25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A (2026, picnic)

Considering that our second reading was from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, I can’t help but consider that it was only a few days ago that some of us from this parish family gathered and prayed at his tomb in Rome. As for Paul, it cannot be overstated how much the faith that brings us here today exists in part because of his courage and sacrifice.

In the Acts of the Apostles, there’s a verse that tells us of Paul having a vision during the night. Up to that point, his missionary efforts had all been in the Asian continent. But in that dream a voice spoke to him, calling him to cross the sea, to come to the European continent (Acts 16:9).

Only two verses later, we hear how Paul and his companions set sail and made their way to the city of Philippi, which would become the first Christian community to be established in Europe. Through Paul’s courage and response to the Holy Spirit, the Christian movement was entering a new stage.

He would later write a letter to that first community, the Letter to the Philippians. The letter doesn’t address any problems or concerns. Instead, it shows a softer side to Paul, as he seeks to encourage the good things that the Philippians are already doing, and to express his gratitude.

That’s what I want to acknowledge in us here today: the good things that are being done in the name of Jesus…a cause for gratitude and encouragement.

Just as Paul, may have had no idea that his missionary efforts would take him to Europe, the Holy Spirit has plans that tend to surprise us. As you may know, a few years ago, when efforts began, to group parishes of the Archdiocese together, St. Thomas and St. Philomena were not paired with one another. It was only after a few stages of proposals and considerations that they would come to be connected.  

And here we are, two years after having formally initiated that plan, celebrating today what God has begun in us as two parishes now tethered together, what he has already done in these two years, what he has made us to be.

It’s widely believed that Paul wrote this Letter to the Philippians during his first imprisonment in Rome, around the year 60. Even as he is expressing his gratitude and encouragement, we see parts of this letter that indicate he was thinking about the fact that he might be near the end of his life.

As he said in our reading today: “Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me life is Christ, and death is gain…I am caught between the two”. He makes it clear that he is happy to continue living, because it will be in Christ. But he’s also okay if he is sentenced of death, because that will also be in Christ. All he wants is Jesus.

For us, the people of St. Thomas and St. Philomena, we must seek to put Christ at the center of all that we do, each of us individually, and as a collective community. But we must see him in the ways that we remain as we have been up to this point, as either St. Thomas or St. Philomena. But we must also see him in the ways that we will die to that old life as individual parishes. Let us remember, either way: Life is Christ and death is gain.

Let us trust in this. Let us trust in our future—a future known to God and to the Spirit who will guide us—though not yet known to us. If we keep our eyes on Jesus above all else—rather than our personal impulses, our irrational fears, our prideful egos—if we keep our eyes on Christ, whether this or whether that, all will be gain.