September 20, 2026

Twenty fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time

by Fr. Jonah, O.P.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Before continuing our meditation on the Lord’s Prayer, I wanted to share exciting news. 

On Thursday, October 1, our parish will receive a tremendous gift: a small piece of the mantle of St. Joseph, a cloak believed to have been the possession of St. Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the man called to serve as father to Our Lord Jesus Christ. The mantle was brought from the Holy Land to Rome by St. Jerome, where it has remained for the past 1,600 years. We are receiving a tiny piece of that cloak. It is an amazing blessing for us to have such a rare relic, and we are profoundly grateful to Fr. Carlos Martins, a world expert on relics of the saints, for offering it to us. On the evening of Thursday, October 1, at 7:30 p.m. here in the church, Fr. Martins will give a lecture on relics in general and this relic of St. Joseph’s mantle in particular. After the lecture, the relic will be available for veneration. 

Now to continue reflecting on the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer that Jesus gave to us when he said, “This is how you are to pray” (Matthew 6:9).

“Our Father . . .”

Consider that when Our Lord taught us to speak to God, he did not say, “When you pray, say, ‘Our Master,’ ‘Our Commander,’ ‘Our Teacher,’ ‘Our Guide.’” He taught us to say, “Our Father.” It is true that God is our Master, our Commander, our Teacher, our Guide. He is all of these things and more. But when we approach him in prayer, Jesus teaches us to consider him primarily as Father. 

Many of you are fathers yourselves. One guy was talking to me recently: “You get married—best day of your life. Then you become a dad: best day of your life.” (Let us admit the possibility of multiple best days of one’s life here. It’s worthy.) If you’re a parent, you know the absolute bond of love that exists between you and your little child. Consider that this is how God wants us to think of his disposition towards us. “The Father loves the Son” (John 5:20). 

I say more: it is not only that we can think of God as our Father. By the gift of his grace, we truly become such! We share in the life of Jesus, the only-begotten Son of God, and so become, in truth, children of God, able to call rightfully upon him as Father. Here’s what St. Paul says:

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit itself 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 (Romans 8:15-17).Know of my prayers for all of you.

In Christ,

Fr. Jonah, O.P.