Your Faith With Fr. Chris Stanish

Queen of All Saints Catholic Church hosted a morning retreat for Lectors and Eucharistic Ministers. Using the Gospel passage for the day, Fr. Chris Stanish offers a talk in which he discusses two key concepts with regard to formation: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist as one single act of worship, and the privilege of discipleship as eyes that see and ears that hear.

On this 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Fr. Chris Stanish concludes a preaching series on the sacraments of the Catholic Church by discussing the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. In this homily Fr. Chris talks about the foundation of the sacrament, its four effects, and who can receive it.

On this 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Fr. Chris Stanish continues a preaching series on the sacraments of the Catholic Church. In this homily, Fr. Chris reviews the sacraments, discusses the foundation and essence of the sacrament of Holy Orders, and concludes with a witness testimony given by Seminarian Gregory Bim-Merle. Gregory is a seminarian for the Diocese of Gary studying in his second year of Theology at Mundelein Seminary. He testifies how he heard God's call to come labor in the vineyard and how he has encountered Christ in his life thus far.

On the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Queen of All Saints Vocation Committee hosted a Holy Hour for Vocational awareness and support. In this talk, Fr. Chris Stanish uses this feast day as the backdrop for the fact that each and every one of us has been called to a very particular vocation. Sometimes we struggle in hearing what Jesus is asking of us, but we must have courage like Mary to say "yes"!

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Exaltation of the Cross, Fr. Chris Stanish continues a preaching series on the sacraments of the Catholic Church. In this homily, Fr. Chris talks about the sacrament of Marriage. He discusses marriage as a covenant and as a sign, and that the grace of the sacrament is the strength to live it out fruitfully and well.

On this 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Fr. Chris Stanish continues a preaching series on the sacraments of the Catholic Church. In this homily, Fr. Chris takes a deeper look at the sacrament of Penance by addressing the common questions people ask about it. Why do I have to confess my sins to a priest? Why can't I just confess to God? What's up with all this Catholic guilt? What do I do if it's been awhile?

Halfway through a preaching series on the sacraments of the Catholic Church, Fr. Chris Stanish discusses the sacrament of Eucharist. In this homily on the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Fr. Chris explains that why we go to Mass and how we can fruitfully receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

On this 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Fr. Chris Stanish continues a preaching series on the sacraments of the Catholic Church. In this homily, Fr. Chris discusses the sacrament of Confirmation and because of it, how we are to take up a new role in the community. He explains what it means to be an adult member of the Church and how to live out the grace of the sacrament.

On this 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Fr. Chris Stanish begins a preaching series on the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. In this homily, Fr. Chris briefly reviews the sacraments in general, discusses the primary effects of Baptism, and guides the congregation through an exercise to review their Baptismal Promises, which can be found here.

In this homily on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Fr. Chris explains the doctrine of the Assumption through the question: Where are we going? The reality is that where Mary has gone we hope to follow...

Celebrating the 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Fr. Chris Stanish announces that he and the pastor will be starting a preaching series on the sacraments of the Catholic Church. In this homily, Fr. Chris offers the congregation four principles through which we can come to a deeper understanding and knowledge of the sacraments in general.

Adam Antone is a seminarian for the Diocese of Gary. He is currently in his third year of college studies at Bishop Simon Brute Seminary in Indianapolis, IN. In an effort to promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life, Queen of All Saints Parish hosted a Holy Hour for Vocations. In this reflection, Adam offers insight into what it means to be called, how to listen to the call, and the response it requires.

In this homily on the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Fr. Chris Stanish discusses the face of discipleship. What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus Christ? What does it entail? Using St. Paul's words from his Letter to the Romans, Fr. Chris exhorts the congregation to stand strong in the faith especially when we find ourselves in the midst of trials and suffering.

While the seminarians of the Diocese of Gary were on retreat, Fr. Chris Stanish was invited to offer a meditation for them on the topic of "Formation". In this meditation, Fr. Chris discusses the importance of formation in our lives as Christians and obstacles that might arise within it.

On this 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Fr. Chris Stanish uses the parables of the hidden treasure buried in the field and the pearl of great price as an image for discovering the beautiful gift of one's vocation. The true value of this gift is so great that we must be willing to sell all that we have in order to attain it.

Upon proclaiming the parable of the weeds among the wheat, Fr. Chris Stanish describes a type of healing prayer ministry called Theophostic Prayer, which invites Jesus into the wounds of our life so that He can bring His saving Truth into them in order to bring healing. He explains how the Lord sows the seed of His grace and truth but sometimes the evil one comes and plants lies. Jesus, though, has come to set us free!

On this 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Fr. Chris Stanish explains the context for the use of parables in Jesus' teaching method. He discusses how "seeing" and "hearing" are key words for us as disciples if we wish to have fertile hearts open to receiving God's word.

In this homily, Fr. Chris Stanish reflects on his first real encounter with Jesus Christ. He enourages the congregation to respond to Jesus' invitation to "Come to me" especially when life feels labored and burdensome. 

In this homily on the Solemnity of SS. Peter and Paul, Fr. Chris Stanish reflects on the joy of responding to Jesus' invitation to follow Him in the vocation to which He is calling you. Using the figures of Peter and Paul, he draws out the decisive moment in which they had to choose whether they would follow Jesus or not.

Fr. Chris Stanish returned to Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth, MI to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving following his ordination in the Diocese of Gary, IN. In this homly from the 10 AM Mass, Fr. Chris discusses how sometimes encountering God seems to be too good to be true and he encourages the congregation to ask God for really big things.