TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

18 OCTOBER 2026

 

          Our Scripture readings today speak of vocation.  The word “vocation” comes from the Latin word, vocare, which means “to call.”  We Catholics speak of a vocation through the lens of a state in life.  Most of you have been called to live as married couples.  Others are called to live as members of a religious order, both male and female.  I have been called to the priesthood.

            However, our readings speak much more broadly of “vocation.”  They reflect the Second Vatican Council’s understanding of vocation as a “universal call to holiness.”  God chooses to call everyone to some kind of holiness.  The prophet Isaiah says that God called the Persian king Cyrus to free the Chosen People from their exile in Babylon.  Cyrus was a pagan and had no idea who the God of Israel was.  But that does not stop God from naming him as his anointed, as his Messiah or savior.  In calling Cyrus, God grasped him by the hand, even though Cyrus did not know him.  Cyrus responded to God’s call in defeating the Babylonians and allowing God’s Chosen People to return to Jerusalem and their Promised Land.  Isaiah makes it clear that even through Cyrus does not believe in God, there is only one God, and there is no other.

            In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees and Herodians flatter Jesus by calling him a teacher who is a truthful man.  However, they are not interested in knowing any truth.  These two groups agree on nothing.  The Pharisees oppose Roman rule and regard it as an unjust burden on God’s Chosen People.  The Herodians cooperate with the Roman rule and prosper because of it.  To trap him, they ask Jesus if it is lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not.  If Jesus answers that it is not lawful, the Herodians will call him a rebel and report him to the authorities, as they had done previously to a Galilean teacher and had him executed.  If Jesus answers that it is lawful, then the Pharisees will accuse him of being in league with Rome and supporting an unfair tax that puts unjust burdens on the people.  Instead of falling into their trap, he asks to see a coin.  He asks them whose image is on the coin.  They reply, “Caesar’s.”  We are familiar with the first part of his answer, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.”  It reminds us that we need to pay our taxes every April 15 as faithful American Catholics. 

            But we often forget the second part of his answer, “…and to God what belongs to God.”  Everything belongs to God, including Caesar himself, who was made in the image and likeness of God, as are all of us.  That is the message sent by Paul, Sylvanus, and Timothy to the church of Thessalonica.  And through this living Word of God, it is the message they send to us.  Like them, we live out our universal call to holiness when we work as a labor of love for others.  Some of us have been called to work as married couples.  Others have been called to work as religious men or women.  Some of us have been called to work as priests. No matter what our individual states in life may be, we share a team approach to the universal call to holiness by working together to make the presence of God more visible in a divided and hateful world.

            As Paul reminds the Thessalonians, he reminds us that we endure with hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, especially when we experience difficulties and pain and challenges in our individual vocations.  Last week, we priests participated in a workshop focused on how we can face the difficult situations that we encounter in our particular vocation.  As with married couples, our ultimate hope rests in our faith that the Lord is present in the grace we have received from our Sacramental commitment.

            As we live out our common call to universal holiness, Saint Paul reminds us of our conviction in our faith and beliefs.  In each of our vocations, the Lord has clearly manifested himself to us.  We remember those times and continue to make the Lord’s presence more visible.

 

TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

11 OCTOBER 2026

 

          Those who gave up everything to become disciples of Jesus of Nazareth certainly would have known the prophecy of Isaiah (our first reading).  Convinced that Jesus was the promised Messiah, they expected he would fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah in a glorious victory on a famous mountain, like Mount Sinai, or the Mount of the Transfiguration, or in the beautiful temple on Mount Zion.  Their hopes would have been shattered when he was executed on a horribly dark day on Mount Calvary outside the city walls.  Instead of being clothed in glory and surrounded by faithful witnesses, he died a horrible death stripped of everything, surrounded by thieves, and buried in a borrowed tomb.

            After his resurrection, they began to understand how Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy in unexpected ways.  He had destroyed the veil that veils all peoples.  In other words, he had removed the need for a veil to be worn at funerals.  He had destroyed death forever by entering death himself.  Grateful for his complete gift of self, they obeyed his command to carry the Good News to the ends of the earth.  God had wiped away their tears and had provided them with a feast of rich food and pure choice wine in the Eucharistic Sacrifice.  Nourished by this Sacrament and guided by the Holy Spirit, they had the courage to give themselves in loving sacrifice to all who would open themselves to this message of salvation.

            We share this same understanding of the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy.  In today’s parable, Jesus builds on that understanding.  The king in the parable is God, the Father.  His son, Jesus Christ, is the faithful bridegroom who as given himself totally to us as his bride.  God continues to invite everyone to the great wedding feast at the end of time.  Through the missionary activity of the Church, God does not force anyone to accept the invitation.  Too many people are so tied up with the ordinary affairs of life that they make excuses for not responding.  Others brutally murder the Lord’s servants, as committed Christians have been martyred over the centuries.  The Father continues to invite everyone, bad and good alike

            The Father also invites us to repent and to make sure that we clothe ourselves with righteous deeds.  That is what happens to the man who is not dressed in a wedding garment.  There is no dress code in the kingdom of God.  But the Lord expects us to wear our baptismal garments.  When we were baptized, we were clothed with a white garment.  That white garment stands for our efforts to embrace the Mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and make mystery more completely a central part of our daily lives, turning away from sin and growing more fully in the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. 

            The king refers to the man without a wedding garment as “my friend.”  There is only one other time in the Gospel of Saint Matthew that Jesus refers to someone as “friend.”  That is when he calls Judas Iscariot his friend before he betrays him with a kiss.  He calls each one of them a “friend,” because he gives them one last chance to repent and change their minds.  Both refuse, and both are cast outside in the darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.

