28th Sunday in Ordinary time -Year A
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Some friends invited me to one of the most famous and expensive restaurants in the country. I was grateful and eager to go. One invited friend even flew from another state for the experience. Every bite and sip was truly memorable and delicious. But my friends’ teenage children spent much of the time on their phones, complained about the food, and generally ignored the once-in-a-lifetime experience. I wanted to yell, “C’mon, you guys! Look what you’re missing!” In today’s parable, Jesus describes people invited to an amazing wedding feast who respond with inexplicable indifference. He says, “Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business” (Matthew 22:5). The problem is not that they choose evil but that they allow other desires to distract them from an amazing opportunity. The feast is prepared, but their hearts are elsewhere. In Christ Jesus, God offers each of us a wildly extravagant offer: a place at the wedding banquet between heaven and earth. What are your current excuses for the delay in engaging with Jesus? How are you postponing a deepening of your relationship with Him under the guise of responsibility? The good news is that the feast is ready. His invitation remains. Hear the Lord say to us, “C’mon, guys! Look what you’re missing!” Then respond with concrete action. — Father John Muir
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
As many of you know my mom has cancer. I also know there are a number of people in the parish that have cancer or know someone with cancer. With this in mind I wanted to share with you a prayer I have been saying for my mom and all the people in our parish that have cancer:
Dear Lord, I beg you to help (name of person) who has cancer. I love him (her) so much and I find it very difficult to watch him (her) suffering. As you cured St. Peregrine of a terrible malignancy, I ask you to cure his (her) illness. Please relieve his (her) pain and guide the doctors in his (her) care. Give him (her the strength to bear whatever is to come according to Your holy will, Dear Lord. I ask that you give me the patience and the wisdom to comfort him (her) as best I am able. Help me to face the uncertainty of the future. I ask that you bless him (her) with the knowledge of Your love, Dear Lord, and with the warmth and caring of all of us who bear this burden with him (her). Amen.
God Bless you and have a wonderful week, Fr. Michael
SCRIPTURAL REFLECTIONS ON STEWARDSHIP
“My God will fully supply whatever you need…”
God really does provide for those who are grateful and generous. This is very difficult for people that don’t live a stewardship lifestyle to believe. People are skeptical and say it’s just coincidence. If you are skeptical, try living a stewardship lifestyle for just one month – be generous with your gifts of time in prayer, talent in charitable works, and treasure, then see how God provides for your needs.
Prayer for Autumn
Dear God, As the weather changes, the birds migrate, and autumn’s flowers, colors, and clouds make their entrance. We thank You for the gift of this beautiful season! Help us use this season to draw closer to each other and to You. Amen.
Prayer for Vocations
Dear God, Give us the courage and strength to answer when You call! Give us clarity and trust to hear Your soft invitations. Give us the love to respond, and the bravery to take the steps that will bring us ever closer to You. Amen.
PRACTICING CATHOLIC
RECOGNIZE GOD IN YOUR ORDINARY MOMENTS By Colleen Jurkiewicz Dorman
The Why
Sometimes, the Gospel takes everything you think you know about Jesus, throws it in a box, shakes it violently, dumps it on the floor, looks you in the eye and says: “Clean it up.” And there you are, picking up the pieces, wondering how, after 2,000 years, someone can still keep you guessing. Today is one of those Gospels. We know Jesus as a champion of the poor. We envision him as a social justice warrior. And now He’s advocating for time theft in the workplace? Make it make sense. Well, at its heart, today’s Gospel is a story about who gets what. A story about comparison, which we are told is the thief of joy — but without comparison, nothing would ever get done. In this world, wages are set, court cases are settled, international borders are drawn, all by comparing one entity to another and evaluating that comparison to make a judgment. What this Gospel doesn’t tell us is the “why.” The workers who labored longest in the vineyard feel cheated because those who showed up later earn the same wage. This would be egregious — unless we consider that the only criteria used in the comparison is the length of the work day’s duration. Quality and efficiency of work is never even mentioned. For all we know, those all-day workers could have been standing around fanning themselves, and should feel lucky to get what they did. “Why” is a question we ask a lot in this life. Why did my dad die? Why did I get cancer? Why did my husband lose his job? As we pick up the pieces of today’s Gospel, we should ask ourselves this: when we know what we know about Who decides who gets what, do we have to know the “why?”
