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(September 26, 2021) Father Samuel Dubois, Parochial Vicar of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, asked: "How is Jesus calling you to serve the poorest among us?" The challenge for us, he said, "is to give life to others by the way we live, by the way we love."Father Dubois reminded us that "it is not up to us when God will call us to charity … we must give of ourselves: whether it is just a listening ear; perhaps, it is a prayer for someone in need. If we are blessed with good health . . . place it at the service of the Lord. If we are blessed with a share and the cross of suffering,  also place it at the service of the Lord," he concluded.

(September 19, 2021) It is time to come and join one another at the Church, Father Charles Persing said. It is also time to spend some time in silence of our prayers and follow the words of Saint James and Saint Mark instructing us to become the true disciples of Jesus Christ.  "The challenge for us this week—once again from Mark and from James—is to really open our eyes, to open our ears, and our hearts, and our hands; to take our attitudes and our failures  and sinfulness, and lay them at the foot of that Cross;  to really turn our eyes to Jesus to look full into His face; and to go to a world that is dying and tell His perfect salvation to others who also seek," Father Persing concluded.

Father Charles L. Persing speaks about and prays for children, their parents, and our catechists on the occasion of this year's start of Religious Education classes. 

(September 12, 2021) "Practice what you preach, " is the message at the heart of Father Persing's homily. Reflecting on his message from last week—the Apostle James's invitation to to be " doers, not listeners"—Father said, "If we want to know how to live, another great example is Matthew 25:  'Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, or ill?  Imprisoned, or naked?  When did we see you?'" Father concluded: "Our challenge this week is to really live that faith . . . to open our hearts to the Spirit of God . . . so, let us be those true doers of the Word and not just hearers; Let us demonstrate our faith by our works."DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT

(September 12, 2021) On this 20-year anniversary of 9/11, Father Samuel Dubois asks, "Where was God that day? He was right there." Father reminds us that without God' s sufferings  and death, we would be without hope. With God, we have hope in darkness and sorrow.

Father Charles L. Persing reflects on Grandparents' Day and prays for all grandparents on this special day. 

(September 5, 2021) Deacon Alex Bogdanoff, of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, invited us to reflect on our practical everyday lives: Is your life centered on seeing the less-fortunate ones through God's eyes? Do you walk an extra mile as a servant of our Lord helping the less-fortunate? How can we give "happy meals"  to those in our lives who need our help? he asked.The answer is close at hand. It is a simple truth: "Love looks like action:  You can have the best of intentions in your heart, but if you do not do anything, perhaps you want to question how deep your love is," Deacon Bogdanoff said.

(September 5, 2021) Deacon David L. Hall reminds us that "being a Christian is wrapped up in an act of faith; through that, we enter a new dimension – a new way of looking at the world . . . God calls us to faithfulness . . . in the Church we are to relate to one another in faithfulness, letting our faith set the standard for how we see the world and one another. "  Deacon Hall cautions, "we are in a spiritual war for our souls -- two opposing sides -- and they are quite different. One side offers us a world of the good life, with a focus on things like nice houses and well-dressed people, and pleasant activities. On the other side, we see the lonely man who claims to be the king of the world; only His crown is made of thorns, and His life seems to have ended in failure. This day it can look like the world of wealth and power is the winner; which side do we believe? [The Apostle] James tells us that what we believe will, among other things, affect the way we respond to social status. Let’s keep

Father Charles L Persing talks about finding the time for and cultivating silence as the foundation of prayer life in this hectic world. 

 (August 29, 2021) Father Charles Persing, the pastor of Saint Elizabeth Ann Parish, reflected on today’s reading of the Epistle of James regarding a common situation: “We feel like we just want to raise our hand and say to God, ‘I have done enough. I quit. I just want to listen. I do not want to do anything anymore; I just want to hear you. I want to listen.’“Now is our time to do something,” Father Persing reminded us. Saint James “used some words that were very strong. He said to us that we must give birth to the Word of Truth by living it. He uses the words, ‘Be a doer.’  Do not just sit back and listen; get up and do something. You know, get off the grass and move along, get off your couch, get out of your house, get back into your routine. And do not delude yourself, because what we need to do is take care of these things. If you do that, God is going very happy with you,” Father Persing said.

(August 29, 2021) Father Samuel Dubois, the parochial vicar of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, asks what the opposite of hypocrisy is. “That is authenticity, integrity, holiness. Jesus will help us be authentic and integral people if we ask Him for His help,” he said.Every Christian needs to ask themself the following questions: “How do we want to live? Who do we want to be like? Will be we like Christ or like our own distorted image of ourselves?”Of course, Father says, all these are questions we know the answer to. “Each of us has beautiful qualities and good things we should be proud of; things we should give thanks to God for – but we also have areas to grow. And the only way that will happen is if we imitate Christ, who emptied Himself of self, who laid aside His glory so that we might be free, so that we might know Him,” Father Dubois said. 

