Historic St. Ann Catholic Church

09/08/2026

Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Matthew 1:1–16, 18–23
An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,”

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Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron

Friends, today we celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And our Gospel declares that she will be the mother of Jesus, who would be “God with us.”

Mary is a rich and multivalent symbolic figure in all of the Gospels. In Luke’s infancy narrative, she emerges as the spokesperson for ancient Israel, speaking, in her Magnificat, in the words and cadences of Hannah.

In Matthew’s Christmas account, she is compelled to go into exile in Egypt and is then called back to her home, recapitulating thereby the journey of Israel from slavery to freedom. She is thus the symbolic embodiment of faithful and patient Israel, longing for deliverance.

In John’s Gospel, she is, above all, mother—the physical mother of Jesus and, through him, the mother of all who would come to new life in him. As mother of the Lord, she is, once again, Israel, that entire series of events and system of ideas from which Jesus emerged and in terms of which he alone becomes intelligible. Hans Urs von Balthasar commented in the same vein that Mary effectively awakened the messianic consciousness of Jesus through her recounting of the story of Israel to her son.

09/07/2026

09/07/2026

09/07/2026

Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

Luke 6:6–11
On another sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him to see whether he would cure on the sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him. Even though he knew what they were thinking, he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” He got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?” After looking around at all of them, he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

_______________________
Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron

Friends, in today’s Gospel, the Pharisees plot against Jesus because he healed a man on the Sabbath.

Christians know something of God from sources philosophical, mythological, historical, and poetic, but their deepest grasp of the nature of God comes from Jesus of Nazareth, the Logos, the spoken Word of the Father. This Jesus was the friend of the marginalized, the healer of the disabled and the sick, the advocate of the forgotten, the forgiver of sins. His mission was to carry the fire of divine mercy to all those who were cut off from it.

In doing so, he excited the wrath and opposition of the powerful, all those whose status depended upon an ideology of violence, differentiation, and exclusion. When he was born, Herod trembled, and when he came on the public scene, Pharisees schemed and protectors of the establishment plotted to do away with him.

In the end, he was put to death by a conspiracy of the secular and religious authorities, and, in his moment of greatest danger, he was betrayed, denied, and abandoned by even his dearest friends. Jesus did not simply die; he was executed, eliminated. And he died precisely because of the way he lived.

09/06/2026

🌴✨ 41st Annual Auction for the Angels:
A Night on Paradise Island✨🌺

What a great first meeting! We loved the energy, enthusiasm, and excitement from everyone who joined us, and we can’t wait to see where this year takes us!

Our Auction is our largest and most important fundraiser of the year, helping bridge the gap between tuition and the true cost of educating our students. Your support is vital to our school!

And, of course, it’s always one of the most fun nights of the year!! A great cause, a great party, and a wonderful way to bring our community together. ❤️🤍

Here’s a little sneak peek at our vision for the evening! Make sure to save the date!

📅 November 14, 2026
🌺A Night on Paradise Island

09/06/2026

09/05/2026

𝑻𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝑩𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒑 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒖𝒆𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝑨𝒍𝒆𝒙 𝑱. 𝑽𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒔.

To read the letter, please click here:
https://www.diocesepb.org/about-us/bishop/bishop-manuel-statements.html

09/05/2026

St. Teresa of Kolkata, friend of the poor and dying, pray for us!

09/05/2026

Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, joined by a group of religious sisters, are suing the state of Illinois against the enforcement of its assisted su***de law. The law, signed by Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker in December 2025, permits doctors in the state to prescribe lethal doses of medication to patients to voluntarily end their lives. The rule also directs that to be eligible to kill themselves, the patients must have a terminal illness. The assisted su***de law has ever since met with wide criticism from Catholic bishops in the state.

Meanwhile, the religious liberty law firm, Becket, announced on September 3 that Cardinal Cupich and two orders of religious sisters had filed a lawsuit in U.S. district court against the state of Illinois aiming to prevent enforcement of the law against the Catholic plaintiffs. The suit argues that the sisters, who belong to the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm and the Little Sisters of the Poor, will be forced to either “abandon their religious beliefs regarding the sanctity of life or face significant fines and penalties” if they refuse to abide by the assisted su***de law.

The suit also holds that the First Amendment prohibits the state from requiring the Catholic caregivers to violate their faith by participating in the su***de regime. Filing the lawsuit, Cardinal Cupich said the Catholic Church “opposes efforts to undermine human dignity by pushing our brothers and sisters toward su***de.” “We pray that the courts will protect our freedom to continue advocating and caring for the sick and dying as our faith demands,” he added.

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