Reflection by: Fr. Alberto Bueno, T.O.R.

The Prophet Zechariah, in today’s first reading, gives us an image of Israel’s Messianic King and Savior coming, not in power, strength, and grandeur, but in humility and in peace, riding on a donkey. He rejects the weapons of war and destruction, banishing them forever from Jerusalem and from all nations! The Messiah brings universal peace to all nations and all humankind. Jesus embraced and initiated this event when He entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on the colt of an ass. This is also the Jesus we see in today’s Gospel from the end of the 11^th chapter of St. Matthew. The Lord embodies in Himself the person of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia in Greek). This passage (MT 11:25-30) stands out very differently than the rest of Matthew’s gospel. Jesus voices a prayer of thanksgiving because the Father has revealed the mysteries of the kingdom to God’s “little ones” and not to the powerful and mighty. In calling on those who are burdened and oppressed to come to Him to rest, freed from oppression and burdens, and take on Christ’s yoke, “easy and light”, the Lord is rejecting for all time power, violence, war, domination, brute strength, division, fear and suspicion. These do not belong in the kingdom of heaven, they are not the values of the people of God, the Church! Having just celebrated the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence let us pray that the ideals of freedom, fraternity, equality, respect, dignity be accorded to every human person, with no prejudice or distinction. Seeing in every other person a brother or sister worthy of respect and dignity as a son or daughter of God!

El profeta Zacarías, en la primera lectura de hoy, nos presenta la   imagen del Rey mesiánico y Salvador de Israel que viene, no con poder, fuerza y ​​grandeza, sino con humildad y en paz, montado en un asno. ¡Él rechaza las armas de guerra y destrucción, desterrándolas para siempre de Jerusalén y de todas las naciones! El Mesías trae la paz universal a todas las naciones y a toda la humanidad. Jesús abrazó e inició este acontecimiento cuando entró en Jerusalén el Domingo de Ramos montado en el pollino de un asno. Este es también el Jesús que vemos en el Evangelio de hoy, tomado del final del capítulo 11 de san Mateo. El Señor encarna en sí mismo a la Santa Sabiduría (*Hagia Sophia* en griego). Este pasaje (Mt 11, 25-30) destaca de manera muy distinta al resto del Evangelio de Mateo. Jesús eleva una oración de acción de gracias porque el Padre ha revelado los misterios del Reino a los «pequeños» de Dios, y no a los poderosos y soberbios. Al invitar a quienes están agobiados y oprimidos a acudir a Él para hallar descanso —liberados de la opresión y las cargas— y a tomar el yugo de Cristo, que es «suave y ligero», el Señor rechaza para siempre el poder, la violencia, la guerra, la dominación, la fuerza bruta, la división, el miedo y la desconfianza. ¡Estos no pertenecen al Reino de los Cielos; ¡no son los valores del pueblo de Dios, de la Iglesia! Tras haber celebrado recientemente el 250.º aniversario de la Declaración de Independencia, oremos para que los ideales de libertad, fraternidad, igualdad, respeto y dignidad sean reconocidos a toda persona humana, sin prejuicios ni distinciones. ¡Viendo en cada persona a un hermano o a una hermana digno de respeto y dignidad como hijo o hija de Dios!

BINGO & DINNER

Tuesday

2026 Dates: July 14th, August 11th, September 8th, October 13th, November 10th, December 1st

2027 Dates: January 12th, February th, March 9th, April 13th, May 11th, June 8th, July 13th, August 10th, September 14th, October 12th, November 9th, December 14th

St. Patrick Catholic Church

Social Hall

Dinner served between 5:30pm- 6:30pm. 

Bingo will start at 6:30pm.

Cost: $25.00

Includes 9 pack of 13 sheets (26 games)

and 4 specials. MUST BE 18 TO PLAY.

TICKETS SOLD AT THE DOOR ONLY.

*Meals subject to Change

On the Occasion of the Celebration of the 800^th Celebration of the Transitus of Saint Francis of Assisi 1226-2026

Our dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this year we are celebrating the 800^th anniversary of the death, or transitus, of Saint Francis. The ministers General of the whole Franciscan family have called all Franciscans to celebrate what they have called the Easter of Francis of Assisi. Additionally, Pope Leo XIV has invoked a Jubilee Year, often referred to as a holy year, for all believers to share in this commemoration of Saint Francis entering into heaven. What a wonderful gift for the whole Church!

In contemporary society, we rarely think about death, not only because it reminds us that we are limited creatures, but also because it exposes the false security we get from believing that we are masters over time and life. Saint Francis, on the other hand, welcomed Sister Death with song in his Canticle of the Creatures, the Canticle of Brother Sun, because he understood that death is not the termination of everything but the end that allows us to enter into full communion with God. Indeed, life is a gift that must be given back: “Hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves, that He Who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally!” (Francis of Assisi, Letter to the Entire Order #29)

At the end of his days, Saint Francis contemplated his life and discovered the presence and action of the Lord everywhere. Thus, in his Testament he repeats, like a refrain: “The Lord gave me, Brother Francis… The Lord gave me such faith in churches… The Lord gave me, and gives me still, such faith… And after the Lord gave me some brothers, no one showed me what to do, but the Most High Himself revealed to me that I should live according to the pattern of the Holy Gospel” (Testament 1-14).

The celebration of the 800^th anniversary of the Easter of Saint Francis invites us to contemplate our lives, both personally and as Catholics, with the eyes of faith, and by doing so, perceive the divine presence and action in everything, even in the difficult and dramatic situations we have experienced or are experiencing now.

It is an opportunity to thank God for all the gifts he has bestowed on us, particularly (on this occasion) for the gift of Saint Francis of Assisi and his evangelical life, which has become a light to the world reflecting the greater Light who is Christ for the world, and which today still has the strength to call out to women and men of all cultures, both inside and outside the Catholic Church.

And finally, celebrating the passing of the Poverello (the little poor one) is an occasion to remember that we are all called to holiness, and that like Saint Francis, we are invited to reflect the beauty of the gospel, because “holiness is the most attractive face of the Church” (Pope Francis, Gaudete et exsultate 9).

So, in this spirit we welcome all those who come to Saint Patrick in South Tampa to share in the light of the faith of Saint Francis, to experience the rich blessings of this Jubilee and Eighth Centenary of his transitus from this life to life with God. May you be inspired to, as Francis told his brothers at the end of his life: “Let us begin, brothers, to serve the Lord God, for up until now we have done little or nothing.”

Yours in Christ and Saint Francis,

Fr. Salvator M. Stefula, TOR                                                                                                                             Fr. Alberto F. Bueno, TOR

Pope Leo XIV Declares Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi | Gulf Coast Catholic

https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/letters/2026/documents/20260107-lettera-morte-sf.html

https://www.centenarifrancescani.org/index.php/en