Pastoral Messages from Fr. Rick 10/16/22
World Mission Sunday next week. The annual collection for the Propagation of the Faith will occur next weekend. Please see the enclosed envelope. These funds help train seminarians, catechists, and instruct children in the faith in some of the more impoverished, but dynamic Catholic communities throughout the world. It also helps support the efforts of Catholic religious sisters, homes for orphaned children and the elderly, as well as the operation of clinics.
Family Fun Night and free dinner in Kanab. Monday, October 17th from 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM at the Kanab Events Center. “Family dinner is the best ingredient for preventing underage drinking.” Sponsored by Honey’s Marketplace and the Kane Community Coalition for the Prevention of Substance Abuse and Suicide. Pass the word.
Senior Activity Center – Please see the flyers in the gathering space to discover the many activities offered to seniors in our area.
St. Christopher’s Library: Come on in and browse during our social hour after the Sunday Mass. Books are organized by category, plainly marked on the shelves. If your knowledge of an aspect of our faith is weak, we have books for just about every Catholic topic.
“Do not let a day go by without some spiritual reading.”- St. John Bosco
Intermountain Catholic Newspaper – Recall that October is also the month for renewing your subscription to our Catholic Diocesan newspaper. The annual cost is $25. The parish is charged $800 annually regardless of how many people actually pay in. If 32 people paid, we would cover our assessment.
Hospitality: Remember that we are a ‘Hospitality Parish’ with a major outreach to our many visitors. Please sign up to help host our Sunday morning Coffee and Muffin gathering. Sign up list is in the gathering space.
Please Pray for the Repose of the Soul of Fr. Lourduraj Gally-Gregory who passed away this past Friday. Fr. Gally was a native of India and has served in the Diocese of Salt Lake City for about 15 years.
Homily Reflection.: The Church has a global mission AND many enemies…….
In the first reading today from the Book of Exodus we read that, “As long as Moses kept his hands raised up, Israel had the better of the fight, but when he let his hands rest, Amalek had the better of the fight.” The Amalekites were the first nation to attack Israel as they had just escaped from Egypt. Their liberation obviously did not mean an end to the threats from outside…or inside.
In the second reading today from his second Letter to Timothy, St. Paul declares, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus: …proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.”
The gospel reminds us that if we call out to the Lord, day and night (consistently) God will grant us a just resolution to all our needs. God even promises to respond SPEEDILY to our cries for justice.
The Catholic understanding of prayer is that God is always calling us into a relationship with Him and each other. God initiates every prayer; He has planted the need for love and relationship within all of us. We could say we are wired for God. The gospel promises a just resolution to our needs and prayers. Biblical justice calls us into a state of right relationship with God, with each other and by extension, the rest of creation. There is a plan and we are all part of it. When we actually pray with an openness to this right relationship and right order, we are aligning ourselves with God’s plan for all of us. When more and more people make genuine prayers of openness to God’s order, of course our prayers are ‘answered’ swiftly. The hard part is that we are all afflicted with concupiscence (a tendency toward sin); toward pride, greed, anger, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth. This creates fear, confusion and usually violence of all kinds. Sin is the enemy, within and without. Prayer for real justice is the answer.
Our monthly collections to support the many different missions of the Catholic Church throughout the world and our Diocesan newspaper keep us abreast of our story. If we don’t tell our story, our many enemies will gladly portray us in whatever way serves them best. Please stay informed and share the Good News..
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“Lean on your Beloved because the soul who abandons themselves in the hands of Jesus in all they do, is carried in His arms.” St. Clare of Assisi