20th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2026 - A mission to all nations & OCIA invitation

 

As I’ve shared before, during college seminary I had the great privilege of studying for a semester in the Eternal City of Rome. And that semester included quite a few trips to St. Peter’s Basilica. In fact, even before really getting our bearings, now my dear priest friend Fr. Matthew Pfeiffer and I, went to St. Peter’s on our first day in Rome. Like countless pilgrims before us, we made our way through the streets of Rome, into Piazza San Pietro, the large piazza located directly in front of St. Peter’s Basillica, surrounded by that iconic colonnade.

The colonnade was designed by the Italian architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini, under the direction of Pope Alexander VII in the mid-1600s. 284 Doric columns surround the piazza to resemble the welcoming arms of the Church, like a mother embracing all of her children. What a beautiful symbol for the nature and mission of Mother Church to embrace and gather all the peoples of the world.

The Scripture readings on this 20^th Sunday of Ordinary Time have this theme of the universal embrace—the universal mission of the Church—a mission to every race and culture. The Church is to be a home and hospital and sign and instrument of communion for the entire human family.

The Lord Jesus died for the salvation of all peoples of all places. And while his mission was to save all of humanity, he never traveled outside of the Holy Land, to Rome or Spain or Athens or the Canary Islands or to these shores of course. Rather those countries and the rest of the world would come to know Christ’s salvation, through us, through the preaching and teaching of His body, the Church.

The Church is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in the first reading: “my house shall be called
a house of prayer for all peoples.” In the Psalm, as well, we offer the prayer of the people of God that one day, “all the nations of the earth” might praise God, together.  In the second Reading, St. Paul explains how God's mercy is for all people--all of us are sinners, but Christ died for all, so that all people might be reconciled to God.

And then in our Gospel reading, we hear of this gentile woman approaching Jesus for salvation for her daughter. And she wasn’t just any Gentile, she was a Canaanite, one of the great historic enemies of the Jewish people. And for coming to Jesus, begging salvation from him, Jesus praises her. She receives praise that not one of Jesus’ disciples, not one of the apostles receives. The Lord says to her, “great is your faith!” And her faith becomes a conduit of healing and deliverance for her family.

Salvation, healing, deliverance, the joy of knowing Christ in this life and in life everlasting. This is why we approach Jesus in faith, this is why we take membership in his Church so seriously. And this is why we need to take seriously our call to evangelize. Because God wants all peoples on earth to know and love Jesus Christ and be saved. And that happens through our witness—showing the world that being Catholic matters, and that it is vitally important, eternally important.

Do you talk about the Church with love? With joy? Do your children and grandchildren hear from your lips that the Mass matters, that confession is a gift, that prayer is vital to you, that Jesus Christ has changed your life? Do your neighbors and coworkers know that your faith is not simply a private hobby, but the center of who you are?

Evangelization does not always begin with a theological argument. Often it begins with a simple witness: “I go to Mass because I need the Lord.” “I went to confession and found peace.” “I will pray for you.” “Would you like to come to a church event with me?” “Our parish has been a place of grace for my family.” These are not complicated words. But spoken with sincerity, they can open a door.

And we should not underestimate the power of invitation. Many people are waiting to be invited. Many people who have drifted from the Church are not hostile; they are wounded, distracted, embarrassed, or unsure how to return. A personal invitation from someone they trust may be the first step of their journey home.

The Canaanite woman’s faith became a conduit of healing for her daughter. So too, our faith can become a conduit of grace for others. Our prayer, our gentleness and sincerity, our love for the Church, our willingness to speak of Christ—these can become instruments by which the Lord brings healing and deliverance to families, to parishes, and to souls.

