Our Lady of Grace Parish

08/30/2026

08/26/2026

Fr. Dan's Homily - August 23, 2026

In the first reading from Isaiah the key takeaway (pardon the pun) is the keys. The only reason this passage was selected for today’s reading was because of the reference to the key to the House of David. Keys are symbols of authority. In the Gospel Jesus promises to give Peter the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.

There are a couple of important points in today’s Gospel. First of all, there are many places in the Scriptures that emphasize the preeminent position or Peter among the apostles, but there are two places where Peter’s position of leadership is spelled out more clearly. One is in St. John’s Gospel when Jesus, after the Resurrection tells Peter: “Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.” The other is in today’s Gospel. This insistence on the position of Peter in relation to the other apostles is what underlies our belief that after Christ, the Holy Father is the chief shepherd and head of the Church. His role is to be the visible representative of Christ. The keys Jesus said he would give Peter symbolize this authority. The keys that Jesus gave Peter were not buried with him and that position of authority did not end when Peter died. It was passed on to his successors. This is implied in the gospel Matthew wrote, for Peter had been dead for 25 or 30 years when Matthew wrote this passage. Matthew suggests that this leadership position would remain part of structure of Christ’s community of believers.

A second important idea in today’s Gospel is the answer to the question Jesus asked his apostles: “Who do you say that I am?” How we answer this question will determine how each of us relates to Him. Is He, for example, Someone worth our time on Sunday or even during the week? Is He Someone we can trust? Is He Someone who loves us, forgives us, wants only the best for us? Is He Someone who has the authority to tell us how to live, what we should do, what we may not do? Is He Someone we look forward to spending eternity with?

It is easy to say Jesus is Savior, Jesus is messiah, Jesus is the Son of God, or as we say in the creed each week: Jesus is “God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God.” But has our mind and heart connected with these words to the extent that we can exclaim with Paul: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!... For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things.” The Apostles could tell Jesus what others said about Him, and we too can say what others have said about Him. That’s okay, for that’s how we begin to learn who Jesus is, by what others tell us. But have we moved beyond what others have told us to know Jesus in a personal way?

Experience demonstrates that the best things in life can often only be tasted in the breath of wonder. A magnificent sunset, a starry sky, can only be gazed upon. Love can not be explained; it can only be experienced and relished. Our relationship with God is first an experience in fascination and wonder rather than with an analysis and judgment. An enhanced relationship with God in Jesus, is increasingly dependent on two important commodities: time and humility. We need to take time—to make time—to look deeply at the wonders that surround us: beautiful skies, landscapes, gardens and the faces of children, the tenderness of those who love us—and give thanks. We need also to regain a sense of humility before mystery, which is not an affront to our intelligence, but a provocation to our intuition, which appeals not to our minds, but to our hearts. Why did Christ die for us? Humility is a heartfelt recognition of the “riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.” Humility enables us to see that the universe operates from designs far beyond our comprehension and that the only proper response is awe.

Fr. Dan

08/24/2026

This Wednesday, August 26, there will be Eucharistic Adoration at St. Agnes starting at 1pm. This will be followed by Family Hour of Prayer and Benediction starting at 6pm.

Come spend some time in the real presence of our Lord and pray the Rosary led by members of the Knights of Columbus.

Hope to see you all there!

08/20/2026

Back to School Supply Collection

We are once again collecting school supplies for the upcoming school year. There will be a bin at both St. Anne and St. Agnes during the month of August.

•Donations will be divided between: Meridian, Beaverton and Coleman Schools

08/19/2026

Fr. Dan's Homily - August 16, 2026

My mother used to give my sister, Anne a tongue-lashing challenge for going out and working in a local soup kitchen. You’re surprised, I’m sure! My mother would use an old proverb and calmly say, “Charity begins at home.” You guessed it! My sister, Anne, never wanted to do the dishes at home and would craft-fully avoid the chore. Remembering my mother’s use of a familiar adage, helped me to understand a little better Jesus’ exchange with the Canaanite woman. I suspect that it was a proverb that Jesus and most Jews heard growing up. The Jews were God’s chosen, and no one else could claim such a prerogative. In this encounter it is used to emphasize a different point. This is a profound and powerful teaching moment that gives the first hint to the Apostles and to us of Jesus’ world-wide mission. Jesus is was speaking to the woman but teaching the Apostles that their mission is beyond the borders of Palestine and showing them the great capacity for faith that exists among all peoples.

The Church must be universal in its reach. The very word Catholic means universal. That is the truth that unites the readings today. The Lord says through Isaiah, “My house shall be a house of prayer for all peoples.” In the second reading St. Paul is struggling with the dilemma of why the Jewish people at that time rejected Christ. He then realizes that the Jewish rejection of Jesus was God’s way of directing the disciples to the Gentiles. Redemption was for everybody. We are not sent to exclude but to include. The deeper Christ’s life grows within us, the more we want to share Him with others.

