Generosity and Compassion

My Dear Friends in Christ,

God is calling us to go beyond tolerance or general good will to reach out to an alien or an outsider. He is asking us to care for the widow, the orphans and the vulnerable and needy whom we encounter with generosity and compassion. We are called to profound generosity in our readings today. Loving our neighbor as ourselves takes on specific forms in God’s commandments from the book of Exodus. Do not oppress an alien. Do not wrong a widow or orphan. Care for the vulnerable with generosity that does not seek personal benefit. Jesus commands us: Love your neighbor as yourself. If we are to love our neighbor properly, we must begin by seeking God and God’s help first. We must start at the source of all generous love. We must be filled from the eternal font if we are to pour out to others. With all our personal burdens, this is a radical call to fulfill such a command. We struggle with gaining resources, personal, practical, monetary or otherwise to answer this radical call. With God’s help all things are possible. This leads us into our final call for the 2023 Annual Catholic Appeal. To date we have reached 59% of our goal of $50,000.00 which is slightly ahead of last year for our parish. If you would like to make a pledge, cards are available. When we hit our goal, we receive 15% of funds received to goal. Gifts are being accepted until 12/31/2023. Your support means the world to us. Thank you for your consideration.

May God bless you all,

Father John