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From the Pastor...
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I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come?
My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:1-2)
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
You may have heard of “preppers”, of people who are expecting some kind of catastrophe, or trials and tribulations of various kinds. They are trying to prepare for these times by stockpiling food and water, guns and ammo, having shelters or bunkers available, or by moving completely “off grid”, or something like that. Those preppers came to my mind when I looked over the readings for this 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time: Trials and tribulations!
Now, it certainly is wise to prepare for emergencies, to have some food and water in the pantry to bridge over shortages. And as we all have learned last year at the onset of the COVID pandemic: do not forget about the toilet paper!!! But I daresay, those biblical trials and tribulations call for some more thorough and rather different kind of preparations. And one should be careful with those guns: make sure you don’t shoot down inadvertently one of God’s angels!
I think it is safe to say that when we look into history, there have always been good times and bad times, times of peace and times of war, of natural disasters and epidemics, followed by times of relative peace and prosperity. And, since we live in a fallen world, even in times of relative peace in one part of the world, there have always been those who could not really enjoy that peace and tranquility because of different forms of injustices, racism, and other discrimination, of wars in other parts of the world. There may also be a trend to see the trials and tribulations in one’s own time as the worst ever; and religious people may see them even as the end times… It helps maybe to take a step back to try to sea more of the big picture!
There is a line in the 2015 movie “Bridge of Spies” with Tom Hanks, among others, where an accused soviet spy on trial here in the United States is being asked by his American attorney if he wasn’t worried because of the looming death penalty. “Would it help?” is the rather emotionless response of the spy. Would it help to worry – too much?
We do not know what the future might bring, and when. As at the end of this Sunday’s Gospel reading from Mark 13:24-32, the Lord says: “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” What we do know is that as our life has a beginning on this earth, so it will have an end. It does not really help me to know that the Lord will come back in two months. It may sound a bit too gloomy, but really: Who knows if I will be around that long? So, what then should we do, how should we prepare?
And prepare for what? That is the question. First of all, when the Bible talks about trials and tribulations, like in the first reading from the book of Daniel 12:1-3, it also talks about hope, life, God’s help. As followers of Christ, we believe that the ultimate help from God is Jesus Christ, whose name Jesus/Jeshuah, means “the Lord God saves”: “And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky!” we hear in the Gospel.
This is a message of hope and rejoicing! We know then what we ought to do: “Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.” So in the verse before the Gospel this Sunday, from Luke 21:36. Prayer, and vigilance: doing our best to prepare for the coming of the Lord, whenever that may be, by living a life worthy of our calling, with joyful anticipation! Yes, we are sinners still, but sinners who can find forgiveness and healing through the sacrifice once and for all by Christ, our High Priest: “For by one offering he has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated.” (Second reading, Letter to the Hebrews 10:14)
So, let us walk together on this journey through life, following in the footsteps of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, learning from him, becoming more and more his disciples, inviting others to join in, making our life and our faith become more and more one, thus being vigilant and joyfully praying: “You are my inheritance, O Lord!” (Antiphon/Responsorial Psalm). This is how Christians prepare…May God richly bless you, your families and loved ones, upon the intercession of the Queen of Heaven, and of Saint Joseph, and may He give you His PEACE! Fr. Simeon
Total of “Roof Replacement & Repair Fund”: $57,194.16!
Thanks be to God, and thanks to your generosity, we have reached the first fundraising threshold! We will keep you posted about the further course of action in our efforts to replace the leaking roofs of two more school buildings, the parish hall, rectory, and to repair the concrete driveway north of the rectory...
This past week, we finally began with the replacement of the leaking and worn out parish office roof and AC ductwork. We did not want to risk any more leaks like last winter, that might eventually call for an even more expensive abatement of the asbestos containing popcorn ceiling. The parish received a $25,000 grant from the Catholic Foundation, which should cover most of the expenses. Thanks & God bless all the donors! -