From the Pastor's Pen - Oct. 28
Sons of Thunder - Sunday we heard how badly it worked out for apostles James and John to make a power move, to ask to be brought directly to Jesus’ right and left side in the Kingdom, without doing the hard and humble work of Jesus, and of a true disciple. They were chided, told that they had a path of service and humility to walk: to be “the servant of all.” This is an important message for Catholics today. Ways of power and bombast are getting into our parish way of life, and they don’t fit. The world will never know Jesus if Christians act with disrespect and power over others like what Jesus calls “all the rest” do. Please treat one another, our parish staff, and neighbors as Jesus would, and did. Saturday we had an important conference on End of Life Issues, sponsored by the Roman Catholic Foundation. It dealt with Medical ethics on hospital treatment, Power of Attorney, charitable gift planning, and sick calls and funeral plans, the last done by me. The church’s funeral rites are still designed mostly for a body to be brought to church for a funeral Mass. We re-iterated that Pope Francis has set the absolute rule that cremated remains are to be laid to rest in a cemetery area. Various practices disrespectful to the body of the person have arisen. Cremated remains are to have the same dignity as the whole body. If you need help to properly inter the remains of a loved one, please call. My entire talk is available at this link and on our parish app. And on our care for the sick, please help Sr. Emily and the priests by calling when a loved one needs a visit or the Sacrament of the Sick. We always have a lot of people ailing, and some are in various stages of treatment where they want or do not want a visit. On a Sunday, we are glad to know who needs prayers, but our mind is firstly on the liturgy, and with the many stories that we hear, we don’t know upon return to the rectory who needs and wants a visit. We’re glad to help when we know: call the parish office. Time for some Fun. The rectory is open Halloween evening about 6 to 7:30. Be sure to have a joke or trick if you expect a treat.
