“Sermon on the Plain”

My dear friends in Christ,

Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain” portrays Jesus’ concern for the poor and lowly who relied mostly on God’s mercy because they did not have many possessions. Jesus spoke to the real economic hardships of his day: poverty, hunger, suffering and persecution. Jesus’ disciples were “blessed” or “favored” because they found their fulfillment in God, and not in the things the world had to offer. It has been argued by the Scripture scholars that we should read Luke’s version of The Beatitudes in a literal sense rather than in a spiritual way. We don’t find ourselves in the position of people in Jesus’ day. We have money and put food on the table. We don’t weep constantly. We don’t get persecuted for our beliefs. The warnings contained in the second half of this Gospel passage found in the “woes” are directed to us. They call us to examine how we conduct our lives, and if we treat and care for others, then “our reward will be great in heaven.”

The Annual Catholic Appeal Kick-off meeting is this week. I will be attending a meeting where I will pick up all the materials and be given our parish goal for the Appeal. We have not reached our goal in my 2+ years as Pastor here. It would be nice to come close this year as we get back one-third of what we collect if we reach the goal amount. Please keep that in mind.

A remote column will appear next week as I am off to Spring Training this week.

May God bless you all!

Father John