            After his encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, Saint Paul spent his life proclaiming the Good News to Gentiles throughout the Mediterranean world.  He knew times of abundance and times of being well fed.  He also knew times of humble circumstances and hunger.  Fed by the Eucharist, he never lost sight of the wedding banquet at the end of his life.  He encourages us to imitate his example and continue to turn more completely to the love of Christ Jesus, trusting that God will supply whatever we need.  In turning more completely to Jesus Christ, we are preparing ourselves to participate at the Wedding Feast at the end of time.

 

TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

4 OCTOBER 2026

 

          The prophet Isaiah uses a vineyard to describe the care of God in taking his people from slavery in Egypt and transplanting them in the Promised Land.  Vineyards played a critical role in the life of the people of ancient Israel.  They produced the grapes that were made into wine, the important drink that nourished people and provided work for laborers.  The vineyard became an image for what God had done.  God took his cherished vine from Egypt and transplanted it in the Promised Land.  With great care, God placed his people on a fertile hillside like a landowner would plant a vineyard.  God spaded the hillside, cleared it of stones, built a watchtower, and hewed out a wine press.  But Isaiah laments that instead of finding good grapes, God found wild grapes.  His people had forgotten the care he had taken into settling them in the Promised Land. They chased after false gods and abandoned the Covenant.  As a result, their enemies defeated them and trampled down the vineyard God had planted.

            Jesus uses that same image in his parable directed at the chief priests and elders of the people.  His Father is the landowner.  They are the tenants placed in charge of the vineyard.  For centuries, God had sent prophets to instruct the tenants on how to produce good fruit.  But the religious authorities ignored some, killed others, and dragged his only son outside the vineyard to kill him.  Because the religious authorities refuse to listen to this parable, the vineyard is taken away from them and given to a people who will produce good fruit.

            Instead of judging the religious leaders who refused to listen to this parable, we must realize that the Lord is speaking to us.  We are the current tenants entrusted to producing good fruit for the vineyard.  The stone rejected by the builders has turned hard, stony ground into fertile soil.  Now, we are entrusted with the work of producing good fruit.  For many decades, our bishops have set aside the month of October as “respect life month.”  They urge us to use this month to be tenants in the vineyard to produce the good fruit of respecting human life from the moment of conception through natural death.  Sadly, that is not at the heart of our current secular society.  Instead of regarding each human life as a gift from God, too many people regard human life as worthwhile if it is productive.  That transactional view of human nature means that we can determine the worth of another human being based on how useful they are.  In this view, it is easy to exclude people because of their disabilities, their ethnic makeup, their place of birth, their racial makeup, their advanced age, or any aspect factor not deemed to be useful.  Last week, I heard a story on the radio about the current debate about immigration and ICE activity.  In a small town in a very red state, the reporter marveled that the people of the town rallied around their immigrant neighbors and blocked ICE agents from coming into the town.  But, as the reporter continued the story, it became clear that the townspeople did not act out of concern for their inherent dignity.  They were more concerned that the removal of their neighbors would hamper the work of the major industry in town and cause the price of beef to go up.

            The Lord has given us the task of producing good fruit in his vineyard.  We need to build a wall of peace that guards our hearts and minds.  Then, we can make our requests known to God by prayer, petition, and thanksgiving.  Like Paul, we can learn from each other.  We rely on what we received from our elders who have gone before us and handed down our tradition.  We hear the Word of God spoken to us each Sunday.  We see how we can carry out our mission to bear fruit.  With the support of this community and the strength of the Eucharist, we can practice ways of seeing each human being made in the image and likeness of God.  As faithful tenants trusting in the Lord’s love, we can bear much fruit in this vineyard God has given to us.

 

TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

20 SEPTEMBER 2026

 

          The prophet Isaiah tells his people to seek the Lord while he may be found.  They are in exile in Babylon.  Some of them have abandoned God’s law and have become scoundrels and wicked.  Others have become so complacent in Babylon that they have resisted God’s call to return to Jerusalem from their exile and rebuild their nation.  The prophet insists that God can be found, because he is near.  Then the prophet describes the Lord whom they seek.  God embodies mercy and generosity.  Speaking for God, the prophet affirms the obvious:  God’s thoughts and ways are far from human thoughts and ways.  They are ways of compassion and reconciliation.

            After his dramatic encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, Saint Paul never stopped seeking the Lord.  By seeking the Lord and trusting in the Lord’s presence in his ministry, Paul has become the Apostle who has spread the Good News throughout the known Mediterranean world.  In his proclamation of the Gospel, he has urged countless converts to seek the Lord and trust in his presence in their lives.  Today, we hear his letter to the Philippians.  Although he is confined in prison, he continues to seek the Lord.  He does not know what will happen to him.  But, because he is so confident in the ways the Lord has responded to his seeking, he says that it does not matter whether he will die soon or remain alive.  He prefers to die in the Lord, because he trusts that his earthly life is already centered in Christ.  But he is also willing to continue his earthly life, because he trusts in his fruitful labor.  Even his current suffering bears fruit.  His example encourages the Philippians (and us) to seek the Lord even when they are suffering.  He may be the last of the Apostles.  But he knows that the reward of faithful discipleship applies just as much to him as to those twelve Apostles who had been with the Lord in his ministry and in his death, resurrection, and ascension.

            Today’s parable gets our attention, because we tend to sympathize with those who started working at dawn and got paid the same amount as the workers who came at sunset.  Like those who worked all day, we think that this pay scale is not fair.  We wonder if those who got paid for doing very little will encourage people to become lazy.  That is why Jesus tells us this parable in the first place.  We tend to think only in human terms.  But Jesus insists that his ways are not our ways, echoing the argument made by Isaiah the prophet in his day. 

That is why today’s Gospel parable speaks to us as surely as it spoke to the original listeners.  The landowner is God.  The vineyard is Israel.  The harvest reflects the final judgment.  The first workers hired to work in the vineyard are the religiously observant of Jesus’ day.  But the landowner finds that there are still others who are seeking to work in the vineyard.  The landowner goes out five times to hire those who continue to seek, with the last being tax collectors and sinners who have responded to Jesus’ call very late.  The Lord is aware of so many people who are seeking him, even without knowing it.  And he responds by sharing the fullness of his justice and mercy not only now, but at the harvest time.

