First of all, thanks be to God for all who participated in and supported financially the goal of funding more Cancer Research at U.A.M.S. through the Village Cancer Walk. Thanks as well to our parishioner Carolyn Bowers for doing such a great job as co-chair of this event. For those able to come there was much entertainment and a hope-filled spirit in both cancer survivors and those whose loved one or ones have contracted cancer with sometimes a fatal outcome.
I was given a front row seat as the Spa City Senior Tappers performed and I was surprised when Carolyn Bowers gave me a recognition award for my efforts to promote the Walk with our parishioners and support in other ways. I was humbled by this presentation in front of all the attendees that day and later on I considered what good "publicity" that was for our wonderful parish and in general for Catholicism. During the activities of the day, one person shared with me her "long ago" roots in the Catholic Faith and said she was considering becoming an active and fully initiated Catholic in the future. Fortunately, she is good friends with one of our parishioners and hopefully that connection will lead our parishioners and hopefully that connection will lead our parishioner to bring her to our "inquiry" gathering this coming Thursday (October 7) at 6:00 p.m. or Thursday (October 14) at the same time.
After running into a man at Coronado Golf Course this past Monday who said he was "christened" Catholic, I'm convinced there are not only people out there who were catechized and received all of the Sacraments of Initiation and at some point left the Church, but also people who were "baptized" as babies in the Catholic faith out of their parents fear of "limbo" but were never raised as Catholics. These people and others are prime (or at least potential) candidates to discover the blessings of having the Lord, Jesus Christ and His Church in their day to day lives.
PLEASE be the evangelizers we are all called to be through our Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion and bring one (or more) people to one of our introductory sessions on the dates listed above. Just as there are serious consequences if we lead people away from Jesus and into sin (see Mk. 9:43), so there are MANY blessings for us and them when we lead people to the Lord.
I was given a front row seat as the Spa City Senior Tappers performed and I was surprised when Carolyn Bowers gave me a recognition award for my efforts to promote the Walk with our parishioners and support in other ways. I was humbled by this presentation in front of all the attendees that day and later on I considered what good "publicity" that was for our wonderful parish and in general for Catholicism. During the activities of the day, one person shared with me her "long ago" roots in the Catholic Faith and said she was considering becoming an active and fully initiated Catholic in the future. Fortunately, she is good friends with one of our parishioners and hopefully that connection will lead our parishioners and hopefully that connection will lead our parishioner to bring her to our "inquiry" gathering this coming Thursday (October 7) at 6:00 p.m. or Thursday (October 14) at the same time.
After running into a man at Coronado Golf Course this past Monday who said he was "christened" Catholic, I'm convinced there are not only people out there who were catechized and received all of the Sacraments of Initiation and at some point left the Church, but also people who were "baptized" as babies in the Catholic faith out of their parents fear of "limbo" but were never raised as Catholics. These people and others are prime (or at least potential) candidates to discover the blessings of having the Lord, Jesus Christ and His Church in their day to day lives.
PLEASE be the evangelizers we are all called to be through our Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion and bring one (or more) people to one of our introductory sessions on the dates listed above. Just as there are serious consequences if we lead people away from Jesus and into sin (see Mk. 9:43), so there are MANY blessings for us and them when we lead people to the Lord.
After this past weekend at least some of you now know that there are weekends where my homily changes at least somewhat from one Mass to the next. If there is any blame for me doing that, please recognize that it is the Holy Spirit encouraging me to add and/or take away something in the content of my homily. This past weekend the examples I used to encourage and applaud Catholics (and all Christians) who accept Jesus' call for us to be "SERVANTS" like he was, was somewaht different from the Saturday Mass to the two Sunday Masses.
On Saturday night I spoke about those who are serving the weak, the vulnerable and the dependent through participation in the Arkansas Catholic Charites Golf Tournament in memory of one of our previous bishops, Andrew J. McDonald who was a golfer himself. So far, we have volunteers from our parish who are taking on various tasks during the golf tournament, parishioners who are paying $85 to play in the tournament (with parish funds co-sponsoring them) and a commitment of $5,000 as part of the social justice and charitbable outreach budgeted for the year. I mentioned at the Saturday Mass that our parish participation in this primary fundraiser for Catholic Charities is such that it could rightly be called the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church Golf Tournament for Catholic Charities (though I won't suggest that to the diocese since Bishop McDonald was the bishop who ordained me and accomplished many things in his long episcopate, including appoint my uncle, Fr. Joseph Biltz as the head of the Justice and Peace Office at the diocese). One last thing I would ask of you, our parishioners is your consideration to make a donation (perhaps even a large one) to support this fundraising golf tournament with the assurance that ALL OF YOUR DONATION will assist a variety of weak and vulnerable people, from those who need dental care and can't afford it, to people throughout the state who come in emergency situations to get help with a utility bill, to a child in their mother's womb who will be born and have a future life with adoptive parents, to prisoners who are evangelized, catechized and helped in other ways through our diocesan prison ministry efforts.
We have an insert in this weekend's bulletin that you can use to send in your donation to Catholic Charities which will welcome and give thanks for whatever you give. This fundraiser was not held last year because of COVID concerns so our support is needed greatly this year. Thanks for your consideration AND a big THANK YOU to those who responded to the request of our American bishops to contact our U.S. representatives to voice strong opposition to the "Women's Health Protection Act" which, if passed (GOD FORBID) and be signed into law will federally mandate abortion on demand, taxpayer money being used for abortions, and overturn state laws that have been enacted to discourage and place strict limits on when abortions can legally take place.
