33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Jesus Christ never leaves us without Hope.

Recently I have become acquainted with a man who shared his story that, as a young man from an abusive and drug-addicted family, he found himself on the streets, homeless, fleeing the chaos of his home life.  One Sunday morning he found himself, as a homeless person, sitting on a bench outside a Catholic church during Mass.  As parishioners were coming out of the church after Mass, he encountered a couple who stopped, reached out and talked with him.  Noticing the homeless man did not have a coat, the husband immediately gave him his coat before they went on their way.  The homeless man found himself wondering — what made that couple different from all the others he had encountered in his walk as a homeless person?  As time went on, he got into a stable situation, landed a job, got married and had a family of his own, and that question in his heart from that day led him to become a Catholic himself.  Today he and his wife are discerning his call to a vocation to ordained ministry as a Deacon in the Church. 

Jesus Christ never leaves us without Hope.


The scripture and Gospel passages today contain a lot of disconcerting, and perhaps even scary, imagery regarding the end times: blazing fires, destruction of the Temple, wars, insurrections, deceit, persecutions, and death.  But notice how these prophecies conclude:


”But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays”


“...but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.  By your perseverance you will secure your lives."


Jesus Christ never leaves us without Hope.


How fitting that we should be reminded of Hope, about Hope in the midst of the tribulations of our lives and world, as we move towards the end of this liturgical year, the Jubilee Year of Hope.  It is this same Hope that Pope Leo XIV draws our attention to on this Sunday, the World Day of the Poor in his message for the day, entitled “You are my Hope.”  In this message Pope Leo instructs us on the relationship between the poor, ourselves, and Hope, and of our collective responsibility to Hope.  Here is what Pope Leo writes:


The poor are not a distraction for the Church, but our beloved brothers and sisters, for by their lives, their words and their wisdom, they put us in contact with the truth of the Gospel.


[They] can be witnesses to a strong and steadfast hope, precisely because they embody it in the midst of uncertainty, poverty, instability and marginalization. They cannot rely on the security of power and possessions; … Their hope must necessarily be sought elsewhere.


God took on their poverty in order to enrich us through their voices, their stories and their faces. Every form of poverty, without exception, calls us to experience the Gospel concretely and to offer effective signs of hope. (1)


Pope Leo reminds us that in encountering the poor among us, we encounter hope in Christ the Servant who washes both our feet.  In serving our poor brothers and sisters — poor in whatever means — serving them in acts of charity and kindness, we find ourselves in the presence of Christ who shows us true Hope, Faith and Charity.  We too are fed, washed and healed while we do the same for our brothers and sisters. 

While we are fed at this table of Charity, Pope Leo reminds us that we have a responsibility to serve at it.


Hope is born of faith, which nourishes and sustains it on the foundation of charity, the mother of all virtues. All of us need charity, here and now. Charity is not just a promise; it is a present reality to be embraced with joy and responsibility… to offer new signs of hope that will bear witness to Christian charity… (1)


We are called to the responsibility of charity: it is not an optional thing!  Each act of charity is an act of kindness, compassion, mercy.  Sometimes they are big acts; and sometimes they are small acts of charity in support of a big act, like contributing time or goods to our food pantry or community Thanksgiving dinner, the Giving Tree or Angel Tree party.  And sometimes they are small acts of reaching out, listening, or encouragement.  We can all offer those acts of charity and all of us need that charity.  Do not give into the temptation that even the simplest act of charity, of kindness, is not of great value!  Giving into that temptation leads us to indifference and inaction, which Pope Leo teaches “robs our [brothers and sisters] of hope.”   

Kindness matters!  Never underestimate that your kindness, your charity, can be a lifeline of hope and light in what might be a dark moment or period in another person's life.  Each little act of charity is a stone which we build into the wall of a great temple of Hope, the cornerstone and master-builder of which is Christ himself.  A temple of Hope built of living stones which beckons the world into communion with the One who is Eternal Hope, Light and Life.  As Jesus Christ gives us Hope, let us persevere in acts of charity and kindness, despite the tribulations of all going on around us and in us, and share that Hope with one another.


(1)  Pope Leo XIV. Message of the Holy Father for the 9th World Day of the Poor: You are my Hope

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

By Rev. Christopher Welch • July 1, 2026
On this July 4th weekend, we recall our land’s independence from a foreign king and a foreign government. We have thrown off the yoke of King George III; we are a free and independent nation. For 250 years we have been learning what it means to live as an independent and free society. Today Jesus invites us to consider taking upon a yoke as we go forward as disciples of him. The yoke of King George was too heavy for this nation, but the yoke of our God, we are told by Jesus, “is easy and light.” What is the yoke of Jesus? The yoke of Jesus is about the kingdom of God, learning to love others as we love ourselves. As disciples of Jesus we take on the yoke of the Gospel. When life feels heavy, we turn to our God, and our God helps to make our burdens light. There are many things in life that may seem like a yoke, a burden, but if we look at them in a new way, we see our God helping us to carry our burden. As Jesus invites us to consider the childlike, let me share with you a story: The Fable of The Birds At the beginning of time, all the animals were walking around discovering what it was like to be alive. All except the birds! They were doing nothing but complaining because God had given them a heavy burden that he’d given to no other animals: those awkward appendages on their shoulders. God must be punishing them somehow. Why did they have to carry these things around, making it hard to walk? “Why?" they asked. “Why us?” Finally, two or three of the more adventurous birds began to move their appendages. They began to flutter them, and soon they discovered that the very things they regarded as a burden actually made it possible for them to fly. And no other animals could fly. The “heavy burden” turned out to be a wonderful gift. Is there something in your life that at first glance seemed a burden, but later was seen as a gift? One reason why we value the innocent and simple among us is that they can help us to see life and who we are with new eyes. The simple or innocent can sometimes help us see what we thought was a burden as a gift. In the lives of the saints, we read about many who took what seemed to be a burden and made it an asset: The first disciples were simple fishermen. They were not scholarly, they couldn’t read, but they took their experience of Jesus and let it form them as disciples. What was a burden became an asset. Peter denied the Lord on the eve of his death. This made him more compassionate to sinners and those who struggled to have courage. Paul was blinded for 3 days; a former killer of Christians saw with new eyes and preached the good news to the Gentiles. Thomas doubted the Resurrection but came to faith in his doubt. Theresa the Little Flower loved Jesus and others with the simple love of a child of God. St. Kateri looked for and saw God present in the trees and the nature of the forests where she made her home. Mother Teresa of Calcutta saw our Lord present in the sick and dying in India. Blessed Stan Rother, a farmer’s son from Oklahoma who couldn’t read Latin, learned to speak in the native tongue of the men and women who he ministered with in Guatemala. With the eyes of a child, with childlike faith, we learn to see the burdens we carry as paths to faith in the help and care of our God. Let us give thanks today for the gift of freedom and let us give thanks for the gift of our God who makes our burdens light.