We open ourselves to the Lord’s mercy and justice when we realize that we are created in the likeness of God.  We do not earn mercy and justice, nor are mercy and justice owed to us.  The Lord’s mercy and justice are pure and simple gifts.  Today’s parable encourages us to be like Saint Paul and turn more completely to the Lord, so much so that we realize that we are in Christ Jesus, whether we live or die.  The parable also calls us to turn to the Lord while he is near.  If we live our faith more completely, then we might attract more people to the Lord, whether they know they are seeking or not.

 

 

TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

13 SEPTEMBER 2026

 

          Peter asks Jesus, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive?  As many as seven times?”  Peter thinks he is being generous about offering forgiveness, because 7 is a biblical number meaning “a lot.”  But Jesus shocks him by saying that he needs to forgive him not seven times, but seventy-seven times.  There is no limit to the times we need to forgive.

            His parable explains the reason for unlimited forgiveness.  The king represents God.  The servant represents us.  The servant owes the king a huge amount.  The Old Testament has two primary metaphors for sin.  The first is that sin is a weight to be carried around.  The second is that it is a debt that needs to be paid.  The servant carries a heavy weight and has acquired a debt that needs to be repaid.  Because of the power of sin, we can never remove the weight of our sins or repay the debt we owe.  God, represented by the king, removes the weight from our shoulders and repays the debt through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

            The king treats the servant harshly when he refuses to forgive the much smaller debt of a fellow servant.  He hands him over to torturers not because the other servant deserved to be freed of the weight of his debt, but because the king himself had forgiven the servant’s debt.  Jesus says that we are expected to do the same – to forgive others by taking the weight from their shoulders and forgiving their debts.  We must treat others with mercy, because God has forgiven us by lifting the weight from our shoulders and erasing our debts.

            This message can be very difficult, especially for those who have suffered greatly from the sins of others.  Part of the problem is that we do not fully understand the essence of mercy, forgiveness, lifting weights from those who have hurt us, and letting go of their debts.  Forgiving another person does not mean that the evil done by that person is ok.  Nor does forgiveness mean that we have to like the person who hurt us so badly or even be part of their lives.  Especially for those who have been abused or who living in abusive relationships, it is critical to move away from the offender and try to begin life anew.  Jesus calls us to take this radical action, not because the offending person deserves it, but because of what God has done for us.

            Years ago, I encouraged a woman to join the RCIA process in our parish.  She had been away from the Church for many years and wanted to resume the practice of her faith.  As she participated in RCIA, she revealed the deep hurt that caused her to walk away from the faith in the first place.  When her five children were all under the age of 10, her husband abandoned the family.  She was devastated and nursed her anger for years.  Her children and grandchildren wanted her to come back to the church, because she was so angry and short with them all the time.  I encouraged her to use the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and she did.  Even though she confessed her anger and hatred often, that bitterness remained.  One day, as she was working on her job at the local hospital, she saw her husband for the first time in decades.  As he was being wheeled into the emergency room, she saw that he was in terrible health instead of having a good life after abandoning her and their children.  At last, she was able to let go of her anger and be at peace.  She finally realized that her hatred and anger had no effect on him.  Instead, she had become a bitter mother, grandmother, and friend.

            We forgive others only because God has forgiven us.  I’m also convinced that one of the graces of the Sacrament of Reconciliation is the courage to offer that mercy to others.  I have also learned that this kind of radical forgiveness cannot be accomplished by us alone.  At a certain  point, we need to humble ourselves and go through professional therapy to be healed.  We need the grace and mercy of God to forgive as Jesus has forgiven us.

 

TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

6 SEPTEMBER 2026

 

          When we say that we are going to church, we generally speak of going to a particular church building.  There are all kinds of church buildings.  Our church building is pretty small, like the church building across the street.  Other church buildings are much larger, with varying degrees of importance.  The bishop’s church building is called a Cathedral, because that is where his cathedra, or chair, is.  The church building at Notre Dame is called a Basilica, because it has a special connection with the Vatican.  Other church buildings are huge, like the buildings of mega churches.  But what all of these buildings have in common is that the building is a house for the ekklesia, which literally means “the called-out ones” – a group of people who have been called out to a meeting.  When go to church, we are actually saying that we are going to an assembly, a gathering, a meeting.

            A couple of weeks ago, Jesus spoke of establishing this ekklesia, this church.  He established it on the foundation of Simon Peter’s profession of faith.  With the rock that is Simon Peter and his successors, the gates of the netherworld will not prevail against it.  Today, he mentions this assembly again and promises that where two or three are gathered together in his name, there he will be in the midst of them.  Today, there are more than two or three of us here, and we trust his presence in this assembly.  In the midst of this assembly, he speaks to us in his Word and is truly present in bread and wine transformed into his Body and Blood.

            Even though the Lord is always present in our church, in our assembly here, we know that conflicts will arise.  That is why Saint Paul insists that it is so important to love one another, a love that sums up all the commandments.  In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives some important steps on how to love when someone has offended us.  The first step involves taking the one who has offended us aside and confronting the person with the truth.  Authentic love is not about arguing or trying to prove a point.  Authentic love means that we approach the person as gently as possible to speak the truth.  The goal is not to win an argument.  The goal is to change the sinful behavior of that person, knowing that all of us have behaved in ways that involve committing sin and doing damage.  This is a difficult but important first step, because it is much easier to complain to others behind this person’s back.

