St. Patrick Catholic Church, 4518 S Manhattan Avenue, Tampa, FL (2026)

10/11/2026

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Sunday, October 11, 2026

In our Scriptures today, sisters and brothers, we are presented with the image of a banquet, representing the kingdom of God. This is true for both the Old and the New Testaments. Thus, we see in our reading from Isaiah (25:6-10a) a beautiful picture of the feast that God prepares on his holy mountain, a cause to rejoice and be glad for God’s salvation. The parable of Jesus today about a king who hosts a wedding banquet for his son is similar. The invited guests, however, choose not to accept their invitation, and the king then “throws open the doors” to anyone who will come. God desires his eschatological banquet to be as well-attended as possible. All are invited; none are excluded. Even if we accept the initial invitation, if we do not enter with a “wedding garment”, that is, a prepared heart, we will not be permitted to stay at the feast. Metaphorically speaking, this wedding garment represents, as St. Paul writes in a number of his letters, taking on the attitude of Christ, becoming like him (cf. Col 3:12; Rom 13:14; Gal 3:27). Matthew would have all the guests clothe themselves with good deeds and faithfulness, ready for the banquet. More is needed than just showing up. The generosity of God’s offer is overwhelming, all-encompassing! God even provides the “wedding garment”, Christ himself. We are to put on Christ, or, if you will, become Christ for others. Then we will be richly attired for the banquet of God’s kingdom, the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Reflection by: Fr. Alberto Bueno, T.O.R.

10/08/2026

Solemnity of Saint Francis of Assisi - Sunday, October 4, 2026

My sisters and brothers in Christ,
We celebrate the Feast of St Francis of Assisi on Oct 4th. On January 10, 2026, our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV declared a Jubilee Year to commemorate the 800th Anniversary of the death of St Francis. (Transitus or passage to heaven on October 3, 1226.) This Jubilee Year will conclude on January 10, 2027. The purpose of this Jubilee Year is to invite the faithful to spiritual renewal and to follow St Francis example of humility, radical poverty, mercy, care for creation and peace.

Francis lived as a careful youth known for partying, fine clothes and dreams of military glory. He was born Giovanni di Pietro de Bernadone. His father was a wealthy silk and cloth merchant. He could have lived as a wealthy young man and lacking for nothing, but the Lord had other plans for Francis. He gave up all his wealth and lived a radical lifestyle.

St Francis of Assisi was an Italian Friar and mystic born in 1181. He founded the Franciscan Order. He had great devotion to the Eucharist and to Jesus crucified. He was privileged to receive the sacred wounds of Christ on his body… side, hands and feet (the stigmata). He loved all of God’s creation and is known as the patron of animals and ecology.

To obtain the Plenary Indulgence that has been granted during this Jubilee Year you must,
1. Receive Reconciliation (Confession)
2. Receive Holy Communion
3. Say a prayer for the intentions of our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV with a heart detached from sin.
4. Say the Our Father and the Creed
To obtain this Indulgence you need to visit any Franciscan church or place of worship dedicated to St Francis. The sick, homebound or bedridden who can’t travel can also receive this Indulgence through a spiritual desire to unite with the Jubilee.
SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI PRAY FOR US

Reflection by: Fr. Salvator M. Stefula, T.O.R.

09/27/2026

Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Sunday, September 27, 2026

My dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, in toady’s second reading, from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (2:1-11), Saint Paul is calling us to a true conversion of mind, heart, and life. He points out the approach that will help us, to literally, take on the mindset of Jesus Christ our Lord. He calls us to see beyond ourselves and our self-interests to the global view of the common good of all people. And, quoting an ancient Christological hymn, he tells us to, “Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus”. I invite you, brothers and sisters, to spend time this week with this hymn. Found in Saint Paul’s Letter to the Philippians chapter two, verses 6-11. May it inspire you to put Christ and his vision in your heart of hearts, and put it into practice, remembering that because of this, “God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess, to the glory of God the Father, that Jesus Christ is Lord!”

