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From the Pastor's Desk: November 8, 2020
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In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses the parable of the ten virgins in the context of a wedding to capture our attention to help us to embrace our relationship with Him. Of the ten virgins who were waiting for the bridegroom to arrive, five were wise and five foolish. But as we can understand the story, the point of the parable is not really about weddings but rather of being ready.
The ten virgins represent all of us – those who stay focused, ready, and prepared, and those whose attitude represents that the “religion thing” can wait. After all, I believe in God and am basically a good person. I really thought about praying this morning, I even made a great effort to go to Mass on Sunday, but somehow life, busy life – you know kids, sports, spouse, work……got in the way. Not to deal with the situation face on, we often quickly remind ourselves that God loves me and we tend to settle on: “I will catch it next week. I will pray later. God sure understands and when I come up short, He will cover my tab. I am too busy right now.”
As we are reminded today, foolishness is a matter of priorities. The foolish person invests their efforts like stewardship in things that really don’t pay very well. Wisdom on the other hand is a matter of putting first things first. Prudence, which is the practical side of wisdom, is about making a plan to pursue and attain the things that matter most (Wisdom 6:12-16), the things that really last, that help us to be ready and to become the best version of ourselves, using the message from last Sunday to be holy.
And yet how often we are like those bridesmaids - somewhat foolish, lacking wisdom and prudence for no rational reason. Our lamps seem empty; the fire of Christ does not burn within us. What are you going to do? What provides fuel for the light of your life? What matters most? What does not matter? Today, the Lord offers us just another opportunity as He extends an invitation to each one of us to the wedding banquet. Jesus wants us there. But we have to be ready and to await Him with eager longing, with great expectation and anticipation. He wants the lamps of our hearts burning for Him, full of the oil of love. May the encounter with Christ this weekend help get the fire in our hearts going, to push foolishness aside and embrace vigilance, wisdom and prudence at its best.
This weekend, we enjoy the fun of our St. Luke Annual Festival. Thanks to the Festival’s Core Team, many supportive parishioners, people of good will and businesses, we are very excited to present, especially during these difficult times of the pandemic, a safe and tremendous time of joy and community-building event. I pray that God will bless us with good weather, a safe weekend, and a wonderful time for all who will come to join and support us. The festival changes some of the dynamics of our regular Sunday routine. Please be aware of some parking limitations and other possible inconveniences that we need to embrace. I ask for your patience and cooperation as we try to offer alternatives, including mobile transportation - to and from alternative parking locations - to help and ensure the success of this wonderful event. See you on the grounds of the Festival!
A week ago, we entered into the month of November, which is “traditionally in the Catholic Church dedicated to praying in a special way for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. The Holy Souls (also called the Faithful Departed) are members of the Church who await the purification of their souls before joining the saints in heaven for all eternity. Specifically, they are referred to as the Church Suffering (the saints in heaven are the Church Triumphant, and the faithful on earth are the Church Militant). The poor souls in purgatory cannot pray for themselves or do anything to hasten their entrance into heaven, but we can and ought to pray for them as an act of charity. The feast of the Holy Souls is November 2nd.” (The Catholic Company)
Wishing you a blessed, safe, healthy and joy-filled week!
With prayers,
Fr. Andy
