2nd Sunday of Advent
Christ comes to bring a peace that every heart and soul longs for but which nothing in the world is able to provide.What we need is more of God, more holiness, more of God’s light shining in and through us. And as we experience God’s light shining out through us, both we and others experience the peace that this world cannot give!
4th Sunday of Advent
In this Advent Homily Series we are journeying through the greatest story ever told, the story that has changed and will continue to change the world (if we let it): our story – the creation, the capture, the rescue, and our response! Listen this week as Deacon Brian focuses in on what our response can be to the God Who has done such incredible things for us!
3rd Sunday of Advent
In this Advent Homily Series we are journeying through the greatest story ever told, the story that has changed and will continue to change the world (if we let it): our story – the creation, the capture, the rescue, and our response! Listen this week as Fr. David focuses in on what it means to be rescued by Jesus.
2nd Sunday of Advent
In this Advent Homily Series we are journeying through the greatest story ever told, the story that has changed and will continue to change the world (if we let it): our story – the creation, the capture, the rescue, and our response! Listen this week as Deacon Dave focuses in on what it means to be captured.
1st Sunday of Advent
In this Advent Homily Series we are journeying through the greatest story ever told, the story that has changed and will continue to change the world (if we let it): our story – the creation, the capture, the rescue, and our response! Listen this week as Fr. David zooms in on what it means to be created.
Solemnity of Christ the King
On this great Solemnity, Deacon Brian prepares us for our Advent journey by outlining the great story we will be sharing over the homilies of Advent, the story that has changed and will continue to change the world (if we let it): our story – the creation, the capture, the rescue, and our response!
3rd Sunday of Advent
The story of Advent is that the Eternal Son of the Father, God Himself, became human to save us from our sin and show that He IS with us. God is always with me – every moment of the day. I’ll be honest, though: that’s really hard to see sometimes. But it’s the reality! When I go through my day not consciously experiencing the presence of God with me, that’s living in a fantasy, it’s living in a lie, it’s living with my eyes closed to reality. God is with me! The challenge this week: I dare you to try to live one hour of your normal, daily life conscious that Jesus IS with you!
1st Sunday of Advent
As we begin this new Church year we are reminded by Paul “to be blameless in holiness”. What does holiness really mean? What does holiness really look like? Holiness is not something far out there or high up beyond our reach; I would argue that holiness is something close to us…too close…uncomfortably close. Holiness is doing all of the normal things we do with and for the Lord, living in God’s kingdom and spreading God’s kingdom in and through the daily situations and interactions of our lives. That’s our mission, that’s real holiness, and that can be attained by anyone — which is why it’s scary: because it means I no longer have an excuse!
“God has created me to do him some definite service; he has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission.” ~ St. John Henry Newman
4th Sunday of Advent
On this 4th Sunday of Advent, Deacon Brian gives an incredible homily on Mary’s fiat to God (“may it be done to me according to your word”) which lays the groundwork of the vision for our parishes in the coming year. In it he uses the analogy of a NASCAR race to portray God’s first call and primary challenge for all the lay faithful to be drivers for Christ in the great Christian race of missionary discipleship, with the clergy being your pit crew and the fans being the whole world!
As we, lay parishioners and ministers alike, discern in this coming year how to transform our parishes of St. Joseph and St. Ann into communities that welcome the Lord’s call to “go and make disciples of all nations,” we ask for your prayers and support, that together we all might echo back to God Mary’s fiat: “may it be done to me according to your word,” and that we might draw many more to echo those word along with us!
3rd Sunday of Advent
People started following and listening to Jesus in large part because of the signs that accompanied his message – the miracles he was performing. December 12th was the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In 1531 Mary appeared to an Aztec peasant named Juan Diego asking that a Church be built on the spot. Accompanying these apparitions were three miracles – the miracle of the roses, the miracle of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe appearing on Juan Diego’s cloak/tilma (which can still be seen today in Mexico and which defies all modern explanation), and the miracle of over 9 million people converting to Christianity in a matter of years and following Christ because of this apparition and image. In our Gospel today John the Baptist is preparing the way for our Lord. Mary has prepared the way for our Lord Jesus in so many ways, both through her life on this earth and her continued apparitions to God’s children. Inspired by the miracles that God has done, let’s ask God to continue to work miracles in our lives and in this world, that we may follow Him with more conviction and that others may be opened to hearing the message of Jesus Christ!