When St. Paul commands us to “pray always” in his first letter to the Thessalonians, we tend to let it go in one ear and out the other. “Of course, he can’t possibly mean that! He really just means to pray a lot.” We so easily filter the words of Scripture based on what we think God wants from us, but then we end up missing his true message. God actually wants us to always be praying, just like St. Paul told us! Our readings today point towards this vision God has for us, particularly when Jesus gives us the image of the vine and the branches. He promises that if we remain in him, we will bear much fruit. If always staying connected to the Lord seems out of reach, then let’s remember that when God gives a command he always gives us the grace to respond. How can we stay attached to the vine and learn to pray always?

Hãy ở lại trong Thầy, như Thầy ở lại trong anh em; vì không có Thầy, anh em chẳng làm gì được. Nếu bạn cảm thấy trong trái tim của bạn, rằng Thiên Chúa đang mời bạn "Ðồng Hành cùng Ngôi Lời", hãy đến với chúng tôi trong hội trường giáo xứ vào lúc 12 giờ Chúa Nhật (mình sẽ bắt đầu bằng bữa ăn cùng với nhau).

Have you bought your tickets yet for the Wine, Beer, & Cheese Event on April 28, 2018? Pre-sale tickets will be sold after mass and cost $30. Tickets include wine & beer tasting, appetizers, raffles, and live entertainment. Featuring Tastings from San Antonio Winery and Pacific Plate Craft Beer. All proceeds will benefit Annunciation Young Adult Ministry. For more information or to RSVP contact the Religious Education Office at (626)446-1625.

God needed to reach us, to come in a way that we would recognize him and hear his voice, and so God made himself a mere human. What amazing love Our Lord has for us! Let us spend some time together today reflecting on this love as we read of it in the first two readings and then as we hear of Christ as our good shepherd, keeping us safe from harm.

Each Sunday Jesus invites you to share a meal with him—to encounter him in the most intimate of ways. How do you approach the Mass? Do you show up late, wearing what you worked in all day, and with your laundry list of “to-do’s” on your mind? Jesus wants to encounter us and touch our hearts every time we meet him in the Eucharist. Take some time this week to reconsider the invitation of the Mass.

Come to our annual Wine, Beer, & Cheese Event on April 28, 2018. Pre-sale tickets cost $30. Tickets include wine & beer tasting, appetizers, raffles, and live entertainment. Featuring Tastings from San Antonio Winery and Pacific Plate Craft Beer. All proceeds will benefit Annunciation Young Adult Ministry. For more information or to RSVP contact the Religious Education Office at (626)446-1625.

God’s merciful love is the Good News of the Gospel, and the reason why Christ suffered, died, and rose again. The Catechism goes so far as to say that, “The Gospel is the revelation in Jesus Christ of God’s mercy to sinners” (CCC 1846). God’s mercy reached down to us in our sinful state and sent us a Savior, who took on human flesh so that we might have life with him.

This Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday! Check out Fr. Michael Gaitley's Divine Mercy in the Second Greatest Story Ever Told on Formed.org. You can also sign up on Formed.org to have reflections sent to you each day for 10 days.