God's Presence

My dear Friends in Christ,

Today’s Gospel reading gets us to become aware of how God is present in our lives. He uses a tree to convey his message. The tree was a big image for Jesus. He often spoke truths of His message while pointing at trees. When asked about the signs of things to come, He did not give a long homily or break into a lengthy dissertation. He simply looked at a fig tree and said you know from this when summer and winter is coming. In the same way we can sense His presence in our lives in different ways. This Sunday is the second to the last Sunday of our Liturgical Year. The invitation to consider Jesus’ predictions and teachings about the end of the world can be troubling. Yet, when the end of the world comes, we know that Jesus is coming back! All the good people will go to live with God and will be completely happy forever!

Today we conclude National Vocations Awareness Week. Those who may be considering a vocation to the Priesthood but are unsure may reflect on the following questions: Is the Lord challenging you to grow in holiness and to follow Him more closely? Are you trying to discover God’s plan for your life? Do you seek to hear the Lord call and to serve Him in the Church? Have you thought about the Priesthood but don’t know what to do next? Please fill out a vocation awareness card (on tables in the front of Church) and place it in the collection basket or give it to Father John (me) or Deacons Mike or Luders and we will forward it on to the vocations team. May God send us an abundance of vocations!

May God bless you all,

Father John