Pastor's Letter

PRODUCING SOMETHING MEANINGFUL
 
The readings today have a common theme. They talk about the importance of realizing that, as a theology professor in the seminary would say, “God is God and we’re not.”  But, God isn’t lording his power over us or limiting our freedom. Instead, all God asks is that we use our freedom for the greater good. We’re meant to participate, contribute, and bring out the best of who we are because it will benefit others. Not only that, at the same time, it enriches our own lives.
 
The problem we run into is that, because there is freedom, it can also lead to sinful choices. We all experience it.  Even though we’re urged to love, we experience hate and the horrible things that human beings do to each other. (We definitely see it in the news.) We work for justice, but at the same time it can seem like we’re getting nowhere. Kindness is met with rudeness. Civility doesn’t seem to matter to a lot of people. Instead of organizations working in the best interest of others, we experience organizations who protect their own interests.
 
This summer, though, we heard Jesus’ parable about the weeds and the wheat. They grow together in the same field. But it doesn’t mean the farmer doesn’t like it or notice it. The farmer pulls the weeds at the proper time, not necessarily when the caretakers want to pull them.  In the meantime, the wheat needs to keep growing amid the weeds, because its fruit (the wheat) is meant to be shared. We’re the wheat growing among the weeds. God truly believes in us and what’s possible.
 
In fact, if you have some time today and are looking for some encouragement, take a second look at the reading from Paul’s letter to the Philippians. I go to it often when I feel discouraged because it reflects the basic truth that the good we do, how we treat the people around us, does make a difference.  Paul is writing to his friends and is grateful for them in his life. In being with them as part of a faith community, they brought out the best in each other. 
 
Paul knows, not in a prideful way, that his presence had a positive effect.  So, he tells his friends to hold onto whatever qualities they’ve learned from him, received from him and saw in him, and to keep doing them; whether it was something true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, or excellent. (See Philippians 4:6-9).
 
It helps us think of the people in our own lives who have showed us what God is hoping we’ll see: that when we care for others, care for their wellbeing and realize we’re meant to bring out the best in others, not the worse—when we live the faith we share—we can have a positive effect on those around us and who they become.  In other words, we pay goodness forward.  And that’s how the kingdom of God can break into a world that seems dark, mean, and hopeless. As Catholics, we know there is a better way and we bring it out by who it is we’re becoming.
 
Years later when we look back at 2020, we’ll talk about a lot of things. But chances are, we’ll talk about the people around us who pulled us through.  We’ll talk about how important our faith was and that we had a place to go to find some solace, peace and comfort when it may have been hard to find. We’ll remember those who radiated light in the midst of darkness.
 
You are in my heart and my prayer. Let’s keep praying for one another. 
 
           –Fr. Mike
 
Pastoral Note: Fr. Mike will be going on his annual retreat from October 12-16.