“Welcome.”

This is the word that I think best summarizes today’s Gospel. It is also a word that I would like to challenge us as a community to attempt to embrace as we begin this new school year.

Since I have come back from vacation, many of you have said to me “welcome.” “Welcome back” is something that has been said to me many times. So it occurs to me that “welcome” does not mean to just pass through or remain for a short period of time. When I hear “welcome back,” I am hoping that it means for at least a few months or so!!!! When we welcome people to our homes or communities, we do not just let them in the front door, only to show them to the back door. The word “welcome” implies an invitation to stay for a while and join us. The invitation that Jesus gives us is to join Him at His table, share in the Eucharist and be members of His community, the Body of Christ. Once we have accepted His invitation, and become members of His community, the Body of Christ, we too are challenged and called to also be welcoming members of His Body the Church and to extend an enduring invitation to others. Continue reading →

The readings that we hear proclaimed this weekend present us with a reminder of something that is very true and yet very contrary to the way most of us think today. These readings remind us that we belong to God and do not belong to ourselves. This, I think, is exactly the opposite to the way most of us think. It is certainly the opposite of the way the world today would like us to think about ourselves. My own sense is that most of the anger and difficulties that people have towards God and the world are based on the fact that we refuse to recognize that we truly do belong to God and that He is in charge of the world and of our lives. We all like to live under the impression that we belong to ourselves, that we are in charge of everything, and that God is supposed to listen to what we tell him to do and follow our instructions. I remember very clearly one of the great spiritual lessons that Bishop Mikloshazy, one of my favorite instructors in the seminary, used to always say to us was at the heart of the spiritual life: “Remember that God is God and you are not.” This truth is also at the heart of the Stewardship Campaign that Cardinal Collins has asked the parishes of the Archdiocese to focus on in the coming years. For that reason, this weekend, I would like to focus upon four core values that are at the heart of Stewardship and that follow from this Sunday’s readings. I take these values from a book that has been shared with our parish’s Stewardship Committee by the Archdiocesan Office of Faith Formation. The book is called Making Stewardship a Way of Life, by Fr. Andrew Kemberling and Mila Glodava. They identify as the Core Values of Stewardship: 1) Identity; 2) Trust; 3) Gratitude; and 4) Love. All of the readings this Sunday calls us to embrace these values. Continue reading →