November 8th, 2026

GROWING IN FAITH QUESTIONS

Adults: Where do I look for meaning in my life?
Teens: What makes your life feel meaningful or worthwhile? How does your faith influence the way you see your life and your future?
Children: Think about everything you have done today. What do you think God would say was the best, most important part of your day? Why?

THIS WEEK'S BULLETIN

THIS WEEKEND'S LAY MINISTERS

Focus

Jesus told his disciples this parable: "The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom...  The foolish ones...brought no oil with them....  While they went off to buy some, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.  Afterwards the other virgins came and said, 'Lord, Lord, open the door for us!' But he said in reply, '...I do not know you.’”

One-Minute-Homily
> OBSERVE… Humans, like many animal species, have a natural inclination to "care for our own," whether this is in a family, a community, or a church.  In our own time, however, this tendency seems to have been redefined as the right to "take care of one's self."

> LISTEN… From the ancient and modern perspectives, today's parable seems perfectly sensible--the foolish virgins, for one reason or an other, did not bring enough oil; they have to pay the consequences.  Why should the smart ones risk running out?

> ACT… What should seem shocking to Christians is that the wise virgins apparently felt no responsibility to care about, or share with, the foolish ones--forgetting the main message of the Gospel, that salvation is a gift, freely given for all; no one has the right to hoard it, even from the foolish or undeserving, and no one has the right to judge those who come unprepared.

> REMEMBER.., We are reminded of this at Eucharist when the minister says "the Body of Christ”--the community of believers, "our own," with whom we are expected share God's generosity.

For Additional Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Can you think of some of the ways other people take care of you and share with you?
> Question for Youth: Becoming an adult often seems to mean being able to take care only of ourselves; do you think that is what Jesus expects of us?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: What are some of the ways we get wrapped up in "taking care of ourselves" and ignore our responsibility as disciples to "take care of God's own"?

Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings

• Explore the cultural context of the Gospel > click on Historical/Cultural Context
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective

(compiled by Dave Cushing)

All Saints Day

November 1st, 2026

GROWING IN FAITH QUESTIONS

Adults: How can I become a saint?
Teens: What do you think makes someone a saint? Do you think you could become one? Why or why not?
Children: Who is your favorite saint? Why is he/she your favorite?

THIS WEEK'S BULLETIN

Focus
 “Blessed are the poor in spirit…. Blessed are they who mourn…. Blessed are the meek…. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness…. Blessed are the merciful…. Blessed are the clean of heart…. Blessed are the peacemakers…. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness….  

 One-Minute-Homily
> OBSERVE… By almost every contemporary social standard, people who are poor rather than rich, who are meek rather than aggressive, who are merciful rather than merciless, who seek peace rather than victory, are people who are thought to be losers--people who have failed, people who are weak, people to be pitied.
> LISTEN… The truth is, however familiar the Beatitudes are, they are almost as incredible to us as they must have been to people living in ancient Palestine: blessed are the losers; blessed are those who are despised, blessed are those who are pitied and weak.
> ACT… The challenge for us as Christians today is to realize that the Lord was not kidding.  God loves the so-called “losers” as much as the “winners”.  God does not distinguish, as we do, between those who are successful or important or powerful, and those who are not.  And we should not either.
> REMEMBER… We are easily tempted to think (if only silently) that some people don’t belong around the table of the Eucharist; it’s not likely Jesus would agree.

 For Additional Reflection or Discussion
 > Question for Children: Are their certain people who you think don’t deserve your friendship?  Do other kids treat you as someone who doesn’t deserve their friendship?
 > Question for Youth:  Do you struggle with accepting yourself or being accepted by others because you don’t meet society’s expectations for who deserves to be accepted?
 > Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Who are the people we have a hard time believing God loves as much as God loves us?  Are we tempted to think, that’s fine for God but not for me.

Learn More
 • Read Sunday's readings here
 • Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Explore the cultural context of the Gospel  >click on Historical/Cultural Context
 • Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
 • Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
(compiled by Dave Cushing)

October 25th, 2026

GROWING IN FAITH QUESTIONS

Adults: How compassionate am I?
Teens: When I see someone struggling, do I tend to step in, look away, or keep my distance? What might compassion look like for me this week?
Children: God tells us to love him and our neighbors. How will you show God you love him this week? How will you show love to a neighbor this week?

