4th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Today’s Gospel is the beginning of Jesus’ teaching on the mountain. And obviously Jesus is teaching us something about blessing, but what does he want us to know? Let’s try an experiment: I’ll say a word and then I’ll guess the word that comes into your head. If I guess correctly, you will raise your hands. Let’s see if this works.

APPLE…            ORANGE [RED?] [COMPUTER?]

BUBBLE…         GUM [BATH?]

BLESSED…      JESUS

If “Jesus” wasn’t the word that popped in your head, don’t feel bad. It wasn’t the word that popped in the apostles’ heads either. “Well to do” popped in their heads.

 These days many think being blessed means having things go our way. Indeed, most folk think being blessed means being rich in the world’s eyes… and this is not something new. People have always thought this way, even the apostles!

Yet, when we look at the people Jesus says are blessed in today’s Gospel (the poor in sprit, the mourning, the meek, the hungry & thirsty for righteousness, the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers, the persecuted, and the insulted because of their faith in Jesus), something is not right. These people are poor in the eyes of the world. (They would be unelectable.) What is Jesus trying to teach us?

Remember the story of the rich young man who comes to Jesus.

• The young man had enthusiasm at first.
• He came from a good family; did the right things; knew the right things.
• Yet, when Jesus told him in order to cross the finish line, he needed to leave his riches behind and follow him, he went home sad.
• Jesus then told his apostles that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for the rich to get into the kingdom of heaven.

The disciples stressed out! Why were the disciples so stressed? Because the rich were supposed to be blessed! To give them hope Jesus responds, “with God all things are possible.” In other words, hope is in God’s hands. Salvation is all God’s initiative.

I believe Jesus is teaching us a similar lesson today. In the world’s eyes these Beatitude people are poor. They are the ones you push around; walk over; take advantage of. Yet, Jesus says they are blessed. Why?

Because God takes the initiative to draw close to them. They are blessed because God is attracted to them, prefers their company. And God’s company is really what blesses a person.

Our Beatitude poor are blessed because God chooses to draw close to them and make his home with them. And it is this initiative of God in which we together place our hope for salvation today.

God reaches out to us from our altar and draws us closer to himself through the gift of his Son. Because of this, because God draws close to us (and for no other reason), we are blessed.

Contribution Statements for 2025 are available through My Own Church.

Log in…My Offering…Giving History…Download Statement. (Mobile Users: scroll down and select “full site” and then follow the same path.

Not signed up yet? Click HERE to set up your My Own Church account.

Prefer a printed copy? Call the parish office at (502) 538-4933 to arrange pickup.

Thank you for your faithful support.

Dear SFX Parishioners,

Due to the unpredictability of this weekend’s storm system, I have decided to close our campus Sunday and only offer one “simple” Mass on Saturday at 5pm for the intentions of our parish.

Given this weekend’s promised winter storm, we want to share that no one is expected to put themselves in harm’s way to attend Mass. (Mass obligation is lifted if travel conditions are too dangerous.) We cannot guarantee the quality of our parking lot and sidewalks, so we encourage each person to make prudent decisions for safety and not come out when in doubt.

I live at the parish and can walk across the parking lot in my military boots for Saturday’s Mass, but should you not be able to safely attend I suggest you either watch Mass of the Air or pray a rosary (Glorious Mysteries) for the benefit of all who suffer from our harsh weather conditions.

Stay safe and check in on one another, we love you!

Fr. Jeff

Are you interested in serving as a Eucharistic Minister? The Archdiocese of Louisville is offering training sessions over the next few months for those wishing become Eucharistic Ministers or those just needing a refresher. Visit the archlou website HERE for more information or to register for an upcoming session. There is no charge, but registration is requested.

• Thursday January 22, 2026, St. Agnes, 1920 Newburg Road, Louisville, KY 40205, 6:00-8:00PM.
• Thursday February 26, 2026, St. Margaret Mary, 7813 Shelbyville Road, Louisville KY 40222, 7:00-9:00PM
•  Thursday March 26, 2026, St. Lawrence, 1925 Lewiston Drive, Louisville, KY 40216, 6:00-8:00PM

January 6, 2026

“Fear of the Lord”

John tells us today it is all about Love! Fitting scripture for our exploration of the final Gift of the Holy Spirit leveraged by God to sanctify each of us: The Fear of the Lord.

The seventh and final Gift of the Holy Spirit is the Fear of the Lord, and perhaps no other Gift of the Holy Spirit is so misunderstood.

We think of fear and hope as opposites, but the Fear of the Lord confirms the theological virtue of hope. This Gift of the Holy Spirit gives us the desire not to offend God, as well as the certainty that God will supply us the grace that we need in order to keep from offending Him.

Our desire to not offend God is more than simply a sense of duty; like Piety, the Fear of the Lord arises from a place of love. Because of our love for God offending God is what we are blessed to fear, not God nor any action on His part toward us.

Over these past Tuesdays of Advent and Christmas we have explored the Holy Spirit’s Seven Gifts embedded within our hearts at our baptism. Taken together the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit are God’s present to each of us so as to transform us more and more into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

Through these gifts, when we in our freedom say “yes” to them, we become able to desire the contemplation of God over everything. Grasping what we contemplate, we are blessed with an insight into what God would have us do as well as the strength to do it. With the ability to see things as God sees them, we can then glean our purpose under God; a purpose we can then pursue because of a love-motivated worship of Him that we lovingly hope will be pleasing to Him.

Taken together a life that leverages these seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit will be holy.

Your chance to win $10,000 is Now! Taste of St. Francis $10K Raffle Tickets are available for purchase on-line through the link below. You can purchase in person in the Gathering Space after weekend masses or in the Parish Office during business hours (Mon-Thur 9AM-4PM, Fri 9AM-12PM). Raffle tickets are $10 each.

Each SFX family is asked to check out a pack of 10 tickets for purchase or for selling to friends and family. Please help to meet our goal of selling 3000 Tickets!

Visit the Taste of St. Francis event page for more information about TOSF, the Auction, and how you can help.

Campus will be closed during this period, with no Walking/Fellowship in the Xavier Center. There will be weekday masses, but no Adoration.

Thank YOU for your generous donations made to this year’s #iGiveCatholic! We have raised $7,370, surpassing our goal of $7,000! Stay tuned for more details and volunteer opportunities for our Love the Hungry packaging event that will be held on March 22, 2026.

To learn more about Love the Hungry, visit their website at www.lovethehungry.org

You can donate on-line anytime through the following link or visit the “Giving” section of the SFX website.