            If that fails, Jesus tells us to take one or two other members of the assembly with us.  The goal is not to prove a point.  It is to allow the person to hear the story from other people who know the facts.  If that does not work, we need to tell the church.  Only after everything else has failed should we bring in other members of the assembly.  If that doesn’t work, then we need to treat the offending person as a Gentile or tax collector.  That means that the offense is out of our hands and cannot be resolved.  At this point, it is clear that there is no way to soften a hardened heart.  We can only begin the process of hearing the truth in today’s Responsorial Psalm so that we can soften our hearts and give the ultimate judgment over to the Lord.

            This type of expressing authentic love is very difficult, because it takes so much time and energy.  It is always easier to gossip about the offense, telling everyone who is willing to listen.  As a confessor, I find that the sin of gossip is prevalent so often.  Taking the issue to the church is a very rare occurrence.  Gossip involves the entire church.  Ironically, gossip does much more damage to the fabric of a parish and the presence of the Lord within that assembly.  Jesus Christ tells us to take the time to confront wrongdoing and forgive.  He gave the ultimate example when he spoke the truth to Pontius Pilate at his mock trial and then forgave those who brought him to a horrible death on the cross.  He expects the same of us, his Body, the Church.

 

TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

30 AUGUST 2026

 

          Last Sunday, Jesus gathered his disciples at Caesarea Philippi, at that massive rock dedicated to the Roman god Pan.  He asked what people were saying about him.  He listened to them and then asked who they thought he was.  Simon Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Jesus affirmed that Peter’s correct answer was a revelation from God and said that he would be the rock of his Church.  The gate to the netherworld would not be the gate to Hades at the huge rock at Caesarea Philippi.  Simon Peter became the rock to keep the gates of the netherworld from prevailing against his church.

            Today, Jesus continues to teach his disciples.  As the Christ, the Son of the living God, he now reveals the mission he has received from his Father.  He will not be a warrior Messiah to drive the Romans away.  Instead, he is the Suffering Servant who will go to Jerusalem to suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and scribes.  He will be killed and on the third day be raised up.  Shocked to his core, Simon Peter takes Jesus aside to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord!  No such thing shall ever happen to you!”  Simon Peter cannot imagine a crucified Messiah!  Jesus turns to Peter and yells, “Get behind me, Satan!”  Peter was tempting Jesus to turn his back on his Father’s will, just as Satan had done in the desert at the beginning of his public ministry.  He accuses Peter of being an obstacle to him.  In other words, in relying on his human instincts, the Rock of the Church has become a stumbling block.

            Instead of telling Peter to get away, Jesus tells him to get behind him.  He invites him to come after him and learn how to be a faithful disciple.  Coming after Jesus means that he must deny himself.  Jesus needs to be at the center of his life, teaching him the lesson of sacrificial love.  He must carry the cross that comes with behaving as Jesus Christ, willing to give himself in humble service to all.  Following behind Jesus Christ involves conducting himself as his Lord does.  He must think and speak words of love.  He will need to imitate the actions of Jesus Christ.  He must be willing to forgive others and make a commitment to performing works of mercy.  Simon Peter will learn all of these lessons.  After the Lord’s death and resurrection, the Holy Spirit will strengthen Peter in his role as the rock of the Church, even to the point of physically giving himself to be nailed to a cross to share in the Lord’s rising.

            Saint Augustine became a disciple of Jesus Christ when he was baptized, Confirmed, and given the Eucharist at the Easter Vigil in Milan.  Once he got behind Jesus, he denied himself and made him the central focus of his life.  He then accepted a number of crosses.  He turned aside from the Manichaean heresy that encouraged him to do whatever he wanted with his body and embraced the practice of celibacy.  It was not easy.  He was reported to pray, “Lord, make me chaste, but not yet!”  He faced the death of his mother, Monica, as they were preparing to get on a boat to return to Africa. After he was ordained a priest, he reluctantly submitted himself to become the Bishop of Hippo.  He wrote his famous Confessions to say to the people of Hippo: “With my history, do you really want me to be your bishop?”  He spent the rest of his life faithfully serving the Church of Hippo and refuting any number of heresies.  Like Jeremiah the Prophet, he was often tempted to refuse the speak the full truth of the faith.  But the truth became like a fire burning in his heart.  He carried the cross of making many enemies in becoming one of the most important theologians of the Catholic Church.

            We ask for his intercession today, as we continue to walk behind Jesus, as we learn how to deny ourselves, and as we learn to embrace the crosses that come from our decision to make Jesus Christ the center of our lives.

 

TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

23 AUGUST 2026

 

          If you want to connect with an important person, you have to go through a gate keeper.  When I was pastor of Saint Pius X Parish, I was not very important.  But, I was busy.  I had the good fortune of having an excellent gate keeper.  Anyone who wanted to see me or talk to me went through Sherie Wilcox.  She protected me from people with questionable agendas, but was very welcoming to everyone else.  In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah speaks for God and removes Shebna, the king’s gate keeper, from his post.  He had been serving himself, and not the king.  Isaiah removes the key of the house of David, the symbol of his power, and puts it on Eliakim, his replacement and the new gatekeeper.  It is a dramatic change of power.

            In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls his disciples to Caesarea Philippi and stages a dramatic change of power.  Herod Philip had marked this place, located at the foot of a dramatic rock, as a shrine to the pagan god Pan.  Many Romans believed that the gates of Hades lay just beneath this rock.  There is also a Jewish synagogue nearby.  Simon confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.  He identifies Jesus as the Son of David, the king, the one promised by the prophets for centuries.  To Simon’s profession of faith, Jesus announces three significant changes.  The dramatic rock at Caesarea Philippi is not the access to the underworld.  Nor is the temple in Jerusalem built on the rock of Mount Zion.  Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter, or the Rock.  He becomes the rock or capstone on top of the gates of Hades.  On his foundation, the church will be built to prevent the underworld from attaching the world in the same way again.

