From the Desk of Father Jason - September 28, 2025

Dear St. Francis Xavier Parishioners,

We do not own our own lives. We have them on loan from the Lord. The time, talent, and treasure that we have belongs to God. We are stewards. In Biblical times, a steward was one who manages and invests the wealthy person’s estate.

How do we invest our time, talent, and treasure? After all, they are not our time, talent, and treasure, but God’s. We invest through prayer, service, and sharing.

Last week we looked at a Christian steward’s obligation to pray communally. This week we look at our individual prayers.

There are three major areas that God calls us to do as individuals in prayer. These are God’s expectations through the Church.

The first expectation is that we are to pray each day. Personal daily prayer is life-changing prayer. What does God expect of us for this daily personal prayer? I go with the recommendation of St. Francis De Sales. He taught that most Christians should pray at least a half hour a day (that is unless we are busy, then we need to pray one hour). This might seem like a lot, but it is only 1/48th of our time in a day. Our time comes from God, and it is fitting that we give it back to him.

The second expectation of Jesus is that we go to Reconciliation/Confession regularly. What does regularly mean? I try to go once a month. I would say if it has been more than two months since our last confession, it is time to go. We have confession at St. Francis Xavier on Saturdays, 8-9 am and 3-3:45 pm.

The third expectation of Jesus is that we read the Bible daily. Make sure we pick up the word of God every day. Try to have the goal of reading 15 minutes a day. Start with the Gospel of Matthew. If you do not have a Bible, let the parish know and we will get you one.

These three personal prayer habits have the potential to change our lives and make us good stewards.

Sincerely through Jesus,

Fr. Jason