17 September 2026 - Prayers of the faithful for Thursday of the 24th week in Ordinary Time

Lord Jesus - you come to us in humility. 

Christ Jesus - you blessed those who are poor and humble in spirit. 

Lord Jesus - you proclaim the Good News of God’s kingdom to the world. 

Priest: Let us pray for the holy Church of God and for all people according to their needs:

1. For those who hold power in the world. May the Lord lead them to act with humility, generosity, and compassion, especially for those most in need. We pray to the Lord. 

2. May our governmental leaders work toward understanding and peace amongst the nations. We pray to the Lord. 

3. That the Lord guide the Church throughout the world by the Holy Spirit, leading all Christians to the way of truth. We pray to the Lord. 

4. For those in need. For those who are sick or afflicted. For those who care for the sick. May the Lord comfort and heal them. We pray to the Lord. 

5. For those who are suffering in different ways in life. May the Lord bring them out of their troubles. We pray to the Lord. 

6. For the faithful departed. For those who have died in the peace of Christ. May they come at last to share with us in God’s eternal kingdom. We pray to the Lord. 

7. May we be open to the way God speaks to us through our daily experience. We pray to the Lord.

8. For the prayers we hold in the silence of our hearts today. We pray to the Lord. 

Priest: Almighty God, to whom our needs are known to you before we ask. Help us ask only what is in according with your will. Grant us our prayers for the sake of your son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever. Amen. 

16 September 2026 - homily for Wednesday of the 24th week in Ordinary time - Memorial of Saints Cornelius (Pope) and Cyprian (Bishop) - Martyrs - 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13

Today, we commemorate two martyrs from the Early Church from the third century: Cyprian and Cornelius. Both of them have very interesting stories.  Cyprian spent most of his adult life as a professor of rhetoric in the city of Carthage. He was not baptized until the age of 45, but he later became the Bishop of Carthage in the year 248.  Under the persecutions of the Roman Emperor Decius, many priests and bishops were martyred. Cyprian went into hiding, which did not go unnoticed by Church officials in Rome.  Cyprian’s writings emphasized unity and solidarity as believers in Christ, unified under the leadership of the Bishops and the Pope, a message that still rings true in our modern world today.  Cyprian was martyred in another wave of persecutions under the Emperor Valerian in 257.  Cornelius was Pope at the time that Cyprian was writing about unity and solidarity under the leadership of the papacy.  Many who had denied the faith during the persecutions wanted to return to the faith, which was a big issue in the early Church. Cornelius called for forgiveness, mercy, and moderation.  Cornelius himself was sent into exile under the persecutions of the Emperor Gallus, where he died a martyr. Perhaps as we hear more and more about persecutions against Christians in our world today, we can identity closely with martyrs like Cornelius and Cyprian.  May we find strength and courage in our faith from these examples from the Early Church.  

We continue to hear from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians today.  In that letter, Paul describes the different gifts that believers receive from the Holy Spirit. Today, in a very famous passage that we often hear at the celebration of the sacrament of holy matrimony, Paul talks about love.  All the gifts of the Holy Spirit are special gifts from God, but those gift are nothing if we do not have the gift of love. Love is one of the most evident signs that the Spirit of Christ is truly present in the community and its members. The love Paul talks about here is agape love, the love of reaching out to a person with concern for his well-being.  Agape love reaches out in unconditional compassion and caring.  It does not demand or expect love in return. St Paul asserts that love goes beyond everything else, because love is a part of God’s nature. It is not just something that God himself does, for God himself is love. Gifts like prophecy and knowledge are important, but they too will pass away. Love is eternal.  God calls us to faith.  He calls us to hope.  And he calls us to love.  But according to Paul, the greatest of these is love.  

 

16 September 2026 - Prayers of the faithful for Thursday of the 24th week in Ordinary Time

Lord Jesus - you came to us as a servant. 

Christ Jesus - you forgive the sins of the contrite. 

Lord Jesus - you call us to healing and forgiveness. 

