Mother Cabrini: Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin (2 John 4-9; Psalm 119:1, 2, 10, 11, 17, 18; Luke 17:26-37)

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini was born on July 15, 1850 in northern Italy, east of Turin.  She became known as Mother Cabrini, and became the first United States citizen to be canonized a saint.

Born two months premature, she was the youngest of 13 children (only four survived past adolescence).  She suffered from delicate health throughout her life.

As a child she loved playing by a local canal and her uncle Luigi's house.  She would fold paper boats and load them with violets, which she pretended were her "missionaries" that were sailing toward China.

She received Confirmation at age eight and First Communion at nine, in the process developing a strong devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the missions of Saint Francis Xavier.

After earning a teaching degree, her initial applications to join religious orders were rejected due to her poor health. She spent years teaching and managing an orphanage in nearby Codogno.

In 1880, she founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC). Though she originally longed to serve as a missionary in China, Pope Leo XIII directed her to go to the United States to serve the growing population of impoverished Italian immigrants.  In his reply, he said, "Not to the East, but to the West".

She arrived in New York City on March 31, 1889, where she faced initial rejection and hostility from local church leadership (including Archbishop Michael Corrigan) and widespread anti-Italian prejudice.

Refusing to return to Italy, she established her first American orphanage in West Park, New York.  It is now known as the Saint Cabrini Home.

Over 35 years, Mother Cabrini established 67 institutions—including orphanages, schools, nurseries, and hospitals—across the United States (New York, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, New Orleans), Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe.

She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1909 to secure the legal foundation of her order and to demonstrate solidarity with those she served.

Mother Cabrini died on December 22, 1917, at the age of 67 at Columbus Hospital in Chicago due to health complications.

Following two attributed miracles (the first, restoring sight to a blinded infant and the other, healing a terminally ill nun), she was beatified in 1938 by Pope Pius XI and canonized on July 7, 1946, by Pope Pius XII.

In 1950, the Vatican named her the patron saint of immigrants. Her feast day is celebrated on November 13.

The legacy of Saint Cabrini continues today with the many orphanages, schools and hospitals founded in the wake of her missionary discipleship. In 1926, Saint Cabrini’s Mission achieved her original goal of sending missionaries to China.

The life of Mother Cabrini offers powerful lessons on resilience, leadership, and compassion. As well as examples of how we can often see signs of God’s calling for us in our childhood as well as the abundant fruits that can be produced when we embrace missionary discipleship.

Imitating Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!

Thanks be to God!

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Omitting Discipleship: Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Philemon 7-20; Psalm 146:7, 8-9a, 9bc-10; Luke 17:20-25)

In our Gospel reading today, Jesus reminds us that the Kingdom of God is in our midst.  The Kingdom is particularly in our midst in the Eucharist and through the Sacramental life of His Church, but also in the needs of the people around us.

I believe this theme is at the heart of the challenge Archbishop Lori gives us this month.  In the challenge, he says, “Sin can be categorized in two ways, sins of commission and sins of omission. We ask God to forgive us of both kinds of sins in the main form of the Confiteor at Mass — “in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do.” It is a sin to do evil, and it is a sin to neglect one’s moral obligations. The true disciple sees the suffering Jesus in the poor, the sick, the oppressed and the lonely — and offers what he can to help.”

The Confiteor reminds us that our responsibility to God involves both what we do and what we fail to do. This is especially important when considering the Kingdom of God. We cannot simply avoid doing evil and assume that we are living as faithful disciples. We must also actively do good.

 

You may recall that Pope Francis wrote that it is time for us to be bruised, hurting and dirty because we have been out on the streets.  This is our call to assess the needs of those in our midst, and ultimately be the love of Christ for them.  

This is ultimately the call of the transformation the Parish is undergoing to move from maintenance to mission.  The transformation to make Missionary Discipleship the primary focus of our mission.

Archbishop Lori challenges us to be aware of those in need around us, as the life of Saint Josaphat reminds us, and to take action to serve those in need.  

Again, the key word is action.   Our invitation is to walk with others to Christ in the Sacramental life. Our invitation is to help them have a real encounter with Christ in the Sacraments.  Our invitation is to become Missionary Disciples and to help others be the same.  

The Archbishop asked the following questions.  “Who are the ‘least ones’ among you? Do you recognize Christ in these ‘least ones’ in need? In what ways do you respond positively to their needs, and in what ways do you ignore or neglect them? How might you do better in this regard?”

As we answer these questions we can understand how to offer activities that will support true Missionary Discipleship, create more hospitality towards those in need, and connect people more deeply to the Sacramental life.

Jesus said we would always have the poor.  But Missionary Discipleship will transform hearts and convert souls.

As we are blessed to be disciples, so we are sent to make disciples as we bring Christ to others through our actions, our relationships, and our service.   That is what missionary discipleship is all about.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.

