I started a new presentation series this week. In Part I, I begin with a general introduction to our Catholic understanding of the saints. Then, I discuss Mary and the Holy Angels (from two of our churches, St. Mary’s and Holy Angels). In a few weeks, Part II will examine the lives of St. Lucy …
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20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year CJeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10Psalm 40:2, 3, 4, 18 (14b)Hebrews 12:1-4Luke 12:49-53August 18, 2019 Jesus’ words today may seem strange or even disheartening to us. We are more comfortable when Jesus tells us to love our neighbor (not that we always do) than today’s words that He comes “to set the …
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Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist Vigil Day Jeremiah 1:4-10 Isaiah 49:1-6 Psalm 71:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15, 17 (6b) Psalm 139:1-3, 13-14, 14-15 (14a) 1 Peter 1:8-12 Acts 13:22-26 Luke 1:5-17 Luke 1:57-66, 80 June 24, 2018 Today would normally be the 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time in Year B of …
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Homily for June 2018 Holy Hour Jeremiah 1:4-10 Psalm 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15 1 Peter 4:12-19 Matthew 10:34-39 On the general saints’ calendar, June 22nd, which is this Friday, is an optional memorial of Sts. John Fisher and Thomas More who were both beheaded in 1535 by King Henry VIII. St. John Fisher was beheaded …
Today is the Memorial of St. Isidore. Actually, it’s an optional memorial but I chose to use the opening prayer and antiphon for St. Isidore at Mass this morning for three reasons. First, because he is the patron saint of farmers, in fact he was a farmer himself, and since I like to eat, I …
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Today we celebrate the Memorial of St. John Neumann, the first American to be canonized. He was born in 1811 in Bohemia in Europe. He was studying to become a priest there when the bishop there announced there would be no further ordinations as there were too many priests. Today, this might seem impossible for us to believe but …
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Today (October 28th) we celebrate the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude. In the gospel reading for this morning’s Mass, we hear both Saint Simon and Saint Jude named among the twelve that Jesus had chosen to be Apostles. Simon is identified as a zealot. In those days, there was a particular group of Jews …
Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels Revelation 12:7-12a Psalm 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 4-5 John 1:47-51 September 29, 2016 Today is officially called the Feast of Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels. They are the three angels found by name in the Bible. Raphael appears in the Book of Tobit, one of the seven books in …
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This week our calendar of saints has included saints who were founders of religious orders. On Monday, July 31st, we celebrated the Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola who founded the Jesuit order (S.J., who run McQuaid high school in Rochester). Tuesday, August 1st was the Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori who founded the Redemptorists …
Today, June 22nd, is the Optional Memorial of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More. In the Diocese of Rochester (United States), St. John Fisher is the patron saint of our diocese. That means for our diocese today is a feast day. St. John Fisher was the Bishop of the Diocese of Rochester in England (Hence, …
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