December 24– 6:00pm Vigil Mass– Special Christmas Music will begin at 5:30pm. December 25— 9:00am Christmas Day Mass—Special Music will begin at 8:30am. Please come and begin our celebration with us!

Read More

Jesus makes a chilling prophecy to the religious leaders of His day. God had entrusted them with the care of His people—”His vineyard.” He describes their ancestors’ brutal treatment of the prophets. False prophets had been hailed, but true speakers for God had been beaten and killed. Now God sends His divine Son. Knowing that they will reject Him too, He bluntly tells them that they will lose all. He quotes verse 22 of Psalm 118. It refers to stone cutting. Builders cut blocks from quarries and preferred to have straight edges. Occasionally, it might crack unevenly and be useless for normal purp...

Read More

Jesus of Nazareth is divine. He was born into this world over 2000 years ago, but he has always existed. He is immortal and infinitely powerful. He entered into time and space through the womb of Mary. He gave up a lot in doing this. He surrendered the unlimited power, knowledge and glory that is His by divine right. He did not put on a “human suit” and pretend to be one of us. That would have been a fraud and a cheat. Paul is telling us that Jesus did not greedily clutch his divine attributes. He did not fake humanity—he was truly “one like us in all things but sin”. Jesus wasn’t slu...

Read More

I WILL HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE  When Cain killed Abel, he asked God, "Am I my brother's keeper?" God's answer is given through the prophet Ezekiel: a resounding "YES!" We are responsible for not only siblings but for anyone who is part of our life. If we are conscious that any of these people are doing something that will hurt themselves or others, God gives us a duty to give a warning.  The more serious the sin, the more we have an obligation to speak or act. If a friend is about to drive in a drunken condition, we must try to take the keys or offer to drive. If anyone we know is t...

Read More

One day the disciples requested of Jesus: “Teach us to pray.” Jesus responded by giving them—and us—a marvelous model of prayer. What is so powerful about the Lord’s Prayer, as it is known, is its utter simplicity.  Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored. May your kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven. Give us our food for today, and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Matthew 6:9-13  The key to prayer is to ...

Read More

Peace and blessings too you!  A special thank you to all who voted last weekend for members of our School Board. The School Board is an integral part of the governing of our school—this advisory board with their expertise and love for Catholic schools will assist the pastor and the principal in making sure that our young people are served well It is important that our school continues to explore new and creative ways in the future for her viability. I thank all of you who, on a daily basis, seek to help in making St. Francis Xavier Grade School a place where our young people come to be challenged academica...

Read More

All over the country we see young people graduate from grade schools, high schools and colleges - many families rightly celebrate these milestones and the young people beam with great hopes and dreams as they seek to discern what’s next.  At times ‘growing up’ and ‘transition’ can be difficult - since it involves changes, and heaven knows that most of us panic at the mention of ‘change’. I often remind our young people that changes are good as they are a part of daily living, and if you are not changing, you are dying. At times the changes we experience in our culture to...

Read More

He is alive! He is risen! He has conquered sin and death and has won victory for us! St. Gregory of Nyssa eloquently proclaimed in his Easter homily that “The reign of life has begun. The tyranny of death is ended. A new birth has taken place; a new life has come; a new order of existence has appeared; our very nature has been transformed. This birth is not brought about by human generation, by the will of man or the desire of the flesh, but by God who raised Jesus from the dead.” Easter is a time when we awake from darkness into light – darkness dispelled by the Son of God who became our leader and in...

Read More

#LIFELESSONS Dear Friends in Christ, Peace and blessings to you!   Advent is in full swing and this week, we are challenged to “reform our lives: live in God’s peace so that justice may flourish.” I pray that during this Advent season, we all apply the gospel message more concretely in our daily living so that our lives and our community may be transformed and thus become the saints we are called to be. Some life lessons to put into practice this Advent: - Establish a concrete and meaningful relationship with the person of Jesus - who is able to reveal himself to you and who yo...

Read More

Dear Friends in Christ, Peace and blessings to you!  I pray this note finds you doing very well and I hope that your Thanksgiving break was a spirit filled one! Advent is a wonderful opportunity for us to prepare our hearts and homes for the coming of our Lord and Savior – the God who calls us out of darkness into his own wonderful light.  It is indeed a time of grace when God seeks to prepare our hearts so as to welcome his only begotten son into our lives.  Advent prepares us for that beautiful encounter with the Son of God.  I pray that during this Advent season you are able to encount...

