20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear Parishioners,

     I have talked to several parishioners lately who have been attempting to reconcile with the church after being away from church practice for a time.  The people involved wanted to receive sacraments.  Many times, the people involved are not living in a situation that one would label “normal” although today one can wonder what normal is.  In this case, I speak of living according to Catholic practice.

     What I speak of is living according to the marriage laws of the church.  Some parishioners are living together without getting married, others, are married civilly and not sacramentally.  This happens for a variety of reasons.  For example, a person may have been involved in an abusive relationship for a time and then decided to end that relationship and enter another without the benefit of marriage.  There are all kinds of situations that lead to a household where a mother and father are not married sacramentally.

     Why should I want to enter the sacrament of marriage a person may ask?  One reason is that there is grace in a sacrament.  When we sanctify a union with another person Christians believe this can offer us supernatural help to live a virtuous married life.  If we are to live out a vocation we need all the help we can get, whether that vocation is marriage, priesthood, religious life or the single life.  Living chastely no matter what our lifestyle is leads to spiritual, physical and mental well-being. 

     We all travel different paths as we seek to mature in our relationships and understand our sexuality.  Unfortunately, life can be about trial and error.  Hopefully, we do not make too many risky decisions.  Our Lord understood this. That is why he chose to have sinners as his friends and did not reject anyone who came to him.  Pope Francis has talked about walking with people as they go through the difficulties of life.  The church is not to reject the sinner, but to accompany people as they seek to grow into a commitment to Christ.

     As a parish, we hope that we can walk with people.  Sometimes families feel like they cannot return to the church.  Maybe there needs to be not only marriage validations, but children need to receive Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation. Perhaps they have not been catechized.  Our parish staff is ready to be of assistance.  We can help people to receive sacraments who have not practiced their faith for a long while. 

     I mention all this because our religious education programs are getting started as fall approaches.  If anyone reading this needs to receive a sacrament be it marriage, baptism, Eucharist or any other sacrament do not hesitate to call our parish office and we will start the walk with you.

Blessings,

Fr. Mark