Search
From the Pastor's Desk: July 11, 2021
-
Today’s readings remind us that we, like the apostles and prophets, have been chosen and sent into the world to share the Gospel. The mission Jesus gave His apostles in today's Gospel - to reach out to others with Christ's good news of salvation is our mission today. Therefore, every one of us is sent out to bear witness to Christ, to spread the Kingdom, to bring His wisdom and His healing touch to those who are in need, spiritually and physically, and to be agents of evangelization.
The missionary instructions that Christ gives to His first followers, “Take nothing for the journey
but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts …wear sandals but not a second tunic,” applies in analogous ways to us, His followers, today. We can translate them in two words: trust and perseverance.
In today’s First Reading, the prophet Amos was chosen to be a prophet and leave his possessions behind. He may have been mistaken for a beggar, but he had everything he needed to accomplish his mission. Being a prophet doesn’t involve being well equipped or focused on making a living, but rather as St. Paul tells us in the Second Reading, we were not chosen to become rich in the material sense of the term, but “to be holy and without blemish before God the Father.” Holiness, or to be the best version of ourselves, is the ultimate happiness, even if it seems tough at times, and a great peace comes from having our sins forgiven, making us blameless before Our Heavenly Father. So, in choosing us, God has also revealed His plan of salvation and our role in it. When we accept His calling, we receive all what is takes to fulfill our mission of evangelization. On our part we need to trust and persevere.
Today, as we continue to be apostles of our times, we, too, need to trust that every need along the way of our journey will be met by God's providence, not by their own self-sufficiency. That “the walking stick and the sandals” for us are the symbols of determination to move forward, to persevere in our efforts to fulfill God's Will. We must not give up as the society often times will offer us rejection and ridicule, cold shoulder of welcoming, we must not be deterred but to persevere. The world needs us and the loving message of Jesus Christ!
After a very long time of planning and preparation, we will begin the construction of the entry sign to our campus on Blanding Blvd. This is a part of our St. Luke Parish Community Growth Fund Project that we started back in February of 2012. Every Third Sunday of the month, we continue to pray for the success of this initiative. I also realize that many of you may not be fully aware of what the Growth Fund is all about. We are making plans to refresh the purpose of the Growth fund in September, and meanwhile, I invite you to visit our website to see the details and watch the video.
As we continue our summer break, let’s not forget about our mission to proclaim the love of Jesus to others. Let’s take a moment during this week to reflect on being apostles of our times on what things we need, what things we don’t, and how we can best share them with others, and in doing so do something beautiful for God with our lives. “Once we take our eyes away from ourselves, from our interest, from our own rights, privileges, ambitions – then they will become clear to see Jesus around us.” -Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Have a blessed week everybody!
With prayers, Fr. Andy
