Let me first say what a gift it is to be with all of you this weekend. I’m sure many of you are probably wondering who I am. I am Fr. Tom Pringle, and I’m honored to begin my assignment here at St. Timothy this weekend as your new parochial vicar.

Now, to be clear – that means I am not the boss! That’s still Fr. Ralph. But I am here to serve, to walk with you, to preach the Gospel, to hopefully be Jesus for you in some way, and to help build up the Body of Christ in this parish that so many of you have loved and nurtured over the years.

For a little bit about me, I was born and raised in Orlando…a rarity for Florida these days. My home parish is St. Charles Borromeo – fun fact: Fr. Ralph was my pastor when I was finishing up seminary. I actually served as his Liturgical Master of Ceremonies for many years. So, we know each other very well. But I was ordained a priest on July 25, 2020…so my fifth anniversary is coming up in just a couple of weeks.

As I begin here at St. Timothy this weekend, I want give you a promise…and this is something I share with every parish on my first weekend. You have this guarantee from me…

As your priest, I will always speak the Truth. I will challenge each of you to be better disciples of Jesus. I will try my best to accompany you on that journey. There will be times that you do not agree with everything that I preach about. That’s a good thing! That means that there is room to have a discussion on important topics and to learn…with each other…why the Church teaches what she does. When those disagreements happen, come talk to me. Don’t send a nasty email or leave me a threatening voicemail…and please God do not send a letter to the Bishop. Come see me. We’ll have a conversation and grow together. Because here’s the thing: if I don’t speak the Truth, I can’t really love you. And if I love you, I should want only one thing for you – Heaven.

That’s the heart of the priesthood…it’s really the heart of every vocation: getting all of us to heaven – together.

Our readings for today, honestly, are kind of perfect for this moment, because they speak to what it means to be sent, to be received, and to be carried by God’s grace.

Let’s start with looking at the Gospel. In it, we see Jesus appoint seventy-two others – not just the Twelve Apostles – and He sends them out ahead of Him. They’re not going as tourists or spectators. They have a purpose. They’re being sent on mission. Jesus is asking them to go out and preach about all the things they have witnessed, to share the Good News, to drive out demons, to bring healing to people’s hearts. But, notice Jesus doesn’t sugarcoat things. He tells them: “I am sending you like lambs among wolves.” In other words: This responsibility is going to be hard. It’s not going to be a walk in the park. But even in that difficult task, recognize how He sends them two by two – He never sends them alone. That reminds us that the mission of the Church is always shared. It’s not something we do ourselves. We share it with one another. We walk with one another. It’s relational. It’s communal.

And when these disciples come back, they are filled with joy! Not because they were able to do amazing things by their own power, but because of what God did through them.

And Jesus keeps them grounded. He tells them: “Do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you. Rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” They’re mission isn’t about what they do…it’s about who they are as children of God and who gives them the grace to carry out that mission.

Which brings us to St. Paul in the second reading. He says, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul could have bragged about a lot…he was the greatest evangelizer the Church has ever seen. And yet, here is basically saying: None of what I was able to accomplish matters. The only thing that is important is that Christ was proclaimed, that the sufferings Paul experienced were united the sufferings of Jesus on the Cross. Only that love which lays itself down for the good of others is what is truly important.

For me as your priest, that’s the attitude I hope to bring into every conversation, every confession, every hospital room, every homily. It’s not about me. It’s about Jesus. And if I boast at all, it’ll be in His mercy, not in my own words or works. And that should be the attitude all of us embrace for ourselves.

But how can we do that? In the reading from the prophet Isaiah, we see one of the most beautiful images in Scripture. God shares that He will comfort us as a mother comforts her children, as she nurses them, as she holds them. God will always hold us. He will always be with us. That’s the other side of this mission that we have received: we’re not just sent – we’re carried by His grace.

Yes, the Lord asks a lot of us. He sends us out. He challenges us. But He also holds us. He feeds us. He heals us. And in moments when we feel overwhelmed or inadequate – He reminds us: “You are not doing this alone.”

So what does that mean for us at St. Timothy: You and I are being sent, too. Every single baptized person in this church has been commissioned by Christ Himself to be witnesses in the world. That’s not just the job of priests or religious; it’s the job of the catechist; the parent or grandparent at the dinner table; the teen or young adult on social media. Every single one of us is called right now to bring peace, to heal, and to prepare hearts for Jesus.

Here’s our mission this week:

Ask Jesus where He’s sending us.

It might be to a family member who’s walked away from the Church.

It might be to forgive someone who doesn’t deserve it.

It might be to witness our faith more boldly at the doctor’s office or the grocery store.

It might be just to speak hope into someone else’s bad day.

Whatever it is – go. But go knowing that we’re not alone. We’re carried. We’re strengthened. And our names are written in heaven.

I’m so grateful to be joining you in this beautiful parish. I may be new to St. Timothy, but we’re already family. And I look forward to walking this road with you – not just as your priest, but as your brother in Christ.

Let’s boast only in the Cross.

Let’s live our mission with courage.

And let’s go out two by two and change the world.

Readings for Mass: Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Image: Jesus Commissioning the Seventy-Two. Image generated using Jetpack AI Assistant.