St. Patrick Catholic Parish Podcast

In this homily given on the 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time (June 28, 2026), Father Mathias preaches on one of the most difficult teachings of Jesus: whoever loves parents or children more than him is not worthy of him. The human race is divided on its response to Jesus. Some accept him and follow him, others do not. That creates tension in families and causes temptations to compromise and love family members more than Jesus.   

Father Mathias offers two reminders to help renew our minds that can help us love Jesus more than our children and parents. 

1) Remember that your love for your children/parents is merely a faith echo of how much God loves them. 
2) Your children/parents do not belong to you; they are gifts of God entrusted to you for a short time.  

He ends the homily exhorting us to renew our faith in Jesus as our first love when we receive him in Communion.

On Father's Day, June 21st, 2026, Fr. Joshua Fons gave his last homily at St. Patrick's. (He will be moving to East Lansing to serve the student parish for Michigan State) In this powerful homily, he unpacks the mission and vocation of every father, and what makes fatherhood so essential. Fathers teach us our place in the great story, they show us how to live in this world, how to love, and what to fear. They invite us to step into our own role in the story. Especially in a culture that is struggling for lack of fatherhood, fathers need renewal and strength to live out their mission.

In this homily given on the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time (June 14 , 2026), Father Mathias preaches on Psalm 100 and why we are to sing a joyful song of praise to the Lord at Mass. After outlining why singing at Mass is one way we actively participate in divine worship of God at Mass, Fr Mathias outlines several common reasons why we might resist singing to the Lord at Mass: we mistakenly believe singing is optional, we might not know or like the music, the music might not be good, we're not certain about who God is, we simply don't feel like it.   

But the Mass is not about us; it's the worship of God, giving him what's his due.  Therefore, we need to resist the temptation to not sing to God because we don't feel like or we don't want to. Since God is Good, no matter how we feel, Father challenges us to sing his praises at Mass precisely when we don't feel like it.  Doing so opens our hearts to the God who loves us and wants to bless us in whatever we're going through in our lives. 

On the Feast of Corpus Christi, June 7th, 2026, Fr. Joshua Fons invites us to walk with the Israelites in the Desert. What seemed like a time of hardship, was actually a training ground in trust, a time when they had to learn that they had a God who cared for them and provided for them. The Lord does the same with us, he allows us to wander in the desert so that we can encounter his provision, particularly through the Holy Eucharist. We have to come to realize that we cannot live on bread alone, so that our hearts can hunger for the true food, the bread of life.

In this homily given on Trinity Sunday May 31st, 2026, Father Mathias preaches on the fact that God, who is Father Son and Holy Spirit is love itself.  Drawing from the Gospel, Father reminds us that God is for us and not against us; he has come to save us from our sins, not to condemn us. 

Father challenges to avoid a false spirituality of fear that has crept back into the Church masquerading as a traditional Catholic spirituality.  He ends his homily offering a few reminders of how God relates to us in our sin for those struggling with a voice of condemnation in their hearts.  

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