THIS WEEK'S BULLETIN

Focus
...[A] scholar of the law tested him by asking "Teacher, which commandment...is the greatest?" He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

One-Minute-Homily

> OBSERVE… Every family, every community, every organization, every faith has laws or rules.  These laws and rules are designed to guide and guard the members’ behavior, but they do not constitute the relationship which exists within the group or between its members.

> LISTEN… In today's Gospel, Jesus explains to the Jewish scholars that above the law is something even more important: their relationship to God and to each other.  They are linked not by laws, but by love.  This is why Pope Francis, and now Pope Leo, remind us that the person is more important than the law.

> ACT… Disciples need to realize that sometimes enforcing the rules can strengthen and preserve a relationship; at other times it may diminish or destroy it.  Laws are secondary to the relationship and meant to serve it; this does not make them "relative" but it does make them "relational."

> REMEMBER… The Eucharist is first of all an expression and an experience of our relationship to God and to one another; this is a personal, not a legal relationship.

For Additional Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What rules do you have in your family and how to serve the family?
> Question for Youth:  Can you identify the rules which help strengthen your relationship with family, friends and church -- and the rules which don't?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do people get the impression that we care more about the rules than about the relationship?  How can we change their impression?

Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here

• Explore the cultural context of the Gospel > click on Historical/Cultural Context on Oct. 25
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
(compiled by Dave Cushing)

October 18th, 2026

GROWING IN FAITH QUESTIONS

Adults: How willingly do I see the face of God in others?

Teens: Who is someone I struggle to see with compassion—and what might God want me to see in them? 

Kids: God knows everything about you, even the things you don’t tell him. Are there things you wish you could hide from God? He already knows them. This week tell God one difficult thing about yourself that you would rather hide from him. Ask him to help make it better.

THIS WEEK'S BULLETIN

Focus
The Pharisees...sent their disciples to him...saying, "...Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?" ... Jesus said, "...Show me the coin that pays the census tax." Then they handed him the Roman coin. He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?" They replied, "Caesar's." At that he said to them, "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."

One-Minute-Homily
> OBSERVE… We live in a busy world where each of us has multiple roles and responsibilities. Often enough we feel trapped between conflicting responsibilities -- between home and work, between our elderly parents and our children, between our human responsibilities and our responsibilities as disciples.
> LISTEN… In today's Gospel, the Pharisees challenged Jesus by presenting an apparent conflict between their responsibility to God and their responsibility in this world.  His response implies that all of our human responsibilities are subject to our responsibilities as disciples.
> ACT… Because we live in the “in-between” times, in a world partly redeemed and partly not, we are challenged to live-into the Kingdom as best we can under the circumstances -- that means trying to fulfill our many responsibilities in this world in a way which is as consistent as possible with God's will.
> REMEMBER… The Eucharist is a constant reminder of the “in-between” times -- a God who offers Godself to the world, but is not yet fully appreciated or accepted by the world.

For Additional Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: How do you decide what is the good thing to do?
> Question for Youth:  Young adults live on the edge between the past and the future; where and how do you feel the conflict between your faith and other needs or responsibilities?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: How and when do we sacrifice our values or responsibilities as disciples to pursue certain other needs or responsibilities?

Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here

• Explore the cultural context of the Gospel >click on Historical/Cultural Context
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
(compiled by Dave Cushing)

October 11th, 2026

GROWING IN FAITH QUESTIONS

Adults: How do I experience God’s invitation for salvation?
Teens: Where might God be inviting me to take a step closer to Him right now?
Children: God is always with you and always gives you what you need in both good times and bad times. How have you felt God in your life this week?

THIS WEEK'S BULLETIN

Focus
A king dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. ...[H]e said to his servants, The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.' The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike.

One Minute Homily
> OBSERVE… From time to time things happen that shatter our perfect little worlds. A friend betrays us ... an accident or illness imperils our health ... events reveal that we do not have the perfect marriage or the perfect family we wanted people to think we had.

> LISTEN…  In today's Gospel, the king's friends betray him by refusing to come to the wedding feast for his son.  His perfect little world collapses; he is forced to turn to the imperfect -- anyone who was willing to accept the invitation, "bad and good alike."

> ACT…  The parable reminds us that the price of admission to God's kingdom is not perfection.  It is the willingness to accept God’s invitation, which means forsaking our own perfect little worlds, acknowledging our own imperfections, and accepting those of others.  The truth is, the Body of Christ on earth is not perfect.