Priest. Let us turn now to God, our true master and king, and make our prayers to him for our needs, the needs of the Church, and the needs of the world:

1. We pray for those who serve in government. May they carry out their duties in justice and wisdom. We pray to the Lord. 

2. May our lives reflect God’s mercy in our words and our deeds, sharing the joy of God’s love with those we meet. We pray to the Lord. 

3. For the sick and the afflicted. We pray for all who work alongside the sick, the poor, and the needy. May their caring actions be a witness to the compassion of Christ. We pray to the Lord. 

4. For the faithful departed, that through God's mercy they may rest in peace and enjoy treasure in heaven. We pray to the Lord. 

5. That Mary and the community of saints lead us and guide us on our journey. We pray to the Lord. 

6. May we be open to the way God speaks to us through the ordinary moments of our daily lives. We pray to the Lord.

7. For the prayers we hold in the silence of our hearts. We pray to the Lord. 

Priest: Father, hear the prayers of the family you have gathered here before you. In mercy and love unite all your children, wherever they may be. Through Christ our Lord.

15 September 2026 - Monday of the 24th week in Ordinary Time - prayers of the faithful for the feast of our lady of sorrows

Lord Jesus - you came to earth as a humble servant. 

Christ Jesus - you are the son of our Heavenly Father and the son of Mary. 

Lord Jesus - you meet us in our grief and in our sorrow.  

Prayers of the faithful: 

Priest:  Let us unite our prayers with the prayers of Mary today to pray for our needs, the needs of the Church, and the needs of the world. 

1. That our governmental leaders and Church leaders may be faithful disciples like Mary, our Blessed Mother.  

2. May all the nations of the world and their leaders work for true economic justice and peace. 

3. That the poor, the stranger, and the oppressed may be welcomed by our community. 

4. That all the children and youth, like Mary, may be open their hearts to God’s call in their lives, that they may say “yes” to serving others.  

5. That we may trust in Mary’s intercession and imitate her virtues.  

6. For the sick and the afflicted, the repose of the souls of the faithful departed, and for the prayers we hold in our heart.  

Priest: Gracious God, you chose Mary to bear our Savior.  Hear the prayers of your children and grant them in the name of your son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever. 

15 September 2026 - St Catherine of Genoa - homily for the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows - homily for Tuesday of the 24th week in Ordinary Time - John 19:25-27

St Catherine of Genoa, the saint of the day, was born into the noble Fieschi family in Genoa, Italy in 1447. She is known for her mystical spiritual journey and for her dedication to serving the sick and the poor, especially the victims of the plague which ravaged Genoa in 1497 and 1501. After an unhappy marriage, which left her isolated and depressed, Catherine underwent a transformative mystical experience at the age of 26 that inspired her to commit herself to the service of her neighbor. She devoted herself to the care of the poor in Genoa. She served as director of the main hospital in Genoa from 1490 to 1496. Throughout her lifetime, she experienced numerous mystical visions and practiced intense penance. She died in 1510. She was canonized in 1731 by Pope Clement XII. 

We also celebrate Our Lady of Sorrows today. This feast day commemorates the sorrows that Mary experienced during her lifetime. This feast day comes exactly one month after commemorating the Assumption of Mary on August 15. Traditionally, the Church has recognized 7 sorrows of Mary:

(1) In the flight of Mary and the Holy family into Egypt, they escape Herod’s anger and his attempt to kill Jesus. 

(2) In the presentation of Jesus in the Temple, Mary witnesses, the prophecy of Simeon, where she is told that a sword will pierce her heart. 

(3) In the finding of Jesus in the Temple, Joseph and Mary lose Jesus in the temple and search for him for three days before they find him. 

(4) Mary meets Jesus on his way to calvary as he carries his cross. 

(5) Mary stands at the foot of the cross, witnessing his crucifixion. 
(6) Mary witnesses the disciples removing his body from the cross. 

(7) Mary is present at the burial of her son. 

