10/5/2023 The Main ThingDear friends on the journey, Speaker and author Stephen Covey coined the phrase, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” While his motivational message of keeping focus and efforts to accomplish important goals was for personal growth and leadership development, I think it applies to today’s message and ultimately our path of discipleship. Today’s gospel is Jesus’ using a parable to convey a message to the ever-questioning chief priests and elders. In this parable of the tenants, the owner of the vineyard is God, the vineyard is the house of Israel, where God’s people are, and the tenants of the vineyard are the people of God. Presumably, the tenants are people desiring to work the land thus producing a harvest that in turn provides for their families’ livelihood. One would think focusing on their labor and its fruit would be their “main thing.” Sadly, as the parable tells us, the tenants are distracted. Whatever their motivation, perhaps greed or jealousy, they are more focused on the landowner’s servants, never mind breaking the fifth commandment. Jesus does not sugar coat the reality of not producing fruit. Distraction will cause the kingdom of God to be taken away and given to a people that will produce its fruit. God’s demand of the tenants in the vineyard applies today. As twenty-first century Christian disciples, the people of God, our “main thing” is to produce good fruit, good works, that build up and advance God’s kingdom in our individual and communal vineyards. Fruit comes when we use our time, talent and treasure focused on our own growth and improvement, the betterment of the lives of those entrusted to us, and living the Beatitudes, the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, and the teachings (words and actions) of Jesus. When we keep this kind of life the “main thing,” there is no room for anything else. However, like the tenants, we can fall prey to the distractions of the world that seem to be louder and more constant. Voices telling us who to be, how to look, what to buy, who is right or wrong, who is to blame, what success looks like, drown out our “main thing.” Information, notifications, technology, stress, and anxiety overload are affecting our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. Silence and Sabbath seem like luxuries we cannot afford. Today’s gospel is a wakeup call, a call to action to evaluate your tenancy. Am I producing good fruit? Am I distracted or somewhere in between? St. Paul, in the second reading, provides us with a starting point. What in your life is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent, and worthy of praise? Keep doing these things. If these are missing, then turn to prayer. Begin with prayers of thanksgiving and gratitude. Make your requests and petitions known to God. Then listen. Recalibrate where necessary so that you are able “to keep the main the main thing” producing good and holy fruit that build up the kingdom, right where you are. Siempre Adelante, Teresa Runyon Pastoral Associate 9/29/2023 Walk humbly with GodIn the movie A Christmas Story, there is a dinner scene where Ralphie's little brother won't eat, and Ralphie and his father are requesting a second helping. We get the impression that this mildly chaotic dinner scene is routine for the family. Instead of sitting down to eat her meal, Ralphie's mother is busy attending to the family's desires. Ralphie, the narrator, comments on the scene, "My mother had not had a hot meal for herself in 15 years". A mother's care for her family is a simple example of living out St. Paul's instruction to the Philippians in today's second reading – "Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but for those of others" (Phil 2:3). I have occasionally thought that a generous spirit of giving comes naturally to some people (such as moms); however, Paul's instruction would not be necessary if this were a natural way for humans to behave. Because Paul knows our human nature is tilted toward acting only out of self- interest, he encourages us to imitate Christ in the attitude of humility. We are reminded that to be humble is to have the proper view of ourselves and our place in relation to God and others. This essential teaching of Jesus is made clear in this passage, "And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Phil 2:8). St. Thomas Aquinas called humility the preeminent virtue when he said, "Humility removes pride, whereby a man refuses to submit himself to the truth of faith.” It is impossible to contemplate the life of Jesus and miss the life lesson of humility. I have heard it said that cultivating the virtue of humility creates the space for other virtues, such as love and charity, to flow in. The Church gives us many examples of Christians who humbly lived out the Christian calling to serve others to the limit. In recent history, St. Mother Teresa and St. Maximilian Kolbe come to mind. Meditating on saints who poured out their lives in the service of others in heroic ways is fruitful, but we must not let their extraordinary lives lead us to believe that we can't also be holy. St. Mother Teresa gave us mere Christians a practical way to strive for holiness when she said, "Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love." Doing small things with great love for the people in our lives and for those people we encounter is an opportunity to reflect the love of Christ. Manuel Leon Business Manager 9/22/2023 Thank You for Your Patience So today, we take a good look at our American preoccupation: the state of our finances. As part of that process, I would like to share with you how our parish financial system works. The canons of the church place responsibility almost entirely on the shoulders of the parish pastor (Canon 532), a man who, in your case, has had a terrific education in faith in general, with an excellent Scriptural add-on, but virtually no formal financial training of any note. The canons also require a finance council to offer the pastor advice (Canon 537). This has been wonderful for our parish, as we have a terrific council that offers me what I have found to be frank and helpful guidance. On our volunteer council, chosen for their training, intelligence, honesty and generosity, are the following: Joe Loll, retired public accountant – head of parish council Laura Meissner, engineer, executive director and business owner Gene West, (almost) retired lawyer Kathy Milner, managing director of enterprise risk management Kevin Hrabovsky, senior vice president and