A Letter from Fr. Paul - July 1, 2018

Please note: the tri-parish Mass for July 4th will be held at St. Pius in the main church at 8 am.
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Transitional deacon Patric Nicholas, SDS, who was ordained deacon on June 19, will be ministering at St. Pius this coming year. He will be around some weekends this summer, but then leaves for our Salvatorian General Chapter in Germany for 6 weeks. He will be here consistently after the Grass Mass. Please welcome him.

The pastor of our sister parish, Fr. Diego, has informed me that he has been transferred to another parish. The new pastor, Fr. Fernando, has been the associate at the parish for a number of years. We accompany Frs. Diego and Fernando in prayer during this time of transition. We will celebrate the Mass of the Martyrs the weekend of July 28/29.

A special thank you to the following: the Community Life Committee, for hosting such a wonderful retirement reception for Barb Abler; the Garden Angels, who have our grounds looking so beautiful; parishioners who volunteer their time to clean the church, the vestibule, and other parts of our worship space weekly; and Barb Abler for her 18 years of service to our community. God bless!

In our second reading, Paul begins by complimenting the Corinthians on what they are doing well. He then offers the poverty of Jesus, who became human for us, as an example to motivate the Corinthians to be more generous. Because Jesus was willing to share Himself with us (becoming poor for our sakes), he gave us the chance to live. He models for us that to give is to live.  Often we humans prefer to amass wealth to ensure an enjoyable life in the future. We prefer to limit our time and generosity towards others so that we can get on with our real living in our own world. We prefer not to notice the pain of others, so that our living will not be disturbed

Paul is challenging the Corinthians, and us, to examine what it really means “to live.” Presenting the example of Jesus, he reminds us that we are truly living when we give, especially when we give of ourselves. To give is to live!

Often we do well with those we care about: we sacrifice a lot for family and friends. This call is to go beyond that to those that are the most needy. To use a trite expression: that is where the rubber hits the road.

I invite us to reflect this week on the ways we are giving of ourselves, bringing life to ourselves and those around us. How can we do better? How can we give more freely and generously so that we and others may live, especially the most needy? This challenge applies not only to us as individuals, but also to our country. Let us pray for our country in a special way this week, as we celebrate the 4th of July, that we may become more civil, generous, and compassionate, especially to those most in need. And let us support each other in prayer.

This week I am out East visiting family. On Sunday, July 1, I will be together with my brothers and their wives for the first time in many years. I’m pleased that we have this opportunity. I will be back in the office Saturday, July 7. Reminder: beginning with September 16, the Sunday after the Grass Mass, the second Mass on Sundays will be celebrated at 10:30, instead of 10:15.

-- Paul James Portland, SDS