St. Theresa Catholic Church - Dixon, MO

04/12/2026

Second Sunday of Easter – Divine Mercy Sunday

“Peace be with you.” Mercy in Action. Hope for Every Heart.

Today, the Church celebrates the Sunday of Divine Mercy, a radiant reminder that the Resurrection is not only Christ’s triumph over death but the opening of God’s heart toward us in compassion. In truth, every day is a day of mercy because the risen Christ continually steps into our lives with peace, patience, and healing.

The Gospel (John 20:19–31) offers a powerful scene: the disciples are locked away in fear, shame, and uncertainty. Yet Jesus does not wait for them to be brave or faithful. He comes as they are and speaks the same gift three times: “Peace be with you.” His mercy reaches fearful hearts, not just faithful ones.

Mercy Meets Us Where We Are

Like the disciples, we have our own locked rooms, places of grief, regret, failure, and anxiety. Divine Mercy Sunday proclaims that God enters those rooms without hesitation. As Psalm 34 assures us, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.” Christ’s mercy is not a reward for perfection; it is a gift for the wounded.
Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and entrusts them with a mission: “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them.” (John 20:23) We are not only comforted today, but we are sent. The Church becomes a people who carry mercy into families, workplaces, schools, and parish life. As St. Paul writes, “Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Mercy Makes Room for Doubt

Thomas the Apostle gives us courage. He voices what many of us feel: disappointment, confusion, and the longing for assurance. Jesus does not reject him. Instead, He returns a week later and meets Thomas exactly where he is. Doubt is not the enemy of faith; it can be the doorway to deeper trust.

Our parish must be a place where honest questions are welcomed, where fragile faith is held gently, and where mercy listens before it judges. As Pope John Paul II taught, the mercy of God flows from the wounded heart of Christ. His wounds are not erased by the Resurrection, they are transformed into signs of love.

Our Wounds Can Become Places of Grace

Jesus enters a fearful, broken community and redeems it. His first Easter gift is not triumph or certainty but peace. He speaks it again and again. This reminds us that resurrection faith grows in real life, not in ideal conditions.
St. Peter echoes this hope: “By His wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24) Our own wounds, our losses, failures, and struggles can become places where God’s grace shines through.

“Thank God for Thomas.”

Thomas helps us breathe easier. He reminds us that Jesus is patient with slow faith. The Lord keeps coming back to us—Sunday after Sunday, Eucharist after Eucharist—offering peace, strength, and renewed purpose.
We are invited today to bring our fears into the assembly. The risen Christ meets us behind our locked doors and speaks the same word He spoke to the disciples: “Peace.”

Jesus tells His disciples, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” (John 20:21) Easter faith always looks outward. We are sent to be instruments of reconciliation, patience, and compassion in a world hungry for mercy.

We trust the quiet presence of the risen Christ among us. As He says to Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” (John 20:29) Our faith is not sustained by dramatic signs but by the steady presence of Christ in Word, Sacrament, and community.
One week after Easter, the message is beautifully clear: Christ still comes. Christ still speaks peace. Christ still sends us out in mercy.

May this Divine Mercy Sunday renew our hearts with courage, compassion, and deep trust in the One whose mercy never fails.

04/05/2026

Easter Sunday Reflection

Acts 10: 34a, 37-43; Ps. 118; Colossians
3: 1-4 (or I Cor 5: 6-8); John 20: 1-9

“He is not here; He has been raised.”

Easter morning always begins in the dark. John tells us that Mary Magdalene came to the tomb “while it was still dark.” That detail is not accidental. It is the human condition. We all know what it means to walk through seasons of uncertainty, grief, fear, or exhaustion. Yet into that darkness, the Gospel announces the most earth shaking truth in history: the tomb is empty, and Jesus is alive.

Peter’s preaching in Acts 10 reminds us that Resurrection is not a myth or a metaphor. It is the decisive act of God who raised Jesus and made Him “judge of the living and the dead.” The One who went about doing good, healing the broken, and lifting the oppressed has conquered death itself. Because He lives, everything in our lives can live again.

