Twenty Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time - September 10, 2022
Twenty Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Lk. 15:1-32)
“Sharing with the Community”
Rejoice with me because I have found my lost Sheep. Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin. Now we must celebrate and rejoice because your brother was dead, but now he is alive. We have a lot of rejoicing going on in the readings today. Joy is more palpable if it is shared.
Once there was a priest who was the pastor of a large parish. The priest loved golf. One beautiful Sunday morning. He dreaded the thought of spending all morning in church. So, he called his associate on his extension. He told the younger priest that he was sick with the flu. He couldn’t preside at Mass. The younger priest who was full of enthusiasm said he would lead the worship at the morning Masses.
The pastor got in his car. He drove 50 miles north to a beautiful golf course. No one else was around. He teed off on the first hole by himself. Jesus and St. Peter were watching all this in heaven. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord you are not going to let him get away with this are you?” Jesus said, “Watch.” The priest hit the drive of his life. It traveled 450 yards, landed on the green and rolled in the hole. Peter said to Jesus, “That is a strange way to punish him. Jesus said to Peter. Who saw his hole in one and who is he going to be able to tell?” When we can share our good fortune with others how our joy multiplies.
We see that in the parables we read today. The shepherd finds his lost sheep. He doesn’t go on about his business, but he finds some friends and tells them about finding his lost lamb. The woman, who lost the coin, sweeps the dirt floor of her house until a shiny coin is revealed. The prodigal father gains back a son he thought he would never find again. He can’t help but throw a party.
Christian living is a hard undertaking. We see people who fail at being true to Christ all the time. We can despair thinking that no one can succeed. But there are those who do. Many people do good and generous things. When we see that happen, we can share the stories. But how often do we tell others about how someone we know has been motivated to do something admirable because they sought to imitate Jesus? Such stories are important. Really, they are the good news we need to share. When we can encourage our brothers and sisters in the faith it is a powerful thing. We need to build up community. If a community works together, it can do great things. Our tendency is to rejoice in our personal accomplishments, but we don’t share the good news enough.
During the last few years, we have come together as a parish community to pool our resources. Great things have been accomplished. I don’t have to review, for instance, how many capital projects we have engaged in. We are approaching a highlight of our parish life. The gathering area next to our church is taking shape before our eyes. A long-desired dream is coming true. When complete, there will be a place we can gather before and after Mass. The gathering area will be a place to rejoice together and share good news.
Today, I come to you once again asking that we pull together as a community for another purpose. This is Annual Diocesan Appeal weekend where we collect funds to support the ministries of the Diocese of Peoria. You have received correspondence in the mail from the diocese and from our parish. We have a goal of $124,000 that has been assigned to our parish by the diocese. Two years ago, we made our goal. In my nine years here at Sacred Heart, that is the only time we have achieved our target amount. We didn’t have to pull funds from our accounts to pay off a debt because we didn’t make goal. Perhaps we should have had a party, but it was in the middle of COVID. Last year we fell $19,000 short of goal.
Can we pull together as a community one more time and achieve our ADA goal? If we make goal, maybe we can have a party this year. We can rejoice as a community. Please consider what you might do. Donations, this year, will be sent directly to the diocese. Please send back the envelope you received in the mail. We have some envelopes in the pew if you lost yours. Just take one with you and send it in with your donation. This is very important to our parish community. Make sure you clearly indicate that you are from Sacred Heart.
Reflection Questions:
l. What is some good news I would like to share with others today? Am I going to do this?
ll. Do I believe being a part of a community is important? What communities do I belong to and how do I support them?
Dear Parishioners,
Sister Kathleen Mullen has been a part of our parish staff since the 1990’s as Parish Associate. If you have not heard, Sister will be leaving us and moving into retirement in early January. As sisters like to say, they never completely retire, but they just repurpose their lives. We don’t retire from a vocation. Sister is part of the Blessed Virgin Mary community from Dubuque so she will be moving to the mother house to live. Sister Kathleen is in good health, but the time has come to enjoy life more and to move into a new phase of life.
I will miss her wise counsel and her prayerful presence. She was always someone I could confide in about various challenges that the parish was facing. I could be sure that she would not violate a confidence.
There are several areas of ministry that Sister has led through the years. We are presently discussing who on our staff might fulfill these roles. One of the most prominent roles she had was as leader of our Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Sandra Carlsten has agreed to step into that position. She will receive a stipend for this ministry. She will be working with Sister Kathleen until Sister leaves so that this year’s RCIA class gets off to a good start. Our adult seekers will be well taken care of.
Dubuque is not that far away so I would hope that Sister can come back to visit often. Sister has made numerous friends here, so it is a hard choice for her to leave. We will have a reception for sister in January to celebrate her numerous accomplishments after the holidays are over. Please pray for her as she goes through this time of transition.
May Our Lady of Peace pray for us this week.
Fr. Mark
Pastor