From the Pastor&#039;s Desk: October 3, 2021

Today’s readings remind us that men and women are called to leave their parents, marry, and become one flesh. This image of a married couple as one flesh has captured the imagination and the spiritual convictions of believers from the dawn of creation. In the Old Testament and the New, when a man and a woman come together in marriage they become “one flesh”: each becomes a part of the other. Marriage was a complex issue back then, and it has not grown any easier in today’s society. Jesus teaches in today’s Gospel that marriage is something established between a man and a woman, but it is also a bond forged by God. As a bond forged by God, the married man and woman also receive spiritual help in remaining faithful to each other.

Just like in Jesus’ times so it is today, marriage is under a major threat due to the increase of “debate” whether divorce is allowed for either a serious reason or any reason whatsoever. In our challenging times, we need to pray for respect and protection of the gift of marriage and take with utmost commitment the words Jesus teaches us today that divorce was not part of God’s plan “from the beginning.”

This weekend we celebrate our Ministry Fair and Stewardship Renewal Weekend. Please take time after Mass to visit our Ministry Fair located in the Parish Hall. It is an opportunity to learn more about the many ways you can share your time and talents. During Mass, we will ask you to make a formal commitment of your treasure to our parish. We have prepared pledge cards that will be available in the pews. I am asking every family to complete the Stewardship Renewal Form of Treasure at Mass this weekend or to bring it with you to Mass next weekend. The financial support of our parishioners will dictate the kind of budget we will have next fiscal year and the kind of ministries and services we will be able to offer in the future. That’s why participation in the Ministry Fair and Stewardship Renewal today is so important!

Go, ask questions, become informed and determine how you will share your time, talent and treasure with your faith community. Everybody needs to make an honest effort to engage with the stewardship process in planned, intentional and proportional ways of your gifts. Everybody is blessed to share something. I challenge you to earnestly discern how God is calling you to use your gifts, to live your life God-centered rather than self-centered. Honor God first doing His work here at St. Luke Parish. You will be blessed in return, but you need to make a decision first. As your pastor, I thank you in advance because I trust that your love and care for the faith community that provides for your every spiritual need and beyond will receive your generous support of Time, Talent and Treasure.

The week of October 4-8, 2021 is the Diocesan Annual Priestly Retreat. We will be at Marywood with many other priests from the diocese united in prayer. There will be no Masses on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Please pray for all priests of our diocese that together we can continue to grow in our priestly service and stewardship of our parish and the entire Church.

Today, we are reminded that God has created and formed us for relationship and Stewardship offers a deeper understanding of our relationship with God, ourselves and others. It is a joyful response to the Gospel invitation to recognize our responsibility to live our lives as Christian caretakers of God's gifts. The call to Stewardship is a way of life that leads us to become Disciples of Christ. Embracing Stewardship leads to sharing what we have to make our family, parish, diocese, community, and the world a better place. It allows us to do something beautiful with our lives for God. “When you look at the inner working of electrical things, you often see small and big wires, new and old, cheap and expensive, all lined up. Until the current passes through them there will be no light. That wire is you and me. The current is God. We have the power to let the current pass through us, use us, produce the light of the world. Or we can refuse to be used and allow darkness to spread.” –St. Mother Teresa

Mary Mother of the Rosary, pray for us!
With prayers,
Fr. Andy