We are awaiting the election of a new Pope. Only the Holy Spirit knows who will be the successor of Pope Francis and where/how our new Shepherd will lead us. It is A TIME OF PRAYER AND HOPE FOR THE ENTIRE CHURCH. It is a time that will impact each one of the 1. 4 billion Catholics spread over the entire world. It is a time that will impact you and me individually and collectively as we together with our Catholic brothers and sisters are the Body of Christ, Christ being the Head of the Church and we the members. We can also say with Padre Pio, it is a time to pray, a time to hope, a time not to worry, God through the Holy Spirit is in charge! He will guide the choice of the next Pope. We have to do our part. We have to pray for the Cardinal Electors. We have to pray to God that the Jubilee Year 2025 opened by Pope Francis will be truly a Year of HOPE. As practicing Catholics we are united every time we gather around the altar, especially at the time of the Holy Communion when we become truly ONE IN CHRIST. Our prayers for the Church and the new Pope will strengthen our Unity, While Jesus prayed to His Father: “May they all be ONE IN ME as You and I are ONE”. (John 17:21), the Unity of the Church is under constant attack by the Devil. The Devil loves to divide, we know that God is stronger than any evil spirit. We know that God will be victorious in the end. We trust that we can put our Hope in the Lord! He is our only Hope! As you read this column, the Cardinal Electors have already begun to cast their votes to choose the successor to Pope Francis and we may have already a Pope replacing Francis. You may have seen on television the white smoke coming out of the Vatican’s chimney. You may have heard the Latin words HABEMUS PA PAM proclaimed by the Cardinal Proto-Deacon to the entire world before his announcing the name of the new Pope. VIVA EL PAPA! Long live the Pope! A new Papacy has begun in Joy and Hope! As pilgrims of Hope, 27 parishioners and I will be in Rome...

This is a true story, not a tale, you can share with your children and grandchildren: ACT 1- BIRTH OF ONE PAINTING Mr. Orlando Lagman (Mr. OL), a world-famous portraitist and painter, approached me (Fr. A) eleven years ago: Mr. OL: I can paint for you anything you want for your church free of charge. Fr. A: What about a painting of St John Bosco’s spiritual vision of Our Lady Help of Christians?’ Mr. OL: Just show me a picture of that vision. This was the birth of the large painting we now have in the Sanctuary, just opposite of the beautiful statue of the Holy Family, which was the vision of Father Crowley, our third pastor at OLHOC (2004-2010). ACT 2: BIRTH OF SECOND PAINTING Mr. OL: Come and visit my home/studio so you can see many of my paintings. Fr. A: Can I come tomorrow? I was amazed by the creativity of Mr. Lagman. So many beautiful portraits and paintings. He was very proud to show me pictures of his visits with many famous people (Kings, Princes, Presidents of the United States, NFL Hall Of Famers) and presenting the portraits he had made of them. He had just finished a large painting of...