This weekend, in the bulletin is a flyer for OCIA formerly called RCIA—the program and process for Adults to become Catholic. Maybe some of you here are not members of the Church. Please know you are welcome to find out more about full membership in the Church, give me a call or shoot me an email. For those of you who are already full members, that flyer can be given to someone who isn’t. There’s likely someone in your life, who you can invite. I recommend praying for them this week, and then making the invitation. Pray for the openness to God. And pray for your own courage to make the invitation. You can simply say, hi, I’ve been praying for you, when my pastor brought this up at church, I thought of you, if you are interested, please know you are more than welcome and I’d be willing to pray with you and answer any questions that I can and find out answers to those I don’t know.” It’s a simple invitation that will change peoples lives for the better.

It's an act of love to care about a soul enough to want them to experience the fullness of life that is available to us as Catholics. For out of love, Christ died for all. And out of love Christ sends us to gather all of humanity into the arms of mother Church, to embrace and live his truth, to be filled with his life and his grace, and thereby become the people God made us to be, and to receive the gift of eternal life through faith for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

2nd Week of Advent 2024 - Wednesday - Strength and rest for the weary

 Yesterday, we began reading from chapter 40 of Isaiah and  we heard God’s promise of comfort and renewal to a people who had endured long seasons of exile and suffering. Today, the Word of God continues that message. 

The reading even began acknowledging our doubts.  “Why, O Jacob, do you say… ‘My way is hidden from the LORD’?” 

Sometimes life is so difficult we feel like we have been overlooked or forgotten by the One who created us. Yet, in the midst of doubt, God directs His people’s eyes upward: “Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these things.” Before we allow fear or despair to have the final word, we must remember who God is: the Eternal Creator of the ends of the earth, who does not grow tired or weary. His strength is inexhaustible, and His knowledge is beyond our understanding.

Isaiah reminds the faint-hearted that if they hope in the LORD, they will “renew their strength” and “soar as with eagles’ wings.” What a powerful image! Eagles, known for soaring above storm clouds, teach us that placing our hope in God gives us the grace not merely to endure hardship but to rise above it. In a world that often leaves us depleted—emotionally, physically, and spiritually—God’s promise stands: if you trust in Him, you will find new vigor to run without growing weary, to walk without fainting.

Our Gospel continues this theme in perhaps the most comforting promises in all of the Gospels: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Here is the ultimate fulfillment of Isaiah’s promise. The same God who promised new strength to the weary now speaks to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, saying, “Come,” and we discover that the comfort Isaiah proclaimed is no longer just a future hope. In Jesus, comfort is a present reality. He invites anyone struggling under heavy burdens—worry, grief, guilt, loneliness—to bring those burdens to Him. When we accept His invitation, the endless striving that leaves us exhausted begins to give way to rest in His loving arms.

Additionally, Jesus encourages us, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” The “yoke” here means choosing a life aligned with Jesus, guided by His teachings, His virtues, His way of love. In ancient farming, a yoke paired a stronger, more experienced animal with a weaker one. The stronger bore the weight and guided the weaker. In the same way, Jesus is that stronger partner who carries the weight we cannot carry alone. Because He is humble and gentle, drawing near to Him does not crush us; it makes our burdens lighter. Under Christ’s guidance, what seemed impossible to bear can become manageable because we are no longer carrying it by ourselves.

During this Advent season of waiting and longing, we consider the ways that we long for the Lord’s strength to become manifest in our lives. And the scriptures resound clearly, in that waiting, seek the Lord all the more, to uplift, renew, and strengthen. 

During Advent, we are not waiting for an idea or a philosophy. We are awaiting a person—Emmanuel, “God with us.” In our weariness, may we come to discover more deeply his comfort, strength, forgiveness, and rest for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Confident in God’s never-failing presence and strength, we bring before Him our prayers for the Church, for the world, and for all in need.

That, during this season of Advent, the Church may echoes God’s invitation to all people to “lift up their eyes” to God, especially in times of difficulty and doubt.

For world leaders and those in positions of authority: That they may govern with wisdom, compassion, and a spirit of service, working tirelessly to relieve the burdens of the poor, the oppressed, and the weary. 

For those who labor under heavy burdens—illness, grief, worry, or guilt:

That they may discover in Jesus their strong partner who carries the weight they cannot bear alone, granting them strength and peace.

