GOSPEL MEDITATION - ENCOURAGE DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF SCRIPTURE
July 19, 2026
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 13:24-43
A man recently told me he was losing patience with the Church. “It’s supposed to be God’s Kingdom on earth,” he said, “but it’s full of contradictions and hypocrisy. Why can’t the Church just be better?” That last word landed with a judgmental thud. It hurt. Because at times the Church can look painfully ordinary, even disappointing.
But Jesus’ parables in today’s Gospel meet that frustration head-on. He says, “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field,” yet the weeds grow up with the wheat, and the master allows both to grow together until harvest. To his listeners, this sounded strange, even offensive. They expected God’s reign to be pure, powerful, and glorious, anything but mixed up, hidden, or small.
Jesus is showing us something essential. The Kingdom always begins small and grows amid imperfection. Grace and weakness exist side by side until the harvest. That is why the Church often looks messy. Yet within that mess, God’s quiet work continues. The weeds do not stop the wheat from growing.
When we see the Church’s flaws or our own, it helps to remember that this is exactly the field in which Christ chose to plant. The miracle is not that everything looks perfect, but that his Word keeps taking root anyway.
Lord, give me patience with Your field, the Church. Help me see Your hidden life growing even among the weeds. Amen.
— Father John Muir
St. Bridget of Sweden | July 23
Saint Bridget or Birgitta was born in 1303, the daughter of Birger Petersson, governor of Uppland and his wife Ingeborg Bengtsdotter. She was married to Ulf Gudmarsson, who became governor of the province of Nericia. They had eight children, all of whom survived past infancy which was rare for the 12th century. One of their daughters would become St. Catherine of Sweden.
Saint Bridget was hailed as a mystic and her visions, which began in her early childhood when she had visions of Christ Crucified, made her somewhat of a Middle Ages celebrity. Her vision of the Nativity of Jesus even influenced the art of the Nativity through the Baroque era! She is said to have predicted the Vatican State. Saint Bridget’s Revelations, which she dictated to Peter Olafsson, the prior at the Cistercian monastery of Alvastra near which she retired after her husband’s death in 1344, were published in 1492. They have since been published in many languages and can still be purchased today.
Some of her most profound visions regarded the founding of a new religious order which would be primarily for women, ruled by an abbess, but with a separate house for monks who would serve as order chaplains. Her visions detailed everything from the abbey church to the clothing that would be adopted as the nun’s habit, and how the order would be ruled. King Magnus II of Sweden granted Bridget land and buildings. The order, called the Bridgettines or the Order of the Most Holy Savior was approved by Pope Urban V in 1370.
Saint Bridget was canonized in 1391 by Pope Boniface IX and in 1999 Pope John Paul II named her one of the Patron Saints of Europe.
(PRACTICING) CATHOLIC - RECOGNIZE GOD IN YOUR ORDINARY MOMENTS
By Colleen Jurkiewicz Dorman
The Weeds We Need
Driving up my street in late spring, you can see which yard is mine from a whole block away: it’s the one covered in dandelions. And I like it that way.
I fear neither my husband’s shame nor the snarky comments of neighbors: I will never apologize for my dandelion-filled yard. “It’s for the pollinators,” I say, but it’s a total lie. I just think it looks lovely. Who doesn’t like a splash of yellow after a long, dreary winter?
People call dandelions “weeds,” but it’s just not true. Weeds are, by definition, any plant growing where it isn’t wanted. A rosebush is a weed, if it’s in the middle of a cornfield. I want my dandelions. Plants that are commonly considered weeds can even have beneficial properties. They attract pollinators, for instance, and they promote nutrient cycling, whereby soil health is improved.
We all have metaphorical “weeds” in the garden of our lives. I certainly do: facets of my personality I loathe, realities of my life I resent, limitations in my abilities I dread— these are my weeds, and their roots run deep, coiling closely around those of the plants I try to cultivate. But if I could rid my garden of any one of these weeds, would it really benefit me? And if I examined them all closely, could I tell them apart — the blessing from the curse, the struggle from the triumph?
One day, it will all become clear: what is the wheat, and what is the weed. We will be put to our ultimate purpose, and we will see ourselves for what we are meant to be.
Until then, we need the weeds. It’s not harvest time yet.
Virtues, Explained! Affability
There was a certain sister in the Carmelite convent who particularly tried the patience of St. Therese of Lisieux.
But instead of avoiding this person, St. Therese instead made a point of smiling at her whenever the two met.
“Charity must not consist in feelings, but in works,” wrote St. Therese. “I set myself to doing for this Sister what I would do for the person I loved the most.” In doing so, she learned to see “Jesus hidden in the depths” of this woman’s soul.
St. Therese was growing in the virtue of affability when she did this. Affability is attached to justice, writes St. Thomas Aquinas, and demands “that we behave pleasantly to those among whom we dwell.” (Sum., II:II, 114, Art. 2)
In being affable, we make ourselves friendly, approachable, and agreeable to those around us, regardless of how they make us feel. “How good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell together as one,” writes King David in Psalm 133.
WELCOME ONE AND ALL TO NORTH AMERICAN MARTYRS PARISH
Our Mission Statement:
We, the North American Martyrs Parish, a strong community of faith, Nourished by the Holy Eucharist, Guided by the Holy Spirit and Trusting in the grace of God, Dedicate ourselves to live God’s Word and Let the light of Christ shine through our Community. We strive to provide sound religious formation for people of all ages; To care for the spiritual, social well-being of one another With particular attention to the stranger and the poor in our midst.
“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ John 20:21
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ST ALBERT ------ ST BRENDAN ------ ST PIUS X
