In this homily given at St Pat's on November 27, 2022, Fr. Mathias kicks off a four-part Advent preaching series on the basic gospel message. The gospel gives us the context of knowing who we are, where we are going and how to get there. It is by means of the gospel we come to understand everything else in Christianity. Using the the framework and preaching of Fr. John Riccardo and Acts XXIXI as a foundation, the purpose of this series is two fold: 1) to help us again make a decision to surrender our lives to Jesus in faith to become his disciple and 2) so that we can familiarize ourselves again with the outline of our story, which not only will help us live the gospel, but also help us share it with others. The memorable four parts of the gospel message are:

1) The goodness of creation (Created)
2) Sin and its consequences (Captured)
3) What God has done with sin and its consequences (Rescued) 
4) Our response to God for what he's done (Response)

In this week's session, Fr. Mathias unpacks what God reveals about himself and creation and humanity in the book of Genesis and how that differs from other cultures at the time. As the pinnacle of creation man and woman are made in the image and likeness of God. Since we were loved into being and called to love, Father shares with us the wonder of what it is like to be loved by the Creator of the universe. If all this is so, then why is the world so obviously messed up? That's the subject of next week's homily.

For additional presentations on the gospel, please see Acts XXIX (www.actsxxix.org) and the book Rescued by Fr. John Riccardo.

In this homily given at St Pat's on November 20, 2022, Fr Mathias preaches on Jesus, who is King of every person, family, society and nation.  His reign is one not of force but love.  As a result of our baptism, each Christian has been transferred from the power of darkness and and brought into the Kingdom of Jesus, the Son of God.  Father shares with us five advantages of living under the Kingship of Jesus in contrast to the power of darkness as we find it today.  He ends his homily leading everyone in a prayer to resubmit their whole lives to the loving reign of Jesus our Victorious King.  

In this homily given at St Pat's on November 13, 2022, Fr. Miguel preaches on how to persevere in light of the tragic passing of Proposal 3, an amendment that enshrines abortion in Michigan's State Constitution. Reminding us of our hope in Christ, Fr. Miguel encourages us to pour out our hearts to Jesus and to receive His love. This is key to persevering so as to secure our lives as Jesus exhorts us to do in the Gospel. Fr. Miguel outlines 3 steps to help in pouring out our hearts to God:

1. Be aware of any thoughts, feelings, and desires you have

2. Relate it to Jesus in prayer and engage in conversation with Him

3. Receive what God says in response

Towards the end of his homily, Fr. Miguel reminds parishioners that if a Christian had knowledge that this proposed amendment would enshrine abortion in the State Constitution, and chose to vote for it anyway, this would constitute formal cooperation with the evil of abortion. Father encourages all such people who voted "yes" to repent before they receive communion.

Since Jesus is victorious, we who remain faithful to Him in the end will join in His victory when he comes again. The light of Christ, which shines in us through baptism, will continue to shine brightly to all the world, no matter how popular it is to disagree with the light.

In this homily given at St. Pat's on November 6th, 2022, Deacon Dave uses the conviction of the Maccabees to illustrate how to best combat the temptation and addiction to pornography.  How every Christian heart must resist the attack on the soul by protecting and safeguarding the thoughts and actions of the body.

In this homily given at St Pat's on October 30, 2022, Fr. Mathias breaks open the story of Zacchaeus' encounter with Jesus.  Zacchaeus wasn't passive to the presence of Jesus; but he went to where he knew Jesus would be and that's where he met him.  It was in the gaze of Jesus, when Jesus called him by name that his life was changed forever.  There's nothing like being seen and looked upon by Jesus.  

Father exhorts us to be like Zaccheus and refuse to be passive in Jesus's presence or allow perceived obstacles to prevent us from pursuing his gaze. Naming the weaknesses and temptations that often prevent us from coming to Jesus, Father encourages us to remember that it's precisely in them that Jesus wants to meet us and reveal his love. He ends the homily by challenging us to actively go where we know Jesus is going to be: the upcoming women's conference and Holy Communion, where we can allow Jesus to gaze upon us and speak to us his name.  

In this homily given at St Pat's on Oct 23, 2022, Fr. Miguel preaches on how love for God serves as the proper motive behind all we do in the Christian life. Citing Vatican II, Fr. Miguel reminds everyone that no matter our state of life, all Christians share a universal call to holiness (LG, Chp. V, n. 39) which is the perfection of love. Therefore, love is central to everything we do in the Christian life, especially since all of us are called by God to be saints.

Relying, then, on the "little way" of St. Therese of Lisieux, who leaned on the Love of God for her sanctification, Fr. Miguel offers two ways we can all become great saints: 

1. Total dependence upon God's love for our sanctification
2. Practice great love of God in every small thing we do

St. John of the Cross teaches, "Christians should keep in mind that the value of their good works, fasts, alms, penances, and so on, is not based on quantity and quality so much as on the love of God practiced in them" (The Ascent of Mount Carmel).

In this homily given at St Pat's on October 2, 2022, Fr. Mathias follows-up Bishop Boyea's letter on the extreme MI ballot Proposal 3. Under the deceptive name of "Reproductive Freedom for All" this ballot initiative seeks to amend our constitution with the most radical pro-abortion proposal in the entire country. Legal and medical experts agree that if enacted, this amendment would allow abortion for any reason, at any point in the pregnancy, for a woman or a teen at any age. It would also mean the loss of parental rights in matters related to sexuality in the children. Because of the wording, it could invalidate over two dozen laws that currently protect women, children and the right to freedom of conscience. Father challenges the congregation to tell people how extreme this proposal really is.  

IRS Guidelines allows for 501 (c) (3) nonprofits to hold and advocate policy positions on non-partisan ballot initiatives. Vote NO on Michigan Proposal 3 on November 8.  

Below are helpful websites that have detailed information that back up these claims.
 
https://supportmiwomenandchildren.org/
https://www.dioceseoflansing.org/office-bishop/fight-heaven-vote-no-extreme-proposal-3
https://www.micatholic.org/advocacy/focus/2022/protect-life-vote-no-on-proposal-3/

In this homily given at St. Pat's on Sunday, September 25th, 2022 Dcn. Devin Darwent preaches that God wants to break into our lives and shake us up out of our complacency! We are living in a materially saturated culture, and there’s a great temptation in our lives to try to satisfy our desires with worldly things. In our gospel today, the rich man was very much absorbed in his own little world of materialism. Through his self-absorption he became blinded to the fact that Lazarus was lying outside of his house, begging for food. In our awareness of our longing to satisfy our desires, let us turn to Jesus, the only one who can ultimately satisfy us and bring us peace. Let us give God permission to break into our lives and guide us in His way of truth!