Living the Beatitudes Daily — Funeral Homily for Raynelda Jaworski, 96

August 1, 2026

By Fr. Anandan “Rajan” Rajendran

Today we gather with both sorrow and gratitude. We grieve because someone we loved is no longer physically with us. Yet we also gather with hope because our faith tells us that death is not the end. Jesus Christ has conquered death, and through Him eternal life is promised to those who believe. Today we thank God for the beautiful gift of Raynelda Shaurette Jaworski—a woman who lived for more than ninety-six years with faith, courage, generosity, creativity, and love. Her life was long, but more importantly, it was full. It was a life that touched countless hearts.

The first reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes reminds us that everything in this world has its season. There is “a time to be born and a time to die.” These words remind us that our earthly lives are gifts entrusted to us for a time. None of us lives forever in this world, but what truly matters is how we use the time God gives us. Raynelda used her years remarkably well. She was first a loving wife to Stanley, sharing seventy-seven years of marriage and building a home centered on faith. Together they raised ten children on their dairy farm in New Auburn. Farming teaches patience, sacrifice, hard work, and trust in God. Every spring a farmer plants seeds, believing that one day there will be a harvest. Raynelda’s greatest harvest was not measured in acres or milk production but in the beautiful family she nurtured—children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and countless friends whose lives she enriched.

She had an extraordinary gift of making people feel welcomed. Her home was a place where people found warmth, delicious food, laughter, and acceptance. Many of us remember her homemade bread, cookies, kolaczki, and especially her famous “Grandma Pancakes.” Yet what made those meals unforgettable was not simply the food but the love with which they were prepared. She sang, danced, laughed, and filled her kitchen with joy. She understood something very important: love is often expressed in simple, ordinary acts. Jesus Himself often revealed God’s love around a table. Meals became moments of grace. Raynelda followed that same example in her own home.

Her love extended far beyond her own family. As Director of the New Auburn Head Start program, she dedicated herself to helping children and struggling families. Even after raising ten children, she returned to school to earn a certificate in Social Services so she could serve others even better. That says something about her heart. She never stopped learning because she never stopped loving. She served on school boards, educational organizations, community groups, and many volunteer activities. Wherever there was a need, Raynelda was willing to help.

Today’s Gospel gives us the beautiful Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount. “Blessed are the poor in spirit… Blessed are the merciful… Blessed are the pure of heart… Blessed are the peacemakers.” These are not simply beautiful sayings. They are the portrait of a Christian disciple. As we reflect on Raynelda’s life, we recognize many of these Beatitudes lived out before our eyes. Blessed are the merciful. She showed mercy by caring for families, comforting neighbors, encouraging friends, and praying daily for others. Blessed are the pure of heart. Her faith was genuine. She attended Mass faithfully, prayed the Rosary, and entrusted every day to God. Blessed are the peacemakers. She united people. Her warmth drew strangers into friendship. Her home became a gathering place where people felt loved. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. She sought goodness not only in church but in everyday life, serving her community and helping those in need.

The Beatitudes remind us that holiness is not reserved only for saints whose statues stand in churches. Holiness is found in ordinary people who quietly practice extraordinary love every day. Raynelda showed us that holiness can be found in raising children, baking bread, helping neighbors, comforting families, creating beautiful works of art, and faithfully praying each morning. One particularly beautiful part of her life was her artistic talent. She painted, quilted, created pottery, and searched for precious stones across the country. Her large painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe hanging for decades in St. Jude’s Church became a visible sign of her devotion to Mary and her love for beauty. Artists often help us see beauty where others see ordinary things. God is the greatest artist of all, and today we trust that the Artist who created Raynelda has now completed His masterpiece and calls her home.

Our second reading from St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians offers tremendous comfort. “We know that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also.” Paul continues by comparing our earthly life to a tent. Tents are temporary. They shelter us for a while, but they are not our permanent home. God has prepared for us “a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.” Raynelda’s earthly tent has served her well for ninety-six years. It carried her through motherhood, farming, service, laughter, hardships, celebrations, and prayer. Now that earthly tent has reached its end. But God has prepared something infinitely greater—an eternal home where there is no pain, no suffering, no aging, and no tears.

As Christians, funerals are never simply about looking backward. They are about looking forward with hope. Today we entrust Raynelda to the mercy of God. We believe that the same Jesus who welcomed the little children, who blessed the poor, who comforted the sorrowful, now opens His arms to welcome His faithful servant. To her beloved children, grandchildren, great-grandson, sister, relatives, and many friends: thank you for sharing Raynelda with this community. Her greatest legacy is not only the beautiful paintings she created, the quilts she stitched, or the meals she prepared. Her greatest legacy is the love she planted in each of you. One day, every loaf of bread grows stale, every painting fades, every quilt wears thin, and every farm changes hands. But love never dies. As St. Paul reminds us elsewhere, “Love never fails.” That love continues today because it came from God, and it leads back to God.

Finally, I cannot help but imagine Raynelda arriving at the gates of heaven. Perhaps she is greeted first by Stanley, whom she loved so dearly. Perhaps Matthew comes running to embrace his mother. And perhaps Jesus Himself says the words every faithful disciple longs to hear: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come, share your Master’s joy.” May that be her reward today. And may her remarkable life remind each one of us to live with deeper faith, greater generosity, joyful service, and unwavering hope, so that one day we may all be reunited in the Father’s house, where every tear will be wiped away and love will last forever.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. Amen.

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The Treasure & The Pearl

July 25, 2026

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

Jesus said to his disciples: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds [one] pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”

Jesus tells two parables today about the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God. These stories are symbolic, about him and us.

Jesus speaks of a man who finds a treasure. The treasure has been buried in a field and overlooked. But this man sees it, recognizes its value, and chooses to give up everything he has to gain that treasure. Imagine selling everything you own. It would not only be logistically challenging to do, it would also take courage. But this man joyfully gives up everything he has, eager to gain its reward. This man refuses to just take the treasure, since that would be unjust. Instead, he pays the price for the entire field along with the treasure. As I said, this is a parable story about Jesus Christ and us.

Jesus can be thought of as that man who found us buried in this world. Humanity was buried in sin and death by following the demons in their rebellion against God. From Adam and Eve’s sin, Satan acquired a certain domination over man. We were in “captivity under the power of him who thenceforth had the power of death, that is, the devil.” The whole world was in the power of the evil one. But while we were still sinners, Jesus saw and loved us. Though divine, he emptied himself, willingly giving up everything to die for us as man. So we adore Christ and we praise him, because by his Holy Cross he has redeemed us with the world. Christians living today will (most likely) still experience death, with our bodies being buried in the earth. But like the treasure in the parable, Jesus will raise us up again rejoicing upon his return.

