Weekly Reflections

GOSPEL MEDITATION - ENCOURAGE DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF SCRIPTURE

Readings for the week of August 10, 2025

Sunday:          Wis 18:6-9/Ps 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22 (12b)/Heb 11:1-2, 8-19 or 11:1-2, 8-12/ Lk 12:32-48 or 12:35-40

Monday:         Dt 10:12-22/Ps 148:1-2, 11-12, 13, 14/Mt 17:22-27

Tuesday:         Dt 31:1-8/Dt 32:3-4ab, 7, 8, 9 and 12/Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

Wednesday:   Dt 34:1-12/Ps 66:1-3a, 5 and 8, 16-17/Mt 18:15-20

Thursday:       Jos 3:7-10a, 11, 13-17/Ps 114:1-2, 3-4, 5-6/Mt 18:21—19:1

Friday:            Vigil: 1 Chr 15:3-4, 15-16; 16:1-2/Ps 132:6-7, 9-10, 13-14/1 Cor 15:54b-57/ Lk 11:27-28 Day: Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab/Ps 45:10, 11, 12, 16/1 Cor 15:20-27/Lk 1:39-56 

Saturday:        Jos 24:14-29/Ps 16:1-2a and 5, 7-8, 11/Mt 19:13-15

Next Sunday: Jer 38:4-6, 8-10/Ps 40:2, 3, 4, 18 (14b)/Heb 12:1-4/Lk 12:49-53


Observances for the week of August 10, 2025

Sunday:          19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Monday:         St. Clare, Virgin

Tuesday:         St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious

Wednesday:   Sts. Pontian, Pope, and Hippolytus, Priest, Martyrs

Thursday:       St. Maximillian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr

Friday:            The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Saturday:        St. Stephen of Hungary

Next Sunday: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

GOSPEL MEDITATION - ENCOURAGE DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF SCRIPTURE

August 10, 2025

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 12:32-48


There was a young mother in my parish community who was depressed due to financial strain. She prayed for help. One morning before Mass, she placed on the counter a zip-lock bag filled with jewelry and old coins. Smiling, she explained she had been fixing an old cabinet and found the items hidden deep within the walls of her home. One particular coin could be worth as much as $900,000. The contents of the bag–previously unknown to them–were now their prized possession. Their plans changed that week. They had to learn how much it was worth.

 

This week, the Lord tells us, “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” (Luke 12:34). Our lives revolve around what we treasure. When we discover the treasure the Father gives us–the kingdom of God–everything changes. We might not know its precise value, but we rearrange our lives around it. The joy of this discovery should never be far from our minds.

 

Sometimes we go through times when we can’t find this treasure. It seems hidden. Or it appears like dirty old coins and worthless jewelry in a Ziploc bag. But how crazy would my parishioners be if they tossed it away without knowing the cash value? How much crazier are we if we center our hearts on any treasure except that of Jesus and his kingdom? Remember, the Father is pleased to give it to us. That’s why we put our hearts there, even when it is hidden

THE ASSUMPTION OF THE
BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

The Assumption


The graces of Jesus' redemption are outside of time and space. Mary is conceived without original sin. In the feast of the Assumption, we celebrate the result of that reality! Mary's soul and body are not separated at the moment of death, nor does her body decay. She is brought up, body and soul, into Heaven. Even in apostolic times, no religious site has claimed the actual body of Mary. Considering the Church's enthusiasm for relics, this is a startling fact! After Christianity became legal in the Roman Empire, the site of her empty tomb became a place of local pilgrimage. On this feast, we remember that just as Jesus has taken care of his mother, he will take care of us!


The Assumption: A Sign of Hope

Is the resurrection a concept or reality? For many of us, the resurrection of the dead may be a stray idea recite in the Nicene Creed. Heaven we discuss. But resurrection? The feast of the Assumption is a reminder to us that heaven gets even better! We pray that the souls of the faithful departed would soon be united to God in heaven. The truth is, the separation between our souls and our bodies was not God’s original plan for things. It’s one of the results of the Fall, of original sin. At the end of time and Jesus’ second coming, our bodies and souls will be reunited. Lest we forget, Mary’s Assumption is the reminder. Today, we celebrate that Mary is enjoying what we, too, hope to participate in — complete joy in heaven with our God, experienced body and soul. Today and every day, let’s pray for those who have died and that we may meet them again in the heavenly kingdom.