On Saturday night I spoke about those who are serving the weak, the vulnerable and the dependent through participation in the Arkansas Catholic Charites Golf Tournament in memory of one of our previous bishops, Andrew J. McDonald who was a golfer himself. So far, we have volunteers from our parish who are taking on various tasks during the golf tournament, parishioners who are paying $85 to play in the tournament (with parish funds co-sponsoring them) and a commitment of $5,000 as part of the social justice and charitbable outreach budgeted for the year. I mentioned at the Saturday Mass that our parish participation in this primary fundraiser for Catholic Charities is such that it could rightly be called the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church Golf Tournament for Catholic Charities (though I won't suggest that to the diocese since Bishop McDonald was the bishop who ordained me and accomplished many things in his long episcopate, including appoint my uncle, Fr. Joseph Biltz as the head of the Justice and Peace Office at the diocese). One last thing I would ask of you, our parishioners is your consideration to make a donation (perhaps even a large one) to support this fundraising golf tournament with the assurance that ALL OF YOUR DONATION will assist a variety of weak and vulnerable people, from those who need dental care and can't afford it, to people throughout the state who come in emergency situations to get help with a utility bill, to a child in their mother's womb who will be born and have a future life with adoptive parents, to prisoners who are evangelized, catechized and helped in other ways through our diocesan prison ministry efforts.
We have an insert in this weekend's bulletin that you can use to send in your donation to Catholic Charities which will welcome and give thanks for whatever you give. This fundraiser was not held last year because of COVID concerns so our support is needed greatly this year. Thanks for your consideration AND a big THANK YOU to those who responded to the request of our American bishops to contact our U.S. representatives to voice strong opposition to the "Women's Health Protection Act" which, if passed (GOD FORBID) and be signed into law will federally mandate abortion on demand, taxpayer money being used for abortions, and overturn state laws that have been enacted to discourage and place strict limits on when abortions can legally take place.
Last Sunday I preached about the reality and challenges that face true disciples of Christ, especially that of carrying one's cross(es) that can come suddenly or develop and subsist for a period of time (and sometimes for the rest of our lives).
I quoted from an article by Fr. Jacques Phillpe in "The Word Among Us" (September issue) on the importance of prayer in times of crises in our personal lives and in our life as a member of groups, including of course as Catholics and as citizens of the United States. Certainly, the attacks of 9/11/01 was the impetus for many people to turn to God in prayer for comfort, hope, direction and peace during a terrible time in our country.
Fr. Jacques brought out the need for all people of faith "to put ourselves regularly under God's gaze, to welcome his gentle presence, to nourish ourselves with his love and word." This, of course, takes conscious effort on our part and a commitment to allow God into and actually let him take control of our lives. It is recognizing and acknowledging in ourselves (and sometimes to others) that the God of all grace blesses us each day and so wants us to be led by His love and peace in our thoughts and in the day-to-day actions of our lives. Fr. Jacques calls on us to strive to make our whole lives (and our daily lives) a conversation with God. He says that everything both good and bad that happens to us can be an opportunity to talk to God and grow closer to him. This can serve to bring us peace and even keep us in peace during times of turmoil. Though at times we may not be able to look at the bigger picture (as God always does) nor be able to look very far into the future (as God does) we can be assured that God will never leave us and instead draw even closer to us in our most difficult times (as he clearly did with Jesus)!
One additional encouragement from Fr. Jacques is that we take breaks to regularly spend time with God. This can be a few moments or minutes or even longer so that he can bring us strength and hope in the midst of a busy and sometimes stressful day. The results of doing this may or may not be obvious to us, but it will be obvious to others who encounter us. Acknowledging and calling on God's presence is a (if not THE) key factor in helping us to not be overwhelmed by anything that is out there whether it is something within our control or not. Whenever we "let go and let God" in our daily lives, then the result (for us anyway) will always be good!
I quoted from an article by Fr. Jacques Phillpe in "The Word Among Us" (September issue) on the importance of prayer in times of crises in our personal lives and in our life as a member of groups, including of course as Catholics and as citizens of the United States. Certainly, the attacks of 9/11/01 was the impetus for many people to turn to God in prayer for comfort, hope, direction and peace during a terrible time in our country.
Fr. Jacques brought out the need for all people of faith "to put ourselves regularly under God's gaze, to welcome his gentle presence, to nourish ourselves with his love and word." This, of course, takes conscious effort on our part and a commitment to allow God into and actually let him take control of our lives. It is recognizing and acknowledging in ourselves (and sometimes to others) that the God of all grace blesses us each day and so wants us to be led by His love and peace in our thoughts and in the day-to-day actions of our lives. Fr. Jacques calls on us to strive to make our whole lives (and our daily lives) a conversation with God. He says that everything both good and bad that happens to us can be an opportunity to talk to God and grow closer to him. This can serve to bring us peace and even keep us in peace during times of turmoil. Though at times we may not be able to look at the bigger picture (as God always does) nor be able to look very far into the future (as God does) we can be assured that God will never leave us and instead draw even closer to us in our most difficult times (as he clearly did with Jesus)!
One additional encouragement from Fr. Jacques is that we take breaks to regularly spend time with God. This can be a few moments or minutes or even longer so that he can bring us strength and hope in the midst of a busy and sometimes stressful day. The results of doing this may or may not be obvious to us, but it will be obvious to others who encounter us. Acknowledging and calling on God's presence is a (if not THE) key factor in helping us to not be overwhelmed by anything that is out there whether it is something within our control or not. Whenever we "let go and let God" in our daily lives, then the result (for us anyway) will always be good!