25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,

We will hear proclaimed in our second reading this weeked from 1 Timothy 2:1-2
Beloved:  I urge that supplications, prayers, petitions,
and thanksgivings be made for everyone,
for kings and who are in higher positions,
so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.
While this list is not comprehensive, St. Paul highlights for us three types of prayers:

Supplications - which would be "urgent requests based on a need"
Intercessions - which involve "speaking to God on behalf of others"
Thanksgiving - involves giving thanks

Prayer is not just for our sakes and not just about our needs.  More times than not, I begin our mass by saying that we bring all of our prayers and petitions, and prayers of thanksgiving to the altar and to the foot of the cross, the crucifix.  We have also been seeking the intercession of our Blessed Mother for peace in Ukraine and Russia.  St. Paul tells Timothy to pray for leaders and those in authority.  So we continue with our intercessions and prayers, for wise and peaceable and rule.  Such prayers acknowledge that all authority is ultimately God's authority and that God is the ultimate King.

May we unite all of our prayers and petitions together.  May we pray for leaders across the globe, and may we continue to pray for the people of Ukraine and Russia.

As we enter into this last weekend of summer, may God bless each of you and those that you love, and I look forward to seeing you at mass this weekend.
Fr. Greg