Blessed Sacrament/St. Vincent De Paul Churches Syracuse

08/08/2026

RETIREMENT FUNDS FOR RELIGIOUS

We are encouraged to be generous to support national funds for our retired and infirm religious nuns, brothers and sisters during all the Masses next weekend. The Second Collection that weekend will be for this purpose. These are the great benefactors of our faith who faithfully dedicated their life to the ministry of the church as they ministered for years and years in our parishes, schools, hospitals, jails, and many other entities. Most of them are now old and infirm facing high medical care. Let’s be generous to support them with our prayers and finances.

08/08/2026

ASSUMPTION OF OUR LADY

This year the Solemnity of Assumption will be next Saturday. It is not the Day of Obligation. You are all welcome to honor the assumption of our Lady here at Blessed Sacrament where there will be the 8:00AM. You are all welcome

08/08/2026

Please see Father Severine’s reflection for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time:

First Reading: 1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 85:9, 10,11-12, 13-14 Second Reading: Romans 9:1 - 5 Gospel Reading: Matthew 14:22 - 33

Reflection: In today’s Responsorial Psalm we responded, “Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.” At the mountain of God, Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter. God directed him to go outside and stand where the Lord would pass by. Strong and heavy wind passed, an earthquake passed and fire erupted but the Lord did not manifest himself. It was after fire when a tiny whispering sound emerged when Elijah experienced the presence of God and that made him to hide his face in his cloak and went to stand at the entrance of the cave. In today’s Gospel Reading, Jesus directed his disciples to get into the boat and sail by themselves while he went on the mountain by himself to pray. As they were sailing, the boat was tossed about by strong waves. As this was not enough, they saw a figure walking on the water towards them. They were filled with much fear thinking that the ghost was haunting to destroy them. It was not a ghost. It was Jesus walking towards them to rescue and comfort them. While disciples in much fear, Jesus spoke to them with calmness, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” The disciples were perplexed if truly it was Jesus speaking to them. Is it not true that our God is I AM. He is God who is present in our here and now life. God gives us chances to sail by ourselves in high seas of our lives. We may think that we are all alone and God is on the mountain praying by himself peacefully. We may think that God has abandoned us. We may be faced and threatened by strong winds, deep floods, or ferocious fires in our life and we may think we are all perish. That is not true. God is always with us. He accompanies us in the journeys of life whether we see him or not. Jesus walks on the water to reach his disciples and assure them safety. He does it to each one of us. Let’s invoke his name and truly believe in his presence. Are we not saying, “Amen” when we receive the Holy Eucharist responding to the Eucharistic minister who tells us, “The body of Christ.” Our “Amen” translates to, ‘I do believe that Jesus Christ is present in the Holy Eucharist body, blood and divinity.” It is in knowing the presence of God in our lives and knowing his mighty deeds in our lives that we may join the psalmist singing, “Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.” Yes! Amen! Fr. Severine.

08/02/2026

Please see Father Severine’s reflection for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time:

First Reading: Isaiah 55:1-3 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 145:8-9, 15-16, 17-18 Second Reading: Romans 8:35, 37 - 39 Gospel Reading: Matthew 14:13 – 21

Reflection: In today’s Responsorial Psalm we respond, “The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.” The psalmist praises the Lord as he continues saying, “The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his works. This is a very powerful perception of God. In his own life, the psalmist has personally experienced the powerful hand of God in taking care of his needs. In today’s First Reading, prophet Isaiah writes the invitation of the LORD to his people saying, “All who are thirsty come to the water! You who have no money come, receive grain and eat; come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk!” What is written by the prophet is experienced in today’s Gospel reading where Jesus (the son of God). Jesus is surrounded by the crowd of people who followed him on foot from their towns and villages for the ministry of healing. In the evening, Jesus challenges his disciples who proposed to him to dismiss the people so that they could go to fend for themselves. Jesus tells them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” The disciples could not understand Jesus on this as to how could they feed such a huge crowd. It is this context that that Jesus performs the miracle of the multiplication of bread and fish. He is able to feed the crowd from five loaves and two fish. That what was prophesied by Isaiah and other prophets in the Old Testament is now vivified in Jesus Christ. God has all powers. He is the one who walked the Israelites from the house of bo***ge in Egypt through the Red Sea and then through the wilderness to the Promised Land. It is the powerful hand of God which provided the daily needs of the Israelites in the wilderness for forty years. It God himself who continues to provide us with our daily needs. Knowing how integral the Lord is in his life, Paul in today’s Second Reading raises the question as he writes to the Romans, “What will separate us from the love of Christ?” Paul brings forth all odds circumstances which may tempt one to break relationship with Christ. Finally, Paul concludes by saying, “…..nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” What Paul is sharing with the Romans is that our relationship with God is natural and there is nothing out there which can dismantle such a natural relationship. In another scenario, how can a baby rejects her mother or caregiver? As the baby’s survival conditions are fully relying on the caregiver, the same happens to a creature to her creator. It is truly indeed, “The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.” Yes! Amen! Fr. Severine.

