{"id":4362,"date":"2026-09-19T16:19:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T21:19:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stkateridearborn.org\/?post_type=post_documents&p=4362"},"modified":"2026-09-19T16:19:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T21:19:35","slug":"sept-20-2026-twenty-fifth-sunday-in-ordinary-time","status":"publish","type":"post_documents","link":"https:\/\/stkateridearborn.org\/index.php\/document\/sept-20-2026-twenty-fifth-sunday-in-ordinary-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Sept 20, 2026 – Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Between the Hearts by Fr. Craig Giera<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few weeks ago, I introduced to you the priests from Divine Child. This week I would like to welcome Deacon Tom Leonard.\u00a0 Many of you already know him as he has been around Sacred Heart and St. Kateri for some years. Yet, here is a simple bio for those of you who are not familiar with him.\u00a0 Deacon Tom Leonard describes his greatest accomplishment as marrying his wife Christine 52 years ago. They have five children and ten grandchildren.\u00a0 He was ordained to the Diaconate on October 3rd, 2015, at the age of 65.\u00a0 He obtained a Bachelor Degree in Political Science from Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI in 1973, a Master of Sacred Theology Degree from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in 1997, and a Master of Philosophy from Holy Apostles Seminary in 2004.\u00a0 Deacon Tom taught theology as a second career at the University of Detroit and Catholic Central High School for a total of twelve years.\u00a0 He retired from the FBI in 2004 as a Special Agent after 35 years of service.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have been blessed by the help of Deacon Tom as he has been a constant support these last few months.\u00a0 I deeply respect this man and hold him in high regard.\u00a0 Fun fact about him, he knows Jiu-Jitsu and was actually trained by the same guy who worked with Chuck Norris!\u00a0 We haven\u2019t talked music so I\u2019m not sure of his favorite band.\u00a0 Just to clarify as well, Fr. Bob McCabe is the huge Beatles fan, I like them of course, but my favorite band is Radiohead.\u00a0 They are not as big when it comes to pop culture, but they have a catalog of music that stands the test of time.\u00a0 For me, they will always remind me of art school as everyone was blasting their albums in the art studio.\u00a0 I can almost smell the paint and turpentine every time I listen to them.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m reading a fascinating book called \u201cChrist in Dachau.\u201d\u00a0 It is the story of Fr. John Lenz and his time he spent in the concentration camps.\u00a0 This actually is not my first read of priests in this situation.\u00a0 These books made me realize that Catholics, especially priests, were targeted by the Nazis.\u00a0 In fact, priests usually went to the hardest labor camps and did the worst work to make their lives miserable.\u00a0 However, the heroic faith of these priests is something to admire.\u00a0 How they could bring hope to others even in these extreme situations and not lose faith themselves.\u00a0 The most famous priest we know from the concentration camps in St. Maximilian Kolby.\u00a0 He volunteered to go to the starvation chamber in place of a young man with a family.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is people like this that inspire me to be a better disciple of Christ, to bring hope to where there is none, to be what Christ was to people who had nowhere else to turn.\u00a0 We sometimes think this happened only in the past, but in reality, there are many Catholics persecuted today.\u00a0 I have a friend that had to wake up in the middle of the night in the dead of winter to have Mass in a field so he and his family wouldn\u2019t go to jail.\u00a0 Christians are still persecuted throughout the world.\u00a0 Let\u2019s pray for our brothers and sisters as we have the gift of being able to practice our faith without threat of jail or even death.\u00a0 Jesus says, \u201cFear not, for I have overcome the world.\u201d\u00a0 Christ is victorious, we are victorious in Him!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Christ,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fr. Craig<\/p>\n\n\n\n