Thanks be to God!

Prudence: Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time (Philippians 3:17—4:1, Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5, Luke 16:1-8)

Prudence is the virtue that enables practical reason to discern what is truly good in each circumstance and to choose the right means to achieve it. It should not be confused with timidity, fear, or indecision. Rather, prudence guides the other virtues by establishing the proper measure and direction for our actions. It also plays an essential role in forming the judgment of conscience, helping us determine how best to act in accordance with what is right. Through prudence, we learn to apply moral principles to the circumstances of everyday life, recognizing the good we should pursue and the evil we should avoid.

There are two common obstacles to the virtue of prudence: haste and indecision.

At times, we react impulsively to life's circumstances, making decisions without taking the time to consider whether our actions will lead us toward the good or help us avoid evil. At other times, we become trapped in procrastination or what is often called analysis paralysis. We overthink our options, worrying about every possible outcome and how a particular decision might affect the rest of our lives. In either case, we struggle to discern God's will and respond to it with confidence.

Saint Thomas Aquinas identifies three essential movements in the exercise of prudence: counsel, judgment, and command. These provide a practical framework for making wise and virtuous decisions.

First is to practice counsel (inquiry):

We need to resist the temptation to rush into a decision or act on impulse. We need to take time to gather the necessary facts, examine the situation objectively, and consider the possible consequences. We need to recognize the limits of your own perspective and humbly seek guidance from trusted spiritual directors, confessors, or wise mentors. Prudence begins with a willingness to seek the truth rather than simply affirm what we already want to believe.

Then, judgment:

Once we have gathered the necessary information, we carefully weigh your options in light of Church teaching, natural law, and the Gospel. We consider which course of action is truly good, morally sound, and most pleasing to God. This step requires a properly formed conscience and the willingness to choose what is right, even when it is difficult or contrary to personal preference.

Finally, command (execution)

Having discerned the right course of action, we move forward with resolve. Prudence is not complete until a good decision is put into practice. We must resist the temptation to remain frozen by perfectionism, uncertainty, or fear of failure. While we cannot always know every possible outcome, we can act faithfully on the best judgment we have formed.

In addition to these three essential movements, there are several practical ways we can cultivate prudence in our daily lives.

We can ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and the gift of counsel, especially when facing important decisions. Make time for silence and meditation so that you can become more attentive to God's promptings rather than allowing the distractions and noise of the world to dictate your thoughts and actions.

We can regularly receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. Through the sacraments, we receive God's grace, grow in holiness, and strengthen our ability to recognize and choose what is good. As mentioned before, well-formed conscience is essential to exercising prudence faithfully.

Be mindful of the influences that shape your thoughts, desires, and decisions. Avoid occasions of sin, unnecessary attachments, and worldly distractions that cloud your judgment or draw your attention away from God's will.

Ultimately, prudence helps shape the path we walk with Christ. It enables us to discern what God is asking of us in the circumstances of each moment and gives us the wisdom to respond faithfully. We may not always know where every decision will lead, nor can we foresee every consequence. But by prayerfully seeking the truth, forming our conscience, and acting on what we discern to be good, we can learn to trust God more deeply.

Prudently doing the next right thing, let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Thanks be to God!

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Guilty by Identification: Friday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time (Philippians 1:1-11; Psalm 111:1-2, 3-4, 5-6; Luke 14:1-6)

Once again, Jesus is exposing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. He heals a man with dropsy on the Sabbath, right before their eyes, knowing they believe such an act violates the law of God. Then He challenges them with a simple question: Who among them would not violate the Sabbath to rescue their own child if that child had fallen into a cistern?

We see this pattern repeated throughout the Gospels, alongside Jesus’s command: “Stop judging, that you may not be judged.”

I suspect many of us recognize that the mentality Jesus confronts in the Pharisees is alive and well in parts of our Church today. If it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it must be a duck—and ducks cannot receive the Eucharist. Too often we do not take a moment to see whether it actually walks like a duck?

We have to remember, for intents and purposes, sin involves actions. Simply having a condition or inclination associated with a particular sin does not, in itself, constitute a sin.

Consider Sally Jo, who struggles with alcoholism. Willful drunkenness is mortally sinful, and deliberately choosing to become intoxicated can constitute mortal sin. But Sally Jo is in recovery. She still has the condition of alcoholism.  She still identifies as an alcoholic. She may occasionally fall to the temptation to drink.  When she does, she repents and received the Sacrament of Reconciliation. By the grace of God, she fights against the temptation to drink and works to avoid sin.

Should Sally Jo be denied the Eucharist simply because she has an inclination toward sinful behavior? Or can she receive the healing grace of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist because she strives to turn away from sin and is desires to live faithfully?

I think most of us would agree that Sally Jo should not be denied the Eucharist simply because she struggles with alcoholism.