07/25/2026

FR. SEVERINE’S AWAY

Fr. Severine will be traveling to Tanzania from Friday July 31st to Friday August 28th. Keep him in your prayers for the safe journey home. While away, Msgr. Kopp will be joined by Msgr. Elmer for the daily and weekend Masses in our nked parishes. Fr. Severine is very grateful to Msgr. Kopp and Elmer for their generosity in ministry.

07/25/2026

Please see Father
Severine’s reflection for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time:

First Reading: 1 Kings 3:5, 7 - 12 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 119: 57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130 Second Reading: Romans 8:28 - 30 Gospel Reading: Matthew 12:44 - 52

Reflection: In today’s Responsorial Psalm we responded, “Lord, I love your command.” The psalmist continues to say, “I have said, O LORD, that my part is to keep your words. The law of your mouth is to me more precious than thousands of gold and silver pieces.” Yes, as creation, we are called to recognize that our prosperity is only made possible when we surrender ourselves to our creator who is the Alpha and the omega of all we have and all we are. Our failure to embrace this truth/reality leads us to believe in ourselves or in other created beings which do not have any ability to guide us to our final destination. In today’s First Reading, we encounter Solomon who has been elevated to be a king of Israel nation. This is a big nation. Solomon would have been proud to have this position and begin exercising the powers over his people. In contrary, Solomon realizes his own limitations to rule this nation and with great humility, he comes to God and tells him, “I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act.” He continues asking God, “Give your servant, therefore an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.” Solomon is asking the gift of wisdom which comes from God so that he may have the capacity to exercise God’s will to God’s people. In today’s Gospel Reading, Jesus invites his audience to know how valuable the kingdom of heaven is. He likens it to a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. This parable shows exactly that as God’s creation, we can’t be that successful if we do not search and possess the kingdom of heaven which contains all nutrients we need to navigate our present life profitably. As we delve into Holy Scriptures, we can’t fail to see that those who abided themselves to the ways of God, even if they may experience challenges in life, they will always emerge victorious in their life. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the son who had lost everything with prodigal living, he comes to his mind and say to himself, “I will arise and go to my father and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants,” (Luke 15:18-19). Again we see a repentant thief on the cross who comes his senses and prays, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom,” (Luke 23:42). It is all about surrendering in God’s hands after knowing that he is everything in everything. It makes more sense to join today’s psalmist and pray, “Lord, I love your commands.” Yes! Amen! Fr. Severine.

07/24/2026

Enrollment is open now!

🏫 Open Enrollment for the 2026-2027 school year is officially OPEN! At Blessed Sacrament School, we guide our students to Believe, Belong, and Become. Here is why families choose us for their child's future:

✨ Values-Based Education: We integrate Catholic teachings into daily life, building strong character.

🎒 Academic Excellence: We provide a rigorous, NYS Next Generation Standards aligned curriculum that prepares students for high school and beyond.

❤️ Family Atmosphere: We foster a warm, supportive community where every child is known and valued.

Step through our well-known red front doors and come home. Please reach out to schedule a tour and become a part of our family!

