On the Feast of Pentecost, May 24th, 2026 Fr. Joshua Fons challenges us to look to Pentecost for the source of the Church's renewal. Pentecost is part of our tradition, in fact, it is the very start of our Church. To ignore Pentecost is to ignore what Christ has given to us: the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who gives us the courage and strength to live out the Church's mission: making disciples of all nations.

In this homily given on Ascension Sunday (May 17, 2025), Fr Mathias preaches on one of the reasons why Jesus ascends into heaven: to obtain the promise of the Father and baptize us in the Holy Spirit. This is what he died to do: to immerse us into the very life of God and to bear witness to him.  Essentially, Jesus wants everyone to be baptized in the Holy Spirit

As Catholics we believe we receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit in the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. But we also believe that the sacraments are not magic and require proper interior dispositions for the graces of the sacraments to be released into our lives.  Theologians call this release of the graces of sacraments of initiation as the "the baptism in the Holy Spirit"   

After outlining key signs that one is baptized in the Holy Spirit, Fr Mathias encourages us to ask the Lord to baptize us in the Holy Spirit.

On Mother's Day, May 10th, 2026, Fr. Joshua speaks to the moms of the parish, inviting them to reflect on the gift of their Vocation. In particular, the ways we are tempted to not see our Vocation as a gift from God, but rather as a burden, a reward, or a waste. From that place, Christ wants to bring renewal. The key to that renewal lies in the words of St. Peter "Beloved, sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts." A fruitful vocation starts with knowing that we are beloved of God, and then response, to put him first in our hearts. 

In this homily given on Sunday May 3, 2025, Fr Mathias preaches on the common priesthood that belongs to all baptized Christians and applies it to the lay faithful.  Indeed, exercising our common priesthood is central to how we worship God. 

Father offers two tips on how to do this well: 

1) Do everything in your life as an offering of love to God.

2) Unite your offerings of the week to the offering of Christ at Sunday Mass

In this homily on April 26, 2026 (Good Shepherd Sunday), Fr Mathias preaches on Psalm 23 and applies it to Jesus being our Good Shepherd. We really can trust in Jesus as our Good Shepherd to give us peace, rest, refreshment, protection, and guidance. Father then outlines various aspects of the Devil's psyops campaign to get us to not follow Jesus the Good Shepherd.   

To access the presentations on prayer referenced at end of Mass on how to hear God's voice spoken of in the homily please go here (and scroll down to 2024). 

https://www.stpatrickcatholicparish.org/parish-mission-2024

On the Third Sunday of Easter, April 19th 2026, Fr. Joshua breaks open the story of the Road to Emmaus, challenging us to put ourselves in the shoes of those disciples. They were downcast, because they had their own plan for how the Messiah was going to do his thing, and it seems like it failed. But they didn't plan for the Cross. We do the same: we have a plan for our life, a plan for what it means to follow God, but we also forget about the Cross. And what we see as a problem, might actually be the solution. What looks like defeat, might actually be the path to victory. The Lord wants to renew our minds, to see His plan, the big picture, the story of our Salvation in a new way!

In this homily, given on April 12, 2026, Dcn. Peter encourages us to celebrate the Easter season. He notes that we often remember to observe Lenten practices but forget to celebrate the Easter season. He brings up three pillars that the Early Church used to live out Easter: Eucharist, the Holy Spirit, and community. He encourages us to rely on the same three pillars to celebrate Easter. His practical for the week is to ask Jesus how He wants us to live out Easter this year so that we can walk more fully in Jesus' victory and freedom.

In this Easter Sunday homily on April 5th, 2026, Fr Mathias preaches on the Resurrection of Jesus.    We don't have to be afraid of death because Jesus is alive.  After sharing about how Jesus is still delivering people from evil and healing the sick today, Father exhorts us to respond to Jesus with faith, repentance and baptism, so we can be with him forever.

On Easter Sunday (April 5, 2026), Father Joshua invites us to take St. Paul's words as our personal motto: "If you have been raised with Christ, seek what is above." These words were lived out by one of the founders of the University of Michigan: Father Gabriel Richard. After the city of Detroit was destroyed by a fire, he rallied the rebuilding, penning Detroit's motto: we hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes." These words capture the hope of the Resurrection. A hope that can face even the greatest hardships. A hope that our world needs today.

In this Easter Vigil homily, delivered on April 4, 2026, Dcn. Peter reflects on St. Paul's words that we are dead to sin and living to God in Christ Jesus. Many people might respond in two ways: wondering how being dead to sin is relevant to their life or feeling like these words don't apply to them. Dcn. Peter describes life under slavery to sin and death and proclaims that Jesus' victory changes every part of our lives. He then declares that Paul's words do apply to each one of us and that Jesus wants to bring His victory into our lives this Easter. He then leads everyone in responding to Jesus' invitation to freedom. His practical for the week is to write "I am dead to sin and living to God in Christ Jesus. I can live in freedom" on a piece of paper and put it somewhere it will be seen throughout the week.