For those who have died: That they may find eternal rest in God’s loving embrace, especially N.

Heavenly Father, You are the Eternal God who neither grows weary nor fails in love. Hear the prayers we bring to You today. Grant us the grace to trust in Your unfailing care, that we may find rest, strength, and hope in You. Through Christ, our Lord. 

2nd Week of Easter 2023 - Friday - Invitation to the table of the Lord

 Having read through the entirety of Jesus' discourse with Nicodemus from chapter 3 of St. John's Gospel over the past four days, we now begin a week long reading of John Chapter 6.  St. John's sixth chapter is comprised of two miracle stories—the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and Jesus walking on the water—and the great Bread of Life discourse.  I encourage you to read and reflect upon the entire chapter to get a sense of what's coming over the next 8 days.

With Nicodemus, Jesus spoke of the waters of spiritual rebirth—unless you are born again by water and the spirit you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, Jesus taught, providing us with the reason why we take baptism so seriously. Well, if the first set of Gospel readings after the Easter Octave point to the importance of the Sacrament of Baptism, this second set of readings, from John 6, is going to point to the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood, the Eucharist. 

The Catechism explains: “The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves, when the Lord says the blessing, breaks and distributes the loaves through his disciples to feed the multitude, prefigures the superabundance of [the] unique bread of his Eucharist.” The connection between today’s gospel passage of the multiplication of the loaves and the sacrament of the Eucharist was clear even to the early Church. In second-century catacombs, we find artistic representations of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves to symbolize the Eucharist.

Easter sends us out into the world to proclaim the good news, to call the multitudes of the peoples of the world to the waters of baptism, and also to the table of the Lord’s Body and Blood in the Eucharist. 

Just as the Lord fed the hungry crowd, the Lord feeds man’s deepest hunger with the Eucharist. All of us hunger for truth, justice, love, peace, and beauty. In a word, we are hungry for God. And that hunger is satisfied, here at the table of the altar. 

Sadly many Christians, like ill-natured children, refuse to eat what they are served; many refuse to sit at the table and sup. But here at the altar, we are sent out to them, to draw them back here, to Christ.

Unless you are born again of water and the spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, he told in Nicodemus. And unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you do not have life within you.

May the Eucharist, our food, our life, our joy, continue to sustain us for the work of the Church, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications.

For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.

For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ. 

For our own community, that it may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ, and that the newly initiated hold fast to the faith they have received. 

For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness through the Christian faith.

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.

31st Week in OT 2020 - Tuesday - The invitation to the great feast

We heard Matthew’s version of the Parable of the Great Feast a few weeks ago at Sunday Mass in which the king gives a wedding feast for his son. The king sends out invitations—but the first round of guests give excuses for not attending the wedding feast—“I have to take care of my cattle”, “I have business matters to attend to”, some simply ignored the invitation and went about their lives.

The guests in Luke’s version offer similar excuses: “I have to take care of my field”, “I have to go see about this stuff I just bought”, “I just got married”.

Maybe it’s because I’m Italian, and I love good food, but, who in their right mind who would give such excuses for turning down a great banquet, especially if you are invited to a banquet by a king! There’s going to be some very good food there! Where are your priorities? The cattle will still be there, the field will still be there, the wife will still be there, well, hopefully!

And that’s sort of the point of this parable, isn’t it? To cause us to examine our priorities. Every time we choose sin over virtue, we are settling for something less. Every time we are given by God an opportunity to serve the kingdom, and we make some excuse, we are settling for something less. We are refusing the invitation to the great feast—to fulfillment.

The parable is certainly addressing those who were refusing to believe in Jesus, and the invitation to follow him, they are giving excuses for rejecting the invitation to discipleship—to Christian conversion. But it also addresses all of us, who make excuses for rejecting deeper conversion, deeper holiness. 

May the holy Spirit help us to see our excuses for what they are, may He help us to identify those areas where the King is inviting us to something more, and may he help us to be like that servant whom the king sends out into the highways and hedgerows, to invite the poor, the hungry, and the lost to the wedding feast of the lamb, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

That all hearts might be opened to the invitations our good God makes to them—to repent, to believe, and to love. Let us pray to the Lord.

