Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church
204 S. Calle El Segundo
Palm Springs, CA 92262
760-325-5809
Our Parish Mission Statement
We, the people of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, are a diverse community devoted to Jesus the Christ. Our mission together is to give thanks and praise to God, spread the Gospel and teach the Bible message of God’s love for all creation.
2024 Diocesan Development Fund
Goal $18,000
Pledged $23,154
Received $23,154
QR code for Online Giving
Código para donaciones en línea
November 3, 2024
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
3 de Noviembre de 2024
Trigésimo Primer Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario
“Amarás al Señor tu Dios con todo tu corazón.
Amarás a tu prójimo como a ti mismo.
No hay otro mandamiento mayor que estos”.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these."
Reflection on Sunday’s Readings by Fr. Luis and Fr. Rajesh
Reflexión sobre las lecturas dominicales de P. Luis y P. Rajesh
Trigésimo primer domingo del tiempo ordinario
Mis Queridos hermanos y hermanas las lecturas de este domingo nos ubican en el centro de lo que significa nuestra religión católica la cual consiste en amar a Dios por encima de todas las cosas y a nuestro prójimo como a nosotros mismos. La primera lectura tomada del libro del Deuteronomio nos recuerda que Dios nos ha dado los mandamientos como un regalo que hay que escuchar y observar para lograr felicidad y la multiplicación de la raza. Termina la lectura enfatizando el amor a Dios por encima de todas las cosas. En la lectura del evangelio encontramos a un estudioso de la ley que le hace esta pregunta a Jesús: "Maestro, ¿Cual es el primero de todos los mandamientos? Jesús respondió a la persona con dos mandamientos que en realidad son tres.
Amarás al Señor con todo tu corazón, con toda tu alma y con toda tu mente Segundo, amarás a tu prójimo como a ti mismo. ¿Qué crees que significa amar a Dios? ¿Crees tu que amas a Dios con todo tu corazón y con toda tu mente? Cuánto tiempo pasas tú con Dios? El Apóstol Juan dice en una de sus cartas que es un mentiroso quien dice que ama a Dios, a quien no puede ver pero odia a su hermano a quien puede ver. Nuestra fe católica es como una mesa que tiene tres patas: Dios a quien adoramos y alabamos y está por encima de todo, el prójimo a quien amamos y servimos, y nosotros mismos a quienes amamos y cuidamos. Las tres patas sostienen el balance de la mesa, si falta una de ellas estaríamos cojos . Y profesaríamos una religión desbalanceada. Creo que hay muchos católicos que están cojos en su fe porque no tienen balanceado sus tres amores. Vienen a la iglesia todos los días o todos los domingos, pero no son testigos del amor de Dios en su vida diaria. Vienen a la iglesia, pero no permiten que Jesús dirija sus vidas, ya que quieren mantener el control de todo, y no quieren hacer un proceso de conversión. También hay quienes sirven a sus hermanos desconectados de la relación con Dios y quienes creen que ellos son el centro del universo.
Amamos a Dios alabándole, adorándole y compartiendo tiempo con él, amamos a nuestro prójimo sirviéndole, honrándole y respetándole, refrenando las palabras airadas y los pensamientos insultantes, tratándole de buena manera y sin violencia. Nos amamos a nosotros mismos cuando nos cuidamos, cuando tenemos una buena autoestima, cuando cuidamos nuestra salud, cuando hacemos ejercicios, cuando nos tomamos tiempo para descansar y compartir con las personas que más queremos. ¿Crees que tu vida está equilibrada?
La verdadera raíz del amor cristiano no está en nosotros mismos sino en el amor que Dios nos ha dado primero. Quien experimenta este amor no tiene más remedio que expresarlo de vuelta a Dios, a sus hermanos y a si mismo. Por eso la invitación hoy es a abrirte al amor de Dios, a reconocerte su creatura necesitado de su amor y de su presencia. Escucha hoy el llamado que te hace Jesús y déjate amar de Dios con todo tu corazón, con toda tu alma y con todo tu corazón y todo lo demás se te irá dando por
añadidura.
Rev. Luis Segura M.S.C.—Pastor
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
My dear brothers and sisters, the readings for this Sunday place us at the center of what our Catholic religion means, which consists of loving God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves. The first reading taken from the book of Deuteronomy reminds us that God has given us the commandments as a gift that we must listen to and observe in order to achieve happiness and the multiplication of the race. The reading ends by emphasizing the love of God above all things. In the Gospel reading we find a scholar of the law who asks Jesus this question: "Teacher, which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus answered the person with two commandments that are actually three.
You shall love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. Second, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. What do you think it means to love God? Do you believe that you love God with all your heart and with all your mind? How much time do you spend with God? The Apostle John says in one of his letters that he is a liar who says that he loves God, whom he cannot see, but hates his brother whom he can see. Our Catholic faith is like a table that has three legs: God whom we worship and praise and who is above all, our neighbor whom we love and serve, and ourselves whom we love and care for. The three legs support the balance of the table, if one of them is missing, the other one will be left in the balance. They would be lame. And we would profess an unbalanced religion. I believe that there are many Catholics who are lame in their faith because they do not have their three loves balanced. They come to church every day or every Sunday, but they are not witnesses of God's love in their daily lives. They come to church, but they do not allow Jesus to direct their lives, since they want to maintain control of everything, and they do not want to go through a conversion process. There are also those who serve their brothers disconnected from the relationship with God and who believe that they are the center of the universe.
