When requesting more than one Mass, keep in mind we can schedule only one weekend mass and two weekday masses per year.

The Lenten Fast and Abstinence Regulations are, as follows:

1. Fasting and abstinence from meat, on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

2. Abstinence from meat on all Fridays of Lent. The law of abstinence from meat is required of all those fourteen years of age and older.
3. The law of the fast means only one full meal may be taken during the day. Two light meals are permitted, but are not to equal one full meal. The consumption of solid food between meals is prohibited, but liquids may be taken at any time.
4. The law of fast binds those who have completed their 18th year and have not yet reached their 60th year.
5. Those, who by reason of their young age, are not bound by the laws of fast and abstinence, should be taught the true meaning of penance.


It is a traditional doctrine of Christian spirituality that a constituent part of repentance, of which is turning away from sin and returning to God, includes some form of penance, in order for a Christian to remain on the narrow path and be saved. As our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has written: “Dear brothers and sisters, may this Lenten season find the whole Church ready to bear witness to all those who live in material, moral and spiritual destitution the Gospel message of the merciful love of God our Father, who is ready to embrace everyone in Christ. We can so this to the extent that we imitate Christ who became poor and enriched us by his poverty. Lent is a fitting time for self-denial; we would do well to ask ourselves what we can give up in order to help and enrich others by our own poverty. Let us not forget that real poverty hurts: no self-denial is real without this dimension of penance. I distrust a charity that costs nothing and does not hurt.”
Apart from the special Lenten activities of individuals and parishes, Lent also affords a special opportunity for families to grow deeper in their commitment to Christ. Within the family, penitential practices and devotions can be conducted, including the use of Scripture, the Rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and other forms of family prayer and devotion.

FROM OUR EDITORS—February 9, 2020 – 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that they are salt of the earth and light of the world. He explains that shining their light by doing good deeds will give glory to our Father in Heaven.

SUNDAY’S GOSPEL—February 9, 2020 – 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Matthew 5:13–16

Jesus commissions his followers to be “the salt of the earth” and “light to the world.” Salt and light are just as important to us today as they were to people in Jesus’ time. Jesus’ image of salt challenges us to bring out the best in others as salt brings out the best flavors in food. The image of light challenges us to warm and brighten others’ lives like sunlight. It challenges us to live as Jesus did so that our actions shine forth like a lamp on a stand.

FROM OUR EDITORS— February 2, 2020 – Presentation of the Lord

On February 2, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. This feast is also known as Candlemas. The Law of Moses instructed parents to present their firstborn son in the Temple forty days after birth. Mary and Joseph, filled with the joy of following God’s law, brought Jesus to Jerusalem.

The Gospel mentions two important individuals who recognized Jesus at that time: Simeon and Anna. Simeon was a just and devout old man who, moved by the Holy Spirit, took Jesus in his arms and blessed him, saying that he was the light that would shine upon the nations. There was also a woman named Anna, who served God by fasting and praying. Even though Simeon and Ana were very old, both were full of life because their lives were filled with the Holy Spirit. They were docile to the Spirit’s action and sensitive to its call.

During this encounter, Simeon and Anna received the gift of being face to face with God’s Promised One. Their patience and faith were finally rewarded.

Let us pray: Loving God, let us be docile and sensitive to your Word and help us grow in faith and patience while we wait for your coming. Amen.

SUNDAY’S GOSPEL—February 2, 2020 – Presentation of the Lord

Luke 2:22–40

In the Gospel, Mary and Joseph honor Jewish tradition by bringing their firstborn son to the Temple. Simeon, a holy prophet, recognizes Jesus and reveals him as the Messiah who will fulfill God’s promises to Israel and will be a light to all nations. Anna, a prophetess, is also at the Temple. She has been praying and fasting in expectation of the Messiah. The Feast of the Presentation is also called Candlemas because it is the day on which the Church customarily blesses and distributes candles used in worship and in the home. The blessed candle is a reminder to all that the light of Christ is present always and everywhere.

