Pastoral Messages from from Fr. Rick 9/4/22

911 Day of Service in Kanab:  September 10, 8 AM to 11 AMGo to JustServe.org and look for Kanab National Days of Service projects or consult the local Southern Utah News.  Many projects to choose from with many ways to serve.

REALLY SPECIAL Collection Next Weekend for the Retired Priests of the Diocese of Salt Lake City.  The BIG one.  Of course, our special collections are always big and go to some of the most vulnerable people in the world.  Next weekend is a time when we say a particularly big THANK YOU to all those retired priests who have committed their lives and ministries to the Diocese of Salt Lake.  There is no ‘Old Priests’ Home’ where the elderly and infirm retire to in Utah.  We usually find a rectory where there is extra room and where we can make some contribution even as we slip and slide to heaven.  Often priests can draw on family or others to help put together some type of livable arrangement, but the Priests’ Mutual Benefit Society (Utah Diocese retirement plan) provides a big cushion for an often-extended period of life.  (Your local resident priest has tumbled into a particularly amenable garden spot, at least while he is still ambulatory and somewhat lucid).  So please be your usual generous selves and bless the ‘ol Padrecitos with your donations next week.

Hospitality is Ministry:  Remember that we are a ‘Hospitality Parish’ with a major outreach to our many visitors. It would be great to have a couple more ‘teams of two’ participate in this ministry so that each team could serve once every four to six weeks.  Please sign up to help host our Sunday morning Coffee and Muffin gathering. Sign-up list and easy-to-follow instructions are in the gathering space.  It is really a great joy and privilege to meet our visitors who come from all over.  Any questions, ask Mary Poe or Fr. Rick

Your Local and Global Church at Work

Resettling the Ukrainian and Afghanistan Refugees:  See how you can help locally (Utah).   Catholic Community Services of Utah https://www.ccsutah.org/

World Hunger and Disaster Relief:  Catholic Relief Services can help us make a meaningful response throughout the world.

https://www.crs.org/get-involved/campaigns/hunger

From the Diocese of Salt Lake City Office of Life, Justice and Peace

SEASON OF CREATION

The Season of Creation is observed every year from September 1 through October 4. To mark the six-week season, Catholic entities around the globe offer prayers, programs and actions you can take at home or in your parish:

The Daughters of Charity Laudato Si’ Action Platform Committee has adapted and compiled six creation-themed evening prayers. Consider praying these prayers with your family or community once a week during the season. You can access the prayers here

The Catholic Climate Covenant provides a full program focused on  Ecological Spirituality, one of the seven goals of the Vatican’s Laudato Si’ Action Platform (LSAP). The 90-minute program contains prayers, readings, reflection/discussion questions, a short video, a Franciscan contemplation exercise and suggested activities. After filling in the request form you will receive an email with all of the links to the Facilitator Program Guide, an In-person Program Guide, an Online or Individual Program Guide, and a Blessing of the Animals Liturgy.

You can also take action with the Catholic Climate Covenant on federal legislation HERE.

The Laudato Si’ Action Platform is a unique collaboration between the Vatican, an international coalition of Catholic organizations, and “all men and women of good will.” (LS 3) Taking a truly ground-up approach, it is rooted in the strengths and realities of communities around the world, empowering all to take “decisive action, here and now” as we journey towards a better future together. (LS 161)

Action is urgently needed. Our Creator called the human family to be the steward of creation, but we have neglected that call. Our hotter, dirtier, deader planet is driving up the risk of suffering. The most vulnerable suffer above all.

At this kairos moment, we are responding to the call for healing in our relationships with God, our neighbors, and the Earth itself. Through the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, we are walking the “path to renewal” together (LS 202). Find resources for developing a Ladauto Si’ action plan for your family and parish HERE

Get involved in local climate change lobbying activities by joining one of the four Citizens Climate Lobby chapters in Utah.

Homily Reflection:  How is your cross most clearly your path to redemption and new life?  Which cross might you NOT recognize as your redemption?