August 8, 2010 – From the Desk of the Pastor

Dear Parishioners of OLM & OLS,

It’s August folks! I hate to tell you, Fall is just over the horizon. It’s time for us to begin to look to the activities that September will bring.

In particular, I wish to point out that we are actively planning our Sacramental Catechesis for the coming parish year. I am referring to the preparation modules for First Holy Communion, First Reconciliation and Confirmation.

The instructional process for these sacrament is inclusive. By inclusive, I mean that this process of formation for the sacraments is not a strictly academic experience. True, the candidates for these sacraments must have an adequate intellectual grasp of religious knowledge. This is provided through the Religious Education curricula offered in the OLM School of Religion on Sunday morning [for children in public and charter schools] at OLM, at Bible School following Sunday Mass as OLS, and at Our Lady of Mercy Academy.

This academic preparation is the first and most basic step. If you plan to assist your child in the preparation process for First Communion, First Reconciliation or Confirmation your first step is to make sure your child [ren] are enrolled in a religious formation process: Bible School at OLS; School of Religion or Our Lady of Mercy Academy at OLM. There is a requirement that a child must have at least a year of prior academic formation before the child can be considered for candidacy for First Communion, First Reconciliation or Confirmation. For example, a child normally prepares for First Communion is Grade 2. That presupposes the child’s successful participation in Grade 1 Religious Formation.

Since faith formation does not occur in a vacuum but in the midst of believing people, our faith formation process for First Eucharist, First Reconciliation and Confirmation recognizes the two primary communities of faith: the Family Community and the Parish Community. Parents and guardians of candidates for First Eucharist, First Reconciliation, and Confirmation will journey with their children in the formation process. This year, we will extend this formation process to the entire parish assembly through homiletic reflections offered at appropriate time.

I genuinely hope we, as parish communities, can embrace these opportunities for each of us to grow and mature in our individual relationship with God, with our individual families, and with our individual Parish. These processes are not “hoops to be jumped through” so that your child can receive the “carrot prize” of a sacrament. Rather, embracing these opportunities for a deepening of your faith, you and your child as well as all parish members will grow in our knowledge and love of God and the Church.

My love and prayers,

Father Jack

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading: Wisdom 18:6-9
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22
Second Reading: Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 [1-2, 8-12]
Gospel: Luke 12:32-48 [35-40]

Faith

Faith is rooted in the heart. It moves on a strong current of trust. In the inelegant words of Yogi Berra, “Someday it wouldn’t hurt to remember stuff like this.” Well, this is the day we’re called to remember.

Comment

The book of Wisdom collects and sets out the long memory of Israel. We read today about the first Passover. We are invited to imagine a people who are not yet free, who sit in darkness and the shadow of death. This enslaved people found courage in their memory of God’s promise to their ancestors. They believed but did not dare dream that God’s promise would finally be realized in them. But the sea was a source of their escape. They did pass over from no life to life as God’s own.

The second reading from Hebrews picks up where Wisdom leaves off. The description of faith applies to the enslaved children of Israel on the eve of their deliverance: “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) The author of Hebrews offers a distinguished list of people who fit this definition. The faith journey of Abraham and Sarah was also a physical journey from one geographical place to another. They were confident, though they had their moments of discouragement. So, too, Isaac and Jacob. The fullness of God’s promise was not given to them. Their business was to wait on God’s promise, and they did that. They did it by acting, not just by waiting or passively standing by.

Reflection

The people to whom this Gospel story was initially addressed consciously looked to the second coming of Christ. As might be expected, some preferred to do nothing but wait. We must stay awake and alert, Jesus counsels. We are enjoined to be generous with our goods and responsible with what is entrusted to us. First, it helps to keep in mind that what is entrusted to us is not ours. Not really. The earth is the Lord’s, we are reminded. We are here for a while. When the Lord returns, we should be awake and ready.

And when Peter asks if this is true for everyone or just for the disciples, Jesus’ parable paints a much larger, clearer picture. He speaks of a master who goes away for a long, long time. He entrusts the estate to the servants, expecting them to carry out their responsibilities until such time as he returns.

Those who carry on will receive the reward of their labors. This is what the servants believe, for they trust the master. So it was for Abraham and Sarah, for Isaac and Jacob, for the children of the Passover, for the apostles, and for us. We are in the good company of believers. This company is ancient and new, keepers of the covenant whose descendants we are. God keeps promises and honors covenants, and we are the other party in this covenant, the ones to whom much has been given. Much then is expected. While we wait for the full ripening of the reign of God, our faith requires action. The faith that looks forward to God’s reign lasts just exactly as long as an individual’s life lasts. What we must then do is pass on that faith to others and they must do likewise, until God’s reign is finally realized in all the world.