Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time

Carolyn Kannapel • August 19, 2026

Pastor’s Notes for 23 August 2026 – Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time

     Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical Magnifica Humanitas – On the Safeguarding of the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence. It is no secret that Pope Leo is concerned by the possible direction of AI and its impact on us, personally & communally. It was one of the reasons he took the name Leo, to build upon Pope Leo XIII’s legacy. Pope Leo places our response to AI in the greater context of the Catholic Social Doctrines that should guide any and all public discussions that impact the human person and the whole of humanity. Here are some notable excerpts on AI and specifically our call to remain truly human:


92. Pope Francis denounced the growing dominance of a technocratic paradigm… the tendency to let the logic of efficiency, control and     profit alone shape personal, social and economic decisions. This makes it clear that technology is not simply a tool. When it becomes the standard by which everything is judged, it begins to dictate what matters and what can be discarded, reducing creation to an object of exploitation and human beings to mere cogs in a system driven toward ever greater efficiency.


93. This paradigm has spread rapidly in recent years, fueled in part by the expansion of artificial intelligence, cognitive science, nanotechnology, robotics and biotechnology. In themselves, these innovations can greatly serve integral human development and the care of our common home. Yet precisely because of their power, they can also hasten the expansion of the technocratic paradigm and therefore require a new spiritual, ethical and political framework. More power does not necessarily imply something better…


94. The danger of humanity becoming a victim of its own achievements… If technological development advances without a corresponding ethical and social progress, the result may be an increase in means without a growth in humanity: “having more” without “being more.”


95. … In many cases within the digital context, control over platforms, infrastructure, data and computing power does not rest with States, but with major economic and technological actors. These entities effectively set the conditions for access, determine the rules of visibility and shape the very possibilities for participation…


99. It is not possible to provide a single, comprehensive definition of AI. What can be stated, however, is that we must avoid the misconception of equating this type of “intelligence” with that of human beings. These systems merely imitate certain functions of human intelligence. In doing so, they often surpass human intelligence in speed and computational capacity, offering tangible benefits across many fields. Yet this power remains entirely tied to data processing. So-called artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean. Nor do they have a moral conscience, since they do not judge good and evil, grasp the ultimate meaning of situations, or bear responsibility for consequences. They may imitate language, behavior and analytical skills, or even simulate empathy and understanding, but they do not understand what they produce, for they lack the affective, relational and spiritual perspective through which human beings grow in wisdom. Even when these tools are described as capable of “learning,” their way of doing so is different from that of a human person. It is not the experience of those who allow themselves to be shaped by life and grow over time through choices, mistakes, forgiveness and fidelity. Rather, it is a form of statistical adaptation based on data and feedback, which can be very effective, but does not imply inner growth.


100. … Yet [AI generated responses] can also encourage excessive reliance and the search for ready-made answers, and weaken personal creativity and judgment…The artificial imitation of positive human communication — words of advice, empathy, friendship and even love — can be engaging and at times genuinely helpful. However, for less discerning users, it can also be misleading, creating the illusion of a relationship with a real personal subject…Here, the danger is not so much that a person may believe they are communicating with another person, but rather that they may gradually lose the very desire to form genuine human connections.


Nothing Less than saints for the Holy Family of God.

Holy Family, rooted in authentic human relationship, Pray for us.

~ Fr Jeremy M. Gries

Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time

By Carolyn Kannapel • August 12, 2026
Pastor’s Notes for 16 August 2026 – Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Magdalenes Fall 2026 Registration