Read More

Dear Friends in Christ, Peace and blessings to you!  I pray this note finds you doing very well and I hope that your Thanksgiving break was a spirit filled one! Advent is a wonderful opportunity for us to prepare our hearts and homes for the coming of our Lord and Savior – the God who calls us out of darkness into his own wonderful light.  It is indeed a time of grace when God seeks to prepare our hearts so as to welcome his only begotten son into our lives.  Advent prepares us for that beautiful encounter with the Son of God.  I pray that during this Advent season you are able to encount...

Read More

Saturday December 24, 2016 4pm @ St. Francis Xavier Parish in Sikeston 7pm @ St. Francis Xavier Parish in Sikeston 11pm @ St. Henry Parish in Charleston Sunday December 25, 2016 10am @ St. Francis Xavier Parish in Sikeston 9am @ St. Henry Parish in Charleston  

Read More

Blessed Easter to you! He is alive!  He is risen! He has conquered sin and death and has won victory for us!  St. Gregory of Nyssa eloquently proclaimed in his Easter homily that “The reign of life has begun.  The tyranny of death is ended.  A new birth has taken place; a new life has come; a new order of existence has appeared; our very nature has been transformed.  This birth is not brought about by human generation, by the will of man or the desire of the flesh, but by God who raised Jesus from the dead.” On this holiest of days, “the resurrection is God’s potent ye...

Read More

Dear Parishioniers, Peace and blessings to all of you!  I pray this note finds you all well!  The weather has definitely been interesting in the last couple of weeks, we hope everyone is keeping warm and staying indoors.  Just a quick note to invite you all to our upcoming Parish Mission - Born For Mercy presented by a talented and dynamic young priest of the Missionaries of Charity Fathers.  Please invite your friends and families to this joyous event. Below is a little bio of Fr. Juan Pablo Rodriguez, I am sure that you will find him to be engligtening.  God bless and keep you all in h...

Read More

Dear Parishioners,  Peace and blessings to all of you! I wanted to thank you all for another strong year of support to our venerable parish and school, thanks to each and everyone of you for giving of your time, talents and treasures for the good of this parish.  Please know that you are remembered in prayers, that the Lord bless and keep you and your families in his loving embrace. The Diocesan Capital Campaign is off to a good start thanks to your prayers, support and the many volunteers who are working ever so diligently to make this a success - truly a historic time for our diocese and our parish.&nb...

Read More

And the Word became flesh and made his  dwelling among us, and we saw his glory,  the glory as of the Father’s only Son  full of Grace and Truth.  John 1: 14   Dear Friends In Christ, Peace and blessings to you and your family!   What a great joy it is for us to be gathered once again to celebrate the Nativity of our Lord - a day like no other, when the Son of God makes entrance into our world.  A day when God comes into our homes to encounter men and women of all ages and race.  Today is a great day of rejoicing, a reminder that the love of God knows no...

Read More

“Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Lk 1:45 During these weeks of Advent, an invitation was extended to us to prepare a home for the arrival of the Son of God - a kind and gentle invitation by the Creator who wills that all should be saved through his Son Jesus Christ.  In order to accept this wonderful invitation of grace and healing, a strong faith in God is necessary - that is “the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen" - trusting that the Lord who is kind and merciful will guide and lead us in the ways that ...

Read More

"Rejoice in the Lord always.  I shall say it again: rejoice!  Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.  have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your request known to God.  Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts in Christ Jesus." Many of us like the people in the gospel are constantly asking the same question, what must I do to inherit the kingdom of God?  what else can I do?  At times figuring out our lives can be quite difficult - that is why listening to the voice of God is k...

Read More

A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths."   How are you preparing for Christmas?  Some of us already have our trees and lights up as we get ready for yet another grace filled season in a world that often forgets that there is a God. It would seem that God has been replaced with ‘busyness’ and at times the mere mention of Jesus is deemed offensive in some circles.  Taking God out of our lives has ‘freed’ us to become ‘gods’ and slaves - thus leading to a dulled and darkened conscience, increased v...

Read More

Blessed Advent to you and your families! It is my hope to reflect with you during this Advent season on our call to grow in holiness.  Advent is a grace filled time of waiting for the Son of God to enter into our world and reshape it anew - It is a time to recommit ourselves to following God above all things - a sort of spiritual cleansing as we await the arrival of such a great guest. This Sunday we begin with a beautiful passage taken from the first letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians - were Paul prays: “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have fo...

Read More