Posts by Fr. Justino Cornejo
“Should You Not Have had Mercy on Your Fellow Servant, as I had Mercy on You?”
When I was in the parish, serving as parochial vicar, I used to go an hour before Mass to the Church, to be available for confessions. Once, a man I did not know came in and asked me if he could talk to me. He opened his heart to me, and he revealed how tortured…
Read MoreThe Glory of the Lord is Among Us!
When I was ordained a Deacon, I was assigned to one of the largest parishes in the Archdiocese of Newark. In this parish, I worked together with priests who had a lot of zeal and a sincere love for the people. I learned a lot from them! One of these priests was eventually sent to…
Read MoreLove One Another: Easier Said than Done!
Love Is Everywhere. It is fair to say that one of the most used words is the word “love.” Love has been the theme of countless songs, love is the reason for which many people claim to have done the craziest things in their lives, and love is considered, by many, the only important thing…
Read MoreSpending Some Days with the Pope!
Two days ago, I returned from a pilgrimage with a group of youth, who participated in the World Youth Day. We spent 15 days going from Ars, France, all the way down to Lisbon, Portugal, where the event took place. It was amazing to experience, together with these young men and women, the excitement of…
Read MoreLove is Stronger than Death!
Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Mary Magdalene; the first one to witness the resurrection of Christ, and a witness also to the transforming power of God’s love, manifested in Jesus Christ. Her testimony of life is so important that, in June 2016, while the Church celebrated the Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis…
Read MoreCalling God “Daddy”
It is safe to say that, together with the “Hail Mary,” the “Our Father” is the most popular prayer we have in our Christian tradition. Even people who do not practice their faith would recourse to the Our Father, in moments in which, compelled by the circumstances of their lives, they feel the need to…
Read MoreSet Apart to Proclaim the Word of God!
There was a priest in my home parish, who during the whole Easter time greeted the parishioners at the end of Mass by saying: “Christ is risen!” The proper answer to this greeting, he explained once, was: “He is truly risen!” Once, a friend of mine, during a meeting of our youth group asked him:…
Read MoreHoly Week: Palm Sunday
For the world’s top professional cyclists and avid cycling fans, today would be the Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders), and the Paris-Roubaix race would be next Sunday. These two early season races are considered “monuments” or “classics.” They generally take place at this time of year and are considered as professional cycling’s Holy Week. …
Read MoreA Joyful Stop Along the Lenten Road!
Not too long ago, we started the season of Lent, with the celebration of Ash Wednesday. On that day, the Church invited us to start a forty-day journey of preparation for the celebration of the feast of feasts: Easter! Forty days can be a long time. Along the way we may lose our perspective, and…
Read MoreThe Kingdom of Light vs The Kingdom of Darkness
We are within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord. A few days ago, we celebrated the entrance of Christ, “the light of the world,” into our history. Christ is born to fulfill God’s plan of salvation, by which He invites us to come out of the darkness of sin and death, to live…
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