In light of who Jesus is and his love for us, how should we respond to him? He illustrates this for us through another parable. Jesus says, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds [one] pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.” You and I may be imagined as that merchant.

In life, we search for the good of human fulfillment, understanding that some things are more valuable than others. And Jesus Christ presents himself as the most worthy object of our love and sacrifice. He teaches, “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; [and] anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. … And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life.” But if everyone in life is looking for the greatest good of human fulfillment, why doesn’t everyone find Christ? Like a successful pearl merchant, a person needs training and/or experience to appraise value correctly. So where is Jesus Christ, our Pearl of Great Price, to be found?

At the conversion of St. Paul, while he was still persecuting Christians, Jesus knocked him down on the road to Damascus and called out to him from a blinding light: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Saul (also known as Paul) replied, “Who are you, sir?” And the reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Realize that this happened after Jesus had bodily ascended into heaven, when Jesus no longer walked the face of the earth. But Jesus had taught his disciples, “Whoever receives you, receives me,” and ‘Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do it to me.’ And the Holy Spirit would inspire St. Paul to go on to explain that Christians are made mystical members of Christ’s Body through baptism, with Christ himself as our head. Coupled with the Eucharist and the other sacraments, we remain in Christ, and he in us. The Body of Christ is Christ’s Church, and Christ’s Church is his Body. As St. Joan of Arc said: “About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know they are just one thing and we shouldn’t complicate the matter.”

Jesus founded upon Peter and the apostles one Church which the Bible calls “the pillar and foundation of truth.” But where is Christ’s one Church to be found today when various Christian groups teach contradictory things? Well, what are the qualities of the best pearls? The criteria for evaluating pearls are size, roundness, surface, shine, and nacre. Different Christian groups may share these pearly qualities to varying degrees, but Christ’s Church should have them in the fullest measure.

The best pearl would have a very large size and fully round shape. I think most people do not realize that 50% of all Christians around the world identify as Catholic. Even if you consolidate each of the different types of Anglicans, Baptists, Evangelicals, Lutherans, Pentecostals, and Eastern Orthodox Christians into their various denominations and none of them come close to the Catholic Church in their numbers or presence throughout the globe. Now, being the largest doesn’t necessarily make something the best. Russia is the largest country on earth by area and (until recently) the largest country by population was China, but we would not call China or Russia the best countries in the world. However, Jesus describes his Kingdom as a mustard seed. It begins as “the smallest of all the seeds, yet it grows into the largest of the garden plants,” offering a dwelling place for birds from north, south, east, and west. So we should not be surprised that Christ’s Church would be the largest Christian communion both in membership and extent across the globe.

The best pearl would also have an unblemished surface and a lustrous shine. The surface of a great pearl is flawless, bright, and mirror-like. Great Catholic saints reflect the goodness of Christ and his Church. And vindicatory miracles (like at Fatima, Lourdes, Guadalupe, Lanciano, and elsewhere) reflect that the Catholic Church is Christ’s.

Finally, the best pearl would also have thick nacre. The thickness of the nacre (the mother-of-pearl) enables durability. Remember how a pearl grows after being an irritant within a clam? So the world commonly attacks Christ’s Church as an irritant. The endurance of the Catholic Church through two thousand years, despite fierce opposition in every century, manifests that the Lord is working within her as he promised.

In the Book of Revelation, St. John is shown a vision of the New Jerusalem, the Bride of Christ, a gleaming city coming down from heaven. The wall of the city has twelve courses of precious stones as its foundation, inscribed with the names of the twelve apostles, for the Church is built upon them. And the city has twelve gates, three facing east, three facing north, three facing south, and three facing west, inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, for people of every land are called to enter to become God’s people. And those twelve gates are twelve pearls, with each of the gates made from a single pearl. Jesus himself is the Pearl of Great Price, and Jesus says, “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved,” and the Body of Christ is his Church. So let us respond to him who has loved us so much, by sacrificing anything else to dwell with Christ in his Body, his Bride, his Church.

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Carrots Need Time to Grow

July 20, 2026

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Deacon Dick Kostner

One of my best education days as I was “growing up” was when Fr. Frank explained to his Pastoral Study Students the significance of Jesus always teaching through parables. When Fr. Victor asked when I would like to preach to you folks again and I reviewed the upcoming Gospels for this month and I saw this weeks story about God’s Kingdom and Jesus telling the Parable of Seeds I thought this would be the time to share with you what I learned in class about Jesus and parables.

Jesus, while spending time with his brothers and sisters wished them to understand how the Kingdom of God differs from world thoughts and practices. During this period of time most people were agricultural people and had no formal educational skills to help them mature in thought and deed. So Jesus used parable stories to help them develop into God thinking children of God. Parables tell us a story about activities we are comfortable with understanding. But parables come to us with a twist that takes our mindset on a topic and turns it upside down from what we had learned and sends our mind out into a new direction from world thoughts and sends them upward to help us to understand how God’s Kingdom differs from our Earthly thoughts and practices.

As many of you know, I love to spend time with my garden and watch new life transform into mature good eating things. What I don’t love is doing battle with weeds that wish to choke off my vegetable babies. So, I go into the battle mode with a vengeance. This year we were having trouble getting our carrots to spout. After waiting and waiting I told Barb that we might not be getting any carrots this year. She finally agreed and replanted the 20 feet we had prepared for them. The new plantings started to sprout but soon thereafter so did the seeds we had planted earlier. This required us to remove some of the seedlings in order to have any hopes of getting carrots.

In today’s Gospel, the parable story told by Jesus tells us that we must have patience. Deacon Dick is a slow learner on this common sense lesson taught to us by Jesus so I get a “D-”. After sprouting it was only a couple of days and my watering that my weed enemies invaded my carrots. I told Barb we needed to weed in order to save the carrots. Her response was we need to wait until the carrots grow enough or we will tear out the carrot seedlings. The Farmer Jesus gives Dick an “F” but gives Barb an “A-”. for being a good farmer by earthly standards but she fails to get a an “A” in Gods Kingdom because in God’s kingdom patience is needed allowing the evil persons to repent for having sowed the weed seeds before being condemned and punished for evil acts in trying to destroy Gods plants of Love he calls his children.

In my true story we see that parable not only teaches and reinforces activities we are accustomed to for it takes us to a new road to travel. A road that will lead us to a higher level of love patience leading us to God’s Kingdom. In God’s kingdom the seeds planted by God (us children) are given time to develop and mature through mistakes made by allowing evil (weeds) to move us further away from God and His Kingdom instead of moving us closer to sainthood and a life of love in the Kingdom of God. In God’s Kingdom Forgiveness ,unlike the Earthly Kingdom, always trumps justice where there exists in his children a contrite heart. This time conversion can happen anytime during our life experience.

