Reflections from St. Ann DC

In this week's homily, Fr. Maximo challenges us: No one is so poor that they have nothing to give. God will be generous with you.

This Sunday, Monsignor James Watkins invites us to reflect and be grateful towards those who have and continue to be incredibly generous towards us with their time, talent, and treasure; and invites us to find ways to bestow onto others the generosity we have received from Christ.

Fr. Ivan Pertine discusses what it takes to love the Lord with your whole heart, intellectual capacity, and personal will—wow!

Today Fr. Ivan Pertine speaks with us about learning from the saints and responding to Christ's call to holiness.

Miracles can happen! Hear a powerful testimony from longtime parishioner John Piunno on his healing journey from lymphatic cancer.

The month of October is dedicated to evangelizing in the Catholic Church. We are called to continue this vital mission of the Holy Spirit. Sooner or later, we are confronted with one obstacle: Is Christianity actually Good News, especially those who are doing well in this life, or for the young rich man in last weekend's Gospel? Yes, and here's why.

Why evangelize the young, rich man? Let's find out in this week's homily with Fr. Maximo Stock.

Fr. Ivàn Pertiné explores the good news about Jesus's teaching on matrimony and how to be open about it in the modern world.

Msgr. Watkins talks about how God's love is absolute, and how that is demonstrated through the unity of the Holy Trinity. He also discusses how marriage unifies 2 people into one body who exemplify God's love for humanity.

Jesus has different messages for outsiders and His disciples. Disciples are called fight harder against sin because they have received the fullness of the Gospels.

Just how important is memory?

Msgr. Watkins discusses the importance of not keeping focus on the substance of faith, even when when our attention may be drawn elsewhere.

Although some listeners thought Jesus was speaking metaphorically, He makes clear that His followers will literally eat his flesh and drink his blood. When we consistently do so, we become part of His sacrifice.

Sacrifices for atonement are universal throughout history and the world, but in Christ that sacrifice is made in its most perfect form.

Jesus wanted to give us the perfect gift. So He gave us Himself.

Jesus’ miracles point the crowds to his identity as the Son of God. We must interpret Jesus’ signs through faith, or we will not understand them.

Jesus is the one who can ultimately satisfy our desires, even as the world promises to feed us in other ways. As the world mocks the Christian faith, we are called to prayer and renewal.

What do we ultimately want? To be known and loved by God.

An attempt to find balance can prevent us from truly living in the way God calls us to. Jesus and the saints did not live with balance, but with radical love, passion, and ambition.

We are guaranteed to fail in a broken world, but God calls on us to try again and not be intimidated.

If we are truly attempting to live out our vocations, we will repeatedly fail. However, God calls on us to keep pushing through our failures.

This Sunday, Msgr. James Watkins reminds us how Jesus still performs miracles today, 2000 years later.

Msgr. Watkins reflects on the history of the incarnation, when Jesus becomes man. Jesus gets his human nature from Mary, and Mary gets hers from her parents Ann and Joachim. Let us reflect on this together, and take His humanity seriously.

"There are a lot of people in this congregation who are suffering right now," Msgr. Watkins said. "Don't dismiss it. Don't try to deny it. Don't try to make it go away. Give it to Him, right now, and He will take that faith through your weakness, and give you strength."

"He is moved by your faith if you're suffering."

Jesus' sacrifice, offered in every Mass, is infinitely greater than the sacrifices offered before Him.

This week, Msgr. Watkins tells a story recounting the innocence of our parish altar server, Joseph, connecting his childhood innocence to the trust and innocence Adam and Eve exhibited to God before their fall into temptation.

This week, for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Msgr. Watkins discusses misconceptions about Christianity regarding the Holy Trinity and the importance of all three Persons.

Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. In this Pentecost homily, Msgr. Watkins discusses the chance that such anniversaries offer us for reflection in our own lives, what the Lord's wish is in our lives, and the works of His Church.

This Sunday Msgr Watkins reminds us and the children receiving their First Holy Communion that God wants to be close to us. The Eucharist brings God so close, that He is within us.

Msgr. Watkins speaks on our need for a Good Shepherd who knows us and whose voice is known to us. A recent convert shares his experience encountering that Shepherd.

Christ expresses His resurrection in our lives by sharing with us authentic, pure joy.

The primary fact of Easter is that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, and we have lots of time to contemplate how it changes our lives. But first we have to believe in the resurrection.

We wish you a blessed Divine Mercy Sunday! Learn from St. John Paul II and St. Peter about the incredible mercy of God and the Resurrection of Jesus.

We are called to forgive not for the other person's sake, but for our own.

God the Father's blessing gives us the freedom to serve others without self-consciousness or shame.

Our union with Christ gives us authority to participate in salvation.

Jesus seeks to drive out the false ideas that are embedded in our souls, just as He drove out the moneychangers from the temple.

This Sunday, Msgr. Watkins shares how great our God's love is for us. He is always there for us and never forgets us.

Repentance frees us from sin, but we are often scared that it is too much a part of us to give up.

We recognize that God has created us for a great purpose, but we can become frustrated when our daily lives do not reflect that.

