In this homily, part 2 of 4 of the preaching series on the lay commitment to the common good, given Sunday, October 20, 2024 Dcn. Josh presents the Church's teaching on the intrinsic dignity of human life and it's need to be protected by our vote.

God sees each person through the lens of the Cross, and we need to as well when we vote.

The U.S. bishops have reaffirmed that protecting the right to life of all people is the preeminent focus of Catholic voting. Abortion is killing Americans 13 times faster than WWII did. We need to use our vote as a voice for those in the womb without the ability to protect themselves or protest.

God's infinite mercy is always available for those who have had an abortion.

On Sunday October 13th, 2024 Fr Mathias preaches part one of four-part homily series on the Lay Commitment to the Common Good. This series is geared to help Catholics think critically about their responsibility to promote the common good through voting.

In this first homily, Fr Mathias identifies various temptations that Christians face when approaching politics and five points that we should remember when voting as Catholics this fall.

1) We are to vote with a well-formed conscience
2) When voting, not all issues carry the same moral weight
3) It's legitimate to vote for the "lesser of two evils"
4) Love those who disagree with you
5) Remember that the real source of our problems in our country is sin in the human heart that only Jesus can save us from.

Each of the following homilies in the series are about non-negotiable issues which are at the foundation of the common good.

On Sunday October 6th, Fr. Mathias unveils and makes a pitch for the Stewardship for Saints and Scholars Campaign, an urgent initiative of Bishop Boyea to support the passing on of the faith through Catholic education. To see the video that was watched by the congregation during the homily click here: https://stewardshipforsaintsandscholars.com/watch/

In this homily, given Sunday, September 29th 2024, Dcn. Josh calls us all to exercise our role as prophets through our baptisms. As prophets, we are called to hear God's word, and speak it to others.

Father Joshua Fons speaks to the Men on Sunday, September 22nd, 2024 about the ways masculinity is under attack in our culture, and how Jesus, the New Adam, gives us the Model of true masculinity. Jesus shows us what true greatness looks like, and our world desperately needs men like Him.

In this homily given Sunday, September 15, 2024, Fr. Mathias preaches on the difficulty and suffering involved in following Jesus to heaven. But Jesus never asked us to try to follow him on our own. After outlining parts of the Pathway of Discipleship, the comprehensive strategy of making disciples at St Pat's, Father casts vision on the power of small discipleship groups in helping us persevere in following Jesus to heaven. If we try to follow Jesus on our own, we might grow discouraged and give up. But when disciples are known and loved and share deeply about their joys and struggles in small groups, they are much more likely to thrive in the Christian life and persevere to heaven. For more information on our pathway of discipleship, please see our website. https://www.stpatrickcatholicparish.org/discipleship-pathway

In this homily given on Sunday, September 8th, 2024, Father Joshua Fons speaks into the reality of our very hurried and frantic lives: lives full of restlessness, distraction, and anxiety; lives spent glued to a Smartphone. Why are we in such a hurry? Because we don't allow Jesus to take us away from the crowd, from all the noise, to heal us. Because we don't spend time in Silence with Him, allowing him to speak to our hearts about who we are. If you feel like life is going at a hundred miles an hour and you have had enough, give this homily a listen.

In this homily given Sunday September 1st, 2024, Deacon Josh expounds upon the fact that God lowers himself to us most profoundly in the Eucharist; which allows us to live pure and undefiled lives and remain unstained by the world.