• 1st Reading – 1 Kings 19:16b, 19-21
• 2nd Reading – Galatians 5:1, 13-18
• Gospel – Luke 9:51-62

   First, I’d like to put all the questions to rest by saying, yes, I’m growing my beard back. It didn’t bother me, not being recognized everywhere I went, or all the strange looks I got; but what really got my attention was when someone pulled Annie, my wife, to the side and asked her, seriously, if she was seeing someone else. So, I figured I better grow it back, not just because I felt naked without it, but also to keep Annie out of trouble from false accusations.

     For those of you who really pay close attention during Mass; and that is all of you, right? You’ll notice a small difference in the Eucharistic Prayer this weekend. Pope Francis has asked that St. Joseph be included in the Eucharistic Prayer, along with the Virgin Mary. He’s completing what Pope John XXIII did when he mandated that St. Joseph be included in the Roman Canon. So, from now on we’ll include St. Joseph in all the Eucharistic Prayers. This change is long overdue, but with the decisions being made recently by the Supreme Court, never did we need, more, the intercession of St. Joseph for our families, our fathers, and those who, like Joseph, are not biological fathers, but aspire to spiritual fatherhood. So, let’s ask St. Joseph to pray for us.