18th Sunday in Ordinary time -Year A
Dear Brothers and sisters in Christ,
In his song, “Lose Yourself,” the artist Eminem raps, “the mood all changed.” We all know that moment when the mood changes, when life turns from lighthearted to deadly serious. That happens in today’s Gospel. Jesus has just heard that John the Baptist, His cousin, forerunner, and friend, has been murdered. As Matthew tells us, “When Jesus heard of it, He withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by Himself.” Until now, He had been teaching in parables and healing quietly. But John’s death signals a new phase. The shadow of the Cross begins to fall. Evil shows its teeth. And how does Jesus respond? Not with rage or despair. He goes to a lonely place to go into deep communion with His Father. From that silence comes action. He feeds the multitude. Out of grief comes generosity. Out of sorrow, life. This is the rhythm of every disciple’s life. When tragedy or violence breaks our hearts, we face a choice. We can react, or we can retreat into prayer — like and with Christ. This is the hidden place where pain becomes compassion and compassion becomes self-gift.
Lord Jesus, when life intensifies, draw me into Your quiet strength. In that hidden place with You and the Father, turn my heartbreak into the bread of love for the world. Amen. — Father John Muir
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
I have been praying for something for almost my whole life and to date it has not happened. Most people would have gotten frustrated by now and given up. I, however, have not become frustrated and I will never give up. What keeps me going you may ask. It is the four principles I bring into prayer when I pray, and they are as follows:
1. Faith – I know God hears me and I know God answers prayers.
2. Patience – I know God is not a microwave oven – prayers are not always answered in seconds or minutes, it can be days, weeks, months, years and yes even decades before the prayer comes to fruition.
3. Acceptance – accepting whatever the answer to the prayer is, even if it is not exactly as I had prayed for it to be or even if the answer is no – after all, no is still an answer even if it is not the one we want to hear.
4. Trust – this is a follow up to acceptance; it is trusting that God knows better than we do and that whatever His answer to our prayers is what is for the best even if we cannot see it or understand it ourselves.
My brothers and sisters, if you take these four principles into prayer you will never become frustrated or discouraged. Keep on praying knowing God does hear you and will answer you.
I was cleaning through my computer and came across an article I wrote in 2017 and thought I would share it with you again:
God Bless you and have a wonderful week, Fr. Michael
Blessing for the Summer
Praise God!
Pour Your mercy upon this season, Lord! As the days fill with sun, fill our hearts with the fire of Your love. As we gather to share story and song, campfires and connection, be with us. Bless our work, our rest, and our play in Your goodness. Amen.
SCRIPTURAL REFLECTIONS ON STEWARDSHIP
“Jesus said to them, ‘There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves’.”
This is what Jesus said right before He fed the five thousand men. How often do we really place our trust in Jesus when the situation looks grim? With Jesus, no gift is too small or insignificant when offered with love. But, we have to do our part. We should trust that Jesus will provide all that we need. We need to believe that Jesus has a better plan in store for us.
PRAYER REQUESTS
That God will relieve their suffering and restore them to health. Please pray for: Kellie Salata, Kelly Chinchar, Jessica, Daniel Breslin, Stanley, Joseph Marrone, Anthony, Michael, Joseph, Jessica Esopo, Steve, Audra, Bernadette, James Weiss, Baby Ford, Rosemary Malangone, Elizabeth Malangone, Sue West, Colleen Emery, Richard, Joan Russo, Christina Martin, Mornia Evans, Valerie Valverde, Diana McGuckin, Cheryl Prinjinski, Stephen West, Bryan Westfall, Cathy Bruno, Anne Trainor.