Jesus gives us the tools to ignore and be patient with the weeds that attempt to keep us from sharing eternal life with him in heaven after our earthly life. The tools are his commandments to love as he has loved us. He also allows us and the sinful, to make mistakes and repent before the final harvest when the weeds of evil will be separated from the wheat and burned, while the wheat , the fruit of love and patience ,is gathered and stored and shared in God’s Kingdom. Wishing all of you a blessed and fruitful harvest, and keep your eyes open to see for yourselves a new road to follow when Jesus shares with us his parable stories.

Post-Script: On First Friday’s I attend Exposition at St. John’s. I close out my hour by asking if God wishes that I do anything for him. Usually he says nothing but the last time I attended on July 3, I received this request: “I ask that you tell my Church that I gave Barb an ‘A’ not an ‘A-.’ She knew it was not evil that put weeds in her garden it was horses who donated fertilizer this year for her garden.” Thanks, God.

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The Legacy of a Faithful Life — Funeral Homily for Bernadine Sikora, 90

July 18, 2026

By Fr. Anandan “Rajen” Rajendran

My brothers and sisters in Christ, today we gather with heavy hearts, but also with hearts filled with gratitude. We come to pray for Bernadine Sikora, to thank God for the gift of her 90 years of life, and to entrust her to the loving mercy of our Heavenly Father. Whenever we gather for a funeral, there are naturally tears. We miss someone we love. Death leaves an empty chair at the family table, a silence in the home, and an ache in the heart. Yet, as Christians, we do not gather as people without hope.

We gather around the altar of Jesus Christ—the altar where death never has the final word. That is why today’s Gospel begins with these beautiful words of Jesus: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Jesus knew that one day his disciples would experience loss. He knew they would stand beside graves, just as we are doing today. So before they even experienced sorrow, he gave them hope.

He said, “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” Notice what Jesus does not say. He does not say life ends in the cemetery. He does not say death is the end. He says there is a home waiting for us. For Christians, death is not moving into darkness; it is moving home. Today, we pray that Bernadine has entered that home prepared by Christ himself.

Our first reading from Proverbs describes “a worthy wife.” The reading tells us, “Her value is far beyond pearls.” It’s interesting that the reading doesn’t praise a woman because she was wealthy or famous. Instead, it praises her because she loved. She worked with willing hands. She cared for her family. She reached out to those in need. She feared the Lord. As we listened to those words, it was hard not to think of Bernadine. She lived those verses. She wasn’t seeking recognition. She simply lived faithfully. She built a home. She supported her husband Donald in the family business. She raised five children with love and sacrifice. She welcomed grandchildren and eventually thirty-six great-grandchildren into her life. What an extraordinary legacy.

Today, we often measure success by titles, promotions, or possessions. God measures success differently. He asks, “Did you love? Did you serve? Did you remain faithful?” Bernadine answered those questions with her life. One of the most beautiful descriptions in her obituary says she was “a homemaker in the truest sense of the word.” That phrase deserves our attention. A house is built with wood, bricks, and nails. A home is built with love. A home is built by countless unseen acts.

Meals prepared, laundry folded, children comforted, prayers whispered, sacrifices no one noticed except God. Many of the greatest things done in this world never make the newspapers. But they are all written in God’s book. God notices every hidden act of love.

The obituary also tells us something very beautiful about Bernadine. She loved simple things—playing Sheepshead with her sisters, playing bingo, being surrounded by family. Those may seem like ordinary moments. But when we look back after someone dies, we discover those ordinary moments become extraordinary memories. Life isn’t made beautiful by grand events. It is made beautiful by shared laughter around a card table, family gatherings, holidays, simple conversations, being together. Those are the treasures that never disappear.

The second reading from Saint Paul is deeply moving. Paul says, “I have competed well. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.” What wonderful words. Life is not measured only by its length. It is measured by its faithfulness. Bernadine lived 90 years. She experienced joy. She experienced loss. She buried her beloved husband Donald. She endured the heartbreaking deaths of her sons, Jeffrey and Gary. She experienced the sorrow of saying goodbye to brothers, sisters, and loved ones.

Yet, through all those seasons, she remained faithful. That is not easy. Faith isn’t only for sunny days. Real faith shines brightest in difficult days. And Bernadine continued walking with God. She remained active in St. John the Baptist Church. She prayed. She trusted. She believed. Like Saint Paul, we hope she can now hear the Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” One thing that always amazes me is how one person’s life reaches so many others. Think about it. One woman. Five children. Sixteen grandchildren. Thirty-six great-grandchildren. Imagine all the birthday parties, Christmas celebrations, First Communions, graduations, wedding days, and family reunions. Every one of those lives carries something of Bernadine, perhaps her kindness, perhaps her smile, perhaps her work ethic, perhaps her faith. Love has a way of multiplying across generations. That is her legacy.

I once heard a story about a grandmother who was dying. Her grandchildren asked, “Grandma, are you afraid?” She smiled and said, “Why should I be afraid? I’ve known Jesus all my life. I’m simply going where He has been preparing a room for me.” What beautiful faith. That is exactly what Jesus promises today. “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.”

Jesus doesn’t merely point us toward heaven. He says, “I am the way.” Notice he doesn’t say, “I will show you the way.” He says, “I am the way.” Because Christianity is not merely following rules. It is following a person, the person of Jesus Christ. And when we follow Him through this life, He leads us safely into eternal life.

To Bernadine’s family, today is difficult. There is sadness because love always grieves. But remember this, your mother, your grandmother, your great-grandmother has given you far more than memories. She has given you an example. The greatest tribute you can offer her is not only flowers at the cemetery. It is to continue living the faith she treasured. Love your families. Care for one another. Come to Mass. Pray together. Forgive quickly. Remain close to Christ. That would make Bernadine happiest.

As we prepare to celebrate this Holy Eucharist, we place Bernadine into the hands of the God she trusted throughout her life. The same hands that guided her through 90 years, the same hands that welcomed her husband Donald, the same hands that carried her through every joy and sorrow, are now the hands that we trust will receive her into eternal peace. And one day, by God’s grace, we pray that we will hear those same comforting words spoken to us: ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled.’ Because Christ has gone before us. He has prepared a place for us.

And where He is, we too hope to be. May the angels lead Bernadine into paradise. May the saints welcome her. May perpetual light shine upon her. And may she rest in the peace of Christ until that joyful day when we are reunited in the Father’s house, where every tear will be wiped away, and love will never end. Amen.

