News - September 2017 RSS Feed

Dear friends in Christ,
On this first day of October we mark the beginning of Respect Life Month. Each year the Church in the U.S. designates October as the time to focus on the dignity of all human life, and the first Sunday of the month is Respect Life Sunday.

Dear friends in Christ,
Our Gospel this weekend is one of my favorites, but it’s also one that always leaves me scratching my head. The story of the generous landowner who pays the “usual daily wage” to all those hired to work in his vineyard strikes a chord in me because it just doesn’t seem right. Some labor all day in the hot sun while others put in just a couple of hours of work, yet all are paid the same. How can that be? It doesn’t seem fair. That, of course, is the entire point of Jesus’ teaching – the generosity of God’s mercy goes beyond our own understanding. It’s freely given and as recipients of that mercy we should accept it as a pure gift, not counting the cost of who “deserved” more. None of us deserves anything, yet God blesses us in abundance. That too “doesn’t seem fair” but we don’t have a problem with accepting it, do we? In response to such generous love we can only hope that we say, “Thank you, Lord.”

Dear friends in Christ,
Today is Catechetical Sunday in the Church in the United States. It’s the day set aside to mark the beginning of the new Religious Education year for children, youth and adults. It’s also our first day of the new R.E. year at CtR as classes begin this week for our children and youth.

Dear friends in Christ,
In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and the devastating flood waters that followed, we look to our God for comfort and peace. We also look to Him for direction as we move forward. Our New Testament reading from Mass this Sunday gives us a perfect sense of that direction. It comes from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans: “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ... The commandments are summed up in this saying, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Dear friends in Christ,
Wow, what a week! I’m writing this bulletin column on the fly as we are all reeling from Hurricane Harvey and the aftermath of the flood waters in our area. Please forgive me if it is a bit more jumbled than usual.