Daily Mass is celebrated:
Monday through Saturday at 8 a.m.
The Sunday Mass schedule is:
Saturday at 5 p.m. in English
Sunday at 7:30 a.m. in English
Sunday at 9 a.m. in English
Sunday at 11 a.m. in English
Sunday at 1 p.m. in Spanish
Please contact the parish office at
949-494-9701 to schedule.
We commit ourselves to: being a welcoming sanctuary and a place of prayer and worship.
Saint Anthony's daily calendar🙏
Our greetings from the Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua.
Peace and all good❤
𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝑨𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒚.
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WHY DID JESUS SAY “LET THE DEAD BURY THEIR DEAD”? 😳✝️
At first glance, this may be one of the harshest things Jesus ever said.
A man came to Jesus and said:
“Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
And Jesus replied:
“Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” (Matthew 8:21–22)
Wait a minute.
Did Jesus really tell a man not to bury his own father?
Did Jesus, who taught love, compassion, and respect for parents, suddenly become insensitive?
The answer may surprise you.
✝️ JESUS WAS NOT REJECTING FAMILY LOVE
Let's be clear.
Jesus was not teaching people to neglect their parents.
In fact, Jesus strongly defended the commandment:
“Honor your father and your mother.”
He even condemned those who used religion as an excuse to avoid caring for their parents.
So Jesus was not saying:
👉 “Forget your family.”
👉 “Do not care about your parents.”
👉 “Funerals are unimportant.”
That would contradict everything else He taught.
Something deeper is happening here.
✝️ THE MAN'S FATHER MAY NOT HAVE BEEN DEAD YET
Many biblical scholars point out something important.
In Jewish culture, burial usually happened on the same day a person died.
If the man's father had already died, he probably would not have been standing there talking to Jesus.
Many scholars believe the man was saying something like:
“Let me stay with my father until he dies someday. After that, I will follow you.”
In other words:
“Jesus, I will follow You later.”
“Jesus, I will follow You when it is more convenient.”
“Jesus, I will follow You after I finish everything else.”
And Jesus saw through the delay.
✝️ JESUS WAS CHALLENGING HIS PRIORITIES
The issue was not burial.
The issue was priority.
The man wanted to put discipleship on hold.
He wanted to postpone God's call.
He wanted to follow Jesus—but not yet.
And Jesus knew something we often forget:
There will always be another reason to delay God.
Another obligation.
Another excuse.
Another distraction.
Another "later."
But God's call is always urgent.
✝️ WHO ARE THE "DEAD" JESUS WAS TALKING ABOUT?
This is where the passage becomes powerful.
Jesus was using the word "dead" in two different ways.
The physically dead can be buried.
But there are also the spiritually dead.
Those who live without God.
Those who are alive physically but disconnected from the life of grace.
Jesus was essentially saying:
“Let those who are spiritually dead take care of ordinary earthly matters.
You have been called to something greater.”
It was a shocking statement designed to wake the man up.
✝️ JESUS OFTEN USED SHOCKING LANGUAGE
This was one of Jesus' teaching methods.
He used dramatic language to make people think.
He said:
👉 “If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.”
👉 “Hate your father and mother” (meaning love Him above all).
👉 “The first shall be last.”
👉 “Whoever loses his life will save it.”
Jesus often spoke in ways that forced people to look beyond the surface.
The goal was not cruelty.
The goal was conversion.
✝️ THE REAL QUESTION IS NOT ABOUT THE MAN
The real question is about us.
How many times have we told God:
“I'll serve You later.”
“I'll return to Church later.”
“I'll go to Confession later.”
“I'll take my spiritual life seriously later.”
“I'll follow You after I solve my other problems.”
But "later" can become a lifelong excuse.
And many people spend their whole lives postponing God.
✝️ THE HARSH TRUTH
Some people are waiting for the perfect moment to follow Christ.
But the perfect moment never comes.
There will always be another responsibility.
Another financial challenge.
Another family issue.
Another reason to wait.
And while they are waiting, years pass.
Then decades.
Then a lifetime.
Jesus knew this.
That is why His call is always urgent.
✝️ WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US TODAY
Jesus was not teaching us to neglect our families.
He was teaching us that nothing—not even the most important earthly concerns—should permanently stand in the way of God's call.
Family matters.
Work matters.
Responsibilities matter.
But God must come first.
Because when God is first, everything else finds its proper place.
✝️ THE CONCLUSION
When Jesus said:
“Let the dead bury their dead,”
He was not rejecting family love.
He was exposing the danger of spiritual procrastination.
He was teaching that the Kingdom of God cannot always be postponed until tomorrow.
The man wanted to follow Jesus someday.
Jesus was calling him to follow today.
And perhaps that is the same question Christ is asking many of us:
“What are you still using as an excuse not to follow Me completely?”
God bless you 🙏
#CatholicsOnlineClass ✝️
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