Homilies, Videos

13th Sunday Ordinary Time – Homily (Fr. Smith)

| St. Charles Borromeo

 

Permission to reprint/podcast/stream the music in this service
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Transcript:

In Matthew’s Gospel it is very important to know to whom Jesus is speaking. Today’s gospel is addressed to the apostles. The word apostle was used very loosely in the New Testament and indeed early Christian writings in general. This was before HR departments and “realistic job previews”. For Matthew, an apostle is “one who is sent” a rather literal translation of the word in Greek. He is vague however as to whom the word applies but I think it is a personal invitation to you.

Today we read the last verses of Chapter 10 of Matthew’s gospel. Chapter 10 is often called the “Missionary discourse”. In it Jesus tells those whom he will send, what gifts he will give to them and what is expected of them. Continue reading “13th Sunday Ordinary Time – Homily (Fr. Smith)” →

Events

Online Community Mass – 13th Sunday Ordinary Time – 6/28 11:15 am EDT

| St. Charles Borromeo

Please join us for our Online Community Mass for the 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Sunday, June 28 at 11:15 AM EDT.

Instructions to view the Mass are available here. You can also watch the view via YouTube Live above.

Messages from the Pastor

Pastor’s Message on Church Reopening

| Fr. William Smith

In the post below, our Reopening Committee has provided an extensive section on returning to church. I’d like to add a few words as we welcome the faithful back to public Masses starting the week of June 29.

Bishop DiMarzio has given churches permission to open for Mass both on weekdays and on Sundays. Enough parishioners have volunteered to act as ushers that we will be able to have Mass this Wednesday (July 1) at 12:10 PM and next Sunday (July 5) at 11:15 AM. We barely have enough volunteers to maintain our current schedule, much less expand the number of Masses, we will need more helpers. If you can volunteer going forward, please contact the rectory, Joe Genova, or Jane Olson. Continue reading “Pastor’s Message on Church Reopening” →

Videos

St. Charles at Home #14 – Trust that God Calls Us to Be Connected

| St. Charles Borromeo

This week, Msgr. Al LoPinto and Alexandra Gupta discuss the theme of trust from last Sunday’s readings and Catholic Charities food ministry during the pandemic.

St. Charles at Home episodes feature conversation between the prior Sunday’s homilist and parishioners to provide us with more connection to the parish during the week. The videos are available on our YouTube channel and our website.

Events

Returning to Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Church

| St. Charles Borromeo

St. Charles announces the resumption of public Mass.  Welcoming our brothers and sisters to gather together in worship is a long-awaited event and we have been working diligently to provide a safe environment for Mass.

New Mass Schedule beginning the week of June 29

Weekday Mass – Wednesdays at 12:10 PM followed by the opportunity for private prayer until 2 p.m. Begins July 1

Sunday Mass – 11:15 AM. begins July 5 (also streamed on Zoom)

Private prayer on Tuesdays and Thursdays will be discontinued.

Please note: in-person Masses are dependent on having enough volunteer ushers (4) to implement safety procedures. Please check the website for announcements regarding schedule. Continue reading “Returning to Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Church” →

Messages from Parishioners

Walking Before We Fly, Part IV – Joe Genova

| St. Charles Borromeo

Part II covered the spiritual belief shared by St. Francis and Pope Francis of the unity of everything in our universe, an undeniable truth because God created it all, from galaxies, to humans, to bugs and dirt under our feet.  A summary of the five-chapter, 115-page guts of Laudato Si’ was the auspicious goal of Part III.  In Chapter 6, “Ecological Education and Spirituality,” the gloves come off.

Pope Francis calls upon us to change ourselves and our lifestyle.  “The emptier a person’s heart is, the more he or she needs things to buy, own, and consume.” “Obsession with a consumerist lifestyle … can only lead to violence and mutual destruction.”  In Chapter 2, Pope Francis quoted the bishops of New Zealand, who put this pointedly in 2006 by asking “What does ‘Thou shall not kill’ mean when ‘twenty percent of the world’s population consumes resources at a rate that robs poor nations and future nations of what they need to survive.’”  My friends, few of us are not are in the 20%. “In the end,” Pope Francis says, “a world of exacerbated consumption is … a world which mistreats life in all its forms.”  He then consoles, “all is not lost” because, with thought and caring and inspired by meditative prayer, we can act in a way that treats all of God’s creation fairly. Continue reading “Walking Before We Fly, Part IV – Joe Genova” →

Messages from the Pastor

13th Sunday of Ordinary Time – A Real Relationship with Jesus

| Fr. William Smith

Photo by Jack Anstey on Unsplash

Thirteen Sunday of Ordinary Time
Romans 6:3–4, 8–11
June 28, 2020

In our introduction to the Letter to the Romans, we noted that this was Paul on his best behavior. He speaks to the Romans in a calm and measured tone. He needs the Roman church and knows that he does. He had also grown as a person and an evangelist. In earlier letters, he would speak without recognizing the religious and social condition of the people to whom he was speaking. The letters to the Corinthians are beautiful and we are grateful to have them, but they were written because of problems of Paul’s own making. Although the Corinthians were his spiritual children, he did not consider that most were not Jews and did not understand the subtleties of Jewish law. For Paul, to be freed from the law meant to be able to eat pork, but for some of the Corinthians, it meant that you could marry your sister.

By the time he writes to the Romans he has obtained far greater self-understanding. He has realized that his faith is not based on law or tradition but on his own personal—indeed we might say mystical—experience of the risen Jesus. That experience can only be understood in the light of being a Jew, but his religious beliefs are guided by this encounter. This would always be difficult to communicate but especially so with a new religion. If he shares this with the early church in Rome he knows he must be clear and careful. Continue reading “13th Sunday of Ordinary Time – A Real Relationship with Jesus” →