In Our Lady of Sorrows, we can see Mary’s love and compassion for her son and for all of humanity, especially those who are suffering and who are going through trials and tribulations. Mary as Jesus’ mother and as our mother can understand our human pain and suffering. The popularity of devotions to Our Lady of Sorrows provides consolation, encouragement, and hope to those who are going through difficulties in life. We unite our prayers with Our Lady of Sorrows today. 

13 September 2026 - homily for 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time CYCLE A - Psalm 138 - Sirach 27:30—28:7

Our psalm today proclaims that the Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion. Fortunately for us, the Lord is indeed merciful and gracious. However, we need to remember that since we are made in the image of God, we too are called to be kind and merciful. We are bound together not only with God, but also with our brothers and sisters. 

Our first reading from Sirach today presents adds to this understanding of God’s kindness and mercy, challenging us to recognize that holding onto wrath and anger and refusing forgiveness is a spiritual contradiction for those who seek God’s mercy.  Even though we know in our minds that wrath and anger are sinful and not good for us, we often hold onto them in our hearts, refusing to let go of them and move on. We do not realize how our anger can be like poison for us in our spiritual lives. It affects our emotions, our thoughts, and our dealing with others. It can rupture our relationship with God and with our neighbor. I remember being when I served in the mission site in Ecuador, one of the ladies in the village came into the office of our mission, wanting to have a mass intention for that evening, telling the nun who working in the office that the intention was to have the strong arm of God to come upon her husband and to punish him. She was having a strong disagreement with him, and all she could think about was getting vengeance and revenge. 

So many of us refuse to put enmity aside. We defy the love and mercy of God by being angry with others. Perhaps we do so because of the hurt that we cannot let go of; the fear of being hurt again, our wounded pride; and a reluctance to recognize the seriousness of the wound that we have within us. Many in our world see forgiveness as weakness or vulnerability. In our faith, we are see forgiveness as the opposite of weakness, as a sign of spiritual courage and maturity and strength. This is not to diminish our wounds that still have not healed or the past that will always be a part of our story. We need to be honest with ourselves and honest with God. Most of all, forgiving is something we need to do for ourselves, so that we can free ourselves from things that are weighing us down and so that we can move on with our journey of faith. Sirach reminds us that if we are unwilling to forgive others and let go of our anger, we cannot ask God to forgive us our sins and our failings. As we are all made in God’s image, to be angry with our neighbor is to be angry with God. 

One thing I have been trying to talk a lot about as a priest is the Eucharist and how the spirit of the Eucharist should always be within as in the way we live out our faith each day. Hopefully that is a message you hear from me very strongly and very directly. We have instituted regular community adoration at our parish. We have instituted a 24-hour prayer room with a tabernacle and monstrance where you can spend quiet time with the Blessed sacrament. We have the first Friday and first Saturday devotions in our parish during the year, with the Mass and the Eucharist as important parts of that devotion. We all need to find time in our lives for the Eucharist and for living out the spirit of the Eucharist. In a book I have been reading by Thomas Merton, he states that in relationship to the Eucharist, that it is important for us to actively participate in the liturgy, to live out the spirit of the Eucharist in a life of charity, was is tied to our reflection of God being kind and merciful, and also finding time for adoration and meditation and contemplative prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.

Speaking of the Eucharist, for the last several weeks at our 10:30 am mass at Holy Savior, we have been singing the Anima Christi prayer at the end of communion time. For a long time, many people associated the Anima Christi prayer with St Ignaitus of Loyola because it has a prominent place in his spiritual exercises, which were written in the 16th century. However, it appears that the prayer has its roots in the 13th century, written by an anonymous author. This prayer focuses on the the passion and wounds of Christ. Over time, the Anima Christi prayer became widely adopted as a meditation of thanksgiving immediately after receiving Holy Communion. That is what spurred me to ask Toni to sing this prayer during communion time, after I heard popular Catholic evangelizer and author Katie Prejean McGrady talk about how much she loves the Anima Christi prayer being sung at her parish in Lake Charles, Louisiana. I have put the Latin and English versions of the prayer in the bulletin this week for you to see.