesus, the Jews believed that God alone could forgive sins. However, there were two stipulations. First, you had to deserve the forgiveness. Second, God didn’t forgive your sins until the final judgement. Until then you had to live with your sins in expectation of future Read more
Orange County Cursillo | communications@occursillo.org | occursillo.org In our gospel today Matthew 9:14-15, the disciples of John ask Jesus why his disciples don’t fast like they and the Pharisees do. Jesus then says, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom will Read more
Orange County Cursillo | communications@occursillo.org | occursillo.org When we think about how to save something, we think about putting it in a safe place or in a bank. Jesus today seems to be telling us to do the opposite. Actually by telling us to “lose” our lives, Jesus is asking us not to hold Read more
Orange County Cursillo | communications@occursillo.org | occursillo.org In ancient times many people used ashes for religious, medical and magical purposes. In the Old Testament, ashes were sprinkled on the head (as we are doing this year) or over the whole body as a sign of mourning or penance. Receiving ashes on the first day Read more
Orange County Cursillo | communications@occursillo.org | occursillo.org Tomorrow we begin our Lenten journey. I used to travel a lot for business when I worked in Aerospace and took many interesting journeys. Many trips we all take can last days or even weeks to complete. Journeys have their ups and downs. We really don’t expect everything Read more
Orange County Cursillo | communications@occursillo.org | occursillo.org In our Gospel today, Mark 8:11-13, the Pharisees came to Jesus and demanded a sign from heaven to test him, and prove that he was from God. In reality, they wanted to discredit and destroy Jesus because he was against everything they stood for – clericalism, Read more
Orange County Cursillo | communications@occursillo.org | occursillo.org Happy Valentine’s Day !! ️ Today is also World Marriage Sunday. It is a day when we celebrate the gift of married love and the gift of God’s unconditional love for us. It’s the kind of love we need to bring into our marriages, our Read more
Orange County Cursillo | communications@occursillo.org | occursillo.org Can anything on earth truly satisfy the hunger we experience for God ? The crowd that was with Jesus for three days were hungry for something more than just physical food. They hung on every word Jesus said because they were hungry for God. Yet when the Read more