> REMEMBER… "Gather us in," a familiar hymn goes, "the lost and forsaken," "the rich and the haughty," "the blind and the lame," "the proud and the strong" -- Eucharist is the banquet for anyone willing to accept the invitation.

Questions for Additional Reflection or Discussion

> For Children -- Do you ever pretend that you are perfect, or at least better than anyone else?

> For young adults -- How do you cope with all of the pressure to be special, perfect, or the best?  What can you learn from this Gospel about dealing with that pressure?

> For Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we pretending to live in a perfect little world? Do our families and parishes look more like the king's perfect little world or the banquet of folks found on the street, bad and good alike?

Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here

• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here

• Explore the cultural context of the Gospel > click on Historical/Cultural Context
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective

October 4th, 2026

GROWING IN FAITH QUESTIONS

Adults: How do I appreciate God’s patience?
Teens: Where in my life do I need to be more patient with
myself, with someone else, or with God?
Children: All that we have are gifts from God & he wants
us to share them. What will you do this week to share the
gifts God has given you with others?

THIS WEEK'S BULLETIN

Focus
Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?' Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit."

One-Minute-Homily
> OBSERVE… There are times when someone offers us something – a different job, an investment opportunity, a new relationship – which seems to be too good to be true or too risky to accept.  Sometimes we reject new opportunities because they would require too much change in how we are accustomed to thinking or acting. 
> LEARN… In today’s Gospel, Jesus warns his listeners that if they do not accept what he is offering – in this case, God’s mercy and love – God will offer it to others.  In fact, God will offer it to anyone and everyone.  That was too much, too hard to believe for many who heard the Lord’s words.
> ACT… The challenge to us as disciples is to realize that salvation is a gift, an opportunity, which God offers to anyone and everyone who is willing to accept it -- but it requires a change in heart, a change in how we usually think and act, a change in how we imagine God should be  – and it may seem too good to be true, too hard to believe, too risky.
> REMEMBER… We sometimes confuse the Eucharist with being all about what we are offering to God, but it's really all about what God is offering to us and it may sound too good to believe.

For Additional Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Can you think of a gift someone gave you which you didn't like or didn't take good care of?
> Question for Youth:  These years are filled with opportunities; do you ever reject some of them because they seem too risky or too much outside your comfort zone?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we leave people with the impression that salvation is an opportunity freely shared by God with all, or something offered only to the "chosen few"--like us?

Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here

• Explore the cultural context of the Gospel > click on Historical/Cultural Context

• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective

September 27th, 2026

GROWING IN FAITH QUESTIONS

Adults: How accountable am I for my actions?
Teens: Think of a time you made a choice you regretted. What does it mean to take responsibility for that choice—and what does it mean to let God help you start again?
Children: If you make a bad choice, does God let you change your mind and choose again?  How?

THIS WEEK'S BULLETIN

Focus
Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people: "…A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.' He said in reply, 'I will not, ' but afterwards changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, 'Yes, sir, 'but did not go. Which of the two did his father's will?"

One-Minute-Homily
> OBSERVE… Sometimes we promise to do something we have no intention of doing--it’s a polite way of not saying “no.”  And sometimes we avoid saying “yes” outright because we’re afraid of the commitment or responsibility or effort it entails.  A simple “yes” or “no” feels awfully definitive when we have mixed feelings.
> LEARN… Who knows what motivated the two sons in today’s Gospel?  But Jesus’ point is pretty clear: in the end, what we do is more important than what we say.  It is what we do that changes things, not empty promises.
> ACT…For Christians, the challenge is always to be what we claim to be – to “walk the talk,” as they say in recovery -- and in the end it’s the walk that counts most because that’s what makes the difference (which, incidentally, might be a consolation to parents who worry because their children don’t claim to be Catholic, but act like it anyway.)
> REMEMBER… All the pious and sacred words in the world won’t make Eucharist really real if the people gathered there don’t act like Christ is present in their midst.

For Additional Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children:  Do you ever say you will do something but then don’t do it?  What do you think Jesus thinks about that?
> Question for Youth:  Do you ever feel like you say no, (or say yes and don’t mean it) as a way of testing authority or proving your emerging independence?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities:  We say a lot about who we are as Catholic Christians; in what ways do we fail to act in a way which is consistent with our words?

Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here

• Explore the cultural context of the Gospel >click on Historical/Cultural Context
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective

(compiled by Dave Cushing)