In this homily given at St. Pat's on Sunday, November 17th 2024, Father Joshua Fons exhorts parents to consider what the greatest gift they received as children from their parents, and what in turn could they give to their own children. From his own experience, Father shares about how one of the greatest gifts his parents gave to him was his Cathol…

In this homily, given Sunday, November 10th, 2024, Dcn. Josh Luttig invites us to give God everything, modeled after the widows in today's Mass readings. We do this primarily through the offertory at Mass, when we place our lives on the altar in Union with Christ, who offers himself to the Father on our behalf.…

In this part four (4 of 4) of the homily series, "The Lay Commitment to the Foundations of the Common Good," Fr Mathias preaches on the "synthesis and keystone" of all fundamental rights and freedoms: the right to religious freedom. Since we're made for divine truth, each person has the right to pursue it and to live accordingly. When this right is…

In the third part of the series on the Lay Commitment to the Foundations of the Common Good, Father Joshua Fons speaks on the truth and goodness of God's design for Marriage and the Family. This is the battleground of our culture today, and the choice comes down to this: do I believe the lies of Relativism? or do I believe that what God has said is…

In this homily, part 2 of 4 of the preaching series on the lay commitment to the common good, given Sunday, October 20, 2024 Dcn. Josh presents the Church's teaching on the intrinsic dignity of human life and it's need to be protected by our vote. God sees each person through the lens of the Cross, and we need to as well when we vote. The U.S. bish…

On Sunday October 13th, 2024 Fr Mathias preaches part one of four-part homily series on the Lay Commitment to the Common Good. This series is geared to help Catholics think critically about their responsibility to promote the common good through voting. In this first homily, Fr Mathias identifies various temptations that Christians face when approa…

On Sunday October 6th, Fr. Mathias unveils and makes a pitch for the Stewardship for Saints and Scholars Campaign, an urgent initiative of Bishop Boyea to support the passing on of the faith through Catholic education. To see the video that was watched by the congregation during the homily click here: https://stewardshipforsaintsandscholars.com/wat…

In this homily, given Sunday, September 29th 2024, Dcn. Josh calls us all to exercise our role as prophets through our baptisms. As prophets, we are called to hear God's word, and speak it to others.Av St. Patrick Catholic Parish

Father Joshua Fons speaks to the Men on Sunday, September 22nd, 2024 about the ways masculinity is under attack in our culture, and how Jesus, the New Adam, gives us the Model of true masculinity. Jesus shows us what true greatness looks like, and our world desperately needs men like Him.Av St. Patrick Catholic Parish

In this homily given Sunday, September 15, 2024, Fr. Mathias preaches on the difficulty and suffering involved in following Jesus to heaven. But Jesus never asked us to try to follow him on our own. After outlining parts of the Pathway of Discipleship, the comprehensive strategy of making disciples at St Pat's, Father casts vision on the power of s…

In this homily given on Sunday, September 8th, 2024, Father Joshua Fons speaks into the reality of our very hurried and frantic lives: lives full of restlessness, distraction, and anxiety; lives spent glued to a Smartphone. Why are we in such a hurry? Because we don't allow Jesus to take us away from the crowd, from all the noise, to heal us. Becau…

In this homily given Sunday September 1st, 2024, Deacon Josh expounds upon the fact that God lowers himself to us most profoundly in the Eucharist; which allows us to live pure and undefiled lives and remain unstained by the world.Av St. Patrick Catholic Parish

In the last week of the 5 week series on the Eucharist, Father Joshua Fons unpacks the exciting conclusion of John 6, challenging us to stake our life on the Eucharist. The Eucharist isn't just a nice idea, or an interesting doctrine, it is Jesus Christ, and He is worth staking everything on.Av St. Patrick Catholic Parish

In this homily given Sunday August 18, 2024, Fr Mathias preaches part four of the series on the Eucharist in which he reflects on why some people get more out of Mass than others. He suggests that the disposition of thanksgiving and praise opens our hearts to receiving all he has for us. After all, the Mass is where we are to offer our lives with C…

In this homily given Sunday August 11, 2024, Fr Mathias continues the preaching series on the Eucharist and calls us to renew our commitment to Sunday Mass. The Eucharist is the source of divine life and when we faithfully go to Mass we not only reap the benefits, we also give a powerful witness to those who are watching us. Father outlines two thi…

In Part 2 of the 5 week series on the Eucharist, Father Joshua invites us to recognize the hunger we have in our hearts, and that this hunger can only be satisfied in Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life.Av St. Patrick Catholic Parish