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

By Rev. Christopher Welch • June 28, 2026
Our readings today speak of hospitality: In the first reading from 2 Kings, we hear how the woman made a room for the prophet Elisha. In the letter to the Hebrews, we read, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” In the Gospel, Jesus speaks, “and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” Hospitality is the essence of the life as a Christian. Many religious communities include this action as part of their rule. Hospitality is not easy. It seems that people are not in need on my schedule. Hospitality means stopping my actions and attending to others for a time. People are not in need on my schedule. Yet if I neglect them, I may miss out on entertaining angels. This summer there will be many who are in need. To them we offer our time and our hospitality. We are fortunate in our community that a hot meal is available seven days a week. I meet many in need when I stop to help out at Saturday’s Bread. Catholic Charities provides lunches to our students in July and August. You may want to consider helping to provide meals to our homeless and our students in the summer. It is so easy to get caught up in my schedule and I miss the chance to meet Christ in my neighbors and to miss out on entertaining angels. One thing I admired about Bishop Hubbard is that when he spoke to you, you were made to feel you were the most important person. As he spoke to you, he was moving on down the line, but for that moment you felt important, you were the most important person at that moment. How often do we make others feel that they are taking up our time or are a burden? On Thursday we celebrated LEON Day (Noel spelled backwards), which reminds us that we are six months away from Christmas. Maybe this is a good time to revisit a Christmas story. La Befana: The Witch of Christmas By Il Postino Staff and Tessa Derksen The legend of Befana began thousands of years ago and remains to this day a tradition practiced by Italian children and their families. As the story goes, one day, the three Magi left their country bearing special gifts of gold, incense and myrrh for the new-born Jesus Christ. They were guided by a star across many countries. At every village that they passed, people ran to meet them and accompany them in their journey. But there was one old woman who did not join the Magi. She claimed to be too busy with her housework and promised to join them later when she had time. The next day, she realized her mistake and frantically ran after the Magi with gifts for the child, still clutching her broom. But it was too late – the Magi were long gone. Let us not be too busy to meet Christ in our neighbors. Let us not be a Befana.

A Reflection on Magnifica Humanitas

By Rev. Christopher Welch • June 21, 2026
The last two popes chose names that pointed out what their main concern in their ministry would be. Pope Francis took the name of a man who advocated for the poor among us. Pope Leo XIV took the name of the pope who advocated for dignity of the workers in the world. Pope Leo XIII wrote the first encyclical speaking of the dignity of workers. His encyclical Rerum Novarum spoke of how the church should be an instrument for change in the world. Pope Leo XIV, in his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas , addresses his concern for the use of AI in our world. AI used in the correct way can be of benefit to humanity. Used in the wrong way, AI can lead to taking away the humanity of people. He uses two images to speak of AI. AI used in the wrong way can be like the Tower of Babel. The Tower of Babel, as found in the book of Genesis, was a tower built by people who sought glory for themselves. They had a single technology, a single goal all directed toward themselves without a concern for God. They started out united and the project caused division. Here is how Pope Leo puts it in his encyclical: The result is not unity, but dispersion. Babel thus reveals the limits of any effort that, however grandiose, arises from self-affirmation, sacrifices human dignity for efficiency and aspires to reach heaven without God’s blessing. The second image is taken from the book of Nehemiah, where the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt. This is the image for the correct use of AI -- a technology that unites people, with God at the center, and preserves the dignity of the human person. Again, Pope Leo: It is an undertaking with God at the center, which rebuilds relationships before rebuilding with stones. Thus, ancient Jerusalem rediscovers a common language -- not one of uniformity, but one of communion, namely the harmony that arises when all persons assume their own role and recognize that their strength comes from the Lord. The pope expresses concern that AI may be used in ways that deny the unique nature of humans. As we go forward, we need to decide what we will build: will we build a Tower of Babel or the city of Jerusalem? The Pope ends his reflections by giving Mary’s song, the Magnificat , as the example on how we go forward: With the same faith as Mary, let us become “weavers of hope” in our world, sharing who we are and what we have, so that the presence of Jesus may grow among us and his Kingdom take shape. In the humble fidelity of daily life, even the era of AI can become a time in which the Holy Spirit brings about the civilization of love in our lives. Indeed, the Lord continues to make all things new and offers every era the possibility of becoming part of salvation history in the light of the Incarnation. I entrust our desire to the Mother of Christ, to the Woman of the Magnificat, that she may guide our steps through this time of change and preserve in each of us true faith in the Gospel, so that we may bear witness to the grandeur of humanity, in which God has made his dwelling.