This is where I believe the Church could benefit from speaking with greater clarity and precision about other areas of sin.

Consider Ben, who experiences gender dysphoria. He may look or sound a little different from what we expect, or something about his mannerisms may strike us as different. Should Ben receive the Eucharist?

Obviously we cannot determine his spiritual state simply by looking at him. If he is engaging in actions contrary to Church teaching, those actions must be evaluated in light of that teaching. Our role is not to make assumptions about his soul based on his appearance or circumstances.

Our role is to get to know Ben, to love him, to be the light of Christ to him, and to support him in his journey of faith. We should encourage him to make life affirming choices and help him avoid sin so that he can receive our Blessed Lord in the Eucharist worthily.

Let me preface my next point by saying that I am not a fan of Father James Martin. I often find his commentary confusing and, in general, not particularly helpful. At the same time, when hear of Father Martin controversy brewing, sometimes I’ll read what he actually said (as opposed to what someone on the Internet told me he said).  I often find he raises a valid point or two.

I try to give Father James Martin the benefit of the doubt believing he—much as Pope Francis was—is ultimately trying to draw attention to the mentality of the Pharisees that can shape our attitudes toward the LGBTQ community.

First, let's establish the moral question. There are several issues we could discuss, but I am sure one of the first that comes to our mind is sexual activity outside of marriage. As you know, Catholic teaching is clear that sexual relations belong within a valid Sacramental marriage, no exceptions. This teaching applies to all of us, heterosexual and homosexual alike. 

That being said, the distinction matters: Simply identifying as LGBTQ is not a sin. Meaning that experiencing same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria, in itself, does not constitute a sin. Actions must be evaluated on their own merits. Sexual activity outside a valid marriage is mortal a sin; in fact, a sin committed by heterosexual and homosexual people every day. That is an objective moral reality.

We have to stop judging members of the LGBTQ community based on the condition in which they live. We need to welcome them, get to know them, love them, and be the light of Christ to them.

We need to see them as we would see a child of God who has fallen into a cistern—not as someone to reject and condemn from a distance, but as someone in need of our compassion and help. Through us, God wants to bring healing, just as Jesus healed the man with dropsy.

That healing does not necessarily mean a person will no longer experience same-sex attraction, gender dysphoria, or identify as LGBTQ. It simply means that, like every one of us, that person can strive to live as a child of God, avoid sin, grow in holiness, carry their cross, and participate in the sacramental life of the Church.  We are called, not to judge them, but to help them in that journey.

Through each of us, how great are the works of the Lord!

Thanks be to God!

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Community of Love: Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time (Ephesians 4:1-6; Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6; Luke 12:54-59)

Today is a conclusion, of sorts, of what turned into a series of reflections on Faithful Citizenship, which we have discussed throughout October.

Saint Paul gives us a fitting conclusion as he reminds us how to build a community capable of loving our neighbors just as Jesus commanded.  He describes virtues that are helpful in discerning how to love the child in the womb, love the individual struggling with their identity, love the immigrant in a foreign land, and love the person whose life is deemed to no longer hold value by the standards of our society.

He calls us to embrace what it truly means to belong to one another. As we have been discussing, the ultimate foundation of our life is not found in political ideologies, alignments, or divisions. There is one God and Father of all, who cares deeply for the most vulnerable among us. As Christians, we are called to defend the dignity of those who cannot speak for themselves, an obligation that extends directly to the ballot box.

Our faith is not meant to be a private matter; it should carry profound, real-world consequences. We are called to actively transform society and extend the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart into the world around us. For nearly 2,000 years, the Catholic Church has consistently taught that all human life is sacred from the very moment of conception through natural death…no exceptions. 

The Church also teaches that certain actions are intrinsically evil—meaning they are a radical contradiction to the good of the person.  These actions are always wrong, regardless of the intentions or the circumstances surrounding them.  A full list of intrinsic evils would be quite lengthy, but of the intrinsic evils that are more common in our political dialogue are Abortion, Human Cloning, Invitro Fertilization, Euthanasia (and really all forms of suicide), Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Homosexual "Marriage", and Transgenderism.

Because intrinsic evils directly attack human dignity and oppose the will of God, we must form our consciences in alignment with Church teaching and vote accordingly. We are called to vote in a manner that firmly opposes these evils and promotes human dignity at every stage of life.

As we cast our ballots, we can take Saint Paul’s words to heart. We have an opportunity to carefully evaluate candidates and amendments, weighing whether they align with life-affirming positions or support intrinsic evils. By voting "Yes" on Amendment 3, we can fulfill our responsibility to vote with a properly formed Catholic conscience. By choosing candidates who will work to build a genuine culture of life, who will work against the spread of all forms of intrinsic evil, we cooperate in transforming our society for the glory of God.

