News - October 2018 RSS Feed

Dear friends in Christ,
As we close out October this week we come to one of my favorite days of the year, Oct. 31, and, no it’s not because I am a fan of Halloween. In fact, it’s one of my least favorite holidays. I freely admit to being one of those “old grumps” who thinks no one over the age of 12 should ever wear a costume. It boggles my mind how big Halloween has become, but such is life. It just strikes me as being much ado about nothing.

Dear friends in Christ,
I extend my thanks to all of you who wished me a happy birthday last Sunday. I received a number of well wishes in person, in cards, and on social media and I thank everyone who reached out to me. And to those of you who heard my “Bob Dylan homily” last weekend (I presided at all but the 5 p.m. Mass on Sunday) and have been asking, yes, I did make it to his concert and enjoyed it very much. And, yes, he did perform “Gotta Serve Somebody,” the song I referenced in my homily. But in true “Bob fashion,” he completely changed all the verses! Fortunately, the chorus “It may be the devil or it may be Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody” stayed the same.

Dear friends in Christ,
There is a lot of alliteration going on in the Old Testament passage that we hear today in the First Reading at Mass. It comes from Solomon in the Book of Wisdom – listen to the first three lines: “I prayed ..., I pleaded ..., I preferred ...” That’s a lot of p’s! And what is it that Solomon prayed for, pleaded for, and preferred more than anything else? Nothing less than holy wisdom itself. When we seek wisdom first, and not the fame and fortune of the world, as Solomon could have certainly requested, we too will know the grace that he received. When we are gifted with wisdom we have all that we need. Let us pray today that the Lord will shower us with such wisdom in all the deliberations of our life.

Dear friends in Christ,
We’ve moved into the month of October, which is always my favorite month. The temperatures are starting to drop just a bit affording us a chance to give our air conditioners a break, and it’s a great time to be outdoors, perhaps for some backyard grilling or football under the “Friday Night Lights.” There is a great feeling in the air and hopefully a pep in our step. It’s also a wonderful month in the life of the Church. October is always designated as Respect Life Month, and this first Sunday of the month is Respect Life Sunday.