September - 2022

Pastor's Weekly Update: Sunday, January 29

The challenge to stay where you are: Overcoming sloth (Sermon for 22 January, 2023)

Pastor's Weekly Update: Sunday, January 15

Epiphany: A tribute to Pope Benedict XVI

Pastor's Weekly Update: Sunday, January 1st

Born to Be a King: The Nativity of the Lord, A.D. MMXXII

Pastor's Weekly Update: Sunday, December 25th

Pastor's Weekly Update: Sunday, December 18th

Rejoice to Be Patient: Gaudete Sunday Sermon

Pastor's Weekly Update: Sunday, December 11th

Archive

Pastor's Weekly Update: Sunday, October 2nd

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Today is the kickoff for the Annual Bishop’s Appeal! Thank you to everyone who has already submitted your pledge, and for those who have not, thank you for prayerfully considering the way that the Lord is calling you to sacrificial generosity in support of the local Church. The Annual Bishop’s Appeal is critical for the financial health not only of our Diocese but also of our parish. After receiving the final results from last year’s Appea

Pastor's Weekly Update: Sunday, September 25th

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Thank you to everyone who helped so much to make our parish festival possible together, especially the organizing committee under the leadership of our pastoral associate, Johnny Evangelista. Thank you to everyone who came out and enjoyed a fantastic day or evening together, growing in Christian fraternity. New and strengthened friendships help us to support one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. If you weren’t here at St. John’s l

Pastor's Weekly Update: Sunday, September 18th

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, We shared with you at Mass today our annual fiscal update for the 2021-2022 program / budget year. It is exciting to see that our parish is in a strong position to continue growing. Thanks to your generosity, we have been good stewards of the resources of our parish and been able to save for major expenditures while also working to align our financial priorities with the pastoral priorities identified in our Parish Priority Plan, which we

Making Friends with (Our) Dishonest Wealth (Sermon for Sunday, 18 September, 2022)

“I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” The Lord finds some odd models for us in the Gospel. He surprises the crowds by extolling tax collectors and sinners, and by saying they have to become like little children. Over the past few weeks, He has shocked the Pharisees and even His disciples with the assertion that wealth is not a sign of holiness. For many people in our Lord’s day – an

True Freedom of Conscience -- Sermon for Sunday, Sept. 4

Why doesn’t St. Paul condemn slavery? Today’s epistle – from the Letter to Philemon – tells us about a slave, Onesimus, who has escaped from his master after bungling an important task, has come to Rome, and has been serving St. Paul during his imprisonment. Onesimus has become a Christian, and now Paul is sending him back to his home with the exhortation to his former master to treat him not as a slave, but as a brother. This epistle has been seen for centuries as a beautifu