All are Welcome

October 25, 2026

In this Sunday's Gospel (Matthew 22:34–40), a scholar of the law asks Jesus a question: “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus gives him a simple answer. Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. Then he adds a second commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus tells us that the whole law depends on these two commandments. It sounds simple, doesn't it? But living these commandments can be difficult.

It is easy to love those who love us. It is much harder to love someone who has hurt us, disagrees with us, or simply gets on our nerves! Yet Jesus does not tell us to love only those we like. He tells us to love our neighbor. And who is our neighbor? It is the person sitting beside us at Mass. It is the stranger we pass on the street. It is the person who needs a little kindness, patience, or forgiveness.

Here at St. Joseph the Worker Shrine, we see people from all walks of life. Some come with joyful hearts. Others carry burdens we know nothing about. Each person who walks through our doors deserves to be welcomed with the love of Christ. Our founder, St. Eugène de Mazenod, understood this. He wanted the Oblates to be close to the people, especially those who were poor, forgotten, or struggling.

Perhaps that is the challenge Jesus places before us this week. We cannot say we love God while refusing to love the people He places in our lives. Love of God and love of neighbor go hand in hand. One cannot exist without the other. May we show our love for God not only through our prayers, but through the way we treat one another

I remember you at Mass.

Prayer to Saint Joseph for Workers

Please come and honor the Patron of our Shrine before each Sunday Mass and Saturday vigil Mass. 

Ten minutes before each Mass all are invited to pray the prayer on the back cover of the missalettes. The prayer was written by our late Shrine Director, Fr. Terry O’Connell, OMI.

This prayer time is a good preparation for Mass and a reminder that there are many in need of our prayers to obtain a good and meaningful job to provide for their loved ones.

"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"

Yes, first of all these words.

You all, who already have the inestimable good fortune to believe, you all, who are still seeking God, and also you, who are tormented by doubt: gladly accept once again — today and in this sacred place — the words spoken by Simon Peter. 

In those words is the faith of the Church. In them is the new truth, indeed the ultimate and definitive truth about man: the Son of the living God. "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

"Do not be afraid! Open, nay, open wide the doors to Christ!"

Pray for me! Help me that I may serve you! 

MATTHEW 34-40

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law tested him by asking, "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" 

He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and the first commandment.

The second is like it:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

We are pleased to announce that our new St. Carlo Acutis statue will be installed and blessed on Sunday, October 25, at the 10:00 AM Mass.

Fr. Ron will celebrate the Mass as we welcome this beautiful new addition to St. Joseph the Worker Shrine.

Please join us for this special celebration as we honor St. Carlo Acutis and ask for his intercession, especially for our young people.

As All Saints Day and All Souls Day approach, and in keeping with the Mexican Catholic tradition of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), St. Joseph the Worker Shrine will once again have an Altar of the Dead to remember and pray for our beloved deceased.

Rooted in our Catholic faith, this beautiful tradition reminds us of the importance of praying for the souls of the faithful departed and our hope in the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

All are invited to place photographs or small mementos of deceased loved ones on the altar located at the back of the church as we remember them in prayer throughout the month of November.

(Please do not leave valuables, as the altar is a public display.)

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 

Amen.

Oblate Associates

Interested in answering the call and living a life that matters as an Oblate Associate?

Go to the link to read more information about  a  life as an Oblate Associate.