19th Sunday in Ordinary Time / August 10, 2025

SUNDAY READINGS - EXCERPTS TO PLACE IN YOUR COMMUNICATIONS:



First Reading:

The night of the Passover was known beforehand  to our fathers,
that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they

put their faith they might have courage. (Wis 18:6-7)


Psalm:

Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own. (Ps 33)


Second Reading:

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. (Heb 11:1)


Gospel:

Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted  with
more.” (Lk 12:48)


QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK - INVITE PARISHIONERS TO REFLECT AND RESPOND TO SCRIPTURE

 1st Reading Question:

The Book of Wisdom speaks of having faith and courage in the knowledge of God’s providence. What do you pray for God to provide for you and your family? 


2
nd Reading Question: 

Hebrews cites Abraham as the model of faith and trust in the Lord. Who would you hold up today as a role model for our faith?


Gospel Question:

Jesus teaches the disciples to be vigilant and prudent with the gifts God has given to each of us. What are some of your gifts that you share with others?


LIVE THE LITURGY - INSPIRATION FOR THE WEEK


We are the servants and God is our master. He has told us His will, and
given us all that we need to carry out
His directions.
Do we have the courage to act as our master desires?
Do we have what it takes to be stewards of God’s grace?


(PRACTICING) CATHOLIC - RECOGNIZE GOD IN YOUR ORDINARY MOMENTS



BENEATH THE SURFACE

Mini reflection: We all love a message about The Right Thing To Do. We all love when a priest or a nun or any Catholic with a microphone gets up and talks about the truth. We rise to our feet and applaud. And then, too often, we take a deep breath and walk to our car and forget all about it — because we think they were talking to someone else.

 

Are You Talking to Me?

 

Last summer I was at the National Eucharistic Congress when Fr. Mike Schmitz delivered an impassioned call to repentance in his keynote address during an evening revival session. The crowd received his message with great enthusiasm. Their applause and the cheers shook the Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

The next night, Sr. Josephine Garrett took the stage and, in her address, got into the nitty-gritty of what it means to be a disciple, what it means to live repentance — or, as she so beautifully put it, to embrace the hunger.

 

And in doing so, she called back to the previous night’s thunderous approval of Fr. Mike’s message.

 

“When I heard you clapping when Father said we need repentance, I was worried you thought he was talking about your neighbor’s repentance,” she said. “He is not.”

 

In other words: he’s talking about your repentance.

 

We all love a message about The Right Thing To Do. We all love when a priest or a nun or any Catholic with a microphone gets up and talks about the truth. We rise to our feet and applaud.

 

And then, too often, we take a deep breath and walk to our car and forget all about it — because we think they were talking to someone else. You know…the others. The ones who need to hear it. The ones who aren’t being vigilant.

 

In today’s Gospel, Peter asks Jesus, “Is this parable [of the absent master] meant for us, or for everyone?” (Luke 12:41). And Jesus answers him with a question. In so many words, he says this: “Do you want it to be for you? Are you ready to hear it?”

 

Whoever we are. Wherever we’re from. Whatever our life looks like. However we pray. He’s talking to us.

 

Are we ready to hear him?


EVERYDAY STEWARDSHIP - RECOGNIZE GOD IN YOUR ORDINARY MOMENTS

Caught in the Rising Action

 

Think of some of your favorite iconic movies. I’m not talking about the feel-good comedies or the offbeat coming-of-age flicks. I’m talking about the movies that you found had a profound impact on you or made you go “Hmmm.”



I’m willing to bet that the plot of this film features some tough moments and difficult scenarios. However happy the ending, at some point, the situation for the protagonist might look awfully hopeless. The script speaks some truth to you about what it is to be human in difficult circumstances. What it means to persevere.


We’re attracted to the tension that exists when the hero is besieged. We’re captivated by the decisions he makes in the darkest hour of the night when it seems like the dawn will never come. Why? Because we know that feeling so well. This is the essence of our human life on earth: waiting, hoping, doubting — and enduring.


We know the ending to our story, but we don’t know when it’s coming. We live our whole lives in the rising action of the narrative. Sure, it gets old. Tiresome, even dull. We may start to despair that the climactic scene is coming at all.