We love God by praising him, worshiping him and sharing time with him, we love our neighbor by serving him, honoring him and respecting him, restraining angry words and insulting thoughts, treating him well and without violence. We love ourselves when we take care of ourselves, when we have good self-esteem, when we take care of our health, when we exercise, when we take time to rest and share with the people we love the most. Do you think your life is balanced?
The true root of Christian love is not in ourselves but in the love that God has given us first. Whoever experiences this love has no choice but to express it back to God, to his brothers and to himself. That is why the invitation today is to open yourself to the love of God, to recognize yourself as his creature in need of his love and his presence. Listen today to the call that Jesus makes to you and let yourself be loved by God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your heart and everything else will be given to you in addition.
Rev. Luis Segura M.S.C.—Pastor
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Commandment of Love…
At the heart of this Sunday’s Gospel passage (cf. Mk 12:28b-34), there is the commandment of love: love of God and love of neighbor. A scribe asks Jesus: “Which commandment is the first of all?” (v. 28).
He responds by quoting the profession of faith with which every Israelite opens and closes his day, and begins with the words “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord” (Deut 6:4). In this manner Israel safeguards its faith in the fundamental reality of its whole creed: only one Lord exists and that Lord is ‘ours’ in the sense that he is bound to us by an indissoluble pact; he loved us, loves us, and will love us forever. It is from this source, this love of God, that the twofold commandment comes to us: “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.... You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mk 12:30-31).
In choosing these two Words addressed by God to his people and by putting them together, Jesus taught once and for all that love for God and love for neighbor are inseparable; moreover, they sustain one another. Even if set in a sequence, they are two sides of a single coin: experienced together they are a believer’s strength! To love God is to live of him and for him, for what he is and for what he does. Our God is unmitigated giving; he is unlimited forgiveness; he is a relationship that promotes and fosters. Therefore, to love God means to invest our energies each day to be his assistants in the unmitigated service of our neighbor, in trying to forgive without limitations, and in cultivating relationships of communion and fraternity.
Mark the Evangelist does not bother to specify who the neighbor is, because a neighbor is a person whom I meet on the journey, in my days. It is not a matter of pre-selecting my neighbor: this is not Christian. I think my neighbor is the one I have chosen ahead of time: no, this is not Christian, it is pagan; but it is about having eyes to see and a heart to want what is good for him or her. If we practice seeing with Jesus’ gaze, we will always be listening and be close to those in need. Of course, our neighbor’s needs require effective responses, but even beforehand they require sharing. With one look we can say that the hungry need not just a bowl of soup, but also a smile, to be listened to and also a prayer, perhaps said together. Today’s Gospel passage invites us all to be projected not only toward the needs of our poorest brothers and sisters, but above all to be attentive to their need for fraternal closeness, for a meaning to life, and for tenderness. This challenges our Christian communities: it means avoiding the risk of being communities that have many initiatives but few relationships; the risk of being community ‘service stations’ but with little company, in the full and Christian sense of this term. God, who is love, created us to love and so that we can love others while remaining united with him. It would be misleading to claim to love our neighbor without loving God; and it would also be de-ceptive to claim to love God without loving our neighbor. The two dimensions of love, for God and for neighbor, in their unity characterize the disciple of Christ.
May the Virgin Mary help us to welcome and bear witness in everyday life to this luminous lesson. [Synthesized from Pope Francis, Angelus 4 XI
Rev. Jos Rajesh Peter M.S.C.
Deacon John's Homily - 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
31st Sunday - B
There was a very wise Rabbi – named Hillel – who taught a little before Jesus began his ministry. Bible Scholars say that Jesus probably studied Rabbi Hillel's teachings.
Anyway – one day, one of Rabbi Hillel's students challenged him to recite the entire Law – while standing on one leg. Remember – the entire law consisted of 613 laws… This was Rabbi Hillel's response to his student:
"Whatever you hate for yourself – do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole Law. The rest is commentary. Go – and learn this…"
Over the years – there have been stories about men and women who climb to the very top of a high mountain to visit the wise, old sage – and ask the profound question, "What is the secret of life?"
People want to know: "What is the secret of life ??"
The answer to this question is in our gospel today. AND – it comes from Jesus. The Secret of Life is to: "Love God with all your heart. Love your neighbor as yourself.”
My friends – the message in our gospel today is literally – the secret of life. It’s the way to peace and happiness here – and – the way to eternal life…
When the Scribe told Jesus the most important thing in life is to: "Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus affirmed him: "You are not far from the Kingdom of God…"
And the same is true for us: If we love God and love our neighbor – we also – “are not far from the Kingdom of God !”
What more can anyone say…? A message – so simple – and so profound.
Yet – for hundreds – for thousands of years – there are many who just don't get it. AND – if they do get it – they don't do it. Knowing what to do and doing it – is a different story…..
In our present time – there is division and hate. Every day we see murder and war.
So – what do we do ? What do I do – to help make a better world ? I can be a better me.
Jesus tells me that by following his two simple laws – Love God and Love my neighbor – I will be close to the Kingdom. So, the change begins with me, just like the hymn “Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me.”
It is told that – many years after Jesus rose from the dead – when Saint John the Apostle was an old man – people would ask him:
“What was Jesus like ?
You actually knew him – and heard him teach.
What did Jesus teach ? What did he say ?”
St. John said, "Little children – love one another. That's all there is. Love one another…."
Our parish is staffed by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (M.S.C.)