            The second change relates to people.  Jesus creates an ekklesia, or our English word for church.  In the Greek world, an ekklesia was a group of people called out for a specific purpose to make decisions.  The ekklesia provided a way for people’s voices to be heard, responsibilities to be given, and decisions to be made.  No longer would decisions come from the Romans or the Temple leaders.  The people would be empowered with God’s Spirit.

            The third change affects Peter and the disciples.  Jesus gives to Peter the “keys to the kingdom of heaven.”  Just as God took the keys from Shebna and gave them to Eliakim, Jesus entrusts them to Peter.  He will train Peter and the other disciples how to give people access to God.  No longer are the Romans or the Temple in charge of access.  Peter and the disciples are now the gate keepers.  They would be responsible for opening and shutting doors to others.

            Saint Paul invites us to consider the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.  Jesus does not entrust his power and authority to any political, military, or community leader.  He doesn’t set up a family member to be in charge.  The answer to the world’s understanding of God is through the Church.

            Simon Peter does not give the correct answer to Jesus’ question on his own.  He responds to a divine revelation.  As we know from the Gospels, Simon Peter is not perfect.  He has his flaws.  He often puts his foot in his mouth, and he denied knowing Jesus three times out of fear.  But Jesus trusts Peter to be a good gate keeper, a good steward of the Mysteries of the kingdom of God.  As Catholics, we recognize Pope Leo as the successor of Simon Peter.  With the bishops in union with him, he is responsible to be the good steward of the Church.

            Each of us knows the feeling of someone in power dangling keys of the kingdom in front of us, telling us that we have not done enough or paid enough to have an audience with someone who can help us.  Like Simon Peter, we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  If we believe that and allow it to permeate our lives, then we can participate in the work of the Church in giving anyone who comes to us access to our King and heavenly Father.

 

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

26 JULY 2026

 

          Solomon is likely a teenager when God tells him to ask for anything he wants.  Having succeeded his father David as king, he seems overwhelmed.  He is young and inexperienced in reigning over a vast and diverse kingdom.  He could have asked for a long life for himself.  He could have asked for riches or for victory over his enemies.  Instead, he asks for an understanding heart.  He is not asking for academic knowledge.  He is asking for an understanding heart that will help him to be a good and gentle leader, one who can read his people’s hearts and minds for the good of all.  He seems to understand that money, power, and length of days are not the same things as happiness, success, or peace of mind.

            Saint Paul writes to the Romans to remind them of the wisdom they have received when they were baptized.  He argues that God knew them from the beginning of time.  The living Word of God spoke, and they were created.  He predestined them and said that they were very good.  He called them and implanted within their souls a “homing beacon” drawing them into communion with him and their brothers and sisters in Christ.  God justified them, assuring them that he will always be faithful to his Covenant with them.  He will glorify them, returning them to the Source of life.  In giving this message, Saint Paul is telling the Romans to keep this Wisdom as a first priority, especially if they are undergoing difficulty or persecution. 

            Jesus delivered this same message to his first disciples.  They were like the person who sells everything to purchase the field containing a buried treasure.  Others were like the merchant who has been searching for a valuable pearl and found it in Jesus Christ.  The earliest disciples realized that the kingdom of heaven was so valuable that they abandoned everything to follow him.  In living out the wisdom they received in embracing the kingdom of heaven, they trusted that they would be sorted out as the good fish in the judgment at the end of time.

            Jesus is inviting us to make the wisdom we received at our baptism central in our lives and put our relationship with him and our brothers and sisters in Christ as the first priority in our lives.  We may be working hard to provide an income to sustain us.  We may value the positive opinion others may have of us.  We may also enjoy the legitimate pleasures which come along in our lives.  But at some point, we need to embrace the wisdom we hear proclaimed every Sunday as the Lord speaks to us.  The kingdom of heaven is not a place.  Rather, it is a movement that allows us to embrace sacrificial love, mercy, and all those qualities which invite us to experience the peace of Jesus Christ that the world cannot give.

            Not too long ago, I watched a two-part interview on PBS Newshour with Warren Buffet.  He is over 90 years old and has made a fortune across his lifetime.  But he has already donated and pledged all of it to charity – healthcare, education, and poverty across the globe.  And he has convinced a few fellow billionaires and millionaires to do the same.  He seems to believe what Jesus says: “from him who has been given much, much is expected.”  Most people would think that Warren Buffett has found his pearl of great price in money.  When asked why he is happy, he says that he found something he likes to do.  He primarily seeks love, compassion, and good will in life.  It struck me that Warren Buffet has found true wisdom.

            In telling his parables, Jesus invites us to reflect on what is most important in our lives.  He is inviting us to put the wisdom we received at our baptism to make sure that our relationship with him comes above everything else.  When we realize this treasure, then we can know the peace of the kingdom of heaven which the world cannot give.

 

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

19 JULY 2026

 

          Last Sunday, Jesus told a parable about the power of God’s Word.  He used the image of a sower sowing seed generously and abundantly.  Unlike most farmers who would be careful about where they would sow such expensive seed, this sower sows seed everywhere.  He sows the seed on rocky ground, on soil with little depth for growth, and in the midst of thorn bushes that would choke off the growth.  In this parable, Jesus encourages us to provide rich soil by opening our hearts to the word sown in us.  He promises an abundant harvest for those whose hearts are broken open, like soil broken open by plowing to welcome the seed that is sown.

            Today, he continues his agricultural setting with another parable.  As promised, the seeds sown have produced fruit.  The wheat is growing.  But, the enemy has sown weeds in the midst of the kingdom.  Even if we have been open to the word of God sown into our hearts, we know the painful reality of evil in our world.  We see evil more clearly in other people and everywhere in our world.  With this image of weeds sown in our midst, we are tempted to divide the world in terms of good and bad.  In this world view, there are good people who do many good things and bad people who do bad things.