But faith is the realization of things hoped for, and evidence of things not seen. We feel it watching a great movie, because we recognize it intuitively: it is faith which earns the happy ending. No one is drawn to the story when the hero gives up or gets tired of waiting for the payoff. Everyday stewardship is the collection of choices we make while we’re waiting, because we are called to action, not idleness, even in our perpetual state of expectation.


Plan Wisely

 

What would happen if you found out right now that relatives of yours were coming into town tomorrow, and they hoped to stay with you? You can either tell them they can’t stay with you, or you immediately begin a process of furiously cleaning, straightening up, and grocery shopping in anticipation of your guests. If you don’t have to do anything to prepare because your home is perfect, clean, and fully stocked, perhaps you don’t live in your home or you are obsessive compulsive. I suspect most people reading this would go into panic mode!

 

We spend much time putting off things until later. Then when something unexpected happens, we swing into action to deal with it or prepare for its effects. We would have acted differently if we knew what was coming down the road.

 

What does your stewardship way of life look like? Are you living as if you have forever, or are you living as if Jesus could return any moment and your life here on earth could end tomorrow? The gift of time is often taken for granted. If we live more mindfully of that gift, we waste less of it and maximize the moments in which we find ourselves. We give of ourselves in ways that are more meaningful and productive. The gift of tomorrow is not promised to you, but the gift of today has already been given. Use this day wisely because who knows what tomorrow may bring.

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary


The church has always held to the belief that Mary was assumed, body and soul, into a heavenly state, even though the belief was not declared as dogmatic until 1950. The early church had a robust tradition of revering relics from the saints of the day, and their complete lack of relics from the Mother of Jesus was seen as evidence of this Marian belief. The celebration of the event as a feast dates back to the fourth century in the East and the seventh century in the West.


Since Mary was untouched by the stain of sin, she was unable to experience the "wages of sin," which is death. But her Assumption also says something about humanity as well. Sin only has power over us if we allow it. Mary was freed from this power in her Immaculate Conception, and when she responded "yes" to God. We were freed from that power when Jesus died and rose, conquering death. Now, we must respond "yes" to claim the victory that was already won for us. On this feast, we should not only celebrate the great works God has done for us through Our Lady, but also celebrate the truth that we have the opportunity to one day spend eternity with her and her Son, Jesus.


Why Do We Do That?

Catholic Life Explained.

Parish Registration

 

Question:

Why is it so important that we register in a parish? Isn't it good enough that we go to Mass?

           

Answer:

Registration is the official way we join a parish community. Many people think that because they attend a particular parish they automatically belong. At times, young adults who have moved away for years think they are still signed up under their parents. But membership requires signing up, formally enrolling yourself in a parish. Registration is a commitment to a community, a way to be included in the religious, social, and ministerial activities of your parish. Your registration affects the parish in many ways. Census numbers can determine how many priests are assigned to a church, what benefits and obligations the community has to the diocese, and how Masses, Confessions, and devotions are planned and scheduled.

           

Registration shows you belong. It is also necessary for certain benefits, like scheduling sacraments, obtaining sponsor certificates, and getting donation statements for taxes. Most importantly, it lets the parish count on you, to call on you to assist in its mission. Registering in your parish is a statement of faith and confidence in the life and work of your parish.

The Assumption,Friday, August 15, 2025


Question:

What lessons should I learn from the Assumption of Mary?


Answer:

Growing in holiness is similar to training in a sport. We need someone to show us how we can live our faith well. Mary is a model of sanctity. She shows us how to be faithful to God’s will, living each day with confidence in God’s mercy and love. At the Nativity, in Jesus’ public ministry, and at the Crucifixion, we see her steadfast trust. She allows the Lord to use her life to accomplish his plan for her and for all of us. In the Preface of the Mass for the Assumption of Mary, we pray: “For today the Virgin Mother of God was assumed into heaven as the beginning and image of your Church’s coming to perfection and a sign of sure hope and comfort to your pilgrim people.”


It is this image of holiness that we strive to imitate. In the office, at home, or in our community, we look for signs of God’s grace that call us to an ever greater love of him and each other. A greater awareness of God is a sign of our conversion of heart that lives the lessons Mary teaches.

