24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Parishioners,
Next weekend Fr. Matthew will be making an appeal for the Society of African Missions. This is the religious community that he belongs to. It is a custom to make an appeal for the missions once a year in a parish. I think that this appeal is much more effective if a parish personally knows a missionary. We have all had an opportunity to get to know Fr. Matthew the last two months. He has been very good about going out to meet parishioners. He has visited almost every shut-in and nursing home resident in our parish. I appreciate his efforts. We also know he will be staying with us over the course of this next year. That is a great blessing. He is very social and if you wish to visit with him to learn more about West Africa he has many stories to tell.
The church is bigger than Sacred Heart. Jesus asked his disciples to go out to proclaim the gospel to all the world (Mark 16:15). We can do that in our local area with our words and actions, but we can also partner in mission with others who can carry the Gospel message far beyond Moline. One way to do that is to support the missions with our charity.
I have been familiar with the work of the Society of African Missions for many years and I have lived with 4 of their priests now in the parishes I have served in. I would say all four were wonderful Apostles. The society travels to the most isolated areas of Africa to begin parishes. They build schools, drill wells so that people can have drinking water, they build chapels where Masses are celebrated, they start medical clinics and build seminaries to educate the next generation of missionaries. They have many young men in formation.
Fr. Matthew will give you more details next week. We will have a collection at Mass, but we also will be handing out envelopes you can take home. Please pray over what you might give. This is a very worthy cause. You can bring back your envelope over the course of the next few weeks. Thank you in advance for your generosity.
Blessings,
Fr. Mark
P.S. I would like to thank our Social Committee for planning the September fest. We had a wonderful turnout on a gorgeous day. It is nice to see so many parishioners who are desiring to build community. This is a blessing for our parish.