PRAYER REQUESTS
That God will relieve their suffering and restore them to health. Please pray for: Kellie Salata, Kelly Chinchar, Jessica, Daniel Breslin, Stanley, Joseph Marrone, Anthony, Michael, Joseph, Jessica Esopo, Steve, Audra, Bernadette, James Weiss, Baby Ford, Rosemary Malangone, Elizabeth Malangone, Sue West, Colleen Emery, Richard, Joan Russo, Christina Martin, Mornia Evans, Valerie Valverde, Diana McGuckin, Cheryl Prinjinski, Stephen West, Bryan Westfall, Cathy Bruno, Anne Trainor and Lheny Sunga.
Holy Name Medical Center is looking for Eucharistic Ministers, volunteers, who are willing to help out in giving out Holy Communion to their patients. If you are interested, you can email them at pokafor@holyname.org or call their office at 201-833-3243 or stop by their Pastoral Care Office, behind the chapel, lobby/ground floor at Holy Name Medical Center.
THANK YOU
Please consider sponsoring our Bread & Wine, Altar Flowers, and the oil for the Sanctuary Lamp.
Opportunities for Parish Support
There are several ways you can help support our parish and honor loved ones at the same time. As you may have noticed on the first Sunday of every month in our bulletin, we thank the donors of our Altar Gifts. You can donate the Bread & Wine, Altar Flowers, or the Sanctuary Lamp in a two-week block for $50 in someone’s memory. We have blocks open for this year. We also need to purchase a new Easter candle each year (the tall candle on the altar) for $300-$400 which can also be donated in someone’s memory. You do not have to fund the entire amount, anything you wish to donate towards the purchase of our Easter candle is appreciated. We also have masses available for your intentions. If you wish to honor someone in any of these ways, please call the rectory.
Prayer for our Nation
God our Father, giver of life, we entrust the United States of America to your loving care. You are the rock on which this nation was founded. You alone are the true source of our cherished rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Reclaim this land for your glory and dwell among your people. Send your Spirit to touch the hearts of our nation’s leaders. Open their minds to the great worth of human life and the responsibilities that accompany human freedom. Remind your people that true happiness is rooted in seeking and doing your will. Through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, patroness of our land, grant us the courage to reject the “culture of death.” Lead us into a new millennium of life. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Praying the ROSARY
The Rosary is a meditation, a time to recall and think about the life of Jesus as seen and experienced by Mary. As the model of faith, Mary’s life sets a pattern that we strive to follow: saying ‘yes’ to God’s will in our lives and sharing His love and message with others. The Mysteries of the Rosary form a mini lesson of faith, using the highlights and significant moments of the life of Jesus. Like paging through a family scrapbook, we see in brief the events of salvation history that are the core of our belief and the hope of our eternal life.
WE NEED BULLETIN ADVERTISERS!!
We would like to thank all the advertisers who have supported us throughout the past year. Our parish benefits greatly from the ads you see in the bulletin. The revenue pays for the printing which is an important means of communication for the parish. If we do not have enough advertisers, the cost of our bulletin goes up. We thank the local businesses that advertise with us especially in these tough economic times. We have some spaces on the back of our bulletin that need filling so if you would like to advertise your business as well as benefit your church, please contact John Patrick Publishing at 1-800-333-3166.
Attention families of 8th grade students planning to attend Catholic High School in Fall 2027!
The High School Placement Test (HSPT) administered as part of the Cooperative Admissions Program for Catholic High Schools in the Archdiocese of Newark will be given on Friday, November 6, 2026. Registration information for the HSPT exam is online at www.njcoopexam.org. The deadline to register for the HSPT is October 23, 2026. For more information about the Cooperative Admissions Program, go to www.catholicschoolsnj.org/hs-admissions.
Please support our advertisers at the back cover of bulletin.
