"Our Need for the Holy Spirit" by Fr. Chris House

June 7, 2024

Today's Gospel passage presents us with a scene that is challenging and insightful. It brings to light several crucial aspects of Jesus' ministry and his relationship with his followers, his family, and his opponents, while also highlighting the necessity of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The passage begins with Jesus returning home, only to be surrounded by a crowd so large that he and his disciples cannot even eat. This is a testament to the growing interest and curiosity about Jesus and his teachings. However, not everyone is pleased. His own family, concerned by the reports they have heard, believes that he is out of his mind and sets out to take charge of him. This misunderstanding by Jesus' family highlights a profound truth: even those closest to us may not always understand our mission or the path we are called to walk in faith. It reminds us that following God's will can sometimes lead to conflict or misunderstanding with those we love.

 

Further complicating the situation, the scribes accuse Jesus of being possessed by Beelzebul, attributing his ability to drive out demons to the power of the prince of demons. Jesus responds with a parable, pointing out the absurdity of their accusation. He argues that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. If Satan were casting out Satan, it would signify internal conflict leading to his downfall. Jesus' logic is clear: his works of healing and casting out demons are evidence of the kingdom of God breaking into the world, not the work of Satan. This confrontation with the scribes serves as a reminder of the resistance we may face when living out our faith, particularly from those who feel threatened by the change and truth that Jesus brings.

 

One of the most challenging aspects of this passage is Jesus' warning about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. He states that all sins and blasphemies can be forgiven, except for this one sin which is an everlasting sin. This has caused much concern and confusion among believers. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, in this context, refers to a deliberate and persistent rejection of the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. It is a conscious and hardened stance against God's work and presence. Jesus warns against this because it represents a heart that is closed off to repentance and the transformative power of God's grace.

 

Towards the end of the passage, we see Jesus’ mother and brothers arriving and seeking to speak with him. When Jesus is informed of their presence, he responds by redefining the concept of family. He looks at those seated around him and declares, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother." This radical statement emphasizes that true kinship in the kingdom of God is not based on biological ties but on a shared commitment to doing God's will. Jesus invites us to see ourselves as part of a larger spiritual family, united by our faith and obedience to God.

 

This Sunday’s Gospel challenges us to accept that following Jesus may lead to misunderstandings, even with those closest to us. Our commitment to God's will must remain steadfast. Living out our faith authentically may provoke opposition, but we are called to stand firm in the truth and love of Christ, knowing that his works are manifest in our lives. To do this, we need to welcome the presences of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Through a constant openness to the Spirit, we receive God's transformative grace and allow the Spirit to guide and shape our lives.

 

Annual Mission Appeal

 

Next Sunday we will welcome Fr. Joseph from the Congregation Missionaries of Faith for our annual Mission Appeal. The congregation was founded in Italy in 1982 and began working in India in 1989 after the first six priests from India were ordained in Italy. Currently there are around 300 priests of different nationalities in the congregation, of which around 100 priests belong to India.

 

The Missionaries of Faith in India engage in the work of direct evangelization by taking up new mission areas of the country. The congregation has missions in the northeastern parts of India bordering with China, and with Myanmar and in the south. They have established village schools for children, orphanages, medical dispensaries, chapels and above all formation houses for the seminarians to be future missionaries. The congregation depends on the providence of God through the generosity of the people for its work of evangelization, formation of seminarians and charitable work.

 

Blessings to you and yours for the week ahead!

Father Chris House

 

