The US Catholic Bishops have dedicated Wednesday, September 9, the Memorial of St. Peter Claver as a day of prayer for racial justice and solidarity.
A special Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, September 9, 2020 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph at 7:30 PM. The faithful of the Diocese are welcomed to attend and priests are invited to concelebrate. The Mass will be televised live on NET TV. Bishop Neil Tiedemann, C.P., will serve as the Main Celebrant and Father Alonzo Cox will be the Homilist.
St. Charles at Home #23: Eat, Pray, Read
This week, Fr. Bill Smith and Kaye Brinker discuss the message from last Sunday’s Gospel about trusting in faith, the Sunday Book Club, and the Food Pantry.
Community Mass – 23rd Sunday Ordinary Time – 9/6 11:15 am EDT
Please join us for our Community Mass for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Sunday, September 6 at 11:15 AM EDT. It will be a public Mass celebrated in the church and also streamed online.
Instructions to view the Mass are available here. You can also watch the video via YouTube Live in the window here.
- Today’s readings and hymns are available to download here: September 6
As per the instructions from our Reopening Committee, hymnals, bulletins, and other handouts will not be available at the church. Please download on your phone or tablet, or bring your own missal. - Support our Parish – Please contribute to our General Collection online here.
- Help us support Catholic Charities Food Pantries in Brooklyn and Queens online
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – The Faces of Our Brothers and Sisters
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon Shows Pope Francis the Golden Rule mosaic at the UN on September 25, 2015 (UN Photo) (more about this image)
Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the 2nd Reading
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Romans 13:8–10
September 6, 2020
For the past few weeks, we have seen Paul as a poet and preacher. He has urged us to “offer our very bodies to God” (Rom. 12 1) and exclaimed “the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God” (Rom. 11:33). These are beautiful and profound statements, but we must remember that they are at the service of Paul’s main intent. He is showing the Roman Church how to live together and how to live in general. As we have seen the Church in Rome was mixed with some born Jews and others born gentiles. They all accepted the Lordship of Jesus but differed on what this meant. Paul has spoken eloquently to them about the meaning of Baptism and Life in the Spirit. This is the basis of harmony; a life well lived together. Yet what about the daily tasks of life? How does one live?
Paul grasped in his very being that accepting the new life Jesus offered was a new way of being human. His expression however has sometimes been, to be kind, imprecise and culturally tone-deaf. He told the Corinthians, a very mixed congregation, that “All things are lawful for me” (1 Cor. 6:12) Those born Jews understood this to mean that they were freed from dietary laws and could eat pork. Some gentile Christians, not understanding the Jewish background, thought they could marry near relations (1 Cor. 5:1-7) Paul needed to clarify this and spent a good deal of time doing this.
Continue reading “23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – The Faces of Our Brothers and Sisters”Evening Prayer Today at 5 PM
Please download the worship aid to participate in Friday’s evening prayer at 5 PM:
Instructions on how to join are available here.
22nd Sunday Ordinary Time – Homily (Fr. Smith)
This is not the Gospel reading I would have chosen for a first communion. Satan, Cross and losing one’s life are not the topics that first come to mind on what is truly one of the most joyous day for any parish. Yet if we step back and see how these fits into St Matthews Gospel it is very joyous indeed and given the pandemic hopeful as well. I will first speak to the adults and then Anya and Evie making a comment to myself along the way.
This tense dialogue with Peter comes after a much more pleasant one a few paragraphs before. Jesus asks Peter who he thinks he is and Peter answers “The Messiah”. Jesus is so pleased with this answer that he blesses Peter and tells him that God himself has revealed this to him. He then informs Peter that he will be the rock on which he will build his church and gives him great authority over who will be part of it.
Continue reading “22nd Sunday Ordinary Time – Homily (Fr. Smith)”Book Club: Intro to Thomas Merton on Thursday
This week, we will start a new book, so this is a great chance to join in the group. We will be reading Thomas Merton’s classic New Seeds of Contemplation, which was originally written as a response to a college student’s question, “What is contemplation?” and is one of Merton’s most widely read books.
The discussion will begin on Thursday, September 3 at 7 PM with a general introduction to Merton and his life. The following Thursday (Sep. 10) we will discuss chapter 1-4 of the book.