financial advisor Laurie Milleman, retired senior managing director and chief accounting officer Sean Duffy, head of residential whole loan investments What we have here is any parish’s dream team for a parish finance council. I have found their advice thoughtful, forward thinking, creative and fearlessly honest. They are dedicated to the wellbeing and mission of the parish. As committed parishioners, they get that encountering Jesus and being his disciples is what we have to fund. What a gift they have been for me and for the parish. Pam Kingsley oversees the day-to-day operations of the parish, handling the accounts, records, payments, etc. Her kindness is legendary; her carefulness and zeal for the wellbeing of the parish has allowed me great confidence in the accuracy of the monthly reports I receive. We have regained a parish business manager, after some covid years of absence, as we welcomed Manuel Leon, recently retired from his work as a regional vice president in the cable industry, to the parish staff. He has oversight of staff, the campus and parish finances. Pam and Manuel both work to see to it that the best practices of the financial world are followed at the parish to guarantee that the funds received are handled with care, under many eyes, banked with precision and spent carefully according to the budget and parish needs. I meet with the council roughly ten times a year to review the income and expenditures from the prior month or two. We examine trends, plan for future expenses, consider methods for raising funds and strategize how to communicate with the parish effectively. We also review and approve both the year’s budget and the prior year’s final financial report to the archdiocese. As a rule, when decisions need to be made, the council arrives at a common consensus. My experience is that they have offered me solidly good advice, and as a rule, I follow their counsel. All of this is to say that there are many eyes overseeing the offerings you make to the parish, ensuring that the parish spends funds wisely, according to the intent of the giver, and in the fulfillment of the mission of encountering Jesus and becoming his disciples. You may have questions. I’ll do my best to answer them, or direct them to those who might be better equipped to reply to you. In everything, know my gratitude for your financial participation in building up the Kingdom here in our parish. ¡Siempre adelante! Fr. Patrick Pastor 9/16/2023 Catechetical SundayDear Parish Family, This weekend once again we celebrate Catechetical Sunday. A day to celebrate and pray for the Church’s mission to teach the gospel to all people. Those individuals, catechists and teachers, moms, dads, grandparents and loving adults will be called forward, blessed and sent out, to minister the children, youth and adults of the parish community. The root of the word Catechesis comes from a Greek word meaning “to echo, or resound.” Catechism is the act of resounding or bringing the Church’s teachings to the world. A catechist is one who teaches in the name of the Church. This ministry of teaching in the name of the Church has a profound dignity, which is why catechists are formally commissioned by the Church. On this day we not only highlight the work of catechists in parishes and schools, but we also commend parents and guardians and encourage them to take seriously their role of making their Catholic households a place where faith is passed on to the next generation. Parents are truly the primary catechists of their children. This has become even more evident in the recent years with the pandemic, so many of you became the academic teachers. You are always the first and most important source of faith to the children in your life. This is why the rite of blessing of catechists used on Catechetical Sunday includes a blessing of parents and guardians. You too will be commissioned and blessed, in your vocation and mission. To all catechists in our lives, parents and grandparents, priests and deacons, religious sisters, church family, all who have been encounters of Jesus in our lives, we thank you! Siempre Adelante, Tere Delgado Faith Formation Minister 9/9/2023 “The Golden Rule”Hello again! We have all heard of the “golden rule” and we have all taken it to heart. As a father of young children, it has become something that I’ve tried to instill in their hearts. I know I’m not alone in this, because I not only see it in the way we conduct ourselves, but it’s something that is commonly expressed. I see it in movies, TV shows, books, etc. It is safe to say, that any good human being lives according to the “golden rule.” It’s nice to see that St. Paul also expresses this in our second reading today. He basically declares that if you follow certain portions of the Ten Commandments, you are loving neighbor as yourself. Sometimes it’s nice to see scripture back-up things that we already know. Sometimes it is good to see that holy people lived with the same common sense that we have. In our Gospel, we also hear a common saying, “Where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” When we hear this, we recognize that communal prayer and liturgy is quite powerful and also pleasing to God. With that said, we tend to forget about the context before this verse is expressed. To live under the “golden rule” can be a difficult choice. There are times where it is easy and rewards seem substantial. Earlier in this same Gospel, though, Jesus expresses the importance of helping our neighbor when they sin against you. His process seems difficult, but also filled with love. To love neighbor is to desire the best for them. Sometimes when someone is in a rut, God requires a community to care and to help them see. When one member of the Body of Christ is suffering, sometimes it is proper to have multiple members love them. Sometimes the “golden rule” involved a difficulty decision in helping others, even when they don’t want to be helped. We know that when multiple disciples are present in aid, our Lord is there with them. Let us pray for all those who are in a rut, and let’s remind them that we are there for them. Let’s not lose hope in those who have lost faith, but rather, let us pray together for them Let’s also remember that self- righteousness and gossip have no place in discipleship, but rather, gentleness, compassion and charity. Be the disciples who continue to make the “golden rule” common amongst the church. God Bless, Brett Becker Youth and Young Adult Minister |
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