FROM OUR EDITORS—January 26, 2020 – 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time • Sunday of the Word of God

This Sunday is the newly designated Sunday of the Word of God. While we revere and reflect on the Word of God at every Mass, Pope Francis invites us to more intentionally build and strengthen the Church’s love of Sacred Scripture. As users of the Gospel Weeklies, you are doing that with every lesson!

We encourage catechists, teachers, and families to place a Bible in a special location as a sign to the children of the value of the Word of God in Sacred Scripture. Catechists and teachers may begin class with a Bible procession, enthroning the Bible in a place of honor where the Gospel is proclaimed. 
 

SUNDAY’S GOSPEL—January 26, 2020 – 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time • Sunday of the Word of God

Matthew 4:12–23

The Gospel places the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, where he spent his time teaching, proclaiming God’s kingdom, and healing the sick. Galilee is situated between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Galilee, and many people who lived there were fishermen. Jesus invited his new friends to drop their nets and follow him. He promised them that they would now be fishing for people instead of fish.

FROM OUR EDITORS—January 19, 2020 – 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

In this Sunday’s Gospel, John the Baptist sees Jesus coming toward him and proclaims: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). This symbol of Jesus as the sacrificial lamb reminds us that his ministry will not be easy. Jesus will accept his Death on the Cross, giving his life for our sins.

John further testifies that the Holy Spirit comes down like a dove from sky and remains with Jesus (John 1:32). This sign reveals to John that Jesus is indeed the Son of God. It is also a sign to us. The Spirit that is present at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry is the same Spirit that he breathes upon his disciples after his Resurrection (John 20:22). The Spirit remains with Jesus’ disciples—and us—when he ascends to God in Heaven.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, you send us your Son as a lamb. May we always be worthy of the gift of his sacrifice for our salvation. You send us Spirit like a dove. May we always be grateful for the peace and protection that is promised through your Spirit. Amen.

SUNDAY’S GOSPEL—January 19, 2020 — 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

John 1:29–34

In this Sunday’s Gospel, John the Baptist announces the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. John gives us a picture of who Jesus is and what he has come to do. The lamb, the animal that symbolizes the Israelite’s liberation from Egypt, shows that Jesus’ mission is to give his life for us. The Gospels show us that Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit of God from the beginning of his ministry. This week, your family will learn to recognize the Spirit of God in your family life and in the life of the Church.

SUNDAY’S GOSPEL—January 12, 2020 – Baptism of the Lord

Matthew 3:13–17 

When Jesus approached John the Baptist to be baptized, John hesitated, saying, “I need to be baptized by you.” Still, Jesus said it was fitting for him to be baptized by John. When John baptized Jesus, the Holy Trinity comes together as the Holy Spirit descends as a dove and the Father speaks from Heaven, saying: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” 

FROM OUR EDITORS—January 12, 2020 – Baptism of the Lord

This Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. When talking about this celebration in 2006, Raniero Cantalamessa, Preacher to the Papal household, declared: “Was it that Jesus also needed to be baptized, as we do? Of course not. With that gesture, he wanted to show that he had become one of us. Above all, he wanted to put an end to the baptism of ‘water’ and inaugurate that ‘of the Spirit.’ It was not the water in the Jordan that sanctified Jesus, but Jesus who sanctified the water. Not only the water of the Jordan, but that of all fonts of the world.” 

The newly baptized is a new creature, reborn by water and Spirit. He or she is a child of God, member of the Body of Christ, the Church, and a temple of the Holy Spirit. 

Our Heavenly Father pronounces over every child or adult emerging from the baptismal font the same words he pronounced as Jesus emerged from the Jordan: “This is my beloved son or daughter, in whom I am well pleased.” 

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, may we appropriate the words that you said during Jesus’ baptism, so we may know in our hearts that we are your beloved sons and daughters. Amen. 

