Welcome Mass for Bishop Oscar Cantú’s at Santa Teresa Parish

Bishop Oscar Cantú of the Diocese of San Jose and Father George Aranha at Welcome Mass at Santa Teresa Catholic Church July 14, 2019 — Bishop Oscar Cantú of the Diocese of San Jose and Father George Aranha
Welcome Mass at Santa Teresa Catholic Church July 14, 2019

Bishop’s Homily

We had the pleasure of having Bishop Oscar Cantú come to Santa Teresa to welcome him personally to our Parish. It was a wonderful Mass where Bishop Cantú shared a moving homily that linked us to the Gospel for that day:

And now a lawyer stood up and, to test him, asked, ‘Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’

He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? What is your reading of it?’

He replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.’

Jesus said to him, ‘You have answered right, do this and life is yours.’

But the man was anxious to justify himself and said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’

In answer Jesus said, ‘A man was once on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of bandits; they stripped him, beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead.

Now a priest happened to be travelling down the same road, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.

In the same way a Levite who came to the place saw him, and passed by on the other side.

But a Samaritan traveller who came on him was moved with compassion when he saw him.

He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him onto his own mount and took him to an inn and looked after him.

Next day, he took out two denarii and handed them to the innkeeper and said, “Look after him, and on my way back I will make good any extra expense you have.”

Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the bandits’ hands?’

He replied, ‘The one who showed pity towards him.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go, and do the same yourself.’

Bishop Cantú was able to witness our new Vocation Cross “handoff”. This Vocations Cross was given to us by Bishop Cantú at his 25th Anniversary Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph. (video below).

In his bulletin message following the Mass, Father George Aranha said, “One way to continue our welcome of Bishop Oscar is to sign up for the Vocations Cross that we pass from family to family in our parish every weekend to take home and pray as a family. The sign up sheets for every weekend Mass are in the vestibule. I have been deeply touched by the testimonies that families have given after their week of prayer. No two testimonies have been alike, which reminds us that we are all unique and that God speaks to us in personal ways that enrich our entire parish community.”

Enjoy the images from the Welcome Mass we had for Bishop below: