Dear Parishioners,
During the middle of the Civil War, in 1862, one of the Northern leaders asked president Abraham Lincoln for prayer that God would be on their side. Lincoln responded, “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side.” How often do we try to make God be on our side, with our own agendas and desires? Instead, our efforts should be in service of trying to be on God’s side, following the Gospel in our own lives.
We’ve all heard and likely used the phrase, “What would Jesus do?” WWJD ask us to apply Jesus’s teaching to our everyday life. When faced with difficult situation how do we respond? Do we respond with our own agenda or do we try to respond to the way God is calling us to? How would Jesus respond to the homeless, the immigrant or other people who may be different because of their faith, race, sexual orientation, or gender? Jesus’ response would be one of compassion and healing. As we get closer to the election I would like to repeat a quote that echoes this sentiment of thinking:
“On these often complex matters, it is the laity’s responsibility to form their consciences and grow in the virtue of prudence to approach the many and varied issues of the day with the mind of Christ. Conscience is “a judgment of reason” by which one determines whether an action is right or wrong (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1778). It does not allow us to justify doing whatever we want, nor is it a mere “feeling.” Conscience—properly formed according to God’s revelation and the teaching of the Church—is a means by which one listens to God and discerns how to act in accordance with the truth. The truth is something we receive, not something we make. We can only judge using the conscience we have, but our judgments do not make things true.“
St Francis of Assisi would pray “Most high, glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart and give me, Lord, a correct faith, a certain hope, a perfect charity, insight and wisdom, so that I may carry out Your holy and true command.”
November, with the feast of All Souls, is a time to remember all of our loved ones. This year, remembrance cards will be available for parishioners, where you may write down the names of your loved ones and we will remember all of the people during the ordinary time Masses throughout the month. Once filled, we simply ask that you place the card in the basket in the back of the church. At weekend Masses, we will bring the basket of cards up with the collection. During the week, we will have the cards on the altar at each Mass. We will also have cards available at the Gift Store. There is no need to e-mail or call the parish office to add your names. We ask that you do it when you come to Mass. We will have the Remembrance Cards available the last week of October. This new, month-long remembrance will take the place of this year’s Candle Lighting Service.
Peace and All Good,
– Fr. Mike
Portions of this text were approved by the body of U.S. bishops in November, 2023, as noted at www.faithfulcitizenship.org. © 2023, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington DC. All rights reserved.