07/18/2026

Please see Father Severine’s reflection for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time:

First Reading: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16 Second Reading: Romans 8:26-27 Gospel Reading: Matthew 13:24 - 43

Reflection: In today’s Responsorial Psalm we responded, “Lord, you are good and forgiving.” Yes, this is true. We experience God’s forgiving nature in all levels. Delving in the Holy Scriptures, we may easily read various passages from Genesis to Revelation and experience that our God is the forgiving God. Today’s First Reading speaks very well of God’s mercy. The reading ends up with this quote, “and you gave your children good ground for hope that you would permit repentance for their sins.” Some of us may carry the image of God who waits us to fall down and punish us. This is not a true image of God. God continues to give us time to mend our ways and return back to him. The parable of the sower in today’s Gospel Reading speaks very well of God’s forgiving nature. Though the owner planted good seeds in his field and later on w**ds emerged, the owner of the field was not in a hurry to pull out w**ds. He gave time for wheat and w**ds to grow together to the harvesting time when he gave permission to his workers to harvest both and separate w**ds from wheat. It was at that time of the harvest that he ordered bundles of w**ds to be thrown into fire. Why did the owner of the field delay to destroy w**ds at the beginning? He knew that much destruction would be done since it is not easy to differentiate as to what is wheat or what is w**d at that early stage. Giving them the time to grow up together to maturity, it made it easy for the harvesters to know which ones are wheat and which are w**ds. I am always fascinated with the story of the conversion of a thief who was crucified with Jesus. In his own words, he confessed to be a sinner and he then prayed before a crucified Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” It was in the last minute of his life, that this thief came to a full realization of the goodness of God and pleaded for his Mercy. Did Jesus deny him? No. He walked with him to Paradise because he confessed his sins and accepted Jesus as His Lord and Savior. God always gives us the second opportunity to return to him through many ways whether in doing works of mercy or in embracing the life of holy sacraments. In receiving the sacraments of healing: Confession and Anointing of the Sick, we recognize our own sins and seek God’s mercy and forgiveness. When we carry contrite hearts, God forgives our sins. Let’s return to God today as we join the Psalmist singing, “Lord, you are good and forgiving.” Yes! Amen! Fr. Severine.

07/11/2026

Please see Father Severine’s reflection for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time:

First Reading: Isaiah 55:10-11 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14 Second Reading: Romans 8:18-23 Gospel Reading: Matthew 13:1-23

Reflection: In today’s Responsorial Psalm we respond, “The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest,” Yes indeed. As we drive in the farming lands this time of the year, we witness our hard-working farmers tilling the land, fertilize it and planting seeds. The corn planted into the fertilezed farms looks so green and health. They are attractive to our eyes and they show a great hope of the good harvest in the fall for both human and animal consumption. In today’s Gospel Reading, Jesus speaks to the crowd on the parable of the sower who goes out to his field to sow. Jesus tells them of the seeds falling into three different kinds of grounds: rocky, among thorns, and in good soil. Only seeds, which fall in good grounds, are able to grow up and reach harvest. Seeds, which fall in other two types of grounds end up dying immaturely. It seems that Jesus is speaking to the crowd who have farming experience. He uses their farming experience as the teaching tool for them to understand the mysteries of their salvation. At the end of this Gospel reading, Jesus translates this parable to his disciples that it is all about the word of God, which is proclaimed to all people. The word of God is the seed of salvation. As God’s creation, we are the grounds where the word of God is sown. The sower is God and all who proclaim and teach the word of God. Although the word of God may be proclaimed to all people, not all people will receive it the same way. Some will first receive it with much excitement but that excitement will last in a short time. Some will hear it and just abandon it from the very beginning due to their other engagements of life. Some will listen to it, embrace it and allow it to deepen in their hearts and change their lives into discipleship. Paul in today’s Second Reading writes to the Romans, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing comparing to the glory to be revealed for us.” The statement, which Paul shares to the Romans, shows how much the word of God (seed) has deepened itself into Paul’s faith in God. When the word of God’s deepens its roots in our lives, no life circumstance will sway us away from the love of God. The love of God will nourish our lives to persevere in all tribulations since we will be seeing the light of God’s glory at the end of tunnel of this life. As the responsible farmer takes the time to till the land and fertilize it as he prepares it to plant seeds, we too in our spiritual lives are called to nurture our souls to receive the word of God and allow it to yield much fruit in our lives and thus be able to join today’s psalmist in his powerful prayer: “The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.” Yes! Amen! Fr. Severine.