In this homily given Sunday July 28, 2024, Fr Mathias challenges us to see the general election this fall from the perspective of what God was doing in the National Eucharistic Congress. Just as Philip didn't see how they were to feed the crowd because he didn't know what Jesus was intending supernaturally, we should be careful not to attempt to se…

St. Victor’s Major Seminary was established by the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) in 1946 to train natives to minister to their own people in their native language and culture. St. Victor's Seminary is in need of the following: 1. Provision of Basic Books for seminarians (Breviary, Catechism of the Catholic Church, New Jerusalem Bible, Jero…

In this homily, given at St. Pat's on Sunday, July 14th, 2024, Deacon Josh invites us to consider our response if the Lord were to ask us to go out on mission as he sent his apostles. The success of our life as Christians depends on our reliance on Jesus because we do by grace what Jesus does by nature. Accepting our littleness and dependence on Je…

In this homily given on Sunday, July 7th, 2024, Father Joshua Fons, the new parochial vicar at St. Pats, preaches about how no one lives a perfect life. In fact, most of our lives are a mess. But the Lord tells us through St. Paul, "My Grace is sufficient for you," and this simple truth changes everything. The Lord wants to make you a Saint, right …

In this homily given at St. Pat's on Sunday, June 30th 2024, Fr. Miguel preaches on how God responds to us in our brokenness, sin, and worry. Because He is mercy itself - he always responds by giving us His lifeAv St. Patrick Catholic Parish

In this homily given Sunday June 23, 2024, Fr Mathias preaches on the gospel of Jesus calming the wind and the waves. The disciples were afraid because they didn't yet believe in Jesus as the Lord of creation who was present in their boat. While it's normal for us to be afraid when we perceive a threat or a danger in our lives, Father challenges us…

In this homily, given on Father's Day (June 16th, 2024), Dcn Josh expounds upon St. Paul's message that faith allows us to live courageously in our earthly life as we set our hope on eternal life. He then explains how the parables in the Gospel (the farmer observing growth and the mustard seed) apply to fatherhood. The sacrifices fathers make for t…

In this homily given at St. Pat's on June 9, 2024, Fr. Miguel preaches on the importance of maintaining unity with Christ and his Church. For Jesus says in the Gospel that "if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand." The devil cannot defeat God, nor can he collapse Christ's Church (Mt 28:20). So, what will be his st…

In this homily given on Corpus Christi (Sunday, June 2, 2024), Fr Mathias outlines what it means to receive Jesus worthily and reverently. Intentionally not going into too much detail , Father offers an overview of the Church's teaching that Holy Communion is only for professed Catholics who are in a state of grace. He also reviews what it means to…

In this homily, given at St. Pat's on May 19th, 2024, Dcn. Josh shares his testimony and experience hearing the call to the priesthood and being baptized in the Spirit. When we receive the Holy Spirit, our lives start to look like Christ's and we are able to be witnesses of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection in our daily lives. The Holy Spirit is…

In this homily given at St. Pat's on May 12, 2024, Fr. Miguel preaches on the great gift of Jesus resulting from his Ascension: the outpouring of his Holy Spirit at Pentecost. But like any gift that we have received, we can receive a gift well or not so well. How have you responded to the gift of God himself? Have you received him well?…

In this homily given at St. Pat's on May 05, 2024, Fr. Miguel preaches on what it means for God to love us by breaking open three characteristics of God's love: 1. That it's eternal, 2. It's total, and 3. It's freely given.Av St. Patrick Catholic Parish

In this homily given at St Pat's on April 28th, 2024, Fr. Miguel preaches on how the Word of God prunes us of any mindsets and attitudes that will prevent us from fully responding to the Lord's call in our livesAv St. Patrick Catholic Parish

In this homily given on April 21st, 2024, Fr Mathias exhorts us to live like Jesus, our Good Shepherd, and not like the hired men who abandons the sheep when danger is near. It's not just the clergy who are called to be like Jesus in shepherding God's people; the laity too who have people entrusted their care (parents, siblings, leaders, managers, …

In this homily given at St. Pat's on Sunday April 14, 2024 Deacon Joshua Fons opens up the word of God, speaking about the importance and power of words. God has spoken to us in words, sent His Son, the Word, and calls us to listen to and obey His Word. Deacon also emphasizes the need to be rooted in the Word of God, to counter the lies of our mode…

In this homily given on Divine Mercy Sunday (April 7th, 2024), Fr Mathias preaches on Jesus' declaration "peace be with you" in the Upper Room after the Resurrection. Far from being a simple greeting, the Risen Jesus is declaring that there is now peace between God and humanity through the blood of his cross. God desires this peace to the world by …

