Christ’s challenge

My dear friends in Christ,

Today’s Gospel speaks of the clarity and depth of Christ’s challenge to us as visionary ministers of The Church. We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are called to proclaim freedom from the slavery of sin and selfishness - by the way we live and lead. We strive to worship and thank God by our support of those in need. We lift our prayers, thoughts, monetary offerings and sacrifices, and works of mercy. We saw evidence of that with your generous response for the victims of Hurricane Harvey. So we continue to reach out by putting the needs of others before our own. This is how we proclaim the Gospel! This is how we proclaim the kingdom.

As you entered the Church today, you may have noticed some aesthetic changes to the walls in the sanctuary. After much discernment, prayer, and listening to the “voice of the people,” the Holy Family has been put back in its place near the Baptismal Font. Now the Wednesday Devotions to Saint Joseph has a focal point. The same holds true for the portrait of the Divine Mercy. That was placed for those who pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy every morning after daily Mass. And finally, the Crucifix has been placed on the Altar. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal #308 states, “Likewise, either on the Altar or near it, there is to be a cross, with the figure of Christ crucified upon it, a cross clearly visible to the assembled people. It is desirable that such a cross should remain near the Altar even outside of Liturgical celebrations, so as to call to mind for the faithful the saving Passion of the Lord.”

May God bless you all!

Father John