On this election day, that the Gospel of Life might guide the decisions of all voters, for civility and peace to prevail over all violence, and for special protection for those who work the polls, and our police, military and first responders, and the safety of innocents. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the healing of all those afflicted with physical, mental, emotional illness, for those in hospitals, nursing homes, hospice care, those struggling with addictions, for those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory for whom we pray in a special way during the month of November, and for N. for whom this Mass is offered. Let us pray to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, hear our prayers. May the grace of Christ Your Son, the Divine Physician, bring healing of our sinfulness, and make us worthy of the kingdom of heaven, through the same Christ our Lord.

28th Sunday in OT 2020 - Invitation to the Wedding Feast

 

To receive an invitation to anything is a bit of an honor.  It means someone enjoys our presence enough to invite us to be with them: a birthday or retirement party, a grand opening, a clambake fundraiser, to which all of you are invited next Saturday evening.  Another nice thing about an invitation is that we are free to accept or decline it.  A family birthday party might seem more of a duty than an option, but we are still free to accept the invitation or not.

Throughout Scripture, God is encountered as one who invites.  God invites us to friendship with Him.  God invites us to trust Him.  God invites us to eternal life in heaven.  God, the Father, sent His only Son, as a sort of living incarnate invitation, inviting us to follow Him in all things. Jesus often speaks of the invitation to follow Him.  

And, In the Gospel today, Jesus tells a parable comparing his Father to a king whose sends out invitations to a lavish wedding party.  A long time ago, all the way back before COVID-19, large groups of people, in fact, felt safe enough to gather to celebrate major events like weddings.   

Well, Jesus uses this image—the lavish wedding banquet filled with rich food, sweet wines, song, music, and dance—to describe heaven, in a way similar to Isaiah in our first reading, in which heaven is described as a mountain-top-feast filled with rich food and choice wine.

It's no coincidence that the Holy Mass, celebrated each Sunday contains some of these elements: food, wine, song, music, in some cultures, dance. I remember being at an ordination in Madagascar, where following the ordination mass, the entire gathering, including the bishop and priests broke out into a sort of conga line to celebrate the ordinations. The saints describe the Mass as a foretaste of heaven, in which God is encountered and joyfully worshipped. 

Outside of times, like our current one, where attending Mass must still be done cautiously, the invitation to attend mass and the invitation to heaven in eternity, virtually coincide. We come to Mass week after week to express our acceptance of the invitation to heaven. And to reject one is to reject the other…in normal times.

What an honor to be invited by God Himself to the wedding feast. To think, we, humanity, who rejected harmony with God in the garden of eden, and reject the invitation to faithfulness over and over in every stage of history, in every stage of life, continue to be invited by God himself into his presence—to communion with Him.

And yet, it’s pretty clear from Jesus’ parable that acceptance of the invitation is not forced on anybody. Christianity is not forced, mass attendance is not forced, heaven is not forced on us. And the choices we make in this life express whether we accept or decline the invitation. For, again, the parable is clear, if we reject the invitation, there will be eternal consequences.  For God will respect the decision to reject his invitation definitively.  

So what do we do about those who appear to be rejecting the invitation? What do we do about those family members who haven’t gone to church in a decade outside the occasional wedding or funeral. Or those in adulterous situations? We cannot change them.  We cannot force them to be here or to repent.  So what can we do?

For one, we can nudge, we can gently remind them of God’s invitation.  Though our society tells us never to discuss religion, Our Lord commands us to go out to all nations, to share the Gospel, to invite.  So we can gently remind family members of God’s invitation back to Church, in our conversations and interactions with them. In fact, it seems God expects us to. With mass attendance down a bit for various reasons, some gentle nudges are certainly needed. Many of our fellow parishioners, too, who haven’t returned to mass because of the virus or for various reasons, too, can be gentle invited back and reassured of the safety of what we are doing here. 

