Saint + Elizabeth + Ann + Seton + Parish

If you want faith, learn to trust God in small things and big alike; learn to trust that God has a plan and it is being worked out in our midst, even if you or I don’t see it or understand it.  You and I — and our anxieties — are not the center of the universe (as disappointing as that truth may be): God is.  Learn to believe that truth and your faith will be increased!Download Transcript

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Why would anyone “choose” hell? It is one’s own choice. Of course most people do not make the choice of hell explicitly; people choose hell passively by choosing other things above God. What kinds of choices lead people into hell? There is a stereotypical list of mortal sins, but nothing is said about the rich man in this story being sexually immoral or running an abortion clinic. This is a story of a man who chooses hell when he chooses to do nothing.Download Transcript

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Discipleship always takes place within a given socio-political climate, and Christian discipleship is not primarily a temporal political endeavor. Discipleship will always be subversive when it is properly understood and practiced. This is because no earthly socio-political structure is ever conformed totally to the Kingdom of God. When a nation-state is relatively “good” it is still not worthy of ultimate allegiance. When a nation-state is oppressive (and many Christians have suffered under such in the Church’s history), God’s people still obey the government to the extent they can––but all the more give ultimate allegiance to the King whose Kingdom goes beyond anything we can yet fully imagine.Download Transcript

Humility is the route to true happiness. Humble heart, contrite heart— that is the route to greatness. That’s the point of the parable. So the lesson we learn from the gospel (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082816.cfm) today is about humility—how you and I and all of us need some humility in our lives.

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time When Jesus said he had not come to bring peace but to bring division, he was talking about the effect of his coming, not that this was the purpose of his coming. Later in his Gospel Luke reports Jesus clearly saying, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). God desires our salvation; that was the purpose for Jesus coming. Yet God gives everyone free will–the freedom and responsibility to choose, and there are some who will not submit to God.Download Transcript

“The first parishioner I met from Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton was Seminarian Rick Mowery, about two years ago. At that time, I didn’t know his father, but I could tell, then, he must be a good Dad, because I met his son. Throughout the summer, as I have gotten to know more of the parishioners here at Elizabeth Ann Seton, I realize that Father Mowery not only reflects the faith of his family, but also of everyone here at his church.”Download transcript

So what is prayer? Rather than a desperate last resort, prayer is the natural breath of a human spirit that was created to know God. Prayer is a way of always being in touch with our Father in heaven.Download transcript

Brothers and sisters, recognize who we are—the Body of Christ—and that we are truly brothers and sisters with those around the world who suffer pain and violence, whose hearts are breaking, and whose eyes day and night stream with tears. Ours is an invitation to weep with Jesus at the pain of this world, and to pray with Jesus that the grace and mercy of God, a loving Father, will change the hearts of those who plot violence and refuse mercy.

 Christian Faith is a gift from God that is meant to open our eyes to an entirely new and different way of seeing. We are immersed in love and goodness. We are given every reason for hope.Download Transcript

Enjoyment is an action; it’s not an attitude. Enjoyment is not in the actor, but it is in the action. And therefore it comes to an end when the action is complete….In the words of Saint Francis de Sales, let us bloom where we are planted, in the awareness of God’s presence among us. And this alone fills our hearts with joy that cannot be snatched away by any despair, loss, pain, or suffering of this world. 

We light an Advent candle—one, two, three, four candles—to remind us of light that is ever increasing in our world, the grace of the Lord ever growing in our hearts, the mercy and joy of God Himself ever growing stronger in the midst of this world. Why don’t we pay more attention to that than we do to the voices of darkness and of evil and of threat? We can tune our ears to hear one or the other.

Just imagine what would happen a year from now if all of us think, "I have no time at all, not one minute, without Christ." The world would be a lot better. By virtue of our Baptism in the Lord, we are all fully equipped with every grace we need to cooperate with God’s plan, and our Lord provides us with the graces of the other sacraments throughout our lives… Download Transcript

 As we enter Advent, with the Church calling us to a hope and peace that can seem more fairy tale than reality, the world counters with surface celebrations and the enticement of more and bigger things. Which voice are we going to listen to in these coming weeks: the threatening voices, the diversionary voices, or the voice of God that blows through the Scriptures and the Church?Download Transcript

(November 29, 2015)  In the believing heart there is little room for anxiety and fear. Though the little deaths that come to us all bring darkness for a time, there is a light that grows brighter the nearer we march toward the end of time. The Advent wreath reminds us of that in a gentle yet powerful way.  One candle, two, three, and four… then Jesus arrives calmly and quietly in a silent night so brightly illuminated by God’s grace that the world sings of angels and hope and new birth.Download Transcript

(November 22, 2015) For my part, I count it among my greatest blessing from God to have been assigned to this parish. And on this Thanksgiving Day, I give thanks to God for the gift that you are—not only to me but to one another. As I have said so often, I say again, from the depths of my heart, this is a parish filled with saints. And each saint sitting in the pews today, has a story to tell of how God brought them, through the twists and turns of life, right here, today. May we never take for granted the grace of God that works in surprising ways, but always keep our eyes open to see what wonderful surprise the Lord has in store for us next.

(November 15, 2015) The Christian life is a life lived in communion with fellow believers, and it’s not just “me and Jesus.” The normal Christian life is a life that recognizes a need to share faith, hope, and love with others of like mind, strengthening and encouraging each other, as well as inviting others to the joy and hope of the life of Christ.

(November 8, 2015) Can we look back and see in our recurring embarrassments and frustrations, and even in our guilt, our underlying desire for what is right and true and good? In our hearts we know there is more, and the deepest truth is that the God who created me wants more for my life, just as I do.Download Transcript

(November 1, 2015) The Lord’s plan is that He enter our hearts and change us from the inside, and out of the overflowing of goodness within us, we will want to do good, and we want to change the world.  It first begins with the human heart.