Reflection by: Fr. Alberto Bueno, T.O.R.

09/13/2026

Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Sunday, September 13, 2026

My dear brothers and sisters, today’s Gospel, picking up from where last Sunday’s Gospel left off, presents us with one of Jesus’ parables. In responding to Peter’s question on forgiveness, the Lord’s answer includes the parable of the king settling accounts with his servants. In this parable Jesus shifts the emphasis away from the burden and the difficulty of the work of reconciliation, calling attention to the utter gratuity of the gift of forgiveness. The only way to respond adequately to such a gift is to pay it forward. The servant can never repay the king, but he can act in the same forgiving manner to those indebted to him. But, as we see, he does not do this. And the king’s response is severe! The ensuing verses can be very troubling. They remind us of the ending of the prayer that Jesus teaches his disciples: “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Mt. 6:12), with the added admonition that our ability to offer forgiveness is intimately tied to our ability to receive it (Mt. 6:14-15). The point isn’t that God is fickle in forgiving and takes back his forgiveness if we do not forgive, but rather, this parable is a warning of the consequences of letting our hearts become hardened in unforgiveness. A heart hardened in revenge sets in motion endless cycles of violence. The parable exposes the way that our choice to forgive or not redounds on us. The more we try to forgive and pray for the ability to forgive, even if we are not quite there yet, we open a place for God’s grace to work in us to bring us, in time, to be merciful as God is to us. Nothing we can do can take divine forgiveness away from us, but we can do things that hinder its powerful effect in us.

Reflection by: Alberto Bueno, T.O.R.

08/30/2026

Our Gospel today, brothers and sisters, picks up from last Sunday’s Gospel. Peter’s confession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ of God, is a turning point. Professing Jesus as the Christ open’s the apostles to some realities about the role of Christ; that is that Jesus will be rejected, suffer and be put to death, followed by the Resurrection, but they don’t “hear” that part, nor do they understand it. Jeremiah, in our first reading, likewise has come to face the reality of being God’s prophet. He says, “You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped.” However, the Hebrew translated here as “duped” is actually very different. It should read, “You seduced me, O Lord, and I let myself be seduced!” God drew Jeremiah in, and the prophet followed, but he has come to realize, in a very mature way, what it means to be a prophet: hardship, rejection, persecution, yet filled with the presence and grace of God. Likewise, Jesus is telling the apostles to break free from immature ways of thinking and acting. To see things as they are, rather than what we would like them to be, or how we would prefer them to be. The road of disciple and apostle is the way of the Cross!
Tuesday is World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, this opens the Season of Creation which lasts until the 4th of October, the Feast of St. Francis, Patron of the care for our common home, our Sister Mother Earth. This year’s theme is Living Water: Immersion in Living Water, based on Ezekiel 47:9, 12. This passage from Ezekiel portrays God’s life-giving water flowing from the temple of God. This river becomes very large and gives life and sustains it richly and abundantly. As Catholics we are challenged to see reality as it is. We have been charged to be stewards of creation, and climate change is an issue which we need to face and find ways to counterbalance humanity’s harsh footprint on our planet. Let this season of creation encourage us to help in enriching the sustainability of our environment, especially this year, the precious gift of water, so that no living creature may suffer from thirst and our crops and forests may produce much fruit for the good of all to share.

08/23/2026

Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time - Sunday, August 23, 2026

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

I was reading a reflection by Desmond Knowles about Peter. He said that Peter is one of the most interesting characters in the Gospel. He said it is amazing that Christ selected Peter as the leader of the church. By human standards, he was a disastrous choice and should never have been appointed. He further said that you could hardly describe him as a stable person because at times he was brave while on other occasions he displayed complete cowardice. When we think of the times that Peter did not display qualities of a good leader, we have to acknowledge that the Lord knew what He was going to do. His call to lead was a most important step in the development of the church. Christ had confidence in him and entrusted him with a mission which was crucial for the continuation of his work.

Peter’s choice is a wonderful example of the power of God at work-using the weak things of this world to confound the strong. With the Lord, all things are possible. The Lord continues to use us, even in our weakness and sinfulness. God bless you.