Rejoice! Celebrating the Fourth Sunday of Lent

March 15, 2026
Happy 4th Sunday of Lent! This Sunday, we celebrate Laetare Sunday marking roughly the middle point of Lent. Laetare Sunday shifts our focus to the coming liturgies of Holy Week and Easter Season. Laetare means rejoice in Latin and comes from the Entrance Antiphon at Mass which announces Rejoice, Jerusalem, and who love her from Isaiah 66. Holy Week Schedule is below for reference. Next Sunday, March 22nd at 2pm, Christthe King will host a Penance Service for our Parish plus Parishes of Blessed Sacrament and St Agnes. Anyone is welcome to attend. 6 priests will be available for the Sacrament of Confession/Reconciliation. Our new Church project that we will be doing this summer is installing a Hearing Loop system. A hearing loop allows more hearing access for those with hearing aids. This hearing loop will be installed sometime this summer; we do not have a date yet. After installation, those who use hearing aids will just need to turn on telecoil in their hearing aids to use the system. If you would like to donate to the project, you can place a check in collection or drop something offto the office just put Hearing Loop in the memo. You can also donate online for the project by giving to the offertory and putting Hearing Loop in the note. Lent Information Stations of the Cross Every Wednesday 5pm Every Friday 12:05pm  Lent Penence Service March 22 at 2pm Blessed Sacrament, Christ the King and St. Agnes Hosted by Christ the King 6 Priests will be available for confessions Holy Week Schedule: March 29-April 4 Palm Sunday: Normal Mass Times Holy Thursday: 5:30pm Good Friday; 5:30pm Easter Vigil: 8pm Easter Sunday:April 5 8am and 10am (Please note no 4:30 or 5pm this weekend) Confessions Monday through Friday: 6:30am-6:50am Every Saturday: 3:00pm-4pm Every Sunday: 4-45pm Military Weekends April 12-25 and May 16-17

Third Sunday of Lent: Opportunities for Prayer and Formation

March 8, 2026
Happy 3rd Sunday of Lent! Thank you to Fr. Alex, Dcn. Scott, and Dennis offer their insightful reflections on God’s Mercy. Each night was a greattime of prayer, insight, and some fellowship on the last night at the social. Our Parish Mission leads well into a few different formation opportunities at CTK. Dcn. Scott will be offering formation reflections on the Sacrament of Confession weekly during Lent Feb. 25 through March 25th . We also are offering Life Everlasting on the 4 last things Feb 19th – March 19th . All are welcome to attend and more details in the bulletin. I will be out of town this week, if you need anything, please reach out to Parish Office. On March 9 at 7am in place of Mass, we will have Communion Service provided by Dcn. Scott. I want to thank you for your generous support of our 1st Annual School Fund Appeal that began Dec 2, 2025. We started with a modest goal this year of 25K and we have raised over 42K! The Annual School Fund Appeals runs through May, if you like to donate visit https://www.ctkcougars.com/support-ctk/annual-fund.cfm. We began this yearly appeal to assist with School Capital improvements and support teacher/staff appreciation including bonuses and quarterly lunches. All funds from the annual school fund stay at CTK school. For next year’s Annual School Fund Appeal will replace the teacher appreciation envelope and school fund envelope. Below is list of projects: Summer of 2026 Projects Pre-K and K-8 Tuckpointing Pre-K HVAC Pre-K and K-8 Playgrounds safety improvements School Security Cameras-Interior Lent Information Stations of the Cross Every Wednesday 5pm Every Friday 12:05pm Lent Penence Service March 22 at 2pm Blessed Sacrament, Christ the King and St. Agnes Hosted by Christ the King 6 Priests will be available for confessions Confessions Monday through Friday: 6:30am-6:50am Every Saturday: 3:00pm-4pm Every Sunday: 4-45pm Military Weekends April 12-25 and May 16-17

Second Sunday of Lent: A Mission of Mercy & Grateful Hearts

March 1, 2026
Happy 2nd Sunday of Lent! This Sunday, March 1 at 6:30pm, we bring our Lenten Parish Mission here at Christ the King on the Mercy of God revealed in Jesus Christ. Fr. Alex will speak the 1 night on the Mercy of God in the Sacrament of Confession. On March 2nd , Dennis will reflect on the Road to Emmaus from Luke 24 with Adoration and confessions being available afterwards. Finally on March 3rd, Dcn. Scott will reflect on a Parable from Jesus that reveals the Mercy of God with a social afterwards in the Parish Center. Anyone is welcome to attend these 3 evenings. I want to thank you for your generous support of our 1st Annual School Fund Appeal that began Dec 2, 2025. We started with a modest goal this year of 25K and we have raised over 41K! The Annual School Fund Appeals runs through May, if you like to donate visit: https://www.ctkcougars.com/support-ctk/annual-fund.cfm . We began this yearly appeal to assist with School capital improvements and support teacher/staff appreciation including bonuses and quarterly lunches. All funds from the annual school fund stay at CTK school. For next year’s Annual School Fund Appeal will replace the teacher appreciation envelope and school fund envelope. Below is list of projects: Summer of 2026 Projects Pre-K and K-* Tuckpointing Pre-K HVAC Pre-K and K-8 Playgrounds safety improvements School Security Cameras-Interior Lent Information Stations of the Cross Every Wednesday 5pm Every Friday 12:05pm Lent Penence Service March 22 at 2PM Blessed Sacrament, Christ the King and St. Agnes Hosted by Christ the King 6 priests will be avaialbe for confessions Confessions Monday through Friday: 6:30am-6:50am Every Saturday: 3:00pm-4pm Every Sunday: 4-45pm Military Weekends March 4-6 and April 12-25

