St. John Catholic Church

06/22/2026

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

06/22/2026

Friends, Jesus’s parable in today’s Gospel (Matt 7:1–5) is one of the most psychologically and spiritually insightful remarks in the New Testament. Let’s face it: a favorite pastime of most human beings is criticism of others.

We delight in pointing out the shortcomings, moral failings, and annoying tendencies of our neighbors. This is, of course, a function of pride and egotism: The more I put someone else down, the more elevated I feel.

But it is also, oddly, a magnificent means of turning a mirror on ourselves, to see what usually remains unseen. Why, we ought to ask, do we find precisely this sin of others particularly annoying? Why does that trait or sin of a confrere especially gall us?

Undoubtedly, Jesus implies, because it reminds us of a similar failing in ourselves. I remember a retreat director asking each of us to call to mind a person that we found hard to take and then to recount in detail the characteristics that made the person so obnoxious to us. Then he recommended that we go back to our room and ask God to forgive those same faults in ourselves. His words were as unnerving and as illuminating as these words of Jesus.

06/21/2026

Happy Fathers Day to all fathers and all men.

Happy Father’s Day!

06/21/2026

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

06/21/2026

Friends, three times in today’s Gospel (Matt 10:26–33) Jesus tells us not to be afraid. When we fear, we cling to who we are and what we have; we see ourselves as the threatened center of a hostile universe. Fear is the “original sin” of which the Church Fathers speak. Fear is the poison that was injected into human consciousness and human society from the beginning.

And fear is a result of forgetting our deepest identity. At the root and ground of our being there is what Christianity calls “the image and likeness of God.” This means that at the foundation of our existence, we are one with the divine power that continually creates and sustains the universe. We are held and cherished by the infinite love of God.

When we rest in this center and realize its power, we know that we are safe, or in more classical religious language, “saved.” And therefore we can let go of fear and begin to live in radical trust. But when we lose sight of this rootedness in God, we live exclusively on the tiny island of the ego, and our lives become dominated by fear.

06/20/2026

"Our usual habit is to behave in an exactly contrary manner. Everyone talks; no one listens, least of all to Him who most deserves to be heard: the interior Master. There are few perfect souls because there are few lovers of silence. Silence is the equal of perfection, not in all, but in a great many instances. Put it to the test - it is worth the trouble - and the result will be a revelation."

An excerpt from How To Pray Always by Raoul Plus S.J.

06/20/2026

Bl. John Fenwick and Bl. John Gavan (d. 1679) were Englishmen and Jesuit priests who were martyred for their faith in England during the monarchy's persecution of the Catholic Church. John Fenwick's Protestant parents disowned him when he became a Catholic. The two priests, along with three other Jesuits, were falsely accused of involvement in the "Popish Plot," a fabricated conspiracy that mounted to anti-Catholic hysteria in England over the course of three years. The men were charged with complicity to assassinate King Charles II and condemned on the charges of High Treason and subversion of the nation's Protestant religion. During their trial, John Gavan acted as the principal spokesman for the group; one historian called him one of the ablest priests of his generation. Both priests were condemned to be hung, drawn, and quartered. It is said that the King, knowing they were innocent yet unwilling to grant them pardon, permitted them to be hanged only. After giving a rousing speech declaring their innocence, Bl. John Fenwick and Bl. John Gavan were martyred together on June 20th, 1679. They share a feast day on June 20th.

06/20/2026

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

06/19/2026

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

06/19/2026

Please pray for our local youth group, including St. John parishioners, on their journey this weekend.

The 2026 Steubenville Lone Star trip is underway! Please say a prayer for this group as they travel and grow closer to the Lord this weekend.