December 29 2019

 The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Reading 1   SIR 3:2-6, 12-14

God sets a father in honor over his children;
a mother's authority he confirms over her sons.
Whoever honors his father atones for sins,
and preserves himself from them.
When he prays, he is heard;
he stores up riches who reveres his mother.
Whoever honors his father is gladdened by children,
and, when he prays, is heard.
Whoever reveres his father will live a long life;
he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother.

My son, take care of your father when he is old;
grieve him not as long as he lives.
Even if his mind fail, be considerate of him;
revile him not all the days of his life;
kindness to a father will not be forgotten,
firmly planted against the debt of your sins
—a house raised in justice to you.

Responsorial Psalm   PS 128:1-2, 3, 4-5.

R. (cf. 1)  Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.

Reading 2   COL 3:12-21

Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.  

Wives, be subordinate to your husbands,
as is proper in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives,
and avoid any bitterness toward them.
Children, obey your parents in everything,
for this is pleasing to the Lord.
Fathers, do not provoke your children,
so they may not become discouraged.

Alleluia   COL 3:15A, 16A

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let the peace of Christ control your hearts;
let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel   MT 2:13-15, 19-23

When the magi had departed, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
"Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,
and stay there until I tell you.

Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him."
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod,
that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,
Out of Egypt I called my son.

When Herod had died, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream
to Joseph in Egypt and said,
"Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel,
for those who sought the child's life are dead."
He rose, took the child and his mother,
and went to the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea
in place of his father Herod,
he was afraid to go back there.
And because he had been warned in a dream,
he departed for the region of Galilee.
He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth,
so that what had been spoken through the prophets
might be fulfilled,
He shall be called a Nazorean.

SUNDAY’S GOSPEL—December 25, 2019 & January 5, 2020 – Christmas & Epiphany

Christmas: Luke 2:1–14
Epiphany: Matthew 2:1–12

God blessed us by becoming a member of the human family. This is what Christmas celebrates. The Holy Family and God’s Incarnation is why there is something so very human about this feast, something that touches us in a way deeper than mere nostalgia. Christmas celebrates God’s becoming one of us and one with us. Jesus comes as an infant, placed in the care of a struggling, but lovely family.

We are reminded at Christmas that our families are shrouded in the same holiness that Jesus’ family is. We look to their lives together as an example of how to love each other through celebrations and struggles. We also remember the Epiphany in this week’s lesson. The Magi remind us that Jesus came for everyone on Earth.

FROM OUR EDITORS—December 22, 2019 – 4th Sunday of Advent

• Resist the dazzling lights of consumption, which will shine everywhere in this month, and believe that prayer and charity are not lost time, but the greatest treasures.
• Consumerism is a virus that afflicts faith at its root, because it makes you believe that life depends only on what you have, and so you forget about God.
• The meaning of life is not to accumulate.
• When you live for things, things are never enough, greed grows and others become obstacles in the race and so you end up feeling threatened and, always dissatisfied and angry. . . . ‘I want more, I want more, I want more.’

Gratitude is the antidote to consumerism. Gratitude turns what we have into enough. Practice gratitude and model it for the children in your life. It may not always have the immediate effects on children that you desire, but you are planting a seed that will feed them later in their lives. Persist in gratitude, prayer, and charity.

SUNDAY’S GOSPEL—December 22, 2019 – 4th Sunday of AdventJoseph faces a dilemma in this Sunday’s Gospel. He is engaged to Mary, but she is pregnant, and Joseph is not the father. By legal right, Joseph could accuse Mary of adultery and subject her to the punishment of death by stoning. Instead, Joseph is directed by an angel in a dream to take Mary and Baby Jesus to live with him as his wife and adopted son. They form a family circle in which Mary and Joseph raise and nurture Jesus. Matthew points Jesus out as Emmanuel, meaning, “God-with-us,” which fulfills Isaiah’s ancient description of the Messiah.