Into the Desert: Our Lenten Journey Begins

February 21, 2026
Happy 1st Sunday of Lent! Our Gospel this weekend recalls Jesus 40 days in the desert after His Baptism. A time of prayer and fasting for Him before He began His public ministry which revealed overtime that He was the Messiah and Son of God. Throughout the Old Testament, time in the desert, recalls the Israelites 40 years in the desert before they entered the Promised Land. Jesus’s time in the desert is a foreshadowing then that He is going to lead a New Exodus through the desert to a New Promise Land. Our Lenten journey of 40 days intimates Jesus’s 40 days in the desert and prepares for Holy Week when we call the New Exodus and New Passover accomplished by Jesus Christ. This past week our 3rd graders received the Sacraments of Confirmation and 1st Holy Communion on Feb 17 at the Cathedral. We will celebrate them as a Parish on Feb 22 at 10am Mass. They will process in and receive Holy Communion first during Mass. We will have A Parish Lent Mission Sunday March 1, 2, and 3 at 6:30pm on the Mercy of God revealed in Jesus Christ. Fr Alex, Dennis, and Dcn. Scott will each take a night. Fr. Alex will discuss the Sacrament of Confession one night. Dcn. Scott and Dennis will each speak one night on a Parable from Jesus that reveals God’s Mercy. We will have a social on March 3 after the Mission. Reminder during Lent, we will use the Penitential Act Form B seen below. It is not commonly used at Mass, but is a nice option for Lent. Below is more information on Lent. Lent Information Stations of the Cross Every Wednesday 5pm Every Friday 12:05pm Confessions Monday through Friday: 6:30am-6:50am Every Saturday: 3:00pm-4pm Every Sunday: 4-45pm Lent Resources Lenten Companion by Ascension Press Exodus 90 and Magnify Halo App Lenten Parish Mission March 1-3 at 6:30pm More information to come Penitential Act The Priest then says: Have mercy on us,O Lord. The faithful reply: For we have sinned against you. The Priest: Show us,O Lord, your mercy. The faithful: And grant us your salvation. Military Weekends March 4-6 and April 12-25 

As We Prepare Our Hearts for Lent

February 7, 2026
Happy 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time! Hard to believe, but Lent is right around the corner. Ash Wednesday falls on Feb 18 this year. Below is some Lenten Information. I am away next this weekend on annually priestly retreat. I will be on retreat spending time with prayer with Jesus at St Meinrad from Feb. 5-11. If you need anything during that time, simply reach out to the office. During Lent, we will use the Penitential Act Form B seen below. It is not commonly used at Mass, but is a nice option for Lent. You might have noticed the 3 new planters outside of a Church. We installed those planters for security reasons after a security audit. It was recommended in our security audit to install a barrier to prevent easy access to our Church front doors. I pray that these barriers are never needed. Unfortunately, in our world today, extra security measures are required. We plan to add some flowers to the planters in the spring. Lent Information Lenten Parish Mission March 1-3 at 6:30 PM Ash Wednesday 7am Mass, 8:30am (School Mass), 12pm Penitential Act (Ash Service), 5:30pm Mass The Priest then says: Have Mercy on Us, O Lord Stations of the Cross The faithful reply: Every Wednesday 5pm For we have sinned against you. Every Friday 12:05pm The Priest: Show us, O Lord, your mercy. Confessions The faithful: Monday through Friday: 6:30am-6:50am And grant us your salvation Every Saturday: 3:00pm-4pm Every Sunday: 4-45pm Lent Resources Lenten Companion by Ascension Press Exodus 90 and Magnify Halo App Military Weekends Feb. 21-22 and March 4-6

