Reflection for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2023

Listen, Obey, Witness

And you taught your people, by these deeds, that those who are just must be kind; and you gave your children good ground for hope that you would permit repentance for their sins.

Thank you for joining today as we continue our Ordinary Time journey focused on listening to, obeying, and witnessing to Jesus.

We are in God’s field, once again with Jesus, as He teaches through another farming parable – this time the farmer and the enemy.

The farmer and his workers sow good, top-quality seed. They go to sleep, tired after a long day of work. The enemy comes and sows in weeds in an attempt at destroying the crop.

Last week we spoke about preparing ourselves to be the good soil, ready to receive Jesus. There are things we need to fix in our personal garden of life. There are thorns to be removed and rocks and sones to be taken away. Preparing ourselves takes focus, dedication, humility, and hard work. We are required to place Jesus above all in our daily work on ourselves.

If we do this, we are prepared to truly receive God’s good seed and become His Kingdom children. Jesus tells us: “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil.”

Jesus is reiterating the fact that in the world there are those willing to be good ground for His Gospel. The willing, those who have given their lives to Christ, receive Him readily and with joy. Guess what, that’s everyone here and those viewing from afar. We are people who want to live the Kingdom life, to be changed inwardly and outwardly.

He also tells us that there are those unwilling. They are those that will pursue anything and everything, or even those in the body of Christ who will not soften their hearts. The children of the evil one prefer to hate others, to fill their lives with whatever will block out the Holy Spirit’s constant knocking at their door.

But, Wisdom advises us of God’s leniency, clemency, and most particularly patience in permitting repentance. If we are falling short in the Kingdom life, let us repent and get back to work.

There are two key phrases in all this I would ask we all reflect on.

…those who are just must be kind and While everyone was asleep his enemy came

God requires us to be kind – to reflect Him most particularly in our leniency, clemency, and patience. That is what Kingdom people are – a reflection of Jesus, the likeness and light of God in the world.

Similarly, we must be careful in not falling asleep. Of course, this does not mean physical sleep, but rather spiritual sleep and drowsiness. The state where we just let it all go and roll off the side of the Kingdom train. We are called to be the living and kind crop that produces good fruit in the kingdom.

March 2021 Newsletter – Salvation is Nearer

Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now

In this, our centennial year, we are taking opportunities to look back with thankfulness and ahead with determination. It seems that along with the blessings of this year we have experienced the blessing of an ever more active parish. Things are going full steam ahead and are only going to increase. Just consider our Lenten journey. It is not only Holy Mass on Sundays, but also Stations on Fridays, Bitter Lamentations every other Wednesday, as well as ongoing Together in Faith and Love Zoom meetings every Thursday, time spent at the parish working on our centennial plans, and undertaking projects that need doing. We have an exceptionally rich heritage of prayer, music, and service before the Lord and we have been blessed more than abundantly. We share that abundance both in the parish building and virtually on Facebook and YouTube. The scripture quote above comes from Romans 13:11. It falls under the scriptural category of heritage. This passage reminds us that heritage is not a stagnant looking back, but rather a light guiding our preparation for the future, looking forward, constantly growing. In this Season of Lent and this centennial year let us resolve to press ever onward, eyes forward, to the salvation promises made to us on Easter: Freedom from every evil; Full possession of all that is good and glorious; Growth and increase in the graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit; Being brought nearer to the saints; and Greater enjoyment of God’s marvelous love than we had when we first believed.

March and we are living out our Lenten journey. Lent in our 100th year as a parish allows us to use our past and heritage as a light guiding our preparation for the future. Abundant blessings are being received as we move forward.

This month we focus on Blessed Francis Hodur and making Christ’s principles and teachings more effective and evident in our discipleship journey. We hold our annual budget meeting, a tradition and obligation instituted by those who organized our parish – honoring each person’s voice and vote in the governance of the parish and the management of its funds. Our Valentine’s Raffle winners are announced. In our centennial article we focus on special items we have inherited. We will celebrate our next centennial event on the Solemnity of St. Joseph (March 19th) at 7pm. Information is provided on our national virtual Lenten retreat (March 23rd). And… you can donate to purchase a Blessed Polish Easter Basket.

Check out all this and more here in our March 2021 Newsletter.

Reflection for the 3rd Sunday of Advent 2019

In
advance.

“Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

Two weeks ago, we reflected on God’s wake-up calls delivered through the prophets. Delivered to us too so we might be found awake and ready.

Last week, we focused on God’s proclamation of a truth, through His angels, that most would consider hard to believe. For God does things in vastly different ways. We come to realize, by faith, that God’s proclamation is God’s reality that He provided in advance so that we might have a chance to live up to His vastly different way. 

Today we consider the rejoicing in store for us, right this very moment, and to come upon Jesus’ return.

Each of these themes, wake-up calls, proclamation, and rejoicing are things given to humanity in advance of Jesus’ coming. We are reminded of them now because Advent is that time in advance of His returning. He is returning in power and might to take up those who are awake, to fulfill all His proclamation, and to gather us in rejoicing.

Isaiah tells us that the very earth, all of nature will exult, rejoice, and bloom. In his time of anticipated rejoicing, Isaiah reminded Israel to strengthen itself, to build itself up, to cast out all fear. Nothing should be upon us that would hold us down. So today, let nothing stop us from rejoicing. Let us prepare ourselves to enter singing, crowned with joy, and meeting together with gladness.

St. James clues us in: Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates. Do we think anyone will win who is just standing by asleep, unhappy, thinking it will never happen for them? Is just going through the motions enough? No! It is for those who are making it real, living up anticipating, and glad right here, right now, in this place, in this City, in this family.

Listen carefully again to Jesus’ very word: â€œAmen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” He has given us the best reason for rejoicing in advance of His return. He has told us, in advance, we are greater than John the Baptist. We are powerhouses of faith, strong to withstand because in advance we are awake, living up, and rejoicing.