FROM OUR EDITORS—December 15, 2019 – 3rd Sunday of Advent

It’s already the Third Sunday of Advent. That’s cause for joy! We call this Sunday Gaudete, which means “Rejoice” in Latin. The priest may wear rose vestments, and we light the third candle (often rose) on our Advent wreaths. The Sunday readings encourage us to be patient, joyful, and hopeful. Christmas is getting closer, and there is light—the Light of the World—at the end of this dark period of waiting and preparing.

My family traditionally puts up our Christmas tree on the Third Sunday of Advent. This is one of our ways of “keeping Advent.” Our other decorations slowly come out in the first couple weeks of Advent, but we save the tree for this Sunday of joy.

We pray that you seek and find all the joy God offers you this week.

SUNDAY’S GOSPEL—December 15, 2019 – 3rd Sunday of Advent

Matthew 11:2–11

In Advent, we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, who is truly human and truly God. Healing actions prophesied by Isaiah—making the blind see, the deaf hear, and the lame leap, as well as preaching the Good News to the poor—tell John the Baptist who Jesus is.

Jesus’ loving actions continue to be completed by his followers today. Jesus calls us to be just and loving as he is, especially by helping people who are unable to help themselves. All the readings for this Sunday recall the themes of reconciliation and wholeness.

FROM OUR EDITORS—December 8, 2019 – 2nd Sunday of Advent

This Thursday, December 12, the Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Queen of Mexico, Empress of the Americas, and Patroness of the Unborn Children. I was born and raised in Mexico, so I feel blessed to be able to share with you a little bit about her.

Pope Francis visited Mexico City on February 2016 and celebrated the Holy Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I want to share with you what he said:

“On that morning in December 1531, . . . God awakened the hope of his son Juan, and the hope of a People. On that morning, God roused the hope of the little ones, of the suffering, of those displaced or rejected, of all who feel they have no worthy place in these lands. . . . On that morning, Juancito experienced in his own life what hope is, what the mercy of God is. He was chosen to oversee, care for, protect and promote the building of this Shrine.

“On many occasions he said to Our Lady that he was not the right person. . . . Visiting this Shrine, the same things that happened to Juan Diego can also happen to us. Look at the Blessed Mother from within our own sufferings, our own fear, hopelessness, sadness, and say to her, ‘What can I offer since I am not learned?’ We look to our Mother with eyes that express our thoughts: there are so many situations which leave us powerless, which make us feel that there is no room for hope.

“Mary tells us that she has ‘the honor’ of being our mother, assuring us that those who suffer do not weep in vain. These ones are a silent prayer rising to heaven, always finding a place in Mary’s mantle. . . . Am I not your mother? Am I not here with you? Mary says this to us again. Go and build my shrine, help me to lift up the lives of my sons and daughters, who are your brothers and sisters.”

Dear Jesus, may we follow Our Lady’s call to build your Kingdom among our brothers and sisters. Amen.

SUNDAY’S GOSPEL— December 8, 2019 – 2nd Sunday of Advent

Matthew 3:1–12

In this Sunday’s Gospel, John the Baptist urges people to turn toward God. He baptizes people when they want to change their lives. John insists that Baptism expresses a real change of heart and not a shallow safeguard against God’s judgment.

Note: The Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, normally a Holy Day of Obligation, will not be one this year. Its observance is moved to December 9.

 

Happy New Year in the Church!

The first week of Advent also marks the first week of the new Liturgical Year in the Catholic Church. This week, the Church moves its focus from the Gospel of Luke to the Gospel According to Matthew. During the rest of the calendar year and into 2020, Catholics will hear Matthew’s account of the mission and teachings of Jesus Christ.
 

FROM OUR EDITORS— December 1, 2019 – 1st Sunday of Advent

Happy New Year! We begin a new Liturgical Year on the First Sunday of Advent. You’ll notice that our Advent Gospel Weeklies lessons focus on joyful anticipation, which is the spirituality of the season of Advent. We delay the celebration of Christmas to, well, Christmas and the Christmas season.

