Saint Louis Catholic Church

10/18/2026

10/17/2026

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101826.cfm

Daily Bible Readings, Podcast Audio and Videos and Prayers brought to you by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

10/17/2026

10/17/2026

Pastor's notes Sunday, October 18, 2026 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Saint Augustine and other early commentators on the Gospel’s pointed out that when our Lord changed water into w**e at the wedding at Cana His miracle just involved the speeding up of a natural process. Their point was all water has the potential to become w**e. All it takes is adding some grape juice and waiting. This idea is related to what Saint Paul wrote the Corinthians in today’s second reading when he tells the Corinthians and us, that we have been sanctified in Christ Jesus and are called to be holy. We all have the potential to be holy. All it takes is our use of grace through which Christ has sanctified us.

SaintJohn tells his disciples that Jesus is the Lamb of God. His listeners almost certainly knew that what John meant was that Jesus was the true Paschal Lamb. That is why he would take away the sins of the world. Jesus by His sacrifice for us has won for us the grace we need to do God’s will; the grace without which we can do nothing good. Jesus is the one who restores us to the life that we were created for before the sin of our first parents. Now it is possible for us all to become saints.

It is our faith that the sanctifying grace we receive in baptism truly transforms us. It is divinizing grace, grace that makes us more and more like God. By contrast, when Martin Luther broke with the Church, he claimed that sanctifying grace only covered up our sins. He used the analogy that grace was like snow on a dung heap. Unfortunately his pessimistic view of human nature was accepted not only by his followers but by many Catholics as well. Personal holiness was simply not possible for most people. Only a few priests and religious could ever hope to become holy.

That is why the Second Vatical council reiterated the universal call to holiness that St. Paul spoke about to the Corinthians and that the Church has always taught. We are no longer trapped by sin. Christ gives us the power to keep the commandments even when it might seem impossible to us. We are each capable to become as holy as God knows we can become. And Christ us Himself in the Most Holy Eucharist as a par excellence source of that grace so that by worthily receiving Him we become more and more immune from the temptations to sin and less and less likely to commit serious sin.

Father Tom

10/10/2026

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101126.cfm

Daily Bible Readings, Podcast Audio and Videos and Prayers brought to you by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

10/10/2026

PASTOR'S NOTES SUNDAY OCTOBER 11, 2026 28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Jesus offers us today a rather unusual parable. Unlike most of His parables, this one does not use images from everyday life. Instead, Jesus speaks of a wedding feast that does not fit the usual customs of that time. The reaction of those invited is bizarre to say the least. Why would anyone refuse an invitation to a celebration that they claimed to have wanted to attend? Who would react violently towards messengers who invited them to a party?

Of course this is no ordinary wedding. The King is God the Father. The wedding feast is that of the Lamb to His bride the Church. The messengers are the prophets right down to John the Baptist. Those who had the special invitation were the chief priests and the other leaders of Israel. They were the ones who should have recognized Christ when He appeared yet instead refused to believe in Him and ultimately seek to destroy Him.

In many ways, this parable combines elements from several of the parables we heard this year as well as some of the rebukes Jesus spoke to the Pharisees and others who acted to exclude those, they did not think worthy of enjoying God’s mercy. When those invited refused to come to the wedding celebration, the King replaced them with whomever He could find, the good and the bad alike. We can think of the repentant sinners and tax collectors who responded to Jesus’ call. We can think of the Samaritans and Gentiles who believed in Jesus with a faith that surpassed that of the self-righteous Israelites. Further, Jesus’ remark about bringing in both the good and the bad should remind us of the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds and how we cannot tell them apart until harvest time.

What about the guest who was cast out for not being found with a wedding garment? He seems to represent those who receive sanctifying grace in baptism and then lose it through a life of sin. In baptism we all receive a “wedding garment” but that does not mean that we will always keep it. We must use that grace given to us to cultivate virtue and eliminate vice. Thus, this parable forms a good argument against those who claim once saved always saved.

FATHER TOM

10/05/2026

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