Another motif of the exchange with Jesus and the Canaanite woman is an important one, if we want to receive, we have to ask; if we want a door to open, we have to knock. In today’s Gospel, we are reminded that very often we have to ask again and again to get the response we are seeking; we have to knock over and over again before the door is opened to us. Many prized opportunities evaporate because our initial excitement fades with the first difficulty we encounter. Our prayers are not answered because we give up praying when a divine response seems long overdue. A promising relationship is lost because we become disheartened when our first approaches seem ignored. We must realize that perseverance proves our good faith and sincerity. It is our persistence, not the initial efforts, that achieves results. It is our most valuable asset for accomplishing our goals in life, and it’s all a matter of determination. It is the secret of accomplishments, great and small. Successful people are identified as successful for one reason alone: never giving up.

If you and I have persistent faith in Our Lord, as this Canaanite woman had, then it doesn’t matter how impossible the request may seem. The Canaanite woman assures us that our faith and trust will find their appropriate level, and their appropriate response, in the seemingly bottomless well of the Lord’s compassion.
Some questions for reflection. Is our prayer too much relegated to our feelings? Are our resolutions based in too much on feelings alone? Do we appreciate the resource we have in our will? Do we exercise it enough to get what we want? Notice how stubborn we can be when we want to be; let’s not fool ourselves that our determination is negligible. Let’s put our minds to what we judge as important and be stubbornly persistent in doing what we need to do.

Fr. Dan

08/13/2026

Calling all Catholic gentlemen over 18. If you feel called to serve God and His church, consider joining the Knights of Columbus today on our founder’s feast day! The code below gets you your first year free. Vivat Jesus!

08/12/2026

OCIA

If you or someone you know is interested in joining the Catholic Faith, please contact Marybeth or Deb at 687-5657 ext. 4. Classes start Tuesday Sept. 8

08/11/2026

Coats for Kids!

Our Lady of Grace Council 8043 Knights of Columbus is collecting for Coats for Kids again this year. We take care of ordering and distributing the coats, all we need from you is your money! 💵😀

Any amount you can spare will go toward cases of coats for children locally. If you are interested in contributing you can let me know or contact fellow parishioners Mike Schultz or Robert McManus, or Grand Knight Benjamin Fortin.

Time is short, we need to have our orders in soon so dig deep! It’s going to be a cold winter!

Thank you all!

Chris Benner
Deputy Grand Knight

08/11/2026

Join us for the Diocesan Holy Spirit Series, livestreamed in the St. Agnes Library

Wed August 12 at 6:30-8:30pm
Topic: The Holy Spirit in the Early Church
Questions: contact Marabeth
at 989-274-7776

08/11/2026

Fr. Dan's Homily - August 9, 2026

Where do we find the Lord in our life? Today’s readings point to two surprising places: in the quiet and in the storm.

In the first reading Elijah is running for his life. The queen wants to kill him. He goes to the holy mountain of Horeb to wait for the Lord to come to him. He looks for a sign of God’s presence in the wind, in the earthquake, and the fire, (all the manifestations that Moses experienced on that same mountain), but God is in none of those places. Rather He was in the air around him, in the gentle breeze. It is true, that so often we look for God in the extraordinary or unusual and only find Him there and not in the ordinary, everyday, routine. The challenge the first reading offers is: do we take time to meet God in the silences or do we spend our time in looking only for the supernatural fireworks?

The God who is present to us in the sound of silence is also present to us in the middle of the storm. On the sea that is the world, often waters swell and overflow, and the storm becomes menacing. Those storms may have to do with children, marriage, finances, health, emotional problems, work or other people. Our instinct when the storms come is to think that God has abandoned us. When the waves loom high and the sea is deep the message that is given to us is, “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.”

“Do not be afraid.” This is a recurring theme in the Bible. When Abraham set out on his journey across the desert and God made a covenant with him, God said, “Do not be afraid, Abraham, I am your shield.” To Moses, on Mt. Sinai, when he was afraid to face Pharaoh, God said the same thing: “I will be with you." To the Virgin Mary the angel Gabriel began his good news with these words: “Do not be afraid Mary.” To Jairus, the leader of the synagogue, Jesus said the same thing: “Do not fear, only believe.” After the Resurrection, the angel gave the same message to the women at the tomb: “Do not be alarmed.” In the Upper Room Jesus asked the fearful disciples: “Why are you frightened? And why do you doubt?” Jesus wants us to break out of the prisons of our fears and reach out for His saving hand. God’s Saving Presence is a call to action to go and do likewise.

Jesus is consistently portrayed as stretching out His hand as He did for Peter in his faltering faith. Jesus cures the sick, makes the lame walk, heals lepers. He feeds the multitude and turns water into wine for the embarrassed host. He consoles the bereaved. He lived for others. The point is that we are authentically Christian in proportion to how well we mirror Jesus in His actions. As he stretched out His hand to others, we are called to do no less. “Don’t be afraid, I will be with you.”

We tend to underestimate the ways in which we can assist others by stretching out our hands. There are countless ways in which we can extend our hands: our kind words, compliments, smiles, words of love, understanding, or sympathy. If people leave your presence uplifted, or feeling better about themselves, you have stretched out your hand. If they can walk a little taller or have a better outlook on life for having spoken with you, then you have stretched out your hand. It is the little things that count in following Jesus. Imitate the Lord in His gestures—stretch out your hand!

Fr. Dan