In this homily given on Sunday March 10th, 2024 Fr Mathias preaches on what happens when we don't live out of how God sees us: we tend to obsess over how we appear to others and what they think of us. Father expounds on this destructive habit of the heart and how it plays out in our lives today, especially in our age of social media. Father ends hi…

In this homily given at St. Pat's on Sunday, March 3rd 2024, Deacon Dave preaches on the woman at the well, giving the backstory of the Samaritan people. Deacon Dave described how her encounter with Jesus was personal and how it changed her from a woman isolated and shunned into a devoted disciple and dynamic evangelist.…

In night three of the 2024 St Pat's Lenten Parish Mission, "How to Hear God's Voice," Father Mathias explains the key steps of how to pray from the heart and how to grow in trust in God.Av St. Patrick Catholic Parish

In night two of the 2024 St Pat's Lenten Parish Mission on "How to Hear God's Voice," Father Mathias explains what God's voice sounds like in prayer and how to discern it.Av St. Patrick Catholic Parish

In night one of the 2024 St Pat's Lenten parish mission on "How to Hear God's Voice," Father Mathias outlines seven ways we can posture our hearts to hear God's voice more clearly in our prayer.Av St. Patrick Catholic Parish

In this homily given at St. Pat's on Sunday, February 25th, 2024 Deacon Joshua examines St. Paul's exclamation, "If our God is for us, then who can stand against us" in the context of engaging in the mission of our Diocese for the annual Diocesan Services Appeal. Our God is for us, and so we can't sit back and do nothing out of either fear or comfo…

In this homily given at St. Pat's on February 18, 2024, Fr. Miguel preaches on how our Lenten practices have a purpose of facilitating greater freedom in pursuing a relationship with God and away from sin which enslaves us.Av St. Patrick Catholic Parish

In this homily given on Sunday February 11th, 2024 Fr Mathias challenges us to imitate Jesus' posture toward those caught in the leprosy of sin: to hate the sin but love the sinner. After naming the two extremes of emphasizing one over the other, Father offers one tip on how to live in the difficult tension: remembering that we are a community of m…

In this homily given at St Pat's on February 4th, 2024, Fr. Miguel preaches on how our Lord took the time in today's Gospel to pray so to give us an example of how we are to incorporate prayer in our Christian lives. As Christians, we are invited to open our hearts to the Lord in prayer and speak to him as a friend.…

In this homily given on Sunday January 28th, 2024 Fr Mathias preaches on the Church's mission to destroy the works of the Devil. Christianity is not a passive or a private faith. We were born into a battle between good and evil. We who have been baptized have been enlisted by the King of the winning side to advance against the enemy. Every Christia…

In this homily given at St Pat's on January 21, 2024, Fr. Miguel preaches how the proper context of Jesus' call to repentance is always our relationship with God the Father. For all of us, the invitation away from sin is always an invitation to return to the Father's embraceAv St. Patrick Catholic Parish

Excited about Michigan's recent National Championship, Deacon Joshua Fons preaches about the kinds of moments that alter the course of our lives. But seldom do these moments happen on a football field; rather, they are moments of encounter with the Living God.Av St. Patrick Catholic Parish

In this homily given on the Solemnity of the Epiphany (January 7 2024), Fr Mathias suggests that Herod's response to the coming of Jesus the newborn king may have been rooted in a fear that Jesus was a threat to his kingship. Even though we don't know if this was the case with Herod, the dynamic of fear in the heart that sees Jesus a threat is prec…

In this homily given at St. Pats on Sunday, December 31st, 2023 Deacon Dave preached on the Holy Family and encouraged every family to seek after holiness, to be different from the world around it. Deacon Dave emphasized the need for deliberate expressions of love within the family and how it can transform the culture and the world. “The future of …

In this homily given at St Pat's on December 24th, 2023, Fr. Miguel Colunga preaches on how Jesus wishes to save us from our sins from within us, but first we must open the door of our hearts to him.Av St. Patrick Catholic Parish

This Christmas, December 24th, 2023, Deacon Joshua Fons describes God's incredible plan to save the world that was revealed on Christmas. It is a plan that took millennia to prepare, and now we must make a response for ourselves.Av St. Patrick Catholic Parish

In this homily given on the Third Sunday of Advent (Dec 17 2023), Fr. Mathias exhorts us to rejoice at the coming of Jesus. After noting that deep abiding Christian joy is a gift from God, that it is a fruit of the Spirit that is borne by us when we are rooted in Christ, Father also describes joy as the soul's response to the presence and action of…

In this homily given at St Pat's on December 10, 2023, Fr. Miguel preaches on how we are called to cultivate love of God and neighbor during our pilgrimage to heaven, and provides one way to know we are doing so on our way to heaven.Av St. Patrick Catholic Parish