Livestream: A Homily Without Walls
Updated: Aug 14
There is something beautiful about the way God uses our Sunday Mass to reach farther than we ever imagined.
Every Sunday at 10 a.m., SJE has the blessing of livestreaming Mass. For those who cannot be physically present, it offers a way to pray with our parish family, hear the Word of God, receive spiritual nourishment, and remain connected to the Church. But the reach of that livestream extends far beyond our own community. It finds its way into homes across America, into the Philippines, across Europe and into the lives of people we may never meet.
And sometimes, it reaches someone because one parish partner simply takes the time to share it.
That is exactly what longtime SJE parish partner Bob Stefanak did.
Bob loves his parish. He loves being involved. And he understands something fundamental about discipleship: when something is good, you don't keep it to yourself.
So Bob has shared the livestream—and especially Father Sammie Maletta's homilies—with others. One of those people is his sister, Sandy, who lives in Hermitage, Pennsylvania.
In doing so, Bob is living the mission of SJE in a very simple and very powerful way: Be disciples who make disciples.
Faith That Was Never Optional
Sandy says she comes from a family in which the Catholic faith was not merely something they practiced on Sundays. It was part of who they were.
She and her three brothers, including Bob, were raised by a deeply devout Catholic father whose commitment to the faith was unwavering. His nickname was the “Pope,” and there was one rule that was never up for debate: you went to Mass.
Under any circumstances. Sandy remembers that even being sick didn't necessarily get you out of church. She recalls going to Mass while ill and, in one particularly memorable instance, actually getting sick in church.
Her story is funny, but underneath it is something profound. Her father instilled in his children a deep understanding that Mass mattered. Faith mattered. God mattered.
That foundation has stayed with Sandy throughout her life. She says the only time she missed Mass as an adult was during COVID. Even when she travels, she finds a Catholic church.
Once, while vacationing in the Bahamas, she went so far as to take a taxi to Mass. And she still laughs about the experience. “Oh my, if you saw this taxi and where I went…” she remembers. “Jesus was truly with me.”
For Sandy, finding a church isn't a burden. It is simply what Catholics do. Her faith has also poured outward. For many years, she taught CCD, especially loving third grade because she had the privilege of preparing children to receive their First Holy Communion.
Today, she continues to nurture that faith through daily prayer. She attends a prayer service Monday through Friday before work, prays every day and says the Rosary. She doesn't turn on the radio during her drive because, as she puts it, that time is better spent in prayer.
Her faith is alive. And then Bob shared something else with her. He shared St. John and Father Sammie Maletta’s homilies.
“He Always Gives Me Something to Ponder.”
Sandy began listening to Father Maletta's homilies through the SJE livestream, often on her way to work. And something special happened. The homilies weren't simply something she heard; they stayed with her.
When asked where she is in her faith today, Sandy describes herself as very faithful. But even a person deeply rooted in faith must continue to grow, and Father Maletta's preaching has become one of the ways God continues to speak into her life.
“He ALWAYS gives me something to ponder,” she says. That may be one of the greatest compliments a homilist can receive. Because a good homily doesn't end when the priest says, “The Lord be with you.” It follows us.
It gets into the car with us. It comes to mind while we're at work. It challenges us when we're making a decision. It comforts us when we're hurting. Sometimes it makes us laugh. Sometimes it makes us cry, which Sandy has definitely experienced.
“I’ll listen to the homily on the way to work and usually text Bob and say, ‘Listened to Fr. Sammie and I’ll be fixing my mascara at work again.’”
Father Maletta's homilies make her cry. They make her laugh. They make her smile. But most importantly, they make her think. They remind her how blessed she is.
Speaking From the Heart
Sandy says there is something particularly special about the way Father Maletta preaches. “He is ‘down to earth’ and engages the audience,” she says. “He talks like he is having a one-on-one conversation with you.”
That personal connection matters. Father Maletta doesn't simply deliver a homily. He tells stories. He connects Scripture and faith to ordinary life. He speaks about the unexpected interruptions that can completely change the plans we have made for our day. Sandy relates to that. She loves the stories about how Father Maletta can have his entire day planned—and then, suddenly, everything changes because someone calls, someone needs something or he encounters a person who needs his attention. “My days are like that too,” she says. “So I can relate.”
And perhaps that is part of the beauty of Father Maletta's preaching. He doesn't preach from some distant place disconnected from everyday life. He brings faith right into the middle of it.
Sandy also notices that while Father Maletta may have notes, he isn't simply reading a script. “He talks from his thoughts and heart.” That is why his words can feel like a conversation. That is why they can make someone laugh or bring someone to tears. And that is why they can give someone something to ponder long after Mass has ended.
The Reach of a Disciple
There is a bigger story here, though. It isn't only about a livestream, a homily, or Sandy. It is about what happens when a disciple decides to share something that has helped him encounter Christ.
Bob could simply participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass every Sunday. He could listen to Father Maletta's homily and move on with his day. Instead, he has chosen to share it.
He reached out, thinking about someone who might benefit from hearing those words, and he sent them along. That is evangelization. That is discipleship.
And that is precisely what SJE means when we say we are called to “Be Disciples Who Make Disciples who love God, love others, and serve the poor.”
Livestream: A Parish Without Walls
This is one of the extraordinary opportunities God has placed before the Church today. Our parish walls are important. They are sacred places where we gather, worship, receive the Eucharist and encounter Christ together. However, the mission of the Church cannot stop at those walls.
The livestream allows the voice of our parish to travel. Father Maletta’s preaching can reach someone who is homebound. Someone traveling. Someone who moved away. Someone searching for God. Someone who simply needs to hear the right words on the right morning.
And someone like Sandy. A lifelong Catholic who has faithfully sought God throughout her life can still be challenged, encouraged, and inspired by a homily coming from a church hundreds of miles away.
What a blessing and what a responsibility. Every time we share the livestream, we have an opportunity to help someone encounter Christ. Every time we send a homily to a friend, family member or coworker, we are extending the reach of our parish.
Every time we invite someone to listen, we are participating in the mission. Bob reminds us that discipleship doesn't have to be complicated.
See something good. Receive it. Share it.
Let God do the rest. We may never know how far one shared link travels. We may never know whose heart needed to hear a particular story, Scripture passage, or word of encouragement. But we can trust that God does.
And perhaps somewhere in Pennsylvania, on a drive to work, Sandy is listening again. Maybe she is smiling and laughing, or wiping away a tear. Maybe, once again, Father Maletta's words are giving her something to ponder. That is the beauty of a parish that understands its mission, one disciple at a time.
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