Jesus is transfigured before Peter, James, and John. His face shone like the sun and his clothes dazzle with heavenly light.

“Man does not live by bread alone,” he says, “But by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” Jesus’ fasting reveals his fast hold to the Father in everything. May our fasting help us to grasp ourselves more firmly, and then to hold fast to Jesus alone.

In another passage from his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus continues to turn his disciples’ way of thinking upsidedown. One of the lessons for the Christian steward in today’s Gospel is that if we have a chance to help someone in need, we should be generous and give more than is expected of us.

Jesus’ words aren’t meant to condemn. They are meant to signal something new, a restored humanity. Jesus doesn’t just give external laws; he gives us his Holy Spirit to internalize the law through love. He wants to fill us with his love.

"If” can be deep with excuses, but it can also be wide with possibility. If I bring it all to God. If I stop relying on my own abilities. If I prayed more than I talked. If I make my heart firm. If my faith does not rest on human wisdom.

The beatitudes of Jesus are a kind of self-portrait. But it is a strange picture. At first, the blessings of being poor, mourning, and hungering and thirsting for righteousness may seem bizarre or, worse, a religious delusion. Who wants to look like that? But if we look again, we begin to see the characteristics of Jesus’ form.

In today’s Gospel story, Jesus honors John the Baptist by taking up his baton of preaching repentance immediately after John’s arrest. John’s disciples, reeling from his incarceration, find their way to Jesus.

Today, we humbly ask that the Holy Spirit descend upon St. Ann parish. Just as the Holy Spirit gave Jesus the direction and strength to endure the trials of the desert, so too do we ask the Holy Spirit to direct and strengthen our efforts.

"We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage." Matthew 2:2

Today begins the annual Archbishop's Call to Share appeal. Watch Archbishop Naumann's message to us.

The Blessed Mother knew more about God before opening a book than most of us could discover after a lifetime of study and prayer. There is no one whose knowledge of Christ was so intimate, so deep, so simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary, as the human woman who bore him, birthed him, nursed him, raised him and eventually gave him up.

Merry Christmas! Christmas isn’t about the material gifts we receive, it’s about the love that God, Our Father, gave us by giving us His Son, Jesus – the best gift we could ever receive.

No 6:30 AM Mass on Friday 12.23.22

No 6:30 AM & 8:05 AM Mass

Putting our complete trust in the Lord without expecting anything in return. Striving to put God first in all things and follow Him wherever He may lead us. Joseph was a model of these pillars of our faith.

From the loneliness of his prison cell John the Baptist asks of Jesus: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” The weeks before Christmas offer much to be joyous about, celebrating with family and friends, the glitter of seasonal decorations, the excitement of gift giving and receiving. But in our midst there are the lonely and neglected, the poor, the hospitalized, the wayward, the shut-ins.

God has a clear vision for the future, both for us individually and for our world. It is a vision of harmony and gentleness where all will live as one and the “wolf shall be a guest of the lamb.” God is not indifferent. He is the God of “endurance and encouragement.” In God, we see what we may be, what may come and who we can become.

For the Christian, Advent is the time to pause, reflect, and savor. It is a time to see life as a sacrament of the moment and not just an investment in secular interests, pleasures, and personal obligations.

God’s lesson is found in Jesus’ vulnerability. It is only when we are vulnerable that we learn how to love. When Jesus breathed his last, God’s unconditional and tender love was realized. Jesus always had a soft spot for the weak, lost, vulnerable, and broken. God wants us to come to Him freely, not because we have witnessed some fantastic display of prowess.

Starting this month, a staff member of our St. Ann community will share a podcast, book, devotional, song, etc. something that helps them grow in their own personal catholic faith life. These "picks" will be shared with the St. Ann community in this Sunday morning message.