Wishing you every blessing this Sunday. We wore Rose vestments today in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Here’s my Sunday homily on the theme of real faith.
This weekend we also celebrate the Feast of St. Francis. Below the readings, you’ll find an intercessory prayer through St. Francis for pets, a prayer for all of us, and one for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Have a beautiful Sunday, dear friends. God bless you always.
~Fr. Rich
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 141
Reading 1
How long, O LORD? I cry for help
but you do not listen!
I cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not intervene.
Why do you let me see ruin;
why must I look at misery?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and clamorous discord.
Then the LORD answered me and said:
Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets,
so that one can read it readily.
For the vision still has its time,
presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;
if it delays, wait for it,
it will surely come, it will not be late.
The rash one has no integrity;
but the just one, because of his faith, shall live.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Reading 2
Beloved:
I remind you, to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.
So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,
nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the gospel
with the strength that comes from God.
Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from me,
in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Guard this rich trust with the help of the Holy Spirit
that dwells within us.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of the Lord remains forever.
This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
The Lord replied,
“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this mulberry tree,
‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
“Who among you would say to your servant
who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field,
‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’?
Would he not rather say to him,
‘Prepare something for me to eat.
Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink.
You may eat and drink when I am finished’?
Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?
So should it be with you.
When you have done all you have been commanded,
say, ‘We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.’”
A Prayer for Pets, Their Caretakers, and Those We Have Loved and Lost
For the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi
Loving God,
You have set the whole world in motion and filled it with creatures great and small.
On this feast of St. Francis, we give thanks for the animals who share our lives.
They remind us of Your gentleness, Your playfulness, and Your faithfulness.
Bless our pets who live among us now,
the companions who comfort us in sorrow and join us in our joy.
Keep them healthy, safe, and at peace in our homes.
Bless also those who care for them—veterinarians, shelter workers, rescuers, and all who labor quietly to protect and nurture them.
Grant them wisdom, patience, and a share in the tenderness of St. Francis.
And Lord, we remember the animals who have gone before us.
We grieve them because we loved them,
and we trust that in Your mercy, the life You gave them is not lost.
Grant us comfort in the hope that all creation will one day be renewed in Your presence.
As St. Francis once prayed,
“Praised be You, my Lord, for all Your creatures,”
so we praise You, God of every living thing,
through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
A Prayer for Us Through the Intercession of St. Francis
Most loving God,
You called St. Francis to follow Christ in simplicity and joy.
Through his intercession, teach us to love as he loved—
to walk gently on the earth,
to see Your image in every person,
to care tenderly for the poor and the suffering,
and to live in harmony with all Your creatures.
Grant us hearts of peace in a troubled world,
faith that trusts You in every season,
and hope that shines even in the shadows.
Help us, like Francis, to rebuild Your Church wherever it is in need,
and to be instruments of Your mercy and reconciliation.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
A Prayer for Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Loving and Merciful God,
In this month of awareness, we bring before You all who are living with breast cancer—
those newly diagnosed, those in treatment, and those in remission.
Grant them courage in their trials, hope in their uncertainty, and peace in their hearts.
We pray for families and friends who walk beside their loved ones in this journey.
Strengthen them with patience and tenderness, and sustain them with Your grace.
Bless the doctors, nurses, researchers, and caregivers who labor to bring healing and comfort.
Give them wisdom, skill, and compassion in their work.
We remember with love those whom we have lost to this disease.
Receive them into Your eternal light, where there is no more pain or suffering.
Lord, stir our hearts to greater compassion and our society to deeper care,
so that one day this illness will no longer bring fear or loss.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Coming This Week on Message From the Margins
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How to Pray When You Don’t Know What to Say
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Loneliness: The Silent Epidemic
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Reclaiming Jesus: Finding and Living Christ’s True Teachings in a World Where Christianity Feels Lost
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5 Lies Christians Are Told About Themselves
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