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Four Soils, One Calling

July 11, 2026

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

Jesus explains the meaning of his own Parable of the Sower. The seed sown on the hardened path is the sort of person who hears about the Kingdom of God without understanding. And what was sown within that person’s heart is quickly taken away by the evil one.

The seed sown on rocky ground is the sort of person who hears and receives the word with joy, but this person is shallow and the seed takes no root. When tribulation or persecution come because of the word that person quickly falls away.

The seed sown among thorns is the sort of person who hears the word, receives it, and begins to grow. But then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and that person produces no fruit.

But the seed sown on rich soil is the sort of person who hears the word, receives and understands it. That person grows and—to a good, or great, or greatest degree—bears abundant fruit for the Kingdom of God.

Some people dismiss Christianity out of hand. Others abandon Christianity when faithfulness begins to burden them. Other Christians are ruled by fears and desires which prevent them from being fruitful. But Jesus wants us to faithfully endure and do many good and holy things for God and our neighbor, in the Church and in the world. So which kind of soil are you?

If you are here today as hardened path soil, or if that describes someone you know, I encourage a deeper search for truth. I believe our only credible philosophical options in life are Catholicism or nihilistic nothingness. Now this fact doesn’t automatically make Catholicism true—it’s true for other reasons—but this justifies a further investigation, since there is no other hope. A person who seeks for truth can find more than just their own excuses. Jesus says that the one who seeks, finds. And to anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

If you are here as shallow rocky soil, appreciate that Christianity does not exempt us from experiencing tribulation or persecution. As St. Peter, the first pope, wrote in a New Testament letter: “Beloved, do not be surprised that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as if something strange were happening to you. But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice exultantly.” So forewarned, I hope you will be forearmed, prepared and resolved to remain faithful to Christ.

If you are here as thorny soil, dominated by worldly anxiety and the lure of riches, Jesus reminds you to “be not afraid,” and notes that “no one can serve two masters.” Trust Jesus enough not to worry, choose love of God over love of money, and you will begin to bear better fruits.

And if you are here as rich soil: well done, good and faithful servant! Jesus says of every branch in him God the Father prunes so that it bears more fruit. So see if your thirtyfold yield can increase to sixty or a hundredfold.

Inside my kitchen, sitting by the window, are two potted plants that came along with the rectory. From time to time I turn their pots, so I can see the leaves better and so the plants’ other sides can get more sunlight. But as weeks go by, the plants’ leaves and branches gradually turn back toward the window and the sun. It’s their source of life and essential for their growth. Likewise, whatever kind of person or sort of soil you are, you are called to live and grow by turning toward Jesus Christ.

Perhaps this means pursuing him through study, learning more about him. Perhaps this means turning away from sin and encountering him in Confession. Perhaps this means dedicating more consistent time to daily prayer, to better conform your heart and desires to his. Or perhaps he desires you to simply turn more to him throughout your day. St. Therese of Lisieux wrote, “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.” So wherever you are, turn to him, to live and grow and bear more fruit.

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Reflecting Our Father — Funeral Homily for Ronald Bischel, 91

July 6, 2026

By Fr. Victor Feltes

In a way, our parents are our first representations of God. For instance, our earthly fathers—for better or worse—serve as icons of God the Father. None of our birth parents were perfect, so our spirituality can be wounded by their sins and shortcomings. But the goodness found in our parents—their virtues and their love—can help reflect who God the Father is. Ron, the father of eight children, was seen loving his farm, his family, and his Faith.

A hardworking dairy farmer, his farm has passed down to his sons. The farm transitioned to exclusively growing crops several years ago and there was sadness at seeing his cowherd go. God the Father, the creator of this earth, treasures his herd, too. David wrote centuries ago, “The Lord is my shepherd.” We are his herd. As another Psalm adds, “We are his people, the sheep of his flock.” Fear not, we are more precious than many cows.

Ron tended to be calmly present, very quiet, and listen, yet he ironically became the family’s so-called “informant.” When his children visited, one by one or in small groups, they told him all the latest about their lives and his twenty grandchildren. Then he in turn, though not in a gossipy way, would update his guests on the family news, keeping them connected to one another through him. “Beloved,” St. John writes, “we are God’s children now.” In Christ, God the Father adopts us as his own. He listens, cares about our lives, and connects us to each other. This relationship makes us brothers and sisters to each other here and now and makes us siblings with a multitude of the living and the dead, most of whom we have never met. But we can look forward to a family reunion of countless millions on the mountain of the Lord that the Prophet Isaiah describes: “On that day it will be said, ‘Behold our God, let us rejoice and be glad he has saved us!’”

Ron was interested in all sorts of subjects; well-read through not just news, farming, or financial publications but also many books. This universe is so endlessly detailed and interesting because heaven and earth are full of God’s glory. With Ron’s strong memory, he could remember details months after reading them. But no matter how sharp, worldly-wise, and learned a person may be, Ron considered these ultimately futile if one did not know God. As a St. Paul’s School alumnus, he sent all of his children to that school as well. He faithfully attended Sunday Mass, and when he could no longer attend he would watch TV Mass and have our Eucharistic Lord brought to him. God the Father is thoroughly interested in us all, and desires closer communion with each of us through his Son and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus praised God our Father, noting that although the wise and learned sometimes fail to perceive spiritual truths, our Father has “revealed these things to the childlike.” Jesus says, “Come to me [and] learn from me. … Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” And St. Paul adds, “Be imitators of me as I imitate Christ.” Let us pray for Ronald’s soul, for the cleansing of any imperfection which might still distance him from God. And moved by the Holy Spirit, let us look at Christ to behold the best reflection of our heavenly Father. For he “is the image of the invisible God.” And then in him we can be transformed into saints whom others may encounter and see—like they saw in Ronald—an earthly likeness of God.

 

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Loving Jesus Is Rewarded

June 27, 2026

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

An Army private gets called in by his commanding officer for reportedly sleeping while on duty at his guard post:
“But sir, I wasn’t sleeping, honest—I was just keeping my eyes closed!”
“Private, it’s your solemn duty not to let anyone to get past you!”
“Yes sir, I keep my eyes closed so that nobody can bribe me!”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus presents two lessons back-to-back; lest, understanding only half of his message, we would reach a dangerous conclusion like that Army private. First, Jesus insists that we must keep him as our top priority. We must be even more devoted to Jesus Christ than to our parents, or to our children, or to our own personal comfort.

Jesus tells his apostles: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.” In fact, it is only by first and foremost loving our Lord that we can have the wisdom and grace to love our family, our friends, and ourselves as each deserves. Whoever seeks goals apart from the Lord will lose them along with this life, but whoever seeks the Lord’s goals will gain from them along with eternal life. As Jesus says, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” This passage marks Jesus’ transition to his second major lesson in this Gospel: that deeds done in his service will be richly rewarded.

