26^th Sunday in Ordinary Time C22

I mentioned last week that as Luke gets closer to the climax of his Gospel, his and Jesus’ emphasis only gets stronger on the reverence for life and care for the poor.

Jesus tells another parable about the rich and the poor. This is the only instance in which Jesus uses a name in telling a parable, calling the poor and afflicted man “Lazarus”, a name translated as “God will help”. By doing so, Jesus gave the poor man an identity and a unique, personal dignity while the rich man remained anonymous. 

Thanks to all the people who helped set up, cook, serve and clean up for the parish picnic on Sunday, September 11. Also, thank you to all who provided a great variety of side dishes and desserts, with special appreciation and thanks to Jim and Cathy Castellani for their expertise.
Appreciation and thanks to Grace Neumuth and Abigail Pace, who planned and organized the activities for our younger parishioners.

Chris Warchut,
Social Activities Committee 

Special thanks to all who took the time to clean out your closets and drawers and donated clothing during our recent collection. Often, we make a donation and do not realize the impact of our actions, and so we wanted to pass along the following: The day the first round of donations was dropped off at House of Bread, a family, who was recently homeless and had spent the night sleeping in their car with six children, happened to be at The House of Bread soup kitchen. The staff was working with area service providers to provide the basics for the family, including secure housing.

We invite the entire parish to pray for our families as they begin a new year and a new program of catechesis. We pray that God will bless this new year and allow our families to grow as a community in faith.
As we begin a new year of catechesis, we offer the following Family Examen, which is a daily reflective prayer for families based upon St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Examen. It invites us to take the time to review our day in order to discover the presence of God.

Our Parish Council has begun its new season, which runs from September through May and meets every other month for five total meetings per season. We have two open positions for parish council members, and we are interested in hearing from interested parishioners. Our parish bylaws define the parish council as follows:

25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time C22

We are creatures of this world, what we call the Earth or the 3^rd rock from the Sun. We are dependent on it for our very existence. We are made of its “stuff”. We need its air, water, and its crops for food. We need its resources to make our clothes and to provide us with shelter. We are stirred by its sights and sounds, by its phenomenal bounty, by its vast oceans and majestic mountains and plains teeming with wildlife and tame animals our enjoyment. And, there’s the rub. It provides us with all we need, but what is questionable is our use of all it supplies us. How much do I need to live a decent life? How much is enough?

The prophet Amos comes down hard on the greed of businessmen, plotting all the while at a religious event how to make more profits while the poor are taken advantage of or ignored. And as Luke gets closer to the climax of his Gospel, his emphasis only gets stronger on the reverence for life and care for the poor.