            However, life is not that simple.  Lots of “good people” can be arrogant and prideful.  “Bad people” can surprise us and do something good.  That is why Jesus tells us to allow God to make the judgment in the end.  In the meantime, we must live with the good and the bad. Unlike plants, people can change.  That is why the sower wasted so much good seed.  The Lord gives people a chance to repent.  Instead of judging people and avoiding them, he wants us to separate what they do from who they are – human beings made in the image and likeness of God.  We must do whatever is possible to allow them to turn toward the Lord and seek his mercy.  Most importantly, we need to be honest about the weeds that are part of each one of us.  All of us have weeds that impair the growth of good fruit in our lives.  If we have the courage to see those weeds in ourselves rather than focusing on the weeds of others, we can receive the Lord’s mercy, especially in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and turn more completely to the Lord.  

            It takes a lot of patience to refrain from judging others and leaving judgment to the Lord.  But patient waiting helps us to face the time of harvest – not only the harvest that will end our own personal lives, but also the harvest of God’s judgment at the end of time.  Notice that God’s judgment ultimately ends in fire – burning those who have stubbornly turned away from the love of God, but allowing the just to be so transparent that the ultimate fire of God’s love brilliantly shines through them as saints.  In Catholic theology, we have another image for God’s love.  When we speak of Purgatory, we remember the Latin roots of the word:  the fire of God’s love burning away what separates us from God and all the saints, even after our death.

            Jesus knows that patient waiting is not easy.  For that reason, he gives us two more images from daily life.  The first is the mustard seed.  Just as the proclamation of the Kingdom of Heaven began with only twelve apostles, so do the “mustard seeds” of our acts of kindness shine the light of the Kingdom in our world.  The Kingdom depends on God, and not on us.  But our willingness to forgive and move past hurts and rejections sheds light in a world darkened by revenge and hatred.  The second example is yeast.  When a woman mixes a little bit of yeast with three measures of flour, she can feed over a hundred people.  Living our Baptismal Promises opens the flour of our lives to the yeast of the Holy Spirit, giving hope in the midst of despair and life in the midst of death.  Waiting for God’s judgment may be difficult.  But our mustard seed actions and loving yeast help us to wait in joyful hope for the coming of the Lord.

 

FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

12 JULY 2026

 

          The seed sowing valuable seed everywhere, even in those places least hospitable to plants growing.  Echoing the Prophet Isaiah, Jesus says that God’s word is like rain and snow coming down on everyone, no matter who they are or what they are doing.  The Lord sows his word on rocky ground, where the hardness offers little chance for survival.  The Word falls on shallow soil, where the seed has difficulty putting down deep roots for continued growth.  The Word falls among thorns, threatening its growth by choking it out.  But the Word also falls on rich soil and produces fruit at an astounding amount of growth – up to a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. 

            All farmers and gardeners know that good soil is broken soil.  Before planting, soil needs to be tilled and turned to break through the cold winter hardness.  Soil needs to be cracked open to absorb the spring rain.  Broken soil allows seeds to take root and blossom in the rich nutrients of the dark, wet earth.

            We know from that seeds of grace and hope grow in us if we allow our soil to be broken.  Our soil is broken when we open our hearts to the love of God and the needs of our brothers and sisters.  Opening our hearts will always lead to being broken soil.  Our hearts are broken when we experience tragedy and loss.  They are broken when we open our hearts to others and suffer rejection.  High school students who suffer ridicule because of religion or culture or race know the reality of broken hearts.  But they can share those broken hearts with younger students who suffer similar rejections and offer a harvest of justice that is planted.  Couples who live together in matrimony find that their sharp differences in personality will cause pain and division.  But they also learn that loving one another and growing together in their differences can create a bond that is unbreakable.  Out of their broken soil, they produce much fruit in their sons and daughters and all who know them.

            Today, the Lord invites us to reflect on how our hearts, open to love of God and neighbor, have been broken soil to produce much fruit.  But the Lord also challenges us to offer the Word of God to others.  It is easy to share our faith and our broken soil people who will appreciate them.  But, we also need to share in the Lord’s sowing, even to people who seem to have stony hearts, or shallow lives that seem to be shallow, or those people who surround themselves with all kinds of thorny issues that might quickly choke off any faith.

            Deacon Mel and I have been talking about our religious education programs at Saint Augustine.  The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd bears much fruit, thanks to the broken soil of the teachers.  Our high school program is growing, thanks to Deacon Mel and Annie opening their hearts to the young people.  We will offer other programs in the future.

            Now we need a robust effort to draw more people into our community.  We need to develop the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA).  Many area parishes welcomed lots of people at this year’s Easter Vigil.  These parishes have been developing their programs for many years.  We can begin now by sowing the seeds of faith from our broken soil to others.  Those who have never been baptized will be known as Catechumens.  OCIA will prepare them to receive the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil:  Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist.  Those baptized in other Christian religions can be prepared to be received into full communion with us and receive Confirmation and Eucharist.  Now is the time for us to join the sower of the Word of God by sharing our broken soil widely and openly.  Now is the time to invite others to join us and go through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults.

 

 

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

5 JULY 2026

 

          The prophet Zechariah addresses the people of Jerusalem as “O Daughter Zion” and “O daughter Jerusalem.” He tells them to rejoice heartily and shout for joy.  Their defeat at the hands of their enemies is over.  Zechariah has reminded them that they had been defeated because they had abandoned the Covenant.  But, God had continued to love them, even in their infidelity, and he has forgiven them.  Now he promises that a king will come.  He will be just, a savior, and meek.  Unlike conquering warrior kings who come riding on war horses as a sign of their continued military intentions, this king will come riding on a donkey.  He will ride on a donkey to signal that he brings peace, rather than war and further bloodshed.

            We see this prophecy fulfilled when Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  With his disciples who have seen his miracles, heard his teaching, and accepted his promise that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, Jesus is the just and meek savior who rides on a donkey.  He comes to defeat the power of sin and death not by military might, but by giving himself out of love on a cross.  He trusts his Father’s promise that he will be raised from the dead.  Once his disciples have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, they will accept his invitation to yoke themselves to him and experience the freedom only God can give.