Jesus says, “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because the little one is a disciple amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.” The things we do for Jesus, especially for him veiled within our neighbor, will surely be rewarded.

So Jesus presents to us with two important lessons, side-by-side. If we only heard that Jesus expects be our top priority, we might despair, thinking he is practically impossible to please. And if we only heard that Jesus rewards good deeds, we might become presumptuous, thinking God can be bribed or bought off by occasional gestures without true devotion. Rather, we should hold Jesus as our dear Lord while remembering that he will richly reward even the smallest things we do for him.

The young St. Therese of Lisieux, “The Little Flower,” dedicated herself to doing even little things for Jesus with great love. She called this her “Little Way” to holiness. In her highly-recommended autobiography “Story of a Soul” she writes: “Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.” “You know well enough that our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.” “Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing.” “To pick up a pin for love can convert a soul.” So we should not close our eyes to our solemn duty to Jesus, for if we love and serve him even in small ways we shall see his great rewards.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Homily, Jesus Christ, St. Therese of Lisieux, Sunday Homilies | 1 Comment »

Fear Not

June 21, 2026

12th Sunday of Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

A string walks into a bar and the bartender says to the string, “Hey buddy, look at the sign!” The sign says: “NO STRINGS.” So the string steps outside, loops itself around, tightens itself up, messes up its hair, and goes back inside the bar. The bartender says, “Hey, aren’t you that string?” It replies, “No, I’m a frayed knot.” That was a joke referencing persecution, hair, and fearing not. My philosophy on homily jokes is that they should always tie in.

Jesus tells us three times in today’s Gospel to not be afraid. He says, “Fear no one. … Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. … Do not be afraid.” Jesus insists we need not fear because God knows and loves and cares about us. Jesus notes: “Even all the hairs of your head are counted.” Why does he cite hair as an example? Perhaps it is because your hairs are the most numerous, the most replaceable, and the most painlessly disposable parts of you. Yet God keeps tabs even on that about you. Nothing about you is being overlooked.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus also notes God’s attentive care for birds. Earlier Jesus had said: “Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?” As the inspired 84th Psalm observes: “The sparrow herself finds a home and the swallow a nest for her brood; she lays her young by your (temple) altars, Lord of hosts, my king and my God. They are happy who dwell in your house, forever singing your praise.” So God feeds and shelters the birds and offered them the opportunity to live in his presence and praise him. He offers the same to us.

Jesus asks, “Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.” What is this about sparrows “falling” to the ground? By “fall” Jesus may be referring in the Greek to birds simply “landing” or “descending,” but I have also seen dead birds fallen on the ground. Last week for the first time, on the shoulder of the highway, I saw a black crow standing beside a dead crow on the ground, presumably where it had fallen after being hit by a passing vehicle. About the sparrows Jesus says, “Not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.” But how can I be consoled by this when I see dead birds on the ground?

Yes, like Jesus and Job, Christians may suffer through no fault of their own. Like Jesus with his kinsman St. John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary with her Son, Christians may experience the tragic loss of a dear one. Like Jesus and his Apostles, we may suffer and be put to death for our faithfulness to God. But Jesus repeatedly urges us to not be afraid since our deliverance and glory shall be like his. “So do not be afraid,” Jesus encourages us, “you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Jesus also wants us to be open and bold about our Catholic Faith: “What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul…” In America today, you and I are not even facing deadly persecution, so what is our excuse for timidity? Like I said last Sunday, be an unashamed and faithful Catholic in everyday life. Answer people’s questions and invite them to explore our Faith. Be bold, for their souls may depend upon it.

Instead of fearing the judgment of peers, Jesus wants our concern to be what God thinks of us. “Be afraid, rather, of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna,” that is, our Divine Judge. Jesus assures us, “Everyone who acknowledges me before others, I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.” So if we have been cowardly Christians in the past, repent and resolve like St. Peter to bear better witness to your relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior in the future.

St. Paul teaches, “Have no anxiety at all.” Worry is worthless, concern is enough. If I were not concerned about this homily, I would have had nothing prepared. If I were not concerned about this Mass, I would not have shown up to celebrate it. But feeding worries about these things would have been for me a waste of time and energy. As St. Padre Pio often said, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry!” It comes down to this: will you trust Jesus Christ? Remember his words and his rewards and fear not.

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Christ Connectors

June 13, 2026

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

In a room of 23 randomly-selected people, what are the odds of any two of them sharing a birthday? In other words, what are the odds of at least two of those 23 people not necessarily being the same age but having their birthday on the same day of the calendar? Amazingly, the odds of this happening are a little more than 50-50. This is known as “The Birthday Paradox.” It only takes 23 random people to have 50-50 odds at least two folks match a birthday. And in a room of 75 random people there’s a 99.9% chance of at least two people matching. In America’s 250-year history, 45 different men have been U.S. President and 22 of them (48%) share first names with another U.S President. I mention these surprising stats because of the names of Jesus’ chosen apostles in today’s Gospel.

“The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon [whom Jesus renamed Peter] and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus [also known as Judas or Jude]; Simon from Cana, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.”

So among these twelve men we find two Simons, two Jameses, and two Judases. But from what I said before, we should not be too surprised something like this would happen. Look at how many women in the Gospels are named Mary: there’s Mary the mother of Jesus, there’s Mary Magdalene from the town of Magdala, there’s Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus from Bethany, and there’s Mary the wife of Clopas, the mother of James the Less and Joses. The name “Mary” was actually the most common name among the region’s Jewish females at that time, belonging to about 1-in-4 women. Now imagine if you were going to lie and simply invent the story of a fictional guy and his closest followers. Would you give them duplicate names or call about half of all the female-named characters Mary? No — Jesus’ disciples have these names because these were their names. These were the historical people closely-involved in Jesus’ public ministry.

In today’s Gospel, we see imagery drawn from the agriculture of that rural historical setting. Jesus’ heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they are “like sheep without a shepherd.” Jesus tells his disciples: “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” And when Jesus chooses the Twelve and sends them on mission, he says: “Go… to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” In his preaching and parables, Jesus commonly mentions plants and fields, sheep and shepherds. Earlier, when Jesus was recruiting fishermen to be his disciples, he told them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (I suspect if Jesus’ public ministry had happened in Wisconsin, he would have made references to dairy cows and snow.) Jesus used examples close at hand to connect with the rest of humanity. Jesus uses the people he finds close at hand to connect him with others, too.