By Carolyn Kannapel • August 10, 2026

18th Sunday In Ordinary Time- Letter from Abbi Harbeson, DMO

By Carolyn Kannapel • July 29, 2026
How Do You Share the Gospel? This weekend, the Holy Family Evangelization Team hosted an Evangelization Crash Course for the leaders of the ministries of our parish. This morning of training and learning was an awesome opportunity to remind our leaders of the Gospel mandate: “Go and make disciples of all nations…” And that mandate is not just for those who lead or volunteer for our ministries here at Holy Family. The Great Commission applies to each of us. As baptized Christians, we have taken on the role of sharing the Gospel with the world, just as Jesus commanded His disciples in Matthew 28 before He ascended into Heaven. For many of us, that command is overwhelming. Our minds may jump to the fear of what it means to share the Gospel with another. Perhaps we think that we must memorize Scripture or understand the Catechism and all of the Church’s teachings before we can evangelize. Allow me to remind you that is not the case. While we must immerse ourselves in Scripture and Tradition, these are meant to aid us in our discipleship, not to be prerequisites for it. The simplest way to evangelize? Live! The Catechism of the Catholic Church sheds light on this reality: “Lay people also fulfill their prophetic mission by evangelization, ‘that is, the proclamation of Christ by word and the testimony of life .’ For lay people, ‘this evangelization…assumes a specific character and peculiar efficacy because it is accomplished in the ordinary circumstances of the world’” (CCC 905.) The Church herself tells us that while the mandate to share the Gospel is an incredible and necessary responsibility, its efficacy is dependent on the ordinary. This makes the task much less daunting! How do you live the “ordinary”? How do your day-to-day activities and responsibilities represent the Gospel? How can you make the Gospel more present in your daily life? This week I hope you will think of each moment–your drive to work, your grocery store run, your office, your coffee date with a friend, dinner with your family–as an opportunity to share the Gospel. No quotations of Scripture or a lesson on morality needed. Instead, LIVE the Gospel. Mother Mary, the first evangelist, pray for us. In His Joy, Abbi Harbeson, Director of Mission and Outreach

Parishioner Joseph Marguet Passes Away

By Carolyn Kannapel • July 29, 2026
Joseph Isadore Marguet, 94, passed away peacefully on July 2, 2026, at The Villages at Silvercrest in New Albany, Indiana . Born February of 1932, in New Albany, Indiana , Joe was the eldest child of Joseph and Esther Marguet, followed by his beloved siblings, Frank ("Frankie") Marguet and Miriam (Mimi) Paris. New Albany was home for most of his life and remained the community he loved deeply. Please join us at 11 a.m. on August 8, 2026, to celebrate Joe's long and full life with a Catholic mass at Holy Family Church, 129 W Daisy Ln, New Albany, IN 47150. Doors open at 10 a.m.

Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

By Carolyn Kannapel • July 22, 2026
PASTOR’S NOTES for 26 July 2026 – Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

By Carolyn Kannapel • July 15, 2026
Pastor’s Notes for 19 July 2026 – Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Tuesday Apologetics

By Carolyn Kannapel • July 14, 2026
As Catholics, we often get asked questions about why we believe what we believe. People are searching for the truth, and sometimes this comes out as an argumentative question. As Catholic Christians, it is important that we know our faith, not only so we can defend it but also so that we can put it into practice in our daily lives. Join us on the second Tuesday of each month after Mass for Apologetics in the Cafeteria. We will dive into a “common questions” topic, looking at Scripture and the Catechism. Join us for our first Apologetics Session on Tuesday, August 11, from 6:45 to 7:45 pm in the Cafeteria . Our topic is the Three A's: Which one's which? (the Annunciation, the Ascension, and the Assumption). No RSVP is required . Contact Kristina Seipel at the parish office or kseipel@holyfamilynewalbany.org with questions. August 11 - Three A's: Which one's which? (the Annunciation, the Ascension, and the Assumption)- presented by Ryan Albers September 8 - LGBTQIA+: What the Church Teaches - presented by Fr. Jeremy October 13 - The Lord's Messengers: The Role of Angels - presented by Julie Benning November - "Have You Been Saved?": A Catholic Response - presented by Abbi Harbeson No need to sign up; join us for the presentation and discussion!

Grow Your Appreciation of the Mass

By Carolyn Kannapel • July 14, 2026
Grow Your Appreciation of the Mass Have you ever wanted a deeper understanding of the Mass? Why do we do what we do at the Mass? Join us for a six-session exploration of the Liturgy with Bishop Robert Barron. Together we will uncover why we pray and act as we do at Mass, how the liturgy lifts us from the brokenness of the world into the worship of Heaven, and how God’s call meets our response in every moment of the celebration. Together, we will also gain a clearer understanding of the Eucharist as our intimate union with the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. This series will equip you to participate more fully, consciously, and actively in the “source and summit” of the Christian life Join us on Wednesday nights, 6:30-7:30 p.m. from August 19 through September 23, 2026 , in the Day Activity Center to fall more in love with The Mass. Sign up online by August 9 . Please complete one registration per person. There is no fee. Contact Kristina Seipel with questions at kseipel@holyfamilynewalbany.org or 812-944-8283, ext. 4.

Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

By Carolyn Kannapel • July 8, 2026
Pastor’s Notes for 12 July 2026 – Fift teenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

By Carolyn Kannapel • July 1, 2026
Pastor’s Notes for 05 July 2026 – Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time