            On this weekend, we Americans celebrate our independence.  250 years ago, the Declaration of Independence proclaimed our freedom from British rule.  On this holiday, we express our gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy.  But we are also aware of the ways in which freedom has not been the reality for too many people.  We are a polarized society with divisions that rip us apart.  With those divisions, we can ask ourselves if we can be optimistic about the future.  The answer to that question depends on our political perspective.

            Today, Jesus give a better perspective on that question.  He invites us to let go of what burdens us and take his yoke upon our shoulders.  In the ancient world, yokes were constructed to fit the backs of specific oxen.  They were also made to yoke two oxen together, making the task of hauling a heavy load much easier.  Jesus promises true freedom if we yoke ourselves to him and to one another as members of the Body of Christ.  Too many times, people interpret freedom as a license to do whatever we want to do.  Saint Paul calls this definition of freedom as living “in the flesh.”  If we choose to live in the flesh, we do not care what our actions do to other people.  We don’t think about what doing whatever we want will do to ourselves.  As fallen human beings, we can be enslaved to so many other realities:  consumerism, competition to be the best and brightest, and addiction to many unhealthy substances.

            Being yoked to Jesus Christ gives us hope.  Optimism is easily disappointed, as we have known many times.  How many times have we been optimistic about the success of our favorite sports team or political party and been disappointed?  Saint Paul provides a good definition of being yoked to Jesus Christ.  He calls it living “in the spirit.”  Living in the Spirit, or being yoked to Jesus Christ, gives us hope in the present.  Hope remains with us even when life is difficult and we struggle with disappointments and adversities.  Hope reminds us that Jesus Christ is with us in those most difficult times, and that he will not abandon us.  Hope tells us that being yoked to Jesus Christ will provide ultimate and perfect freedom.  On this holiday weekend, we need to cling to the hope of living “in the Spirit.”  Being yoked to Jesus Christ as members of his Body on earth, we can do our best to behave as responsible citizens of the United States of America.  To quote our patron, Saint Augustine, we are pilgrims in this earthly city on our way to the New and Eternal Jerusalem, the City of God.

 

THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

27 JUNE 2026

 

          During these past few Sundays, we have been hearing from Saint Matthew’s Gospel.  Jesus has chosen twelve of his disciples and sends them out to bring the Good News of the kingdom of God first to their fellow Jews, and then eventually to the entire world.  In sending them out, he tells them that they will receive grateful welcome and lots of rejection.  Preaching a gospel of repentance will not always be perceived as a welcoming Gospel.  In the ancient world, blood relationships are key to understanding a person’s identity.  But Jesus includes them as members of his family, more important than their membership in their blood families.

            Today, he tells them that whoever welcomes them will welcome him.  Whoever welcomes them welcomes the Father, the One who sent him.  The twelve are not messengers carrying information.  They are bearers of divine presence.  That is remarkable for an ordinary group of fishermen, tax collectors, and zealots.  The mission is never about the messenger, but about the One the messenger embodies.  He then promises that whoever welcomes a prophet, a person who speaks the truth, will receive a prophet’s reward, just as Elisha received welcome and hospitality from the couple in the first reading.  He also says that whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of his disciples will surely receive a reward.  At the time of Jesus, giving a cup of cold water involves a lot of work:  going to the well, drawing the water in a heavy jar, and then serving it immediately to a guest.  In a world of rejection and persecution, Jesus emphasizes these rewards of hospitality and kindness to his new family on mission.

            You and I became part of the family of Jesus Christ when we passed through the waters of Baptism.  That is what Saint Paul talks about in his letter to the Romans.  Ancient baptismal fonts (and many fonts in modern churches) allow for baptism by immersion.  The person is buried in the waters of baptism, just as Christ was buried in the tomb.  Then that person emerges from the waters to be one with Christ, as Christ was raised from the dead.  Every time we live our baptismal promises, we share a little bit more in the dying and rising of Christ.   Ironically, putting Christ ahead of our human family invites us to a deeper relationship within our own human families, especially if there are tensions and difficulties. 

The Lord gives us a chance today as his family to reflect on our mission of proclaiming the kingdom of heaven in our world.  First, we know that being a follower of Jesus Christ is not always easy.  We live in a secular culture that is hostile to the sacred and spiritual.  Our world is a mess these days.  Our culture prefers division and judgment over reconciliation and acceptance.  If we live the love of Jesus Christ, we will experience some kind of rejection, even within our own blood families.  Second, rejection is not the whole story.  We know that we are careful to welcome visitors and those who join us for the first time at Saint Augustine.  We will also be welcomed by some as we live our baptismal promises as members of Christ’s family.  Third, we carry Christ’s presence into the world.  We do not need to perform dramatic actions.  We carry Christ’s presence when we feed the hungry through our soup kitchen or when Vincentians bring food to hungry families.  When we knock on a neighbor’s door or visit the sick, we bear Christ’s presence with us.  Every time we speak a kind or forgiving word, we are carrying Christ’s presence.  Fourth, we don’t need to preach like prophets.  We bear Christ’s presence in the small acts of kindness.  Finally, we regard hospitality as a mission.  Saint John Chrysostom once wrote: “If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the church door, you will not find him in the chalice.”  The Lord sends us out on mission, and we eagerly look for little ways to be hospitable and gracious.  We are members of his family, the Body of Christ.

 

TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

20 JUNE 2026

 

          The Prophet Jeremiah had a difficult job.  God called him to tell the truth to his people.  They wanted to believe that all would be well with them.  Just as God had delivered their ancestors from the invasion of the Assyrians two hundred years previously, God would save them now from the assault of the Babylonians.  God would protect them, because they have the temple, the king, and the priests as signs of their identity.  But Jeremiah tells them the truth that they must change their ways and return to the Covenant established by Moses.  They accuse him of being a traitor and treats him badly.  Their rejection is very painful to him.

