Today we hear one of the most beloved stories in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son. Reconciliation is a prominent theme. Seeing the younger son returning to him, the son who left the family and squandered his inheritance, the compassionate father runs to embrace him. Jesus offers us a vision of a loving God who is merciful and forgiving when we, through our own sinfulness, leave his presence, and then through repentance, return to him. The remainder of the Lenten season offers us an opportunity to reflect on God’s compassion and our need for reconciliation. If you have not done so already, consider celebrating the sacrament of reconciliation and experience God’s loving embrace and forgiveness.
Monthly Archives: March 2022
Amazon Smile – An Easy Way to Support St. Mary’s!
Do you shop on Amazon? We sure do! Did you know you can support St. Mary’s Parish with every purchase you make? Amazon donates a portion of every sale, at no cost to you, to any non-profit organization that you designate. CLICK HERE to set St. Mary, Star of the Sea Parish as your preferred charity/non-profit. Then, the next time you shop, start at http://smile.amazon.com and know that (at no cost to you) .5% of your purchase is going to support St. Mary’s Parish! What could be easier?
Synod Deadline to participate
I am so thankful to our Church’s Spanish-Speaking community who came yesterday and responded positively to our in-person “Synod”. As I observed, we had a good number of people who came. I am most grateful to our Synod Coordinators: Matthew and Marlyn Delo, Emilia Mota, and Wendy Baez. And of course, to all our Facilitators and our Note-takers who shared their time, talents, and treasures… Kudos!
The next group to do the Synod is for our St. Mary Star of the Sea School. For those of you who plan to join the Synod and prefer to answer the three questions through email, kindly send it to our Parish Website: info@stmarystars.org. The deadline for sharing your answers from the questions will be until April 1, 2022.
The three main questions are as follows:
1.) What makes you SAD with the Church?
2.) What makes you HAPPY with the Church?
3.) What is your HOPE for the Church? Thank you for your honest response.
Readings for March 19/20, 2022
In today’s Gospel Jesus offers his parable about last chances. The fig tree will have one last chance to bear fruit before it is cut down and destroyed. Good stewards realize that, like the fig tree, they are endowed with God-given gifts that are meant to “bear fruit” for God and neighbor. God has legitimate expectations of them. They also realize they do not know how much time they have left before the gardener returns for an accounting of their fruitfulness. How are we using our God-given gifts? How might we use our gifts to bear more fruit? The answer requires some urgency.
Listing Our God-given Gifts Inspires an “Attitude of Gratitude”
By Rev. Joseph D. Creedon, pastor emeritus, Christ the King Parish, Providence, Rhode Island. This excerpt is sixth in a series based on his current book.
Stewardship requires an “attitude of gratitude.” Many times we are inclined to take too much credit for our successes in life and too little blame for our failures. The best antidote I have discovered for the hubris of our sense of self-importance is to set aside time to compile a list of the gifts we have received from God.
The Gift of Life: Life is a gift from God. None of us did anything to deserve being born. Spend a few moments being thankful for still being alive. My younger brother, Mike, died at the age of 56. He was a delightful human being, a loving husband, father, teacher, coach and friend. He died too young. His family and my brothers and I could focus on what was taken from us or focus on the gift of having him in our lives for whatever part of his 56 years we shared. Life is a gift and we need to live each day thanking God for it.
The Gift of Family: Just as we did nothing to deserve being born, we did nothing to deserve the parents and siblings we were given. Sometimes it takes time to fully appreciate the gift of family. There were times when I would have traded in my parents for another set that would have met my perceived needs of the moment. Fortunately, I have lived long enough to realize that they were the best parents for me. My older brother has expressed it this way, “Our father demanded perfection and our mother convinced us that we could live up to his expectation.” Once we embrace family as gift, it is amazing how the things that could drive us apart lose their power.
The Gift of Education: I have never met anyone who did not have a story about a teacher who changed her or his life. I have my list of such teachers; I’m sure you have yours. Education has changed our worldview and our self-understanding. We have learned from coaches, scout leaders, neighbors, relatives and friends. All learning is a gift from God. We need to be more thankful for the gift of our education.
The Gift of Vocation: Nothing in life is as important as discovering what God wants us to do with our lives. I truly believe that God wanted me to be a priest. Many people seem to get lost in their search to discover who and what God wants them to be but the happiest and most fulfilled people I know are those who are doing what they love and love what they are doing. The Gift of Friends: Let us say together, “We do not deserve the friends we have!”
The gift of friendship is so precious. Our friends love us not in spite of our faults but because of them. Friends encourage us to grow and take risks. Friends teach us that time is a gift when they chose to share time with us. Most important of all, our friends see our gifts and talents before we do and they lovingly encourage us to recognize and develop our hidden gifts.
The above list of gifts is not meant to be exhaustive; it is offered as an outline. I hope you will use it to create your own list of gifts. Unless we make ourselves aware of the many gifts God has sown in our lives we will never develop the “attitude of gratitude” that is essential for the spirituality of stewardship to take root in our lives.
Readings for March 12/13, 2022
In today’s second reading we learn that one of Saint Paul’s principles of Christian living is to watch and imitate other followers of Christ. There is a pattern for Christian living that Saint Paul wants others to discover and then imitate. This pattern includes a life of prayer, selflessness, sacrifice, and caring for others, including our family of faith. Good stewards choose their friends wisely. They cultivate friendships with other Christian stewards, spend time with them, observe how they live, ask questions about their faith and learn from them. Who are your friends? Are they good stewards of their faith? Are they those who can help you on your own journey of faith?