The harvest is still abundant and the laborers are still too few. Many people are away from Christ’s Church and few work to bring them back. So pray, asking the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest, and consider how he is calling you to help. Our Church and world needs priestly vocations and religious vocations. And if that is your calling, then that is the best thing you can do in your life. But realize you do not need to be ordained or take religious vows to help bring people to Jesus Christ and his Church. Intercede for the conversion of souls in daily prayer. Be unashamed and faithfully Catholic in everyday life. Answer peoples’ questions. Invite them to explore our Faith. Be bold — their souls may depend upon it. Jesus called the Simons, Jameses, Judases, and Marys of his day to play important parts in his salvific plan. Jesus would do the same with us today. Like we see in the “Birthday Paradox,” more new connections are possible for the Kingdom than you might at first imagine, both through Divine Providence and by simply showing up for Jesus.

Posted in Homily, Sunday Homilies, The Apostles, Witness | Leave a Comment »

“This is the Bread that Came Down from Heaven”

June 6, 2026

Solemnity of Corpus Christi
By Fr. Victor Feltes

Scripture scholars agree that St. John’s Gospel was the last of the four Gospels to be written. Saints Matthew, Mark, and Luke had already shared their often-overlapping accounts, so the Gospel of John supplements their stories with his own. John often omits events which the other Gospel writers include, while he mentions events and details they do not. For instance, Matthew, Mark, and Luke all quote Jesus saying at the Last Supper “This is my Body…This is the chalice of my Blood,” but John does not. Instead, John shares unique details from the Last Supper, like his memory of Christ washing his disciples’ feet. Upon washing their feet, Jesus says, “What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later. … I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” Jesus washes their feet and John recounts this so that Christians will better understand Christ’s self-sacrificial offering. Another thing Jesus does which only John recounts to teach us more about Christ’s self-sacrificial offering is today’s Gospel: Jesus’ discourse at Capernaum’s synagogue about the Bread of Life.

All four Gospels record the miracle of Jesus multiplying five loaves and two fish to feed a crowd of about five thousand people. But only St. John tells how afterwards folks in that crowd follow Jesus to Capernaum — primarily interested in getting more free bread. In his conversation with them, Jesus says: “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” But people object: “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? Don’t we know his father and mother? Then how can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus replies, “Stop murmuring among yourselves.” What Jesus has told them is literally true. Jesus has come down from heaven. Eternally the Son of God, he has become man born of the Virgin Mary, but they do not yet understand how.

Jesus goes on to tell them: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” So the Jews quarrel amongst themselves again, complaining: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus replies emphatically: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” Now is Jesus here speaking literally or symbolically about giving his flesh as bread for us to eat and live? Well, a very revealing change occurs here in the original Greek text.

For the remainder of his response in John’s Gospel, the word Jesus uses for “eat” changes from the ordinary word, phago, to trogo, which means “to gnaw, chew, crunch, or munch” in eating. St. John presents Jesus repeatedly using the word trogo to affirm: “Whoever (gnaws) my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever (chews) my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who (crunches) me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who (ate/phago) and still died, whoever (trogo/munches) this bread will live forever.”

Then many of his disciples who are listening say, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” “As a result of this,” John 6:66 says, “many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” That verse is the only occasion in the Gospels where many of Jesus’ disciples stop following him because of one of his teachings. But like his previous claim about having come from heaven, what Jesus has told them is literally true. Though they do not yet understand how, Jesus will give his flesh as bread to eat for eternal life — in his Holy Eucharist. Jesus turns to his twelve apostles and asks, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answers him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” Those who rallied around Peter and his trusting faith would go on to understand the Last Supper’s self-sacrificial offering, where Jesus says, “This is my Body… Do this in memory of me.”

That is why we are here today, continuing an unbroken line of Catholics rallied around the successor of St. Peter, the pope, believing as the Church has always believed about the Eucharist. The Eucharist is Jesus Christ, truly present, living and entire — Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity — veiled in the appearances of bread and wine, so that we may adore him and receive him, becoming more perfectly one in him, with him and with one another. The Letter to the Hebrews rightly says, “We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some.” That is why, despite the inconveniences of our church renovation now underway, we will continue celebrating Sunday Masses at St. Paul’s.

We will hold weekend Masses here in the gym as the summer heat permits. This gym has fans and ventilation, but it is not air-conditioned and, having investigated the matter, there are no clear good ways to air-condition it. We can cool this room down overnight, but once our summer nights become as hot as our summer days, moving air may not be enough to keep our Masses comfortable. At that point, we will likely transition to holding Mass in St. Paul’s air-conditioned church undercroft, the basement lunchroom, until the temperature decline or our church renovation is finished.

But whether we celebrate here or there, or even if you visit another parish for Mass, recognize, appreciate, and love our Lord whom we adore and receive in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus says, “My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink… This is my Body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

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A Mentor of Love — Funeral Homily for Donald Nielsen, 93

June 1, 2026

By Deacon Dick Kostner

This afternoon, we celebrate the life of a true mentor of the power of love. Our Gospel tells all of the disciples of Jesus that there are rooms that have been reserved for those who have lived out their lives obeying the 11th Commandment that Jesus gave us before he returned to heaven, and that is to love God and our neighbor as Jesus has loved and instructed us. If done, he promises to return to those who have obeyed and take us to our reserved room at the Father’s house.

At one of the TMIY (“That Man Is You”) classes I attended this last year, one of the speakers quoted a homily that Pope John Paul gave to us Christians and within that homily the pope stated that there is only one key that will allow us entry into heaven and that is the key of love. Only those who love God and neighbor will gain entry. During my seventy-plus years on earth, I have been blessed with a list of mentors that have displayed to me the power and happiness that becomes those who have loved as Jesus has loved us. My mom and dad, my wife and son, my priest friends and instructors, and the people of this city and faith community called “The Body of Christ.” Two of them who were instrumental in gifting our community with a hospital we could be proud of and whom I served with as a member of the Board of Directors for some twenty-three years. Those individuals were John Eberle, and the person we honor today, Don Nielsen.

I first came onboard on the hospital board a couple of years after I got out of law school. These two mentors helped me to mature in my youth to recognize the importance of sharing our gift of time to help bring about and keep available for our people a facility that really cared about healing and providing a comfort zone for those of us that needed repair services for our sick and sometimes broken bodies. Don was always one of the first to offer his advice and wisdom to keep our hospital available to our friends and families. There were some tough times we had to make difficult decisions in order to have a medical team supplied to our hospital when the demand for them exceeded the supply. It was out of love that we needed to team up with Luther Hospital and thereafter with Mayo in order to have doctors for our hospital. One of Don’s favorite sayings was that “When life serves us a lemon, we need to use it to make lemonade.” It was through these disciples of love that we still have our hospital. Don’s love for people did not stop with the local hospital but was present when dealing with his car dealership and support for the Bloomer Chamber events and sharing his knowledge and active involvement with financial support for the community business activities and church faith activities.