            We hear him complaining in the first reading.  He tells God that his former friends are whispering about him and plotting vengeance on him.  He does not hesitate to pour out his pain in his prayer.  In his prayer, he says that God is with him like a mighty champion.  Then he prays a prayer of petition, begging God to take vengeance on his enemies.  Finally, he praises the Lord for the many times God has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked.  His enemies would eventually take his life.  Yet the truth of his words remains so strong that the Book of the prophet Jeremiah guides us many years later.

            In last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus sent his apostles on a mission to proclaim the presence of the kingdom of heaven.  He gave them authority over unclean spirits and to cure every disease and illness.  Today, he warns them that they would not be accepted by some and that they will be rejected, as Jeremiah had been rejected for speaking the truth.  Despite the dangers and the hatred that will come for them, they should not be afraid.  They can complain in prayer, as Jeremiah had done.  Jesus assures them that the Father loves them so much he knows how many hairs are on their heads.  He urges them to pray for those who persecute them and to trust that truth and love will prevail in the midst of lies and hatred.  He tells them that their enemies have the power to kill their bodies, but cannot kill their souls.

            Most of them were killed in their efforts to proclaim the truth of the Gospel.  John may not have suffered a violent death.  But he endured persecution and exile to the Island of Patmos.  Over the centuries, disciples have suffered persecutions and death.  Recently, we celebrated the Memorial of Saint Charles Lwanga and his companions.  In the mid nineteenth century, he and his young companions were sent to a prominent tribal chief in Uganda to learn leadership skills from him.  Instead, he forced himself on them and insisted that they deny their faith.  They were brutally murdered.  They trusted that the chief could not kill their souls.  My friend, Father Larry Kanyike emailed me to report that a million people were present for Mass at Namugongo, the shrine of their martyrdom.  The faith is flourishing in Uganda because of their faith and courage.

            Hopefully, we will be spared such a brutal end, which many Christians around the world are suffering today.  However, as disciples of Jesus Christ, we will ultimately suffer rejection and misunderstanding when we witness to the truth of the Lord in our lives.  Fathers, how many times have your children reacted negatively to your honest efforts to be a good father and correct them?  How often have you engaged in daily acts of love, without receiving any kind of thanks or gratitude?  Those reactions go along with the vocation of being a father.

            When we hear the whisperings of many who are gossiping about what we have done or said, we react with hurt and pain.  We can complain to God in prayer and renew our trust that the Lord loves each of us.  More importantly, we can recall the ways we have misjudged others or gossiped about them. The Lord shows us his mercy and calls us to extend that mercy back to him, present in those who have trespassed against us.

 

ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

14 JUNE 2026

 

          All three of today’s readings remind us that God has always loved us, along with God’s desire to be in relationship with us.  In the first reading, Moses reminds his people that God is like a mother eagle, bearing her babies up on her wings to teach them how to fly.  God has shown his loving kindness, his strength, and his protection to the people he has chosen as his own.  Saint Paul focuses on Jesus Christ, who willingly died for us, even when we were still sinners.  We can boast of the love of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.  In the Gospel, Jesus is moved with pity for the crowd who has been hearing about the Kingdom of God which he tells them is in their midst.  They are troubled.  The Roman occupation and the difficulties of their lives have burdened them.  Their religious leaders have abandoned them.  He is the shepherd who cares for his beloved sheep. In showing heartfelt pity and compassion from his heart, he chooses twelve of his disciples to join him in spreading the Good News of the Kingdom of God.  He gives them authority to do what he has done.  The harvest is ready, and they are the laborers charged with bring it in.

            These twelve have no formal training.  They have no particular talents, except that they have been with Jesus, heard his teaching, witnessed his miracles, and have left everything to follow him.  Simon Peter is impulsive, bold in one minute and cowardly in the next.  He is quick to speak and quick to stumble.  His brother Andrew is quieter, known more for bringing others to Jesus instead of leading himself. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, have earned the nickname “sons of thunder.”  They are hot tempered, ambitious, and ready to call down fire on their enemies.  Philip struggles to grasp the identity of Jesus, even at the Last Supper.  Bartholomew is skeptical, wondering if anything good can come out of Nazareth.  Thomas carries doubts and questions and insists on touching the wounds of the risen Lord before he could believe.  Matthew is a tax collector, collaborating with Rome and profiting from his own people’s oppression.  He is despised by his neighbors.  Simon the Zealot comes from a radical nationalist movement intent on overthrowing Rome by violence.  Imagine how these two get along!  There is also James, the son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus (sometimes called Judas son of James).  They are almost anonymous.  We know nothing about them, except they serve in quiet faithfulness without recognition.  Finally, there is Judas Iscariot, who would betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

            This is the group sent out by Jesus to go first to the Jewish people, the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and eventually to the ends of the earth.  They are the workers sent to bring in the harvest. These are fishermen, hotheads, skeptics, collaborators, revolutionaries, quiet unknowns, and a traitor.  Not one of them is a rabbi.  Not one is a scholar.  None of them is a political insider.  And yet, they have succeeded, spreading the Kingdom of God through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Gathering the harvest does not depend on perfect people, but on empowered people – harvesters energized by the Spirit of God.

            Last week, the United States Bishops dedicated our country on our 250^th anniversary to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  It is through his Sacred Heart that Jesus shows pity and compassion to the crowds gathered to hear him.  It is from his wounded heart on the cross that the Sacramental life of the Church flows – water for Baptism and blood for the Eucharist.  We, the baptized followers of Jesus Christ, are here because we believe the witness of the Apostles.  We too believe that he has conquered sin and death, bringing us into his kingdom.  We are harvesters of the Kingdom of God when we imitate the compassion and pity of the Sacred Heart extend the gifts of love and mercy, especially to those who are burdened by so much of life.