To lift these intentions up in prayer, we will hold a special Holy Hour for the election on Monday, November 2nd, at 6:00 p.m. here at the church. Please consider joining us that evening to surrender the outcome of the election to our Blessed Lord, praying that His will is made manifest in the election and that the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ may be spread throughout the world.

As the hour of our election is upon us, answer us Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Thanks be to God!

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Magnifica Humanitas: Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Isaiah 45:1, 4-6; Psalm 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5b; Matthew 22:15-21)

If you follow the media, you have likely seen coverage of the tension between Pope Leo XIV and President Trump. We must always approach headlines with healthy discernment—media outlets thrive on sensationalism and conflict, to say nothing of the deepfakes and AI-generated fabrications that increasingly pollute the narrative.

At the same time, beneath the media noise lies a profound papal warning that demands our urgent attention.

In May 2026, Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, explicitly marking the 135th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s seminal 1891 encyclical, Rerum Novarum.

Rerum Novarum was a prophetic alarm sounded at the volatile collision point of three monumental forces: unbridled capitalism, revolutionary socialism, and the Industrial Revolution. Pope Leo XIII foresaw that a society ignoring the moral boundaries of these movements was heading for catastrophe. The ruling elites refused to listen, choosing instead to give to Caesar what belonged strictly to God. The result? The accumulated pressure of these unheeded warnings erupted in 1914, tearing Europe apart in the global slaughter of World War I, and setting off a chain reaction that fueled the Great Depression and World War II.

Today, history may be repeating itself—and the stakes might be even higher.

Our Holy Father sees a terrifying parallel between 1891 and our present moment. Once again, we are mixing a lethal cultural cocktail: political polarization spiraling into ideological extremes, capitalism characterized by unrestrained corporate greed on one side, radical collectivism through socialism on the other, and now, the Artificial Intelligence Revolution.

Like the Industrial Revolution before it, Artificial Intelligence promises staggering economic growth and unprecedented capability. But like any mindless machine, Artificial Intelligence possesses no soul, no conscience, and no inherent respect for human dignity. From a certain perspective, it bears its own cold image and inscription.

Echoing the warnings of his predecessor, Pope Leo XIV raises three vital alarms in Magnifica Humanitas:

First, erasure of the soul.  Artificial Intelligence threatens to reduce human beings to mere economic data points, attempting to replace love, empathy, and moral conscience with cold calculations of optimization algorithms in a data center.

Second, dehumanized warfare. The proliferation of autonomous weapon systems risks stripping the last remnants of human restraint from military decisions, entrusting life-and-death choices to machines operating beyond moral conscience and moral accountability.

Third, digital servitude. Unchecked technological displacement threatens to strip millions of their livelihood, widening the gulf between the ultra-wealthy elite and the vulnerable, creating modern forms of economic slavery.

This is not distant science fiction; it is the urgent reality of the twenty-first century.

Here is another example to illustrate the point. In 1968, Pope Paul VI issued Humanae Vitae, warning of the societal decay that would follow if the world abandoned Catholic moral teaching on human dignity and sexuality. 

Society laughed, ignored the Vicar of Christ, and embraced the Sexual Revolution. Today, we live amid the ruins of that decision: rampant divorce, fornication, adultery, dysfunctional families, a below-replacement birth rate, abortion, pornography, sexual deviancy, and infanticide.  And all of that is becoming increasingly celebrated by our society to the detriment of our civilization and the loss of many, many souls.

The tragic pattern of human history is clear: whenever human dignity is sacrificed on the altar of progress, it is a sin and there will be consequences.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus very clearly indicates that we are to listen to His Church.  This is because, as we read in the Gospel of John, Jesus told the first bishops of the Catholic Church at the Last Supper that “the holy Spirit…will teach you everything” and “will guide you to all truth”.

I am sure society will continue to ignore the teachings of the Church just as they increasingly have since the Protestant Reformation.  I am sure the warnings of Pope Leo XIV will be ignored just as the warnings Pope Leo XIII and Pope Paul VI were ignored.  Society will continue to give to Caesar what belongs to God; i.e., our allegiance.

Will the consequences be as dire?  Time will tell.

When Our Lady appeared at Fatima in 1917, she seemingly provided Heaven's exclamation point to the warnings of Rerum Novarum. She warned that when nations systematically reject God, moral law, and spiritual truth, they descend into war, persecution, and self-destruction.

We cannot render to God what is God’s if we permit technological power to strip away the sacred value of the human soul. The solution will not be found in better algorithms, but in deep internal conversion, prayer, penance, and unyielding fidelity to the Gospel and the Holy Catholic Church.

Let us pray for the conversion of the ruling elites that they will heed the voice of our Holy Father before the warnings of today become the tragedies of tomorrow.

Through obedience to the Catholic Church we give the Lord glory and honor.

Thanks be to God!