Homily , June 21, 2026
From The Pastor
There is no last word in preaching, teaching, or proclaiming the Word of God. This is equally true in the practice of living out the Word as it is practiced in daily life. This side of heavenly glory there is no neatly wrapped conclusion to the mystery and revelation of God in Christ. The mystery and truth of the love of God in Christ has no beginning and will have no end. There are however core movements and realities of God that are universally evident and sustaining for those who seek to live in God.
If I may, on my second to last opportunity with you, I would like to share with you what I hold most deeply in my life as a Christian and as a priest. God is love. God is love Incarnate in the person and life of the Lord Jesus. God is the unchanging essence of love now present in the world through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity of God is a pure relationship of three in an endless flow of love each to the other, and through the Son and Spirit into each of us and to all creation. The Trinity of God is a never-ending flow of giving and receiving love within the Trinity and equally into the world. This flow of love is the nature and meaning of our existence as human beings. The more freely we trust and allow the endless flow of this giving and receiving into ourselves and through us to others, the more we know and live in the love of God. This becomes our joy.
The basic kerygma (proclamation) of Christianity is ‘Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.’ God’s almighty nature is the pure unending love of self-surrender. We receive and experience this surrender in the life, suffering, and death of the Lord Jesus. The dying and rising of Jesus is the truth and fulness of our redemption already accomplished and living within us through the Holy Spirit. Our redemption is gained in the singular act of the dying and rising of Jesus. Now we workout our salvation day to day in acts of love and self-giving.
Forgiveness is non-negotiable in the Christian life. While helpless and dead in sin, God graciously and willingly forgave us and made us his own. As we are forgiven, we must also forgive. To bind ourselves or others in the bondage of unforgiveness blocks us and the other from the freedom and peace given us in Christ. God’s grace is pure gift, but the gift must be accepted and allowed to flow through us to others.
Gratitude is the root and source of Christian prayer. Gratitude creates bonds of love between God, ourselves, and others. Gratitude grows with faith and trust grounded in a mature prayer life. Gratitude and prayer feed each that bears its fruit through relationships of love with others. Gratitude is clear evidence of the grace of God that leads to a happy and fruitful life.
Let God love you and you will learn to love yourself. This love will draw you to others and will draw others to you creating a lively experience of the presence of God.
Perfection is a lie. The only perfect person who ever lived was the Son of God and they killed him because his love was too much light for the world to accept. Perfection is a lie of the evil one that ploys against our weakness and fear to create doubt in faith, fear in love, and mistrust in hope. God loves you as you are; always has and always will.
My heart is filled with gratitude for the privilege of so many years of ministry. I am not a perfect person or priest, but I put my heart and soul and most of my energy into serving the Word of God and the Sacraments of the Church. I would do it again. I am grateful to God and to all of you whom I have tried to serve to the best of my ability. I am astounded in what God has asked of me and accomplished through me in the healing and deliverance ministries. Never doubt that God is present and acting in the world. God heals and delivers.
I must thank the Staff and so many others who have helped to sustain and enrich our parish life. Deborah Tourville is a gift of God to all who have been touched by her various ministries. I could never have stayed as long as I have if it were not for her endless effort and coordination of so many things. Jim, Sheryl, Carl, and Alex are equally competent and hard-working in their various roles. You can be confident in our parish stability under their care. Do not lose hope. This next year is a temporary bridge to what the Reconstruction will bring in 2027. Do not waste energy on fear and doubt. What will be will be. Pray, petition, intercede for God’s will for this community. Come to Mass and worship in a lively way. If you do not pray, you surrender your right to complain. My prayer with you and for you will remain.
I will offer further thanks and appreciation in next week’s article. See you in Church.
Father John Esper
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