About a year ago, Don cornered me and said he was concerned that Mayo was helping other hospitals stay up to date but that Bloomer was being forgotten. He questioned our local doctors for their help. It was just last week that I was told that there are plans being made by Mayo to renovate our Hospital and even build some more beds to accommodate more people at our hospital. The demand is great for our hospital to grow and provide more beds and services for neighbors, friends, and families. Before I heard this news Barb and I stopped to visit Don and Phyllis asked Don if he had any words of wisdom to share with us. His response was “Don’t put off until tomorrow what needs to be done now in our life because you never know when you won’t be able to help or enjoy life anymore.” Don died before I could share with him the good news about our hospital, but I bet he and Doctor Eberle are having a cold one together now with Jesus with grins on their face for having loved as Jesus has loved and served us.

Thanks guys for your love, help, and community service. Hope to see you soon! Signed: The Community of Bloomer.

Posted in Funeral Homilies, Homily, Love, Service | Leave a Comment »

I Will See You Again — Funeral Homily for Stanley Lang, 19

May 28, 2026

By Fr. Victor Feltes

The evening before Jesus died, John’s Gospel recounts him saying at the Last Supper: “I am going to the one who sent me… But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts.” Jesus’ disciples, his loved ones, his friends, were understandably concerned and sad to hear of his departure. But Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.” Jesus tells them again, “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ … And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.”

The next day, they were traumatized by his Passion and death. Luke’s Gospel records that “all [of Jesus’] acquaintances stood at a distance… and saw these events.” And they were witnesses to his burial. Perhaps at first, on Good Friday evening, Jesus’ dear ones were too stunned to feel anything but numb. But then, on Holy Saturday, the reality of what had happened probably settled in. They mourned losing him and were left to ask “Why? How could God let an innocent young man die like this? How is that not a senseless and pointless death?” That might be how we feel today on this day of Stanley’s funeral.

Stanley’s parents tell me he valued the Holy Scriptures, attending a Bible study in high school. He probed the things of God, asking his folks tough religious questions — not looking for excuses but to better understand our Faith. Devoted to worshiping God, he expressed disappointment rather than delight on those rare occasions when circumstances kept his family from attending Sunday Mass. And he desired fellowship with God’s saints, departing from us wearing a St. Francis of Assisi medal around his neck. Why would God allow his beloved friend to die so young?

Reflecting upon Jesus’ Passion and death, we wonder at the mystery of how an innocent 33-year-old being whipped, crucified, and murdered achieves the forgiveness of our sins. Yet it is revealed to us that through patiently endured trials — trials a person would prefer to avoid like a cup of soured wine — God’s holy ones are exalted and our world is saved.

Consider the patron saint of this parish, St. Paul. St. Paul the Apostle is not our Savior and Lord, yet Jesus Christ involves him in his saving work. Because Paul was willing to preach, new peoples were reached. Because Paul bore great sufferings, Christ’s salvation came to others. As Paul wrote to the Colossians: “I now rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the Church…” By faithfully enduring and dying how and when he did, he entered into heaven’s greater glory.

In the words of the Book of Wisdom: “If before men, indeed [God’s own seem] punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. [And] they shall shine…” Our faithful sufferings, our prayers and penances, our labors, losses and dyings, when mystically united to Christ’s, transform us and help save others. This is called redemptive suffering, and while not yet answering every “why,” it changes how Christians see our pains and tragedies in life.

Jesus Christ came to the aid of humanity with his divinity, fashioning for us a remedy out of mortality itself, that the cause of our downfall might become the means of our salvation. As he told his disciples the night before he died, “So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.” Though Jesus’ disciples mourned and questioned on Holy Saturday, a brief time later, with Easter’s resurrection, they joyfully saw their beloved one again. This is our Christian faith and our consoling hope and Jesus Christ’s promise regarding Stanley too.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Funeral Homilies, Homily, Jesus Christ, Redemptive Suffering | Leave a Comment »

Comfort To My People — Funeral Homily for Deon Zwiefelhofer, 61

May 22, 2026

By Fr. Victor Feltes

Isaiah the Prophet proclaimed: “‘Comfort, give comfort to my people,’ says your God.” In light of Deon’s passing, on this day of her funeral, may my words give you comfort. With the coming of Pentecost Sunday, we recall how Jesus assured us: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate [or “Comforter”] to be with you always… You know him (the Holy Spirit), because he remains with you and will be in you.”

How do we know the Holy Spirit is with us? One sign of this St. Paul gives to the Corinthians is how “no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” Another sign of the Holy Spirit’s presence is how he moves us to cry out to God the Father like Jesus did. St. Paul tells the Galatians: “As proof that you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’” And St. Paul tells the Romans: “You received a Spirit of adoption through whom we cry, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” St. John confirms in his first New Testament letter that we have become the children of God, writing: “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

Jesus came to earth as man so that we could enjoy his eternal life and become more like him. St. Matthew describes how before preaching his Sermon on the Mount, “when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.” This is not merely recording a historical detail; it foreshadows our joining Jesus on his holy mountain one day. Jesus has ascended and is now seated at the right hand of the Father, and his disciples will come to him. The Prophet Isaiah tells us that: “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples. …He will destroy death forever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces. On that day it will be said: ‘Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us! This is the Lord for whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!’”

I am told that when family would visit Deon’s home she would often send them on their way with food, usually baked goods, as a gift of her love. Likewise, when we come here to Jesus’ house he sends us forth with the gift of his most precious Food. At this and every Holy Eucharist, you can pray for Deon’s soul (to aid her in any purification) and renew your profession that Jesus is your Lord and that God is your Father. Allied with Jesus Christ and led by the Holy Spirit, we can all go up to God the Father where we will experience full consolation. Ours will be the Kingdom of Heaven and we will be comforted. We will inherit the earth as well and we will be satisfied. We will be shown mercy and we will see God. We will be the children of God and we will rejoice and be glad, for after the trials and hardships of this life our reward will be great in heaven.

Posted in Funeral Homilies, Holy Spirit, Homily, Jesus Christ | Leave a Comment »

Why Did Jesus Go?

May 17, 2026

Solemnity of the Ascension
By Fr. Victor Feltes

Jesus’ Ascension can feel like a bittersweet mystery. Jesus ascends with his human nature into heaven and takes his seat enthroned at the right hand of the Father. This is a wonderful event for us, but it can also feel sad. The apostles had felt that way. Jesus told them at the Last Supper, “I am going to the one who sent me… But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts. But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go.” We might feel like St. Mary Magdalene, who rejoiced to hear and see and touch the Risen Jesus at the tomb on Easter Sunday. She did not want to ever let him go. Jesus told her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” Why was it better that Jesus ascended?