(August 22, 2021) Whatever may come in life, Father Anthony Eseke said, if we have made our decision for Christ, Christ never disappoints. If we decide to follow Him, His goodness, His joy, His sustenance, His protection, His blessing, will always be abundant in our lives.

(August 22, 2021) In today's homily, Father Charles L. Persing asks, "How many of us are still convinced that sayings of Jesus are easy? Most of us have found it very difficult to follow Jesus. Most of us have not walked an easy path in our Christian life. " Father Persing continues: "How many times that you and I have gone through the moments of doubt and crisis in our faith life?" For various reasons, some of us stop practicing our faith. Or find some other things of interest. Father Persing reminds us that, "No other person on this Earth, no matter how well-intentioned they are, or how well we know or love them, will ever love us in the way Jesus Christ loves us. And no one else, especially ourselves, can save us from our sins."

(August 15, 2021) Father Charles Persing, pastor of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, asks us to consider the following: "Everything that God gave to Mary, He gives to us. Mary was prepared to accept His gifts and His life and His resurrection – so, too, are we. You and I are called to be sons and daughters of our Lady, blazing trails and light through the valley in which we live, so that others may find Christ." We recall the moments of forgiveness when we seek Mary's intercession.  Those prayers are brought to the Throne of God, "so that we can fall on our knees and break bread together and give thanks to God in the Eucharist," he said.Throughout the ages, God's mercy and forgiveness reaches to us. "Because just as for Mary, God for us has mercy and is always mindful of His Covenant and His unconditional love for those who serve Him."DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT

(August 15, 2021) In this week's homily, Father Samuel Dubois focused on the dilemmas and choices our Blessed Mother had to face once she accepted the call to be the Mother of God. “Love calls me to go forth, so I will; trust in God’s grace and all will be well,” is how our parochial vicar encapsuled the outcome of the call. “However, if Mary had allowed worldly concerns and worries and fears to drive her life, to control her heart, the last thing she would have done is to visit Elizabeth. But she allowed herself to be sent, directed, by God – by that invitation to charity,” he said.He continued: God wanted us to hear in today’s Gospel that we cannot live in fear; we cannot allow fear to drive us to anger and rejection of others. We cannot allow our hearts to be hardened to the needs of others. The message of the Gospel, the need to serve in charity is as real today as it was in this day of Mary’s life.   In his conclusion, Father Dubois said, “The fears created by or found in the world face us and confr

(August 8, 2021) “This week, you and I, are challenged to be the best for God, to follow the example of Christ in our love for one another.” With these words, Father Charles L Persing closes today’s homily. Father Persing reminds us that we need to set the example of faith ourselves, so that the others would witness it and follow Christ with us. The message Saint Paul has for us is that Jesus is always walking before us, setting that example.  But “what we see in Jesus, we need to see in one another,” says Father Persing. “Instead of looking for negativity, we come here to be one Body and one Spirit … we testify from whence our gifts come, and we are not afraid to say where we find our strength – the Eucharist and Jesus Christ.”

(August 1, 2021) Parochial Vicar Father Samuel Dubois raises the question: “What is it that we fill ourselves with? What is it that we try to find fulfillment in?” That may be any sort of earthly desire, but only God can fully satisfy our hearts. “Only God endures … and He comes to us in the Eucharist,” he said. It is the Bread from Heaven that nourishes us; let us then fulfill our hearts and our longing and our desires and find peace in Christ Jesus. Father closes with the following thought: “We must each and all lay aside worldly things and instead center our hearts, our minds, our lives on the only thing that matters – the only one who fulfills – Jesus Christ. All we must do is receive it with open hearts and we will find what we desire, we will find true peace, true joy, and the love that never fades: the love of God Almighty.”

(July 25, 2021) Father Charles L Persing reflects on today's reading from the Gospel of Saint Mark. This is the reading that recounts the story of Jesus feeding 5 thousand people gathered on a mountain side:  with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish -- and having 12 wicker baskets of leftovers. (DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT)Referring to the Gospel reading, Father Persing invites us to reflect that, " (we) have only scratched the surface of what God has to offer to us." Father Persing closes with the following thoughts: "If we are that great crowd, are we the great witnesses ? Have we told someone about Jesus and the things He can do for us? That they, too, might want to come and see: that they might come in large numbers and recline at His table."

(July 18, 2021) Father Samuel Dubois invites us to reconsider what our attendance at Mass actually means. As we love our spouse and give selflessly to one another following our marriage vows, how much more grace can we get if we realize that our presence at Mass is a unique opportunity for us to be with our loving God. Father Dubois adds, " (it is) ... an opportunity to love and to be loved by our eternal, unshakable God, who is with us in all things."

(July 11, 2021) Father Samuel Dubois, Parochial Vicar of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, reminds us of all of the good that the disciples were able to do, despite their fears, when Jesus sent them out to the world. "It's Ok to be afraid," he said, "but we have to remember that God is on our side."