This weekend we welcome Fr. Andy Garner to our parish. Fr. Andy is a priest in the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky and is here to speak about our support of the mission work in the poor and underserved areas of our own country.
Each year, every parish in the Diocese is asked to take a special mission collection. This is meant to help remind us that the Catholic Church is much larger than just us here at St. Mary’s. We are part of the universal Catholic Church, which means that we have a responsibility to help others beyond our parish boundaries. Fr. Andy will speak to us about the opportunities we have to make a difference in communities in our own country that depend upon the generosity of parishes like ours to survive. It is important to remember however, that our support of the missions doesn’t mean we are not supported in return. The prayer of those we support helps St. Mary’s as well. The true fruit of the mission appeal is cooperation in building the Kingdom of God. Please give generously.
This weekend we again hear from John chapter 6. In the coming weeks we will hear how Jesus challenges our faith. Jesus makes three specific points, the first of which can be found in our Gospel today:
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” (Jn. 6:35)
Jesus is challenging those who are following him. First, they need to come to him. How often do we seek answers from everyone but Jesus? Do we bear our soul, our joys, sorrows, struggles, etc., with everyone but Jesus? We’re reminded that we need to come to Jesus in life. Secondly, we need to believe in Jesus! That means we have to surrender our lives to Jesus, believing that he can save us, redeem us, love us! This means we have to grow in our relationship with Christ, by coming to him with our lives and all that is going on in them. We also need to believe that Jesus can make a difference. By coming and believing Jesus assures us that we will never hunger or thirst. He is saying that our true needs will be met by him. When we approach the altar to receive Jesus in the Eucharist, these are true acts of coming and believing. It is important that our reverence and respect for the Eucharist is visible to support our acts of faith.
Keep smiling, 😊
Fr. Bryan