Our culture seems to push us to celebrate Christmas before Christmas and skip over the season of Advent altogether. The Church encourages us to slow the pace and take time to focus on preparing our hearts to celebrate the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. During Advent, we also consider how well we are preparing for Christ’s Second Coming.

We pray that your weeks of Advent will be ones of joyful anticipation and that you remember the joyful part! We pray that you don’t let the trappings of the “perfect” Christmas become a trap that prevents you from truly celebrating the most perfect gift of all—God’s Son become man—and the promise of redemption and eternal life he brings!

SUNDAY’S GOSPEL— December 1, 2019 – 1st Sunday of Advent

Matthew 24:37–44

The Church’s three-year cycle of Lectionary readings begins again on the First Sunday of Advent. We start reading from Year A, which is organized around Matthew’s Gospel. The prophet Isaiah’s words are used prominently in Advent. They are read as the First Reading each week and are quoted by Matthew in the Gospels. We begin the new Church Year by hearing Jesus speak of his coming in glory. He cautions us to always be ready for him and to live each day in the light of God.
 

SUNDAY’S GOSPEL—November 17, 2019 – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 21:5–19

Jews connected the very spirit of their faith to the Temple with its incense-filled, prayerful inner courts and its shaded outer courts where people met and talked. They celebrated their holy days at the Temple; it was the center of their faith community. But Jesus’ assessment of the times in this Sunday’s Gospel proved accurate. The Jews’ rebellion against Roman occupation that began in A.D. 66 ended in the destruction of the Temple by the Roman forces in A.D. 70.

When Jesus predicts the destruction of the Temple to his disciples in Sunday’s Gospel, they are shocked. Jesus both scares and assures his listeners, past and present. He explains that wars, disasters, and persecutions will continue in the world. He assures us that we can endure these and other troubles that occur in our lives. He promises to put words in our mouths so no one can put us down. He promises to be with us always.
 

SUNDAY’S GOSPEL—November 10, 2019 – 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 20:27–38

The Sadducees in Sunday’s Gospel challenge Jesus to take a stand on resurrection, a notion they did not accept. They cited a law that required a man to marry his brother’s widow in order to preserve the brother’s name. The law assumed a physical notion of living on through one’s children. Jesus argues, “God is God of the living.” He quotes God’s words to Moses, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Exodus 3:15) to emphasize that these people are alive to God. God is God of all who have lived as well as all people living now. The lesson here is to trust the future to the God who has given all life and who raised Jesus from the dead.

FROM OUR EDITORS—November 3, 2019 – 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

New pastors always bring new ideas—some we like and others, well, we learn to accept.

Our parish’s new pastor (as of July 2018) is getting parishioners involved in praying for vocations. Father Vince does this through a parish prayer for vocations and a vocations prayer chalice. We pray a vocations prayer at every Mass. Every week at one of the Sunday Masses, Father Vince presents a vocations prayer chalice to an individual or family. They take the chalice home as a focus for prayer that week and return it the following weekend. (This happens to be one of his new ideas that I like.)

We celebrate National Vocation Awareness Week (11/3–11/9) this week. It’s a good time to consider how we are fostering vocation awareness in the young people in our care. The article “Encouraging Young People to Discern God’s Call” by Lisanne V. Jensen appeared in Catechist magazine last fall. Lisanne offers age-specific suggestions for incorporating vocations into catechesis—from preschool through high school. Go to the websites of the National Religious Vocation Conference and Catholic Extension for additional resources.

Loving God, through Baptism, you call each of us to the vocation to love. Help us to encourage the young people in our lives to discover your plan for them—how you are calling them to share your love with others. Make us good role models of commitment and loving service. We pray in Jesus’ holy name. Amen.
 

SUNDAY’S GOSPEL—November 3, 2019 – 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 19:1–10

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus enters the life and home of Zacchaeus. Although Zacchaeus’ neighbors see him as an outsider, Jesus knows him to be a human being deserving of love and dignity. Zacchaeus’ story reminds us that all people are worthy of God’s love. We imitate Jesus by opening up our lives to people in the community and the wider world who may be hungry or feel isolated.
 