Secondly, every one of us should be praying on a daily basis for family members who appear to be rejecting God’s invitation.  For prayer is so powerful.  There are miracles God wishes to perform as answers to our prayers. So in our daily prayer, to lift up a fallen-away family member to God, to offer that rosary for them, is so powerful. 

Also, mortification and fasting.  Fasting, has been a powerful spiritual instrument in the history of the Church, practiced by the saints, as a means of bringing about conversion.  To fast, perhaps, on bread and water, once a week, for the conversion of a family member, has incomparable power.  

But, perhaps the greatest thing that we can do is to be filled with the Joy of the Gospel.  The witness of a Christian who is filled with joy because of their love of Christ and His Church draws others to God like a magnet. I never met Mother Theresa, but I met some of the sisters who worked along side her, who emulate her spirit, her attitude, her prayerfulness, and care for the poor.  They were brimming over with joy, super-magnets drawing others to Christ. They and so many good consecrated religious remind us that joy is discovered as we pour ourselves out in service. Authentic joy, Mother Theresa says, is a net of love for which to catch souls. One of the terrible thing about these masks is that they cover up joyful Christian faces.

A few years ago Pope Francis warned Christians about having “una cara de vinagre” he says in his native spanish—a face of vinegar.  Meaning, don’t be a sourpuss because it does not attract people to the Gospel.  The Pope offers a real challenge here, because the pilgrimage of the Christian is hard.  We are pilgrims on a hard journey.  And sometimes our own crosses feel terribly heavy.  In these times, then, we are called to turn to prayer and trust all the more, so that we can be refreshed by God, and witness to his saving help. 

For finally, God invites us each of us deeper into a loving and intimate relationship with Himself through prayer, to “spend time in spiritual conversation, in silent adoration, in heartfelt love before Christ present in the Most Holy Sacrament” of the Eucharist. At the Last Supper in fact, the Lord says, “I have told you all these things so that my joy might be in you, and your joy might be complete.” We believe what the Church teaches, we celebrate it in the sacraments, we follow it in our moral lives, and we engage in prayer, so that we can know the joyful life the Lord wants for each one of us—and again, that joy is a net of love to catch souls, to invite souls.

For, like the servants in the Gospel whom the king sends out into the towns and the streets, Christians are to be God’s inviters. Inviting back the fallen-away and inviting strangers, those out in the streets, in our neighborhood. And yet, we are also the ones whom the Lord invites to be people of greater peace, hospitality, gentleness, and Christian joy.  

As we come forward to receive the most Holy Sacrament today, may our hearts be open to all the gifts God invites us to receive for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

2nd Week of OT 2020 - Monday - The Bridegroom's mysterious invitation

Although Jewish law required fasting only once a year, on the Day of atonement, the Pharisees practiced fasting twice a week. The disciples of John the Baptist apparently imitated John’s ascetic lifestyle as well, fasting often as a sign of devotion to God and as a sign of repentance for sins. In contrast, we read in this morning’s Gospel how Jesus and his disciples are not only practicing minimal fasting, they are seen feasting with sinners.

When questioned about his practice, the Lord answers in a way that becomes quite typical of his ministry, he answers with a rhetorical question inviting his critics to a deeper level of understanding, in this case, a deeper understanding of his identity.

Fasting would be fine, if he were just another itinerant preacher. Fasting would be fitting, if he was simply a devout Jew seeking to imitate the currently popular religious faction, the Pharisees. But the Lord answers the question about his fasting with another question: “can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?”

Jesus’ ministry is different than anything that had come before. And so he and his disciples will appear to act differently, especially in regard to popular conceptions of holiness.

So too, Christians, our behavior will likely appear strange to non-believers. Our values are different from the world. The topics of our conversations are different. We pour over ancient texts and the wisdom of saints who have been dead for hundreds of years. We pause from the daily grind of pursuing wealth and power, to pray, to meditate, to contemplate the presence of God. And we leave the comfort of our safe routines to serve others, to feed the hungry and clothe the naked.