Reflection by: Fr. Salvator M. Stefula, T.O.R.

08/16/2026

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Sunday, August 16, 2026

My dear sisters and brothers, all our Scripture passages this weekend remind us that God’s plan, from the beginning of salvation history, has been a universal one. The prophet Isaiah tells us that the Lord is open to the Gentiles, not just to the Jewish people. “Foreigners will join themselves to the Lord … for my house shall be called a house of prayer for ALL peoples.” Centuries later, in his letter to the Romans, Saint Paul calls himself the apostle to the Gentiles. Throughout his various missionary journeys, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles and in his letters, Paul brought the message of hope and mercy rooted in Christ’s Paschal Mystery to any who would receive it, and the community of believers, the Church, grew to reflect this reality. The Church, from its very early days was, and is, a kaleidoscope of peoples of every race, culture, language and social status, truly catholic (that is universal) united in one God, one faith, one baptism in Christ Jesus our Lord. Even Jesus gives witness to that in our Gospel today when he recognizes that faith in him can be present even in a Canaanite woman! Christ’s great commission was to make believers of all nations. That mission belongs to all of us. There are no barriers or exclusions to come into the Catholic Church. There must be no divisions among Catholics for we are One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic; in Christ we are all one family, a human family transformed by faith, hope and love. Now and always and forever!

Reflection by: Fr. Alberto Bueno, T.O.R.

08/11/2026

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Sunday, August 9, 2026

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

Greetings in the Lord. Our first reading takes us back to about 860 years before Christ. The queen at that time was Queen Jezebel. The prophet Elijah was living in Israel at the time. The queen was not a nice person and tried to lead the people into paganism, but the prophet was trying to keep them faithful to God. There was not a good relationship between the queen and Elijah. She tried to have him killed and to save his life he left Israel and fled to Mt Sinai. This was the place where previously God had made a Covenant with Israel and where He gave Moses the Ten Commandments four centuries earlier. God spoke to the prophet not in thunder, lightning or an earthquake but in the quiet whisper.

How do we pray? Do we always have to speak, or can we sit quietly and hear what the Lord may be trying to tell us. There are times when we need to be quiet and listen to the silent voice of the Lord speaking to us. Fr Grassi once said that if we talked less and listened more it would be better for us and for the church.

May the Lord give you His peace!

Reflection by: Fr. Salvator M. Stefula, T.O.R.

08/04/2026

BINGO & DINNER
TUESDAY, AUGUST 11
St Patrick Social Hall
5:30 PM Dinner
6:30 PM Games
Cost: $25.00
26 games & 4 specials
MUST BE 18 TO PLAY
TICKETS SOLDAT THE DOOR ONLY

08/02/2026

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Sunday, August 2, 2026

My dear Sisters and Brothers, From the times of Isaiah and the other prophets, God has been calling his people to himself. God desires to provide for us, generously, what we most need, that is, God’s very self! The words spoken via Isaiah today express this so powerfully. God gives freely and overwhelmingly, if we but respond. “Come to me heedfully, … that you may have life. I will renew you with the everlasting covenant.” (Isa. 55:3) Jesus fulfills this in today’s Gospel from Matthew (Mt. 14:13-21). With just five loaves and two fish, the Lord provides a much-needed meal for over five thousand people with more than enough for all and plenty of leftovers. This wonderful meal prefigures the Eucharistic Banquet which Christ will ultimately give us, as an everlasting memorial, his very Body and Blood, to sustain us every day of our lives. Because, as Saint Paul so poetically tells us in the eighth chapter of his Letter to the Romans (Rom. 8:35, 37-39), nothing will ever separate us from God’s love in Christ: “For I am convinced that (nothing in creation) … will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God’s love in so many ways is, powerfully, generously, overwhelmingly, constantly, available freely for each one of us! What more could we ask for?

Reflection by: Fr. Alberto Bueno, T.O.R.

St. Patrick Catholic Church

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