This week, Fr. John Gribowich and Alicia Washington discuss the readings from last Sunday and the role of rest in our spiritual life. We celebrate our reopening for Sunday Mass and Kayla Risch’s baptism and initiation into the Church.
Author: St. Charles Borromeo
Book Discussion of Field Hospital Begins on Thursday
Join us on Thursday at 7:00 PM as we start the discussion of a new book Field Hospital: The Church’s Engagement With a Wounded World by William T. Cavanaugh. Field Hospital is inspired by the pastoral vision of Pope Francis, and has chapters entitled: “Are Corporation People? The Corporate Form and the Body of Christ” and “Actually, You Can’t Be Anything You Want (and It’s a Good Thing Too).” A serious, but fun read!
For the first meeting, we’ll discuss the Introduction and Chapter 1 (“Are Corporations People? The Corporate Form and the Body of Christ”), pages 1-31.
Online Community Mass – 15th Sunday Ordinary Time – 7/12 11:15 am EDT
Please join us for our Online Community Mass for the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Sunday, July 12 at 11:15 AM EDT.
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: July 12
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
Watering the Seeds God Has Sown – David Austin
David Austin in Bhutan where he helped to set up that country’s first law school.
This Sunday’s reading from the Gospel (Matthew 13:1-23) emphasizes the important role that our surroundings play with respect to the ability to develop our God-given potential. The parable of the sower is one that has occupied my thoughts repeatedly over the past year, during which time I had the privilege of living in Brooklyn Heights, teaching at Brooklyn Law School, and attending St. Charles Borromeo parish. As I started my new job, settled into my new community, and introduced myself to Father Bill, I couldn’t help but wonder about the quality of the soil in my new surroundings. Would I grow in my faith and would that faith bear fruit? Or would it wither away, suffocated by worldly anxiety and the potential damage that comes from repotting a plant with fragile roots?
As a gay man, I cannot take for granted that every community will be welcoming and inclusive. Even within our Church, unfortunately, there have been many examples of intolerance towards members of the LGBT community. In Illinois, for example, the Bishop of Springfield instructed priests in his diocese to refuse Communion and funeral rites to persons in a same-sex marriage. I belong to that group: my husband and I have been in a committed relationship for a quarter of a century and were civilly married in Illinois as soon as it became legal to do so. Continue reading “Watering the Seeds God Has Sown – David Austin”
15th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Harmony in the Kingdom of Heaven
Man Holding Basket, Duong Tri, Unsplash
15th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Romans 8:18–23
July 12, 2020
No other letter of St Paul is read as much as Romans in the liturgy and no part of it as intently as Romans 8. As we saw last week, it answers the question:
Wretched man that I am!
Who will rescue me from this body of death?
(Rom. 7:24–25)
Paul boldly told us that it was Jesus and him alone. He will rescue us not by a decree, but by joining his life to ours. We will live “in” his Spirit. Paul, ever the good Jew, believed that the human being had two inclinations: abandonment to God and reliance on material things. They did not play well together. He begins today with:
Consider that the sufferings of this present time
are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us.
(Rom. 8:18)
This is not only nor even principally a conflict with Rome or indeed with fellow Jews but a battle within us. Which inclination will guide us, will we choose God or the world?
It was a great insight of the Jews that this was not merely psychological or even sociological and political but cosmic in nature. Continue reading “15th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Harmony in the Kingdom of Heaven”
14th Sunday Ordinary Time – Homily (Fr. Gribowich)
Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE with license #A-730437.
Transcript: (apologies for audio issues)
Good morning, everyone! It’s so such a great blessing to be back here physically in the church. I know it’s still kind of awkward – I have to just be looking in one direction it seems like at this mass, as this side has been quarantined off, except for Monsignor – so thank you for holding the fort down on that side of the church.
And as well a very warm welcome to all the brothers and sisters at St. Augustine, St. Francis Xavier, anyone else you may be zooming in to this Mass. So as you know, we’re going to be doing this hybrid type of model for some time where we are able to gather in person, but we’ll be continuing to be able to Zoom the Mass as well. So once you are feeling comfortable to return, you can return, but until that time, you can also just be able to continue to zoom into the Mass. Continue reading “14th Sunday Ordinary Time – Homily (Fr. Gribowich)”
Online Community Mass – 14th Sunday Ordinary Time – 7/5 11:15 am EDT
Please join us for our Online Community Mass for the 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Sunday, July 5 at 11:15 AM EDT. This will be our first public Sunday Mass at the Church since the shutdown.
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: July 5
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