From the corner office for Oct. 23, 2022

From the corner office is Father Mike's weekly bulletin column.

The Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time invites us to “keep it simple…” This weekend we hear of the poor, justice vs. injustice, prayer, and much more as we contemplate these readings. The sudden cold weather should not only call us into remembering those next few months of “white stuff” ahead of us, but (hopefully) call us to think of those who will really be cold and without the blessings we have as resources.

The First Reading from the Book of Sirach is from a section which speaks of the true worship of God that goes beyond the sacrificial worship by following the commandments to avoid injustice. Even St. Paul reminds Timothy and the others to stay firm in his teaching of the faith, as God will give them strength (and all of us, too)! Jesus uses the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector to show how our prayer can be simple, as we humble ourselves before God. Remember the phrase, “I’m sorry” as one of the hardest phrases to speak in a relationship? Now imagine the humility to say, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.” Simple, yet justified… Why make it more than it needs to be? Keep it simple, and humble ~ …be merciful to me a sinner, O God…

Fr. Mike

From the Pastor’s Desk:

The financial report for the 2021-2022 year being presented and Friar Johnpaul celebrating all of the Masses last weekend was not on purpose to avoid any questions concerning the numbers. Rather, I felt that it was important to get the annual report into your hands once it was available to all of us and (honestly) I just needed a break. The past few weeks have been busy and this current week is not any different. The various inspections and reports on the church dome roof are all being discussed with the Diocese Facilities Services Department, as this will be our next major challenge. Once I have more definitive information, I will be sure to share this with you, as we know that the organ work is closely linked to the roof situation.

Shifting gears, though… I do want to thank all of the cooks and judges who helped out with the Chili Cook-Off last weekend. The hard work of the volunteers successfully brought together a great evening of food, fellowship, and baseball to Utopia Hall. The fun was shared by all! It was really nice to see the improvements made possible with the funds from last year’s #WeGiveCatholic campaign shared with the “clean-up” of the hall and the work on the bathrooms. People noticed the nice difference a year made for that area of the campus. Thank you to everyone who helped with last year’s campaign and donations through-out the year.