Feast of the Assumption, Friday, August 15, 2025

Marian Feasts

 

Question:

Why does Mary have so many feast days and names?

 

Answer:

Christians first began celebrating feast days in honor of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in the fifth century. That celebration (originally called the Feast of the Dormition and now known by Roman Catholics as the Solemnity of the Assumption) was celebrated on August 15. Very soon, however, other special days dedicated to Mary began to appear in Jerusalem, Rome, and other major cities of the Christian world. These days of feasting became important parts of the life of the community. But, more importantly, each of these unique celebrations became an opportunity to focus on a different facet of the Christian faith, as believers focused their attention on specific events or mysteries of the lives of Mary and her Son.

 

Over the centuries, some of these celebrations became universal (such as the Assumption on August 15, the Immaculate Conception on December 8, and the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God on January 1). Other celebrations were more closely tied to certain religious orders (such as the Carmelites celebration of “Our Lady of Mount Carmel” on July 16 or the Servite Friars feast of the “Seven Sorrows of Mary,” which is now celebrated as the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15).

 

In more recent times, Marian apparitions (like Guadalupe, Lourdes, and Fatima) have inspired special liturgical celebrations. Pope Francis has added two new celebrations of Mary to the Church’s calendar: The Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church (on the Monday after Pentecost) and the Commemoration of Our Lady of Loreto (on December 10). The various titles of Mary (like those we find in the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary) help us to reflect on different aspects of Mary’s faith and the ways that the Holy Spirit is at work in her and through her, especially as the Mother of Jesus.

 

In the end, whatever the event or mystery being celebrated in a particular liturgy or the title of Mary being used, we are invited to always see Mary in connection with the saving work of her Son. She is, of course, a patroness and protector for every Christian, but she is also a model of discipleship and contemplation: “Having entered deeply into the history of salvation, Mary, in a way, unites in her person and re-echoes the most important doctrines of the faith: and when she is the subject of preaching and worship she prompts the faithful to come to her Son, to his sacrifice and to the love of the Father” (Lumen Gentium, 65).



Prayer for Generosity

God who has gifted me every good thing,

Help me to remember what truly matters.

To treasure love above all else,

and to serve readily.

Amen.

Prayer for Open Hands

Lord, I do not know what any day holds,

I cannot take for granted any of the gifts You have given.

Help me to use them, then, as You would have me.

Help me to live according to Your invitations.

Amen.

Prayer for Hope

Lord,

Restore my hope!

Where I fear the future, write a new script in my heart.

Where I doubt Your goodness, fill me anew.

Give me steadfast hope for a beautiful tomorrow.

Amen.

Prayer for Focus

Lord, help me to remember what matters and who matters.

And then help me to prioritize rightly and wisely, with Your heaven as my guide.

Amen.

Prayer for Charity

Give me the grace, Lord, to truly see those around me: the overlooked, the uncomfortable, the odd and disliked.

Your kingdom is one of belonging, help us to be the types of neighbors who see and respond with Godly generosity. 

Amen.

Growing the Gospel For Our Children

Tap the button below the poster to print the games and puzzle's

(each game uses 2 sheets of paper)


CATHOLIC TRIVIA – JUST FOR FUN

(Click the down arrow for the answer!)

  • Question: What is the name for the short stories Jesus would tell to teach a spiritual lesson based on familiar life experiences?

    Question: What is the name for the short stories Jesus would tell to teach a spiritual lesson based on familiar life experiences?


    Answer: Parables.



  • Question: How many times did Peter deny knowing Jesus?

    Question: How many times did Peter deny knowing Jesus?


    Answer: Three times.


  • What word did Jesus call God the Father when he was praying?

    Question: What word did Jesus call God the Father when he was praying?


    Answer: Abba.




  • Question: Where did Mary and Joseph take young Jesus to hide him from King Herod?


    Question: Where did Mary and Joseph take young Jesus to hide him from King Herod?


    Answer: Egypt.


  • Question: Which Old Testament prophet foretold the Virgin Mary and her conception of Jesus?

    Question: Which Old Testament prophet foretold the Virgin Mary and her conception of Jesus?


    Answer: The Prophet Isaiah.



  • Question: Where is St. Peter buried?

    Question: Where is St. Peter buried?


    Answer: The current location of St. Peter’s Basilica.