From the Pastor's Desk: September 2, 2018

     Today, after five weeks of reading and reflecting on the Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of John, we return to our regular Gospel readings for this year from the Gospel of Mark. The readings for this Sunday invite us to an extended meditation on the role of law in our lives.
 
     In recent years, most cities installed red lights and speed cameras on roads and intersections. This latest traffic invention has some people who are not too thrilled about them. As a “side-result” they generate more traffic tickets than the entire police department could issue. Regardless of their lack of popularity, they prove themselves extremely useful – they make people keep the law and they serve as a safety net from accidents and other traffic situations. True, many despise them because they cost money to those who disobey the law and yet many appreciate them because they save injuries and lives. Ultimately, the cameras and traffic lights are not intended to make money, but to bring good order, respect, and obedience of the law and avoid accidents.
 
     Today, our attention is on the Law of God. As we listen to the message from the Book of God’s Law (Deuteronomy), the commandments that were given to the people of Israel by Moses were commandments of God- they had divine authority behind them. His teachings were not optional additions or items on a menu that His listeners could choose between based on personal preference or mood. They were the divine truth, and they called for a total commitment, a total faith. Since the purpose of the Law is to enable us to grow closer to God and to show our intelligence and wisdom, how do we respond to it?
 
     In Jesus’ time, the Pharisees had derived over six hundred rules and regulations from the Law, all derived from the Law spelled out in the Old Testament books (Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, etc.). However, they had lost sight of the fundamentals: love for God and neighbor, not just ritual cleanliness. The “world” today believes that if something feels good, you should do it, but the world is also witnessing how much destructive behavior comes from following that principle. We are wounded by original sin and our own sins; not everything as a result feels good that is good–addicts destroy themselves by trying to feel good.  Lots of behavior turns into compulsive behavior that we can’t control: this is a stained heart that Our Lord wants to make clean again through love and mercy.
 
     The Lord created everything good and for good, but His creatures freely chose to do evil instead: the fallen angels, starting with the Devil, and humanity, starting with Adam and Eve. If the world is a mess, it is because we, sinners, made it so. This sobering reality is not meant to discourage us; instead, it makes us realize that not only do we need Savior, but have one: Our Lord – the giver of the perfect law. How will you respond?
 
     On Monday, September 3 ^rd, we will celebrate Labor Day. A holiday established in New York in 1882, as a day to honor work and workers and presents us with an invitation to examine how we view our own labor in the light of the meaning of human work, precisely because it is done by human persons who are created in the image and likeness of God.  Our work is a vehicle through which we are sanctified. How many of us approach work with the attitude that, on the one hand, we are acting in the image and likeness of God by working, and on the other, fulfilling the command He gave to men at His creation to exercise dominion and subdue the earth? We are called to perceive work in this manner, we are called to be transformed and made holy by working.
 
     On the celebration of Labor Day, I want to take a moment to express my profound gratitude to our parishioners who, through their labor, help our parish community.  In particular, our maintenance department and everyone who, through their labor of love, make our parish such a beautiful community of worship and fellowship!
 
     The month of September is traditionally dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows with the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows celebrated in the middle of the month on September 15 ^th. Through prayers and intercessions, we can unite ourselves to Mary in her sorrow, in the hope that we will one day also share her joy in the triumph of her Son.

     Mary, Sorrowful Mother of Jesus – pray for us! 
 
    With prayers,
    Fr. Andy