And through prayer, repentance, and works of mercy, our lives begin to take on the characteristics of that original group of disciples: joy, generosity, courage, self-sacrifice, even the occasional miracle or two. Our strange way of life, though, contains an invitation to others to seek faith and intimacy with the Lord Jesus, that they too may have life.

We honor today, St. Sebastian, a soldier in the Roman army who was arrested for his kindness to imprisoned Christians who awaited their martyrdom during the Roman persecution. Artistic depictions often show Sebastian standing by a Roman column with arrows sticking out of him, having miraculously survived his execution.

This strange scene is not unlike our Gospel: God mysteriously breaking into the world, confounding popular expectations, but with a sense of invitation: those who belong to the world of death and violence and unbelief, are invited into this mysterious company of the disciples of Jesus Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our heart for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her and care for her.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may grant them relief and move Christians to come to the aid of the suffering.

For the safety of all those traveling to the March for Life this week in Washington D.C., and that the witness to the dignity of human life may bring about greater protection for the unborn and conversion to the Gospel of Life.

For our beloved dead, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

Tuesday - 31st Week in OT 2017 - The Parable of the Great Feast

Two of the great themes of Luke’s Gospel come together in our reading today. As we reflected upon yesterday, over and over in Luke’s Gospel, we see Jesus eating and dining, and using those opportunities at table to teach. Today’s passage is the 10th such “table discourse” and Jesus offers a parable on one of his favorite topics, the kingdom of God.

One of his fellow dinner guests utters a surprisingly accurate statement: “Blessed is the one who will dine [literally, eat bread] in the kingdom of God.” Jesus then tells a parable about the eschatological banquet at the end of time

In the symbolic language of the parable, the host is God and His servants are the prophets, and three groups of people have been invited to this banquet.

The first group knew they had been invited, but they didn’t appreciate the great honor and gave some pretty lame excuses for not attending the banquet. Jesus was certainly addressing the Jews of his day, particularly the Scribes and Pharisees, those who believed themselves to be assured a place in the heavenly kingdom. But through their failure to believe, they would be excluded.

This could be applied to Christians of our own day who do not take the faith seriously, we see Catholicism as more of a cultural identity than a way of life. These are those who are more concerned with earthly concerns and possessions and social relationships, than the call to conversion.

The second group consists of the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. This group accepts the Lord’s invitation. And though they are dispossessed and alienated in this life, their hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied in eternity. Here is a call to turn to the Lord in our spiritual poverty, and trust in his promises.

The third group consists of those in the highways and hedgerows. This third invitation symbolizes the evangelization of the Gentile nations of the earth by the Church throughout the centuries. Many accept the Gospel of the Lord, but many do not.  But we are called to faithfully share the Gospel, to extend the invitation to believe in the Lord and follow Him.

To these, Jesus uses some pretty strong language: make them come in, almost…almost…force them to accept. Be persistent in the invitation. There are people too embarrassed, too laden with guilt, too broken to accept the Gospel themselves. They silently cry out for someone to lead and guide them into the Church. Although their words and actions push you away, their spirit is crying out for God to send a leader to break open the path. So persistent, drag them to Church and to parish events and service opportunities.

As St. Paul teaches, “Do not grow slack but be fervent in Spirit; He Whom you serve is the Lord." For the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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During this National Vocations Week, for an increase in vocations to priesthood and consecrated life, and that our young people may take seriously the missionary call of Christ, that they will turn away from the godlessness of our culture to spread the good news of Christ’s eternal kingdom.

That world leaders may look upon the Son of God, believe in him, and seek the peace and justice that only he can bring.

For the healing of all those afflicted with physical, mental, emotional illness, for those in hospitals, nursing homes, hospice care, those struggling with addictions, for those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for deceased clergy and religious, for those who have fought and died for our freedom, we pray to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, hear our prayers. May the grace of Christ Your Son, the Divine Physician, bring healing of our sinfulness, and make us worthy of the kingdom of heaven, through the same Christ our Lord.