27 August 2025 - Wednesday of the 21st week in Ordinary Time - St Monica - Matthew 23:27-32

St Monica, the saint we celebrate, demonstrates for us the importance of prayer. Born in a Christian family in North Africa in 332, her life as a Christian became more complicated when she married Patricius, a pagan who disliked Christianity. Patricius had a violent temper and he was not tolerant of Monica’s faith. He refused to have their children baptized. She taught them about her faith by her example. Through her patience and strength, Patricius became more tolerant of his wife’s Christian faith. Her husband was baptized in 370, one year before his death. Her other two children embraced the faith as well, but her son Augustin lived a more worldly life. She never gave up praying for him. He was converted to Christianity, being baptized in Milan in 387. Soon after her son’s conversion, Monica died on August 27, 387. She is patron saint of married women, mothers whose children have strayed from the faith, and victims of domestic violence. 

In the Gospel today, a continuation of yesterday’s Gospel, we hear Jesus continue to call out the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy. Monica and many of the saints give us good example of being constant in our faith, in persevering in our prayers, and in trying to live out the values of the Gospel in both big matters and small matters.  We unite our prayers with St Monica today. 

27 August 2025 - prayers of the faithful - Wednesday of the 21st week in Ordinary Time

Lord Jesus - you are the prince of peace. 

Christ Jesus - you proclaim justice to the nations. 

Lord Jesus - you proclaim your Good News. 

Priest: In humility and simplicity of heart, we present our prayers to our heavenly Father: 

1. We pray that the Lord will renew the spirits of our Church leaders, including Pope Leo XIV and Bishop Joseph Kopacz, giving them the inspiration to lead the people of God. 

2. For healing and assistance for those recovering from natural disasters, including floods and wildfires. 

3. For all who have died and for those who are grieving them.

4. That God will transform hardened hearts and closed minds. 

5. For an end to violence and bloodshed. For peace and reconciliation. 

5. That we in the Church may persistently seek greater holiness, reaching beyond the letter of God’s law. 

6. For the prayers we hold in the silence of our hearts this morning. 

Priest: We present our prayers today through your son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever. AMEN. 

26 August 2025 - Tuesday of the 21st week in Ordinary Time - prayers of the faithful

Lord Jesus - you are the beloved son of the Father. 

Christ Jesus - you forgive the sins of the contrite.

Lord Jesus - you are our savior and our redeemer. 

Priest: We now present our prayers to our heavenly Father: 

1. For growth in holiness and for the grace to live out the Gospel more fully in our lives each day. 

2. That we may fulfill the work to which God has called us and be drawn ever deeper into friendship with God. 

3. For the courage to turn the other cheek, to forgive our neighbor, and to resist temptation. 

4. That God will heal the pain in those who have experienced abuse and lead us to wholeness and healing. 

5. That God will strengthen us when we have been insulted or injured so that we may continue to love and serve without reservation. 

6. For the prayers we hold in the silence of our hearts. 

Priest: We present these prayers, heavenly Father, through your son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever. AMEN. 

 

26 August 2025 - homily for Tuesday of the 21st week in Ordinary Time - Matthew 23:23-26

Last Sunday, we heard the passage from Luke’s Gospel in which Jesus told us to enter through the narrow gate, that many would not have the strength to do so, but we are called to have the courage and perseverance and persistence to enter through the gate of discipleship and of faith. Today, we hear Jesus calling out the scribes and Pharisees for the way they live out their faith journey. I am working on a motivational journal. This journal helps me map out goals and what I want to accomplish. The journal recently had a quote from retired football player Matthew Slater that stated, consistency is big in whatever we are doing. It is easy to focus on the little details that ultimately do not matter, with the big picture getting lost. It is easy to work on things that ultimately don’t matter. It is easy to get bored or to lose our motivation and to not stay consistent. The Pharisees and scribes were more interested in trapping Jesus than in learning from him. They were more interested in tiny details of the law and in the process ignoring the spirit of the law. May we always stay true to the Gospel. 

24 August 2025 - homily for 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time - Luke 13:22-30

As you know, I am always addressing with you and our staff here at Holy Savior and Immaculate Conception how we can be more welcoming, how we can be messengers of God’s hope, compassion and mercy, how we can invite others to the faith, and how we can go out to find the lost sheep. As a parish, we hopefully do this in our words and our actions. Then we have today’s Gospel. These images that Jesus presents us are not welcoming and inviting: a locked door, a narrow gate, and wailing and grinding of teeth. 

