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Pastoral Messages on Pastoral Readings (Page 2)

Homilies

4th Sunday of Lent 3.15.26

Sunday’s Readings: 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a; Psalm 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41 OR 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38

…from your Pastor’s Desk – Here we are, half-way through Lent 2026. And what a Lent it has been. If you are like most of us – you’ve already struggled with your Lenten Resolutions – perhaps you‘ve even flat out failed and fallen. Do not be discouraged – Christ Himself fell 3 times on His way to Calvary – but He got back up each time and so can you. Here are some special prayers to help you through this week. …

3rd Sunday of Lent 3.8.26

Sunday’s Readings: Exodus 17:3-7; Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8; John 4:5-42 OR 4:5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42

…from your Pastor’s Desk – The Gospel Reading tells the story of a woman who is worthless by the standards of Jewish society at that time. Jesus has sent His disciples off for food, and He is sitting at a well when she comes to draw water. There is every reason why He should not talk to her at all. …

1st Sunday of Lent 2.22.26

Sunday’s Readings: Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7; Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17; Romans 5:12-19 OR 5:12, 17-19; Matthew 4:1-11

…from your Pastor’s Desk – “Where have all the Flowers gone?” – A few years ago, it used to be fashionable at this time of the year in certain circles to say to people “Have a happy Lent!” I still do it. But I hope it does not overshadow the penitential season of Lent or make it sound just like Easter season which really is the proper liturgical time for great rejoicing. …

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2.8.26

Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 58:7-10; Psalm 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16

…from your Pastor’s Desk – Following Jesus – In the Gospels of the last four Sundays we have been following the story of Jesus’ early career. He went to be baptized. Then he moved to Capernaum from Galilee when John the Baptist was killed, and there he chose his apostles (who somehow knew him as the one to follow). Last Sunday we heard part of his “inaugural address,” the beatitudes. …

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2.1.26

Sunday’s Readings: Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13; Psalm 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Matthew 5:1-12a

…from your Pastor’s Desk – Seek The Lord – At the very beginning of this day’s readings, we are told to seek the Lord. And then, gratefully, we are told how to do that. Both readings, the psalm and the Gospel, all come together to give a definition of how to seek the Lord. We seek the Lord by seeking justice and righteousness, by seeking peace, by seeking humility. This we know. This we have heard every year when the Gospel is about the ‘Beatitudes’. …

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 1.25.26

Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 8:23—9:3; Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17; Matthew 4:12-23 or 4:12-17

…from your Pastor’s Desk – Brothers and Sisters in Christ, today’s Gospel from Matthew 4 shows Jesus beginning His mission: moving to the darkness of Galilee, proclaiming the Kingdom’s arrival, and calling ordinary fishermen—Peter, Andrew, James, John—to “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”. …

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 1.18.26

Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 49:3, 5-6; Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3; John 1:29-34

…from your Pastor’s Desk – John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King Jr. To some reading this, these names bring back memories of personal experiences during the turbulent times of the sixties and seventies; the start of the Civil Rights Movement, the Catholic Worker Houses and the beginning of the changes that are still in process today to make this country one of equality for all people. …

The Baptism of the Lord 1.11.26

Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; Psalm 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10; Acts 10:34-38; Matthew 3:13-17

…from your Pastor’s Desk – The Baptism of the Lord – And a voice came from the heavens, saying: “This is my beloved Son; with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3) Jesus has just been baptized by John. There’s a crowd. Many of them have also just been baptized. Jesus feels the enormity of the occasion and kneels to pray. Then, suddenly, something happens to change everything. …