Psalm 118 sings, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.” Easter is not just a day on the calendar, it is a new way of seeing reality. It is the victory of God breaking into our ordinary lives. It is the promise that no stone is too heavy, no night too long, no grave too deep for God’s power.

St. Paul urges us in Colossians to “seek what is above,” not as an escape from the world but as a new way of living in it. Easter people are not defined by fear, sin, or the past. We are defined by the risen Christ who calls us into freedom, courage, and joy. The Resurrection is God’s declaration that bo***ge is broken, shame is lifted, and hope is stronger than despair.

John’s Gospel shows the disciples running to the tomb, confused, breathless, overwhelmed. Yet when they see the empty burial cloths, something awakens in them. “He saw and believed.” Easter faith often begins that way—not with perfect understanding, but with a heart that dares to trust that God is doing something new.

Today, the Risen Lord steps into the locked rooms of our hearts and speaks the same
word He spoke to His disciples: Peace.

Peace for your family.
Peace for your fears.
Peace for your future.
Peace for every place that feels like a tomb.

The Resurrection is God’s promise that nothing in your life is beyond His reach.
What was dead can rise.
What was lost can be restored.
What was broken can be made whole.
So let us walk into this Easter season with renewed confidence. Christ has gone ahead of us. The stone is rolled away. The grave is defeated. And the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in us today.
Happy Easter! May the joy of the Risen Christ set you free and fill you with new life.

THANK YOU JESUS!!!

03/29/2026

Palm Sunday Reflection

Today we enter Holy Week with palm branches in our hands and a simple prayer in our hearts: “Lord, teach me to follow You.” Palm Sunday holds both joy and challenge. We celebrate Jesus welcomed with shouts of Hosanna, yet we also face the reality of how quickly hearts can change.
This week invites us to walk closely with Christ, not as perfect disciples, but as people who are learning, growing, and trying again. Jesus enters our lives with patience and love, ready to lead us from fear to courage, from sin to mercy, from darkness to Easter light.

WHAT WE CELEBRATE THIS WEEK

Chrism Mass

We celebrate the blessing of the holy oils and pray for all who will be anointed this year—those preparing for Baptism, Confirmation, healing, and priestly ministry. It reminds us that God strengthens us for mission.

Holy Thursday

We remember the night of love: the gift of the Eucharist, the gift of the priesthood, and the call to serve one another with humility. Love becomes real when it becomes service.

Good Friday

We stand at the foot of the Cross and remember the depth of God’s love. Jesus carries our wounds, our sins, and our sorrows. Good Friday is not about despair, it is about a love that refuses to give up on us.

Easter Vigil

We begin in darkness and rise with Christ into new life. The light of the Resurrection reminds us that hope is stronger than fear, and God’s grace is stronger than any night we face.
May this Holy Week draw us closer to Jesus and renew our hearts with faith, courage, and hope.

03/22/2026

Fifth Sunday of Lent – Year A

The God Who Brings Dead Things Back to Life

This Sunday’s readings speak directly into the places where we feel tired, discouraged, or stuck. Through Ezekiel, God promises, “I will open your graves and bring you back.” Paul reminds us that the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in us. And in the Gospel, Jesus stands before the tomb of His friend Lazarus and shows us that nothing is too dead for God to restore.

Every one of us knows what it feels like to face a “tomb” in life. A dream that has faded. A relationship that feels cold. A prayer that seems unanswered. A part of ourselves we’ve quietly given up on.

But Jesus does not avoid our pain. He enters it. He weeps with us. And then He speaks a word that changes everything: “Come out.”

This is the heart of Lent: letting God breathe life into the places we thought were finished.
Letting Him roll away the stones we’ve gotten used to. Letting Him call us into a new beginning.

So as we move closer to Holy Week, ask yourself:
• Where have I stopped believing that change is possible?
• What part of my life needs God’s breath again?
• What tomb is Jesus calling me out of?

Our God is a God of resurrection, not only at the end of time, but here and now. He restores. He revives. He makes all things new.

May this week be a time of rising, renewing, and trusting again in the God who brings life out of every grave.

