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Rector Emeritus

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Stational Church of St. Clement

Stational Church of St. Clement

Reflection for Monday of the Second Week of Lent

March 09, 2020

Jesus said to his disciples:“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 

Every Sunday noon in St. Peter’s Square in Rome, the Holy Father leads the thousands of folks who gather from all over the world in the traditional prayer of the Angelus.  Prior to the prayer, he offers a few brief reflections, often on the scriptures of the day.   

Last year, in speaking of the Prodigal son, Pope Francis, said that ‘mercy is the very face of God!”  I found that such a powerful image living in the midst of a world that often seeks to extract revenge and recrimination and where ‘mercy’ is for wimps.   

How true Isaiah prophesied when he said, “God’s ways are not our ways…” The vulnerable human heart often thinks that protecting ourselves through insulating ourselves by being a bully in life is the only path to success.   

The Good Lord, however, invites us to walk another path in life – the very one that His own son walked in showing unfailing mercy, especially for the losers and the wimps in life. 

Forgiving our enemies and showing mercy are the paradoxical keys to the kingdom for those are willing to turn from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.

 

 

 

 

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msgr. Arthur a. holquin, s.t.L.

Msgr. Art was ordained to the priesthood on May 25, 1974 for service in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Shortly after the creation of the new Diocese of Orange in 1976, he completed post-graduate work at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, obtaining an S.T.L. in Sacramental Theology and an M.A. in Religious Studies. He has served the Diocese in a number of ministerial capacities:  Director for the Office of Worship, Director for the Office of Evangelization, Rector of Holy Family Cathedral and finally, Pastor and Rector of Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano. In 2009 he contracted a rare neurological condition (Primary Lateral Sclerosis) that gradually impacted his walking and speech. In 2014 he was named Rector Emeritus of the Basilica parish. Msgr. Art’s favorite quotation is from Blessed Henry Cardinal Newman: To live is to change and to be perfect is to have changed often.


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