Fr. Moises Mesh, C.S.V. Associate Pastor February 24, 2019 |
Dear Friends,
Today’s gospel summarizes something new for the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. Their law decreed “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” In other words, they were expectedto strike back at those who harmed them in any way. It is in a gospel like that presented tous today that we see just how radical and revolutionary Jesus’ teaching must have sounded back then. Indeed, it is still quite revolutionary in today’s world, with our dog-eat-dog mentality. The process of salvation which he had come to establish would be based on forgiveness, and, therefore, to be part of, and to belong to that process must put each of us right Out there in the front line of tolerance, forgiveness, and love.
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Imagine yourself in front of a mirror, reflect on the failures and sin in your life. You take asmuch time as you need for this. You are going to ask God’s forgiveness, you are going totry to make amends wherever possible, and you want to move forward from here. Ask your- self one simple question: Can you absolve yourself before asking God to forgive you? Can you ask God to do something for you that you are unwilling to do for yourself? Guilt is not from God. Rather is it your own inability to forgive yourself. A leading psychiatrist said that he could discharge two-thirds of his patients immediately if he could get them to forgivethemselves. Jesus taught us one simple prayer, which we call the Our Father or the Lord’sPrayer. It is a simple prayer, and it is quite short. One of the petitions is where we ask God to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. We can rattle off this prayer, and fail to realize the bind in which it can place us.
In the Lord’s Prayer, we ask God to forgive us on one condition, which is that we will forgive others in our turn. There is a proven power in forgiveness and love. “Blessed are the meek” says Jesus, “they shall possess the earth.” We are impressed by the power of forgivenessshown by characters like Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, and others who somehow managed to turn the other cheek. The bully cannot deal with the power of the one whowon’t strike back, but often resorts to violence as the only way to silence their voice of protest. To err is human, to forgive is divine. We would aim to be big-hearted, tolerant and patient.. But the ideal Jesus sets for us is, “Be merciful, just as your heavenly Father is merci- ful.”
In the Lord’s Prayer, we ask God to forgive us on one condition, which is that we will forgive others in our turn. There is a proven power in forgiveness and love. “Blessed are the meek” says Jesus, “they shall possess the earth.” We are impressed by the power of forgivenessshown by characters like Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, and others who somehow managed to turn the other cheek. The bully cannot deal with the power of the one whowon’t strike back, but often resorts to violence as the only way to silence their voice of protest. To err is human, to forgive is divine. We would aim to be big-hearted, tolerant and patient.. But the ideal Jesus sets for us is, “Be merciful, just as your heavenly Father is merci- ful.”
Saint Viator Feats 10/21/2018
Last Sunday’s celebration was a great success! I hope that all of you who were here had a goodtime and enjoyed all the food, the music and the entertainment. I know that the children enjoyed the piñatas and the cotton candy; you could tell by their faces! Thanks to everyone who brought food or made donations for the event. Special thanks are due to all the members of the Pastoral Council who planned and worked to make it such a great occasion for our parish community to come together. The church was full for our liturgy and my thanks to all the visiting priests (and one bishop) who came to join us for the Feast of St. Viator. The bilingual liturgy was a wonderful way to recognize all the diversity among us and yet our unity in Christ which we experience through the Eucharist.
Thanks to the choirs, the cantors, the lectors, the Eucharistic ministers, the ushers and all who shared in that special Mass. We owe Fr. Moises a special word of gratitude because he is the one who worked behind the scenes to prepare the liturgy. A special guest on Sunday was Mr. John O’Malley who was one of the first children baptized in the new church and who faithfully participated and served this parish during most of those ninety years. He is a living witness to a great portion ofthe church’s history and came back to join us from his retirement.
Thanks to the choirs, the cantors, the lectors, the Eucharistic ministers, the ushers and all who shared in that special Mass. We owe Fr. Moises a special word of gratitude because he is the one who worked behind the scenes to prepare the liturgy. A special guest on Sunday was Mr. John O’Malley who was one of the first children baptized in the new church and who faithfully participated and served this parish during most of those ninety years. He is a living witness to a great portion ofthe church’s history and came back to join us from his retirement.
Adopt a Family Event 2018
Adopt a Family would like to extend 101 Thank You’s from our 101 Families who enjoyed an afternoon full of presents and treats! Thank You to our generous shoppers, bakers and elves who pitched in to make this a special day for local families in need of help. An extra thanks to our Youth Group, Teen Club, Girl Scouts and Parent Association! Merry Christmas!