United in Faith and Community

January 23, 2026
Happy 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time! This Sunday, Jan 25, we kick off Catholic Schools Week for our Parish School. At 10am Mass, some kids from our school will serve as lectors and greeters at Mass plus the Cougar Chorus will sing at Mass. Catholic Schools week each year is an opportunity to celebrate the uniqueness of our Catholic schools especially their Catholic Identity. The National Theme for Catholic Schools Week this year is United in Faith and Community. This theme emphasizes the uniqueness of a Catholic School. Our uniqueness as a Catholic School flows from education and formation being centered around Jesus Christ. Jesus is the one who unites us. At our Baptism, Jesus brought us into a bigger family, the family of God. Our faith in Christ unites then and calls us to community, to live as part of the family of God. We will celebrate Catholic School Weeks with a variety of activities that celebrate this theme of being united in Faith and Community through Jesus Christ. We will celebrate with Sunday Mass with kids in ministry roles, Eucharistic Procession at School on Thursday, and many other fun activities. Please keep us in prayer this week as we celebrate the uniqueness of being of Catholic School. Finally, one minor change that we will begin in February for Christ the King Parish is a new procedure for those receiving low gluten hosts. Anyone needing a low gluten host beginning in February will simply proceed to the priest distributing Holy Communion at Mass. The priest will have low gluten hosts in a special pyx. Military Weekends Feb. 21-27 and March 4-6

Behold the Lamb of God

January 19, 2026
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Baptism of the Lord

January 10, 2026
Happy Feast of the Baptism of the Lord! I am sad to miss this great feast with yall. I am away on military drill Jan 10-11. Please keep me in prayer and know of my prayers. This great feast moves us from the Nativity scene with Mary, St. Joseph, shepherds, and Magi to roughly 30 years later in Jesus’s earthly life. The Feast of Baptism of the Lord manifests that Jesus is the Anointed One, the Messiah. This Feast of Baptism of the Lord serves as a Bridge to Ordinary Time because Christmas Season is all about the long-awaited Messiah being born and Ordinary Time is about seeing Jesus prove and show forth in His public ministry that He is the Messiah. At His Baptism, we hear the Father’s voice and Holy Spirit appearing as a Dove to confirm that Jesus is the Messiah as he begins His public ministry which will end with His Death, Resurrection, and Ascension. This manifestation of the Holy Spirit at Jesus’s Baptism also harkens back to the Old Testament Kings and Prophets being anointing with the Spirit of the Lord as they began their Mission. So, the appearance of the Holy Spirit signifies that Jesus is the Anointed Messiah beginning the next stage of His Mission, His public ministry. For more information of this great feast visit https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/why-jesus-was-baptized or Why Was Jesus Baptized? -Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon on YouTube. After this weekend, we will begin taking down Christmas decorations. We will leave the Nativity Scene up until Presentation of the Lord on Feb. 2. Presentation of the Lord traditionally closed Christmas Season until recently since it was 40 days after Christmas. We also have a very beautiful Nativity Scene, and it will be nice to enjoy its beauty through Feb. 2. Military Weekends Jan. 10-11 and Feb. 21-27

Epiphany: Christ Revealed to the World

January 3, 2026
Happy Feast of the Epiphany! Epiphany, traditionally on Jan. 6 closes out the 12 days of Christmas celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior. We will the conclude the Christmas Season next weekend with the Baptism of our Lord. The Feast of Epiphany focuses on the Magi – the 3 wise men coming from the Persia area to see the newborn King of the Jews. Most likely these 3 wise men, Magi, would have been part of a bigger caravan. These 3 wise men would have studied astrology, philosophy and many other academic disciplines. They also were most likely of the priestly class of Persia who, with their astrology training, interpreted Divine messages from the stars. And as the Scriptures convey, gave 3 gifts to the newborn King: gold for a King, frankincense for a God used in worship, and myrrh to signify his death and burial. The significance of this great Feast is that the Magi represent the first Gentiles (non-Jews) encountering Jesus Christ. Throughout the Old Testament, the Messiah is expected, based on God’s promises to Israel, to be a light to the Gentiles. Meaning the Messiah through Israel would bring the Gentiles into the Covenance and family of God. For more information on the Magi visit https://catholiceducation.org/en/culture/the-magi.html or https://catholicinsight.com/2025/01/04/themeaning- of-the-magi-and-the-star-of-bethlehem/ Military Weekends Jan 10-11 and Feb. 21-27 

The Holy Family and the Ongoing Joy of Christmas

December 29, 2025
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