Pastor’s Blog

Sunday is the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The readings present us with the generosity God has toward us. In the first reading, from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, we hear the invitation of God to all who are thirsty to come to the water. Water is a symbol of life. In the sacred text, water is also a sign of the life of God. In a desert climate, water is seen as a precious commodity.

In the second reading, from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Paul addresses God’s love for us as shown in Christ Jesus. Do you believe that God loves you and wills the best for you? Do you believe that God wills your salvation and your eternal life? The Gospel speaks about the multiplication of loaves and fishes, again illustrating God’s love and generosity toward us.

Nothing Can Separate Us

I would like to address the second reading today. In this reading, Paul states that nothing will separate us from the love of Christ. I have some questions. Do you believe that God loves you? Do you believe God loves you because you have done everything right? Do you believe that you must earn God’s love? How many believe that because many things have gone wrong in your life, God is punishing you? How many believe that God wills our good, not our destruction?

Paul addresses persecuted Christians and all suffering Christians. Notice how Paul breaks up his writing: his first list is of things which impact our personal existence. The second list tells us that even unseen forces in the cosmos cannot separate us from the love of Christ.

God’s Love and Our Response

So, does Christ love us only when we are good? Do our sins stop the love of Christ for us? Do we need to convince God to love us? When we truly realize the love that God has for us, then we will improve our behavior because we do not want to offend the Lord. When we truly realize the love that Christ has for us, we will be impelled to live the life that brings about the Kingdom of God where we are.

Suffering, disappointment, sickness, and difficulties which we may be enduring are not signs that God’s love is wanting. So, what is your greatest worry? Not even that worry or that sin can separate you from Christ.

However, what is the difference between love and approval? God loves us, and God loves you. God may not approve of some of our actions; however, God’s love is everlasting. Parents love us, but parents do not approve of our behavior.

Do you believe God wills our good? Remember, sometimes we do not accept what is for our good. In fact, sometimes we reject it. So where have we rejected the good? God is most generous. He gives his very self even when we say no.

Msgr. Guy A. Massie
August 2, 2026

Sunday is the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Gospel continues to speak to us about the Kingdom of God. The Gospel text is Matthew 13:44-52. As we have been hearing for the last three weeks, we are presented with parables that Jesus used to illustrate the Kingdom of God.

A parable is a story Jesus uses to explain a theological point. In this case, Jesus is using parables to explain the Kingdom of God.

What the Kingdom Means

What is meant by the term Kingdom of God? The Kingdom of God is what God wishes for the world. We pray for the coming of this Kingdom every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, when we say, “Your Kingdom come.”

The Kingdom of God is what God wants for the world. God wants peace, love, kindness, justice, compassion, mercy, empathy, joy, faithfulness, patience, chastity, generosity, gentleness, and self-control. The Kingdom of God is when God’s reign becomes our way of life.

The Kingdom of God comes when we realize that small acts of kindness have the power to change. We must have faith that the will of God for the world is for our good.

Hidden Treasure and Precious Pearls

This week the Gospel presents us with the Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Parable of the Fine Pearls. In both parables, we have a similar lesson: when you find a treasure that calls you forth to give of yourself in love and mercy, forgetting yourself and losing yourself for the good of others, then you will begin to understand the Kingdom of God, as well as the surprising wisdom of God, which says that it is in losing yourself that you find yourself.

Msgr. Guy A. Massie
July 26, 2026

Lessons From Sunday’s Readings

The Word of God is planted in the field of our hearts. In our hearts, this word must take root and grow. If our heart is open to the Word of God, the Word will grow and our behavior will change for the better. If not, the Word will remain silent until the right time when it can grow, or the Word will never grow.

If we are open to the Word of God, then we will slowly recognize that all that happens to us is ordered to our salvation, including our sufferings, losses, and disappointments. We will understand what St. Thérèse of Lisieux meant by saying:

“Everything is a grace… Everything is the direct effect of our Father’s love: difficulties, contradictions, humiliations, all the soul’s miseries, its burdens, its needs—everything. Because through them the soul learns humility, realizes its weakness. Everything is a grace because everything is God’s gift. Whatever be the character of life or its unexpected events, to the heart that loves, all is well.”

Be like a mustard seed. Do small acts of kindness and goodness for the glory of God. Kindness grows, love multiplies, and mercy bears much fruit.

Msgr. Guy A. Massie
July 19, 2026

What do we learn from this Gospel reading? First, we learn not to give up. Our job—my job, the vocation of the Church—is to proclaim the Gospel.

Sometimes we are gratified and see a difference in people’s lives due to the message of the Gospel and the celebration of the Sacraments. Sometimes people do convert to a deeper meaning of life in the Spirit because of our efforts. We must keep in mind that it is God who works through us to accomplish great things.

At other times, we will not see positive results from our ministries. In fact, we may feel our work for the Gospel is in vain. See yourself as a priest or a religious who teaches, gives good example, and finds that their people or students have really rejected all the values you have tried to pass on.

Keep in mind that people can resist God’s Word. The allure of money, success, power, and pleasure can be obstacles to hearing and accepting the Word of God. Will they realize the importance of the values which you sought to pass on? Who knows?

Think of the parent who has done a great job of modeling the Gospel values of faith, love, and hope, only to have children who no longer practice the faith you cherished. Think of the lack of vocations which we are now experiencing. What does that say to those who dedicated their entire lives to the Gospel?

Our vocation is to preach the Gospel in good times and in bad times. It is our vocation never to forsake the hope that maybe one or two people will get the message and hand it on.

Msgr. Guy A. Massie
July 12, 2026

July 4th Meditation

On the base of the Statue of Liberty is a poem that says so much about what America was, what it is, and what it could be.

The New Colossus
By Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Msgr. Guy A. Massie
July 5, 2026

Baptism as Discipleship

Baptism is the way of becoming a disciple. In the second reading, Paul speaks to us about baptism. Baptism is the most important of the sacraments. Through baptism, we become part of the Body of Christ, the Church. Through baptism, we share in all that Jesus did.

In baptism, the Holy Spirit appropriates the redemption Christ accomplished through his death and resurrection to us. In baptism, the Holy Trinity dwells deep within us.

The Responsibility of Parents

Baptism is an adult commitment to Christ. We baptize children because of the request of believing parents. Parents take on a serious responsibility before God when they request the baptism of their child. They promise to pass the faith on to their children.

To fulfill this obligation before God, the parent should be practicing the faith. In the end, the parent, not the child, is answerable to God for this obligation.

Renewing Our Promises

Baptism is so important that during the Easter celebration, we are all asked to renew our baptismal promises. It is true that we have baptized many an adult in our OCIA. Those who seek baptism as adults usually make great Catholics who take nothing for granted.

If you want your faith renewed, speak with a newly baptized person.

Msgr. Guy A. Massie
Sunday, June 28, 2026
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