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September 16, 2022Organizational Meeting for Family Faith Formation
Sunday, September 18th | Church | 12:15pm
Seekers 601
Wednesday, September 21, 2022| Meeting Room | 6:01pm
Drinking with the Saints
Friday, September 23, 2022 | Evans Dock | 7pm
Each year, the Catholic Church in the United States designates the third Sunday in September as “Catechetical Sunday”— a day on which to celebrate and pray for the Church’s mission to teach the Gospel to all people. We are all called by our baptism to share in that mission. So, I am so excited that today we kick off our new Family Faith Formation program. It is a program that will help the entire family to live and share their Catholic faith in down to earth everyday way.
To share in the mission of the Church all of us need to be friends with God. In the great film Fiddler on the Roof, the title character, Tevye, constantly talks to God as a friend, covering topics that include his horse, his wife, his five daughters, the political climate, his lack of income, and, of course, his faith. And yet the idea of talking to God as a friend is either surprising or foreign to many Catholics—even though Jesus says to us, “I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father” (John 15:15). That’s what intimate friends do: they share intimate thoughts and ideas.
It is my hope and prayer that our Family Faith Formation Program will help our young families grow in their friendship with God. And I hope and pray that we will all take advantage of our many parish gatherings that are designed to help us grow in love with God and one another. One such gathering is Drinking with the Saints. Join us on Friday evening at 7pm.
– Fr. Jerry
September 18, 2022 | Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time | by the Faithful Disciple
Am 8:4-7 | 1 Tm 2:1-8 | Lk 16:1-13 or Lk 16:10-13
GROW AS A DISCIPLE | PRAY, STUDY, ENGAGE, SERVE
GROW: Our body language says a lot. Crossed arms can signal anger or defensiveness, while arms outstretched imply openness. It’s unlikely Timothy researched nonverbal cues, but his encouragement to pray while “lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument” is good advice. I think this posture can carry into other areas of our life, including our relationship with money and/or possessions. If we cling to these, we risk closing ourselves off to life’s true riches: our faith and our relationships, for example. As we learn in today’s Gospel, we cannot serve both God and mammon. In our culture, it’s easy to get caught up in accumulating more possessions or holding tight to what we have. Jesus challenges us to place our trust in God rather than the ups and downs of the stock market or our bank account. Let us, instead, approach Jesus in prayer, arms wide open.
GO EVANGELIZE | PRAYER, INVITATION, WITNESS, ACCOMPANIMENT
GO: I rarely miss a planned morning workout. I carefully lay out my clothes, go to bed early, and set my alarm. It helps to meet up with a friend for that added layer of accountability. These are all “small things,” but they indicate my investment in the activity and help me build trust in myself and within my friendships. I wonder if we can’t do the same when it comes to staying spiritually fit. For me, being “trustworthy in very small matters” is a bit like my workout routine. We don’t need grand gestures to keep our relationship with Jesus strong: setting aside time in the morning to focus on prayer; going to Mass even when we don’t feel like it; talking with a friend about ways to grow spiritually. In his letter, Timothy reminds his followers that prayer and devotion are “good and pleasing to God our savior.” Should we become discouraged, we can find comfort in knowing that God wills everyone to be saved. Through prayer and seemingly small changes in our routine, we can challenge ourselves and encourage each other to make our relationship with Jesus our first priority.
ACT: Think about your daily routine. What small change can you make to enhance your relationship with God? It may be as simple as saying a good-morning prayer or beginning a list of people and things for which you are grateful.
