Sermons from St. Francis
Listen to sermons and homilies from Sunday Mass at St. Francis.
Sermon for October 25, 2026
A reflection on John 18, where Pilate asks Jesus, “Art thou the King of the Jews?” and Jesus answers, “For this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” Pilate saw that Jesus was no ordinary man, and his question “What is truth?” is still the most important question any of us can ask. We live in a world that would rather hear what feels comfortable than what is true, yet the Church exists to wake people up to God’s eternal truth, the only truth there is. With witnesses from C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton to A.W. Tozer and Jan Hus, we are called to seek the truth, love the truth, tell the truth, and defend the truth even unto death.
Sermon for October 18, 2026
A reflection on the parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22, where a guest arrives without a wedding garment and is cast out of the king’s banquet. The sermon looks at how easily we cut corners and come before God unprepared, and explains that the garment stands for the respect, effort, and readiness of heart we bring to Him, not for wealth or fine clothes. Through a childhood memory of patched but clean blue jeans, it shows that God does not ask for perfection but loves us without limit in our struggles. It closes with a call to follow Christ fully, loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind and our neighbor as ourselves.
Sermon for October 4, 2026
A reflection on Christ’s comfortable words: “Come unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.” So many of us are tired, worn down by busy lives, angry politics, and a culture of suspicion, our heads bowed over phone screens instead of looking one another in the eye. You don’t have to hate to be able to love. As the Anglican priest John Donne wrote, “No man is an island,” and the promise Jesus makes to lift our burdens is the same promise He makes to every one of us.
Sermon for September 27, 2026
A reflection on Revelation 12: “There was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon.” God gave both angels and people free will to choose good or evil, and those who chose pride were cast down. Praying the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” we see that God’s kingdom is being purified as goodness overcomes evil. Pride is the great stumbling block and humility the mark of a right relationship with God, and the war between good and evil continues on earth, where we are called to stand up for Jesus with St. Michael and the angels beside us.
Sermon for September 20, 2026
A reflection on St. Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3 that we, being rooted and grounded in love, may comprehend the breadth, length, depth, and height of the love of Christ, which passes knowledge. As we grow older, what we value changes, and things matter less while people matter more. There are many things we will never fully understand in this life, like the nature of the electron or the mystery of the Holy Trinity. But we do not need to understand everything to have faith, to pray, to receive the sacraments, and to build our lives on Christ the solid rock.
Sermon for September 6, 2026
A reflection on Luke 17, where Jesus heals ten lepers and gives them their lives back, yet only one returns to give thanks. Christianity is a relationship with God, and it works only when God, not ourselves, is at the center, for every good thing we have comes from Him. God often offers healing as an invitation, and we are free to recognize where it comes from or to credit ourselves or luck. A personal story of a frightening diagnosis, desperate prayer after years away from faith, and an unexpected recovery shows how God can use anything to call us home, if only we turn back and give thanks.