The Month of June 2026
My Friends,
“…to set things right”
Many of you know that I appreciate the contemporary hymn, “In Christ Alone.” Its opening words are, “In Christ alone, my hope is found.” From time to time we have sung the hymn during our celebrations of Holy Mass. I appreciate the hymn, except for one line in one verse as originally written. Speaking about Christ’s death on the cross, the original would have us sing, “When on the cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied.” That is a less than accurate explanation. There is an alternate line which better speaks to the meaning of the mystery of the cross. The alternative is, “When on the cross as Jesus died, the love of God was magnified.”
Bishop Robert Barron amplifies that perspective in a recent reflection on the Gospel of St. John, chapter 3, verse 16. That is the much-loved text with the opening words, “God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” About that, Bishop Barron’s reflection is worth digesting:
“There is a terrible interpretation of the cross that holds the view that the bloody sacrifice of the Son on the cross was ‘satisfying’ to the Father, an appeasement of a God infinitely angry at sinful humanity. In this reading, the crucified Jesus is like a child hurled into the fiery mouth of a pagan divinity in order to assuage its wrath.
“What eloquently gives the lie to this awful interpretation is the passage in the Gospel of St. John: 3:16. It is often proposed as a summary of the Christian message. God the Father is not some pathetic divinity whose bruised honor needs to be restored. Rather, God is a parent who burns with compassion for his children who have wandered into danger. It is not out of anger or vengeance that the Father sends the Son but precisely out of love.
“Does the Father hate sinners? No, but he hates sin. Does God harbor indignation at the unjust? No, but God despises injustice. Thus God sends his Son not gleefully to see him suffer but to set things right.”
“You did it for me”
Each year the Archdiocesan Annual Catholic Appeal funds people programs that serve over one half million children, women and men in our metropolitan community. People of all faiths, and of no faith, benefit.
There are two goals set for us and for all by the Archdiocesan Appeal leadership. One is calculated according to a standard formula. Our formula goal is $7,350.00. The other goal is a challenge to meet the total of our gifts to the 2025 Annual Catholic Appeal last year. Our challenge goal is $32,647.00. As of 31 May 2026 your gifts total $32,831.00.
If you have not yet had chance to do so, please make your gift, using the gift card mailed to you in April, before 14 August 2026. Should you need a replacement gift card, they are available from the rectory office. Online gifts can also be made at: Donate – 2026 ACA Campaign | 2026 ACA Campaign
For the Annual Catholic Appeal each year I ask that you be as generous to God, and the works of God, as God has been generous to you. Your gift, then, will be the right one. I am grateful. Archbishop Rozanski is grateful. All those who benefit from your generosity are most grateful.
June Tenth
In the Archdiocese of St. Louis June 10th is a notable date. It relates to three of the ten Archbishops of St. Louis, and so is of note to this local Church.
Cardinal Joseph Ritter, the fourth Archbishop of St. Louis, died suddenly on 10 June 1967, just weeks after celebrating the golden jubilee of his ordination as a priest. Cardinal Ritter is remembered for his landmark directive integrating the Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of St. Louis before the Supreme Court of the United States mandated the same for public schools in its landmark Brown v Board of Education decision. Closer to home for us, it was Cardinal Ritter who oversaw the historic 1960 renovation and restoration of the Pro Cathedral of St. John, Apostle & Evangelist. His coat of arms is one of the three that appear in the ceiling of the church above the main aisle.
More recently, Archbishop Robert Carlson was installed as ninth Archbishop of St. Louis on 10 June 2009. Archbishop Carlson presided in 2010 at the 150th Anniversary Celebration of the 4 November 1860 dedication of the Pro Cathedral Church.
Most recently, on 10 June 2020, Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski was appointed tenth Archbishop of St. Louis. In 2022 Archbishop Rozanski presided at the demisemiseptcentennial celebration of the 1847 founding of St. John’s.
A year of jubilee
The Year of Our Lord 2026 marks an extraordinary milestone for the Church of St. Louis. We will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the founding, in 1826, of the Diocese of St. Louis.
When the Diocese of St. Louis was founded, it included the State of Missouri, the western half of Illinois, and all American territory west of the Mississippi River and north of the State of Louisiana! From it some twenty other arch/dioceses were eventually established, including what is now the Archdiocese of Chicago!
This Jubilee Year is a time for thanksgiving for grace abounding. May God continue to prosper, in us, and through us, the good work He has accomplished, to the glory of His name, and for the upbuilding of His holy people.
The principal celebration of the 200th Anniversary Jubilee will be a Mass of Thanksgiving celebrated in the Cathedral Basilica on July 18th at 10:00 AM. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, native son of St. Louis, and well-known Church historian, will be the homilist. All are invited and welcome to attend.
Commemorative prayer cards celebrating the Jubilee Year are available at the church entrances. They are yours for the taking.
There is a dedicated website with complete information on the Bicentennial Jubilee of the Archdiocese. It is worth a visit, at: https://archstl200.org/
A Saint in the making
The late Archbishop Fulton Sheen is considered by many to be the greatest preacher the Catholic Church in the United States has known. He was born in Peoria, Illinois, and, as a young priest served in the Diocese of Peoria. Later, for many years, he led the global missionary outreach of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. His earthly remains are entombed in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria.
Archbishop Sheen is soon to be beatified, as the last step, before he is canonized a saint. The beatification will be celebrated in St. Louis, on September 24th, at the Dome at America’s Center. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the head of the Vatican Congregation for Evangelization, as the delegate of Pope Leo XIV, will preside at the celebration. Complete details are available at: https://www.celebratesheen.com/
Deepening Faith
Our St. John’s Faith Enrichment Group regularly meets on the first Sunday of the month, in the church hall, following the 10:00 o’clock Mass. The gathered group reflects the diversity of our members.
The next Faith Enrichment Group meeting is Sunday, June 7th following the 10:00 Mass. The life and impact of soon-to-be-beatified Archbishop Fulton Sheen is the springboard for continuing conversation this month. The meeting usually lasts about one hour. Light refreshments are served. All are welcome.
In Brief
Thanks be to God for all whom we celebrate on Father’s Day. We pray with gratitude for those who have nurtured, supported, encouraged and inspired us. We pray for father-figures who have done the same. We pray for those who have gone before us that they see God face to face. And for those whose relationships were strained we pray for healing and wholeness.
It was welcome news that Father Andrew Kirschmann, SJ, has been named Provincial Superior of the Jesuit Fathers Central and Southern Province. He is an immensely gifted young priest, and his leadership will be a blessing to the Jesuit community. Father Drew’s parents, Dick and Mary, were long-time Pro-Cathedral parishioners, and his brother, Phil, was chair of our parish council in my early days as pastor.
We keep in prayer Margaret Czapla, Dan Prater, Paul Hogan, Cardinal Justin Rigali and all who are ill, together with their loved ones and caregivers. May God give them strength, grace, and peace.
Faithfully,
Monsignor Delaney