03/15/2026

Fourth Sunday of Lent Year A
The Man Born Blind: A Journey of Faith (John 9:1–41)

This Gospel is not just about physical healing,it is about spiritual awakening. The blind man begins with little understanding, yet he is open. The Pharisees have perfect eyesight, yet they refuse to see.

The healed man grows in faith step by step, first calling Jesus “a man,” then “a prophet,” then “from God,” and finally falling down in worship. His healing is gradual, honest, and courageous.

Our own conversion often looks the same, slow, messy, resisted by others, but guided by grace.

The real blindness in the story is not physical, it is the refusal to welcome God’s work when it doesn’t fit our expectations.

A Word for Us Today

We all have places where we struggle to see clearly, about ourselves, others, or God. We all have moments when we judge by appearances. We all walk through valleys where we forget the Shepherd is near. We all carry shadows that need the light of Christ.

But Jesus comes today with the same gentle invitation:

“Do you want to see?”

Not just with your eyes, but with your heart. Not just the world around you, but God’s presence within it. Not just your circumstances, but God’s purpose in them.

A Prayer for This Sunday

Lord Jesus, Light of the world, open my eyes to see as You see. Heal the blindness that keeps me from recognizing Your presence. Lead me from darkness into Your marvellous light. Make my heart like David’s, open, humble, and ready for Your anointing. Shepherd me through every valley, and awaken me to Your grace.
Amen.

03/01/2026

SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT — YEAR A

On Mount Tabor, Jesus revealed His glory not to impress the Apostles, but to strengthen them. He knew the cross was coming. He knew fear would shake their faith. So He gave them a glimpse of who He truly is, the Beloved Son, radiant in glory, so that when they saw Him bruised and crucified, they would remember the truth behind the suffering.

Like Abraham, we too are called to step forward in faith, even when the path is unclear.

Lent invites us to trust God’s promise more than our fears, and His glory more than our struggles.

Every time we come to the Holy Eucharist, we climb our own Mount Tabor. The same Jesus who shone like the sun is the Jesus who comes to us under the humble signs of bread and wine, strengthening us for our journey.
Do not fix your eyes on the struggle; fix them on the Savior. Do not fear the cross; remember the glory behind it.

May Christ touch us today as He touched the Apostles and whisper to our hearts: “Rise, and do not be afraid.”

02/27/2026

02/22/2026

First Sunday of Lent – Year A

As we begin our Lenten journey, today’s readings remind us of something deeply true about the human heart: we are dust… but beloved dust.

In Genesis, Adam and Eve fall for the serpent’s lie, a lie we still hear today: “You don’t need God. You can handle life alone.”

But St. Paul gives us hope: if one person’s disobedience wounded us, Christ’s obedience heals us. Grace is always stronger than sin.

In the Gospel, Jesus faces temptation in the desert, not with superpowers, but with trust. He shows us that victory is possible when we stay rooted in God’s Word rather than the world’s noise.

This Lent, try three simple steps:

Pray honestly – even if it is for five quiet minutes.

Fast from something that controls you.

Choose one act of mercy each day.

Lent isn’t about perfection. It’s about direction. It’s about letting God breathe new life into our tired places.

May this season lead us closer to the One who walks with us in every desert.

02/18/2026

02/15/2026

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

Readings: Sirach 15: 15-20; 1 Corinthians 2: 6-10; Matthew 5: 17-3

God wants more than good behavior, He wants your heart.

Our readings remind us that real holiness begins on the inside.

Sirach tells us God honors our freedom.

St. Paul says God’s wisdom goes deeper than appearances.

And Jesus raises the bar—not by adding rules, but by calling us to a change of heart.

It’s not just “don’t kill,” but let go of anger.
Not just “don’t commit adultery,” but purify the imagination.
Not just “don’t swear falsely,” but be a person whose “yes” means yes.

The Gospel invites us to look honestly at the places where resentment, judgment, temptation, or half-truths still live in us. Grace doesn’t shame us; it transforms us.

This week, choose one area where God is calling you to deeper conversion. When the heart changes, everything else follows.