FROM OUR EDITORS—October 27, 2019 – 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This weekend, the Catholic Church celebrates two important dates: The Solemnity of All Saints (Nov. 1) and The Commemoration of All the Faithfully Departed (Nov. 2). During these celebrations, we remember our journey as God´s people traveling through the three states of the Church:

1. The Church Militant consists of all of us who are still living on Earth. When we celebrate these two important dates in the Church’s calendar, we remember our goal and objective as Christians: to be with Jesus in Heaven.
2. The Church Penitent is comprised by all the souls living in Purgatory. On November 2, we pray for the souls of our faithfully departed, so they can get to Heaven and enjoy God’s presence for all eternity.
3. The Church Triumphant consists of all the souls that now live in the presence of God in Heaven whom we remember on November 1st, on the Solemnity of All Saints. This day, we not only remember those who the Church has officially declared saints, but all the souls who have reached the finish line and are enjoying the Glory of the Lord in Heaven.

Let us ask the Lord that we can live our journey on Earth without loosing sight of our calling to become saints. Amen.

SUNDAY’S GOSPEL—October 27, 2019 – 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 18:9–14

Pharisees were the religion teachers of Jesus’ time. They taught the Jewish people their religious traditions and challenged them to apply the Law to their lives. Jesus had more in common with the Pharisees than with any other religious group of his day. In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus is not criticizing the values and beliefs of a whole religious group. He is criticizing an individual Pharisee’s self-righteousness. In Jesus’ time, few people liked tax collectors because they collaborated with the Roman government. Jesus’ story challenges us to examine how we view others and how God views us. In God’s eyes, everybody is somebody.

 

October 20, 2019 – 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time.On October 15, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus (Ávila), the first woman to be named a Doctor of the Church. This 16th-century Spanish mystic, writer, Carmelite sister, and reformer was a woman of both rich prayer and bold action.

This writing of hers is one of my favorites. It reminds me of our call to be the Body of Christ for the world.

Christ has no body now but yours.
No hands, no feet on earth but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world.
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good.
Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

As catechists, religion teachers, and parents, we embody Jesus Christ as we share our faith with the children in our care. May the fire of our faith help brighten the flame of their own faith, so that they will also embrace the awesome responsibility and opportunity to be the Body of Christ for the world.

SUNDAY’S GOSPEL—October 20, 2019 – 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 18:1–8

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus exalts a widow who persistently petitions for her needs. The unjust judge’s softening of heart dramatizes God’s willingness to respond to our frequent prayers. Asking God for what we want and need will help us clarify what is really important. This week provides a good opportunity to review how your family lives and prays together.

FROM OUR EDITORS—October 6, 2019 – 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In Sunday’s Gospel, the apostles say to Jesus: “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5). Who among us hasn’t felt as if his or her faith is too small—for trying times or for even the challenges of everyday life? Jesus assures them—and us—that even a little faith can be very powerful. One small act of kindness, one courageous voice saying no or yes, one baby step of trust in God—all of these small acts of faith can have significant impact on ourselves and others.

In the Second Reading, Saint Paul encourages us to “stir into flame the gift of God that you have. . . . For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord . . . ; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God” (2 Timothy 1:6–8).

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Month of the Most Holy Rosary, and Respect Life Month. Find a short video from Catholic Relief Services (CRS) for Respect Life Month here. The Synod on the Amazon begins this Sunday and continues through 10/27. We have a lot of concerns to pray for. May our faith inspire us to witness to the dignity of all human life—whether that be the unborn, the elderly or infirm, those in abusive relationships, the indigenous people of the Amazon region, or the children we teach.

Let us pray… May our faith in God, who loves all of his Creation, be enough to effect change in a world that is so desperately in need of our Christian witness. Amen.