The Kingdom of God Among Us
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis
Saint Louis, Missouri
July 19, 2026
Wis 12, 13. 16-19
Ps 86, 5-6. 9-10. 15-16
Rom 8, 26-27
Mt 13, 24-43
Homily
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
It is the source of deepest joy for me to offer the Holy Mass in this magnificent Cathedral Basilica of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis which I was privileged to serve as Archbishop from December 2, 2003, to June 27, 2008. Although my time in the Archdiocese was relatively brief, it was long enough for me to come to know and to love the faithful who, with the pastoral guidance of the priests, live and practice the Catholic Faith with remarkable fidelity and generosity. I thank His Grace, Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski, for the warm welcome to the Archdiocese, and I thank Monsignor Henry Breier, Rector of the Cathedral Basilica, for the invitation to offer the Holy Mass, this morning, in the context of the Bicentennial of the Establishment of the Archdiocese. Monsignor Breier was my priest secretary throughout my time as Archbishop. He helped me in countless ways to come to know the Archdiocese and to serve the faithful to the best of my abilities. As I know you experience daily, he is a true shepherd of souls.
The parables of the Kingdom of God, to which we have just listened, teach us both the great desire of God the Father that all His children be saved and His unbounded patience in waiting for the response of His children to the grace of salvation. The householder instructs his servants to let the weeds grow together with the wheat in his field, lest in pulling up the weeds any of the wheat also be destroyed.[1] The small mustard seed grows into a large bush in which all who desire salvation may dwell.[2] The yeast which the woman kneads into the dough becomes leaven for the whole loaf of bread.[3]
In the Book of Wisdom, God the Father reveals the truth about His all-merciful love toward us, which is made flesh in Our Lord Jesus Christ and which the same Lord Jesus teaches us in today’s parables of the Kingdom:
You who are sovereign in strength judge with mildness, and with great forbearance you govern us; for you have power to act whenever you choose. Through such works you have taught your people that the righteous man must be kind, and you have filled your sons with good hope, because you give repentance for sins.[4]
Our whole life in the Church, especially our participation in the Sacraments, is the experience of God’s power which invites us to repentance and showers us with mercy, whenever we turn to Him with a humble and contrite heart.
The Holy Eucharist we now celebrate is the most wonderful way in which God our Father unfailingly invites us to receive the grace of salvation and gives us the same grace in the Body and Blood of His Son made truly present for us by the sacramental renewal of the Lord’s Sacrifice on Calvary. We think, too, of God’s saving power which comes to us through the Sacrament of Penance, forgiving our sins and renewing our strength to follow Our Lord Jesus Christ faithfully in our daily living. Our daily prayers and devotions deepen within us and extend into our homes the grace of God’s Holy Spirit, first given us in Baptism, strengthened and increased within us in Confirmation, restored within us through Penance, and sustained within us through the Holy Eucharist.
Our reflection on the mystery of God’s Kingdom present in the Church helps us to understand the importance of the parish, for it is in the parish and under the pastoral care and direction of our parish priest that we strive to live as true sons and daughters of God, that we participate as fully as possible in the saving grace which God the Father faithfully offers us in the Church. Families come together in the parish so that all may have the spiritual help which they need to lead a holy life during their days on earth and to reach the fullness of life in Heaven.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church has a wonderful description of the parish:
[The parish] is the place where all the faithful can be gathered together for the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist. The parish initiates the Christian people into the ordinary expression of the liturgical life: it gathers them together in this celebration; it teaches Christ’s saving doctrine; it practises the charity of the Lord in good works and brotherly love: ….[5]
It is precisely through the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy, especially the Holy Eucharist; through the deepening of our understanding of the faith; and through the practice of the faith in works of justice and charity that we fulfill our Christian vocation and anticipate our final destiny with God in His Kingdom. The whole life of the parish is meant to help individuals and families to be faithful to God’s call, to their vocation, and so to reach their final destiny in God. The pastor is the shepherd of the flock who cares for and guides the parish spiritually, so that indeed all may grow in worship of God, in the knowledge of the faith, and in holiness of life.
In carrying out his responsibility, the pastor seeks to foster Christ’s life, the life of the Holy Spirit, within individuals and families. The pastor looks out in a special way for any individual or family which is in trouble or suffering hardship, and he invites the whole parish to be in solidarity with one another, especially our brothers and sisters who are in most need. The religious education of our children and young people, the preparation of couples for the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, the fitting celebration of the Sacrament of Marriage, and activities to enrich marriage and family life are all ways in which the parish sustains and fosters strong faith and strong practice of the faith. We remember, too, all that the parish does to assist adults who are seeking to know Christ and to live in Him through the Church by preparing them for Baptism or Full Reception into the Communion of the Roman Catholic Church.
From Sunday Mass flows immediately the life of prayer in the home, especially family prayer before and after meals, morning and evening prayers, and the Family Rosary. While we may struggle to pray, we should trust the Holy Spirit at work in our hearts. Saint Paul Apostle of the Nations teaches us: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.”[6] Parish devotions, especially the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, to the Most Blessed Sacrament, and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, help us to participate more fully in the Mass and in the whole sacramental life of the Church.
The Sacrament of Penance, through which we confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness and grace, must also be a stable part of our Christian life. Also, it is good to remind ourselves of the importance of calling our parish priest to administer the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick to any family member who is seriously ill or is about to undergo a serious surgery.
The pastor, together with the parish catechists, works with parents in the Catholic education and formation of their children. The younger generation depends upon us to hand on to them the faith and its practice, which was first handed on to us by our parents in our home parishes.
It is important to keep in mind the ultimate goal of all catechesis and Catholic education, namely, that our young people come to know their vocation in life and to embrace it with an undivided heart. Those of us who have been so blessed in responding to God’s call to marriage or to the priesthood or to the consecrated life should pray and work that more young men respond to the call to the priesthood. We should pray and work, too, for vocations to the consecrated life among the young men and women of the parish. One of the great impoverishments of the Church in our day is the lack of response to the vocation to the consecrated life which helps us all to live more closely united in heart to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Lastly, the parish helps its members to imitate Our Lord Jesus Christ in just and loving relationships with one another, especially with our brothers and sisters who are in most need, both in the parish and in the whole Church. First and foremost, we are called to promote and foster the respect for all human life, from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. In our culture, the parish is called in a particular way to support the life of the defenseless unborn, and of those who have grown weak under the burden of special needs, illness, or advanced years.
An essential part of our witness to the faith is the sharing of our gifts for the good of all in the parish. The parish depends upon each member’s stewardship of the goods which God has entrusted into his care. All in the parish are called to sacrifice of themselves and of their goods so that the mission of the Church may be carried out locally and in the wider Church, especially in the Missions.
As Our Lord Jesus now unites us to Himself in the mystery of His Passion, Death and Resurrection, let us pray that each day we may live as true children of God and may look forward to the fullness of life with Him one day in Heaven.
May Mary Immaculate, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, the first and best of us who are the disciples of her Son, Our Lord Jesus, and Saints Louis of France, Vincent de Paul, and Rose Philippine Duchesne help us by their love and prayers.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Raymond Leo Cardinal BURKE
[1] Cf. Mt 13, 29-30.
[2]Cf. Mt 13, 32.
[3]Cf. Mt 13, 33.
[4] Wis 12, 18-19.
[5] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed., no. 2179.
[6] Rom 8, 26.