Jesus now enjoys supreme honor and intimacy with his Father in heaven, reigning and interceding for us. But a Christian still might wonder, “Why wouldn’t it be better if Jesus had remained visibly on earth (as during his public ministry)?” Imagine Jesus leading his Church and various nations today as our visible high priest and king whom we could see and hear directly. Some might argue that Jesus on earth was limited by his humanity, saying, “His human nature allowed him to only be one place at a time, like Capernaum or Jerusalem, but not both places simultaneously. So maybe reigning from heaven allows Jesus to be more present to every person and place.” But is the Risen Jesus’ glorified humanity actually limited in this way?

A number of Catholic saints have reportedly manifested the gift and miracle of bilocation during their earthly lifetimes. There are stories of St. Anthony of Padua, St. Martin de Porres, St. Alphonsus Liguori, St. John Bosco, St. Padre Pio, and others being physically present at one location while also being present or manifesting at another. Contemporaneous evidence and sworn testimony indicate that in the 1620s a cloistered Catholic nun named Venerable Mary of Agreda was teaching the Faith to American Indians in what is today eastern New Mexico and western Texas without ever leaving her convent in Spain. So if Christ’s earthly servants can be more than one place at once, then Christ the God-Man should be able to do this all the more. Besides, Jesus is really present (albeit in a veiled way) in the Eucharist at Catholic Churches all around the world, so the miracle of visible multilocation does not seem beyond our Lord’s ability. Imagine Jesus ministering today as the pastor of every parish, as the teacher in every classroom, as the doctors at every hospital, and the staff members for every charity. Wouldn’t Jesus do a better job in our roles than you or me? So why doesn’t he do it?

Before his Ascension, Jesus tells his disciples, tells his Church: “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” So Jesus could do everything himself, yet he rejects that approach. Instead he gives us a mission, our Great Commission: “Go… and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Jesus does not leave us with nothing to do, forever immature and passive. He wants us to actively share in his mission, in his joyful labors, and in his glory. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.” Ours is a high calling and a great responsibility toward the good of souls, but Jesus does not expect us to do it alone or by our own power.

Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” “And behold,” Jesus says, “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Jesus has important Kingdom work for each of us: to reflect him and witness to him for others and help draw them to himself. In your life you have family and friends, coworkers and customers, neighbors and strangers, whom you interact with and may know well! Jesus would utilize you for his holy purposes, but it is important to make ourselves open and available to him. So pray to him: “Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will. Here I am, send me.” Then watch for and take up the opportunities that follow.

Posted in Ascension, Feast Day Homilies, Homily, Jesus Christ, Salvation History, Sunday Homilies, Witness | Leave a Comment »

Our Jewish Bridegroom

May 2, 2026

5th Sunday of Easter
By Fr. Victor Feltes

First century Jews had marriage customs different than ours today. When a Jewish man wished to marry a woman, he would journey from his father’s house to hers. There he would establish a covenant by paying the agreed-upon dowry price to the father. With this payment and a shared drinking of a cup of wine, their new covenant was established. This event was called “betrothal” and the man and woman were henceforth legally husband and wife. The bridegroom, however, would not yet begin living with his bride. To manifest the purity and honorableness of his love toward her, he would return to his father’s house, typically for twelve months. During this time, the bridegroom would build-on an addition or prepare a residence at his father’s house. The bride, meanwhile, would ready her wedding garments and jewelry and practice skills for their life together.

St. Matthew’s Gospel recounts the story of Joseph and Mary’s betrothal. When “Mary was betrothed to Joseph but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her…’ When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.”

When the separation time was over at the end of a Jewish betrothal, the bridegroom and his groomsmen would journey, usually at night in a torchlight procession, to where the bride lived. She would be expecting his return but would not know exactly when. That is why a friend of the bridegroom would run ahead to announce: “Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!” The bridegroom, reunited with his bride, would take her to his father’s house, to their new home together. There the couple would consummate their union and seven days of joyful wedding feasting would begin. I relate all of these details about ancient Jewish wedding customs because they provide insight into Jesus Christ’s words and works.

The Prophet Isaiah had foretold: “As a young man marries a virgin, your Builder shall marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride so shall your God rejoice in you.” Through his Incarnation, Jesus descends from his Father’s house in heaven to where we live here on earth. Jesus declares and calls himself “the Bridegroom” and the New Testament subsequently calls his Church his “Bride.” St. John the Baptist was his forerunner-friend who testified, “I am not the Christ, but…I was sent before him,” adding, “The one who has the Bride is the Bridegroom; the friend of the Groom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly at the Bridegroom’s voice.” Once, Jesus was asked why his disciples were not fasting. He replied, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the Bridegroom is taken away from them and then they will fast.” Christ is the Bridegroom and looking back we can see he paid dowry price for the Church his Bride on the Cross with his blood and he invites us to partake with him of his chalice.

Having established his new covenant bond with us, Jesus ascends to his Father’s house until his Second Coming, a return which his Bride the Church expects and awaits, but of which we know neither the day nor the hour. This Bridegroom symbolism is why Jesus says at the Last Supper: “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.”

This betrothal and consummation of the union between Christ and his Church is like the coming of the Kingdom of God: it is already partially fulfilled but not yet fully complete. St. Paul told the Church at Corinth, “I betrothed you to one husband, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ.” And Paul teaches the Ephesians that “husbands should love their wives as their own bodies… for no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. … This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church.” And the Book of Revelation’s vision of Heaven says “the wedding day of the Lamb has come, his bride has made herself ready. She was allowed to wear a bright, clean linen garment. The linen represents the righteous deeds of the holy ones… Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

The espousal of Jesus with his Church is a relationship with the Church as a whole but it also has meaning for our individual relationships with Christ as well. Consider what habits help a marriage to endure and be fruitful. One important habit for couples is to confide in each other daily. Jesus likewise wants us to pray to him every day. Another valuable marriage habit is sharing meals together. Jesus likewise invites us to his table, at minimum, every Sunday. Folks in troubled marriages grumble and see each other as the problem. Jesus wants us to be close allies and tackle our problems together. Successful marriages focus on gratitude, even during hard times. Jesus likewise wants us to have joy, even while bearing our crosses. Loving spouses must serve each other’s good. We can serve Jesus by serving his Body’s members around us. Renew your faithful devotion to Jesus Christ our Bridegroom who has loved and espoused himself to us, for he is our way, our truth, and our life.

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