PRACTICING CATHOLIC
RECOGNIZE GOD IN YOUR ORDINARY MOMENTS
Choosing Heaven
My children often ask me questions about Heaven. What does Heaven look like? Is there nighttime in Heaven? Do you get hungry in Heaven? Are there oceans in Heaven? Will we feel bored in Heaven? My answer is almost always the same: “I can’t tell you for sure.” I guess I didn’t realize how little we actually know about Heaven until I had kids who were obsessed with hearing the details. But accepting human ignorance is liberating in a way, because it allows me to see clearly — and cling wholeheartedly to — the three things I do know for sure: Heaven is where God is, and Hell is where He isn’t, and it’s completely my decision where I want to be. The choice, you see, is everything. We need to pay attention to how Jesus describes the kingdom of Heaven in His parables. It is, He tells us, a treasure — but a treasure buried in a field owned by someone else. It is a beautiful pearl — and a very expensive pearl. It is a bountiful yield — one which must be carefully, even painstakingly sifted through. It’s so easy to imagine the delight of the man who finds the treasure, who encounters the pearl, who hauls the bursting net aboard, just as it is easy to call ourselves followers of Christ, to hang a Rosary from our windshield and go to Mass. It’s less easy, and a great deal more uncomfortable, to contemplate what comes next: the sacrifice, the commitment, the perseverance through uncertainty. Heaven is an incredible stroke of luck — one that requires a good deal of follow-through. We can never earn it, but we must choose it. Again and again and again, we must choose it.
Holy Name Medical Center is looking for Eucharistic Ministers, volunteers, who are willing to help out in giving out Holy Communion to their patients. If you are interested, you can email them at pokafor@holyname.org or call their office at 201-833-3243 or stop by their Pastoral Care Office, behind the chapel, lobby/ground floor at Holy Name Medical Center.
Please consider sponsoring our Bread & Wine, Altar Flowers, and the oil for the Sanctuary Lamp.
Opportunities for Parish Support
There are several ways you can help support our parish and honor loved ones at the same time. As you may have noticed on the first Sunday of every month in our bulletin, we thank the donors of our Altar Gifts. You can donate the Bread & Wine, Altar Flowers, or the Sanctuary Lamp in a two-week block for $50 in someone’s memory. We have blocks open for this year. We also need to purchase a new Easter candle each year (the tall candle on the altar) for $300-$400 which can also be donated in someone’s memory. You do not have to fund the entire amount, anything you wish to donate towards the purchase of our Easter candle is appreciated. We also have masses available for your intentions. If you wish to honor someone in any of these ways, please call the rectory.
Prayer for our Nation
God our Father, giver of life, we entrust the United States of America to your loving care. You are the rock on which this nation was founded. You alone are the true source of our cherished rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Reclaim this land for your glory and dwell among your people. Send your Spirit to touch the hearts of our nation’s leaders. Open their minds to the great worth of human life and the responsibilities that accompany human freedom. Remind your people that true happiness is rooted in seeking and doing your will. Through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, patroness of our land, grant us the courage to reject the “culture of death.” Lead us into a new millennium of life. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Praying the ROSARY
The Rosary is a meditation, a time to recall and think about the life of Jesus as seen and experienced by Mary. As the model of faith, Mary’s life sets a pattern that we strive to follow: saying ‘yes’ to God’s will in our lives and sharing His love and message with others. The Mysteries of the Rosary form a mini lesson of faith, using the highlights and significant moments of the life of Jesus. Like paging through a family scrapbook, we see in brief the events of salvation history that are the core of our belief and the hope of our eternal life.
WE NEED BULLETIN ADVERTISERS!!
We would like to thank all the advertisers who have supported us throughout the past year. Our parish benefits greatly from the ads you see in the bulletin. The revenue pays for the printing which is an important means of communication for the parish. If we do not have enough advertisers, the cost of our bulletin goes up. We thank the local businesses that advertise with us especially in these tough economic times. We have some spaces on the back of our bulletin that need filling so if you would like to advertise your business as well as benefit your church, please contact John Patrick Publishing at 1-800-333-3166.
Please support our advertisers at the back cover of bulletin.
