21
Aug 2023
![Loving--Faith--and--Forgiveness--Homily](https://calvaryepiscopalbatavia.church/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2023-08-20-Loving-Faith-and-Forgiveness-Homily-12th-Sunday-after-Pentecost-Thumbnail.png)
Through our baptism, we, too, have been given gifts and are called by God. We need to follow Christ's example of loving, faith, and forgiveness. Forgiveness does not always mean reconciliation--especially in cases of any form of abuse. Forgiveness means letting go--and letting God. Ask God today to help you be more forgiving and see what new comes forward in your life....
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13
Aug 2023
![Have Faith--Believe in Christ](https://calvaryepiscopalbatavia.church/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Have-Faith-Believe-in-Christ-Homily-11th-Sunday-after-Pentecost-Thumbnail.png)
In today's Gospel (Matthew 14:22-33), Matthew describes a time when Jesus Christ walked toward their boat over a storm-tossed lake. Peter, after asking if it was really Jesus, asked Jesus to call him to come to Him over the water. Jesus told Peter, "Come" and Peter started out--then lost his nerve and started to sink. As Jesus reached out to Peter, he told him to have faith.
We, too, need to grow in our faith in Jesus Christ, reaching out to him often....
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06
Aug 2023
![Ask Christ to Show His Glory](https://calvaryepiscopalbatavia.church/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2023-08-06-Ask-Christ-to-Show-His-Glory-Homily-10th-Sunday-after-Pentecost-Transfiguration-Sunday-Thumbnail.png)
In today's Gospel, Luke describes the Transfiguration of Christ witnessed by the apostles. By virtue of our baptism, we, too, can know the Glory of Christ. We need to ask daily for Christ to Show His Glory and for us to reflect that glory in our words and actions at home, at work, at school, everywhere....
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30
Jul 2023
![Pray Daily to Build Your Relationship with God](https://calvaryepiscopalbatavia.church/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2023-07-30-Pray-Daily-to-Build-Your-Relationship-with-God-Homily-9th-Sunday-after-Pentecost-Thumbnail.png)
The Holy Spirit is with us from the moment we are baptized. The Holy Spirit knows us inside out and has direct connection and communication with God.
For us to build our relationship with God, it is important for us to pray daily, to discern the presence of God in our lives, and for our lives to reflect Christ's love and teaching.
The Episcopal Book of Common Prayer offers a great resource for prayer....
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24
Jul 2023
![Shining at the End of the Age](https://calvaryepiscopalbatavia.church/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2023-07-23-Shining-at-the-End-of-the-Age-Homily-8th-Sunday-after-Pentecost-Thumbnail.png)
Weeds can distract us from the mission we received at our baptism, to follow Jesus Christ's example and to spread the Good News in our lives. Our goal is to be "shining like the sun in the kingdom of God at the end of the age."...
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16
Jul 2023
!["Tilling Our Soil"](https://calvaryepiscopalbatavia.church/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2023-07-16-Tilling-Our-Soil-Homily-7th-Sunday-after-Pentecost-Thumbnail.png)
As baptised Christians, it is up to us to till our soil so that it is fertile ground for the Word of God . . ."as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (Matthew 13: 23)...
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10
Jul 2023
![Come to Me and I will give You Rest](https://calvaryepiscopalbatavia.church/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2023-07-09-Homily-6th-Sunday-after-Pentecost-Thumbnail.png)
Fr Michael Rasicci’s homily for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, 07/09/2023. Jesus Christ empowers us to follow Him and to deal with the challenges we face in the world. (Readings: Genesis 24:34 38, 42 49, 58 67; Psalm 45: 11 18; Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30) Link: YouTube Link: 07-09-23–Holistic Eucharist–6th Sunday after Pentecost Link: CEB Stewardship 2023 Link: Independent Movie Study 2023 Link: PayPal–Our Online Giving Resource...
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25
Jun 2023
![Dead to Sin: Alive to God](https://calvaryepiscopalbatavia.church/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Dead-to-Sin-Alive-to-God-Homily-4th-Sunday-after-Pentecost-Thumbnail.png)
Fr Michael Rasicci’s homily for the 4th Sunday after Pentecost, 06/25/2023–Mass on the Grass In the Second Lesson today, (Romans 6: 1b-11) Paul reminds us that, in our baptism, we were made dead to sin. By accepting Christ through the same baptism, we share in His resurrection–and are Alive to God. From the time of Christ up to and including today, Christians are making daily choices that often result in a martyr’s death. In today’s Gospel (Mark 10: 24-39) Christ tells His disciples, “Do not fear those who kill the body but......
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18
Jun 2023
![Sheep without a Shepherd](https://calvaryepiscopalbatavia.church/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Sheep-without-a-Shepherd-3rd-Sunday-after-Pentecost-Thumbnail.png)
Jesus sends His disciples out to the Jewish population, asking them to spread the Good Word, to heal the sick, raise the dead, and to bring the Good News to the lost people of Israel.
At our baptism, Jesus came to us and asks us to do the same in ways that work for us.
We are all sheep without a shepherd and Jesus and the Holy Spirit, with us since our baptism, show us how to treat others.
All of us are children of God....
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04
Jun 2023
![Mystery of the Holy Trinity](https://calvaryepiscopalbatavia.church/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2023-06-04-Mystery-of-the-Holy-Trinity-Trinity-Sunday-1st-Sunday-after-Pentecost-Homily-Thumbnail.png)
As we need to live the "mystery of our lives," so, too, do we need to live the "Mystery of the Holy Trinity"--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Through baptism, the Holy Spirit is brought to us and is an essential part of our lives. Through the Holy Spirit, we also tap into the Christ and into the Father--the "three-in-one." Through Holy Communion (the Eucharist), we participate with all three aspects of God....
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