Msgr. Watkins raises the importance of self-sacrifice in the Catholic Faith and discusses the Archdiocese of Washington's work to build and preserve a strong Catholic community through the support of the Annual Appeal. The Appeal supports over 90 Catholic Schools, as well as Catholic Charities, and the ordination of new priests.

How many of us struggle every day to remember the names of those we interact with? Isn't it impressive when someone remembers your name from years and years ago? Well Jesus knows your name, your full name, and so much more about you. He loves you that much. Take a moment to meditate on that beautiful fact.

God offers us great things, and we should open our hearts to ask for and accept them.

Msgr. Watkins discusses our relationship as imperfect individuals with the Lord, who is the absolute to which we are all relative.

The Holy Family and all families exist to protect against three key dangers.

The life of the holy family was not perfect, and even a little bit messy. Meditate with us on what they faced through this moving homily podcast today on the #Feast of the Holy Family.

We are often not taught to wait, anticipate, expect with joy. Today, the last Sunday of Advent, we do exactly that to welcome our King the Christ Child this Christmas! Listen now to hear the benefits of patiently waiting.

We naturally seek out true peace and justice, and those can only come from God.

God forms and saves us so that we can live unique lives of service to Him and each other.

We come to Mass to deepen and strengthen our relationship with Christ. During this season of Thanksgiving, we must be sure to continue to invest our time, talent, and treasure in our relationship with Christ.

Fr. Teo Brea explains how an ancient custom shows us the importance of being aware of God in our lives.

Fr. Joseph Piper preaches on the responsible use of power and how it impacts those in authority.

Pride goes before the fall...let us rise in humility, not in further ego

The More You Share Your Faith, The More It Grows.

The saints are our friends...call upon them!

Fr. Teo Brea explains how evangelizing for Christ can change our culture, using the example of St. Peter's entry into Jerusalem.

Do not wait to say "Thank you," "I love you," and "I'm sorry."

Fr. Joseph Piper preaches on Christ's promise of eternal life, and explains why we do not spend enough time thinking about it.

Fr. Joseph Piper preaches on the worldly benefits of Christian living, notably the experience of pleasure and intellectual growth.

St. Paul reminds us that through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds.

This podcast episode contains Fr. Teo Brea's homily from October 1, the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Let your yes mean yes and your no mean no

This podcast episode contains Fr. Joseph Piper's homily from September 17, the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Msgr. James Watkins reflects on confrontation and explains how Jesus gives us a model to follow that ensures humility and love comes through when we choose to confront others.

This podcast episode contains Fr. Joseph Piper's homily from the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

This podcast episode contains Fr. Joseph Piper's homily from the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Msgr. Watkins reflects on our identities and how our work is not the height of who we are.

In this episode, Fr. Ivan Pertine delivers a homily on the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Msgr. James Watkins discusses the Assumption of Mary.

Fr. Lucas Laborde delivers a homily on the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Monseigneur Watkins discusses keeping our eyes on Christ and putting our trust in him to stay afloat on the sea of life.

This episode features Fr. Ivan Pertine's homily delivered on the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.

This episode features Fr. Teo Brea's homily delivered on the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. 

This episode features Fr. Ivan Pertine's homily delivered on the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. 

As we celebrate our patronal feast, Msgr. Watkins reflects on the importance of family in our lives and the life of Christ.

He will separate the wheat and the weeds. We should be patient.

This episode features Fr. Ivan Pertine's homily delivered on the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. 

Msgr. James Watkins delivers a homily at the 7pm Mass on the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Msgr. Watkins discusses prayer and how God does not always give us what we want, but that does not mean He does not hear our prayers.

Fr. Joseph Piper delivers a homily on the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

When we welcome the guest, we should see the face of Christ

Fr. Joseph Piper delivers a homily on the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Msgr. Watkins discusses fear and distress, and how God's love for us is the antidote which brings peace.

Fr. Teo Brea delivers a homily on the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time.

This Sunday, Msgr. James Watkins talks to us about his family and relationships, and how he turned to God for reconciliation and peace — and explains how you can, too.

This episode includes Fr. Teo Brea's homily from the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ.

Fr. Joseph Piper delivers a homily on The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.

On this episode, Fr. Teo Brea delivers a homily on the Sixth Sunday of Easter

On this episode, Fr. Joseph Piper delivers a homily on the Fifth Sunday of Easter

On this episode, Fr. Teo Brea delivers a homily on the Fourth Sunday of Easter.

In this episode: The importance of Mass, plus added words from newly baptized.

Fr. Joseph Piper delivers a homily on Divine Mercy Sunday, beginning with a story about a trip he took to an island of Micronesia.

In this episode, Fr. Teo Brea delivers a homily on the Fifth Sunday in Lent.

Fr. Joseph Piper delivers a homily on the Fourth Sunday of Lent.

Monsignor Watkins speaks about our senses and how they influence our beliefs.

In this podcast, Fr. Teo Brea delivers a homily on the Third Sunday of Lent.

Msgr reflects on the Sin of Pride & its antidote in Humility 

Fr. Joseph Piper delivers a homily on the first Sunday of Lent on "Baptism and the Fight for our Identity".

Below are the verses on the handout sheet that Fr. Joseph references in the homily: