September 20th, 2020 - 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Dear Friends in Christ:

Every now and then there is one line that really sticks with you! Do you know what I mean? I have found through my years that when I am at a talk, or listening to another priest give a homily, there is often one line that really stands out!

I remember one line that still sticks with me and comes up often in my prayer during these months of pandemic as I have been reflecting on the ministries of our parish. It was from a talk by Peter Burak, director of i.d.9:16, a young adult outreach of Renewal Ministries in Michigan, who by the way, is working with an amazing group of young adults from our parish to launch a Young Adult Ministry here in our parish. Anyway, I digress; the line he said during his talk at the Archdiocesan Synod last October was “what if this works?” His main point was what if the work of the Synod works? Let’s plan as if the things we are going to do are actually going to accomplish what we intended them to do. This is really something that provides a basis for much of what we are about in terms of reaching out to others, bringing the Gospel message to the wider community, calling others into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Well, the reason I bring this up is that this weekend in the Gospel, Jesus asks a question that is really one of those lines that can stick with you. Jesus has a powerful question for you and me: "Are you envious because I am generous?"