It is significant that we meet Jesus today in Luke’s Gospel as he is journeying to toward Jerusalem. He is teaching and proclaiming the kingdom of God in the towns and villages along the way. Not only is Jerusalem the place where the prophets journeyed, but is also Jesus’ final destination, where he will face betrayal, abandonment, and death on the cross. Jesus has been preparing his disciples for this. He must have this in his mind as he is making his journey and as he meets the man on the road and is asked the question, “Will only a few be saved?” We don’t know what motivates the man asking the question. We are given no context as to how and why it is asked. Maybe the man does not want discipleship to be too difficult or too demanding. Maybe he wants an easy way out. 

However, Jesus does not offer him an easy way out, as he tells him that he needs to strive to enter the narrow door, but that who want to enter will not have the strength to do so. Jesus answer prompts the man to ask himself: Do you have the strength to follow the road of discipleship? Do you have the faith, the persistence, the endurance, and the commitment? Do you want the strength to be a disciple? We ultimately do not know the man’s answer back to Jesus. 

I remember reading the book The Cost of Discipleship many years ago, being challenged by Protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s assertion that being a disciples of Christ entails hardship and suffering, that discipleship is not meant to be an easy road. Bonhoeffer writes: “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”

Jesus’ answer in the Gospel should not push us away. It should engage us and challenge us. We are disciples of Christ know that there are expectations and Gospel values that we are to strive toward. In this specific Gospel passage and in the Gospel of Luke in general, Luke tells us that authentic discipleship takes strength, faith, and tenacity. We modern disciples of Christ, just like the early Christians, are reassured that the Gospel message that we hear and embrace is authentic and based on the true teachings of Jesus and apostolic Church. We are to embrace this Gospel message, but this Gospel message embraces us as well. And Jesus embraces us. 

We are to strive to enter the narrow gate of authentic discipleship. But we must never forget that all are invited, that all are welcomed, with generosity and grace. The door of discipleship is always a door of God’s love, mercy, and compassion. It is a door of respect and integrity. It is the door of Jesus. We open the door for others whenever we embody these Gospel values. We are to stay on this path. We are to embrace our crosses. We are to welcome, to invite, and to love. 

24 August 2025 - 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time - prayers of the faithful - prison ministry

Priest: penitential rite: 

Lord Jesus - you gather the nations into your everlasting love. 

Christ Jesus - you are the way, the truth, and the life. 

Lord Jesus - you will come in glory to bring us peace. 

Priest: Striving to follow the path of discipleship, we join our prayers with the prayers of our brothers and sisters:

1. That we in the Church may reach out to those from different cultures and traditions, confident that people from every nation will gather at God’s table. We pray to the Lord. 

2. That we may be good stewards of God’s creation. We pray to the Lord.

3. For our students, especially our children and family members, that the Lord bless them in their studies and their activities during this school year. We pray to the Lord. 

4. That we may welcome all into our Catholic community of faith here at CMCF. We pray to the Lord. 

5. For our seminarians and for our deacon candidates. That the Lord bless them during their time of formation. We pray to the Lord. 

6. For the prayers we hold in the silence of our hearts. For our prayer intentions spoken and unspoken. 

Priest: Heavenly, help us see your presence in our brothers and sisters. Help us share your love and mercy with our neighbor. We present our prayers through your son Jesus Christ our Lord forever and ever. AMEN. 

 

2 August 2025 - St Peter Faber - homily for Saturday of the 17th week in Ordinary Time - Matthew 14:1-12

Just two days ago, we celebrated the feast day of St Ignatius of Loyola. Today we celebrate another founding of the Jesuits. Peter Faber was born in 1506 in the Savoy region of Europe in the western Alps mountain range. He tended his father’s flock as a child and youth as a shepherd. He had little formal schooling as a child and youth, since he can from a poor family. He traveled to Paris to study to be a priest, where he met Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier. Even though he lacked formal schooling, he had a brilliant mind, and he actually tutored Ignatius of Loyola in Latin during their time in school. With these two friends, Faber was one of the founding members of the Jesuits. He was a very astute spiritual advisor. Ignatius considered Peter Faber the best director of his spiritual exercises. In a time of great tension between Protestants and Catholic during the Reformation, Faber worked toward dialogue and patience. He spent a lot of his ministry in Europe promoting parish missions and Catholic renewal.  He died of a fever in 1546 at the young age of 40. Pope Francis was a great admirer of Peter Faber, canonizing him as a saint in 2013. 

We hear of the death of John the Baptist in today’s Gospel. We all have our calling from God. John had a specific calling, considered the last of the prophets of the nation of Israel. Peter Faber had a specific calling as well, to help found a religious order and to preach missions throughout Europe. We are thankful for the different prophets and teachers that God sends us.

We unite our prayers with the community of saints today. And we pray for healing as we get ready to celebrate the sacrament of the anointing of the sick.