A Letter from Fr. Paul - February 17, 2019

Monday, February 18, is the last day to complete the survey about our community. This information will help us set goals for the future. If you have not yet done so, please fill it out on our website or use the paper copy that came in our newsletter. There are also extra copies in the back of church. 

​Pastoral Council members will now be wearing name tags at Mass. Please feel free to ask them questions or share any ideas with them.

A fake e-mail has been sent in my name (I do not have a yahoo account). Don’t ever share personal info online and please let me know if you get any suspicious e-mails. This has been happening with the names of pastors and other staff members at other churches (probably getting the information from webpages). If you are not sure, ask before opening.

I will be in Racine with our Salvatorian candidate this coming weekend. Fr. Peter will celebrate Saturday night, Fr. Tigatiga (a Salvatorian confrere from Tanzania) will celebrate on Sunday, and Deacon Patric will preach. Please keep us in prayer.

Our readings this week have a very clear message: the values of the Kingdom of God are NOT the values of this world, and the values of the Kingdom of God bring true happiness and peace. The reading from Jeremiah compares those who trust in flesh to a dry, barren land without water, while those who trust in God are like a plant located near water that is always green and bears fruit. In his letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul calls those “pitiful” who trust only in this life. And Luke’s version of the Beatitudes in the Gospel reading contrasts those who are “blessed” with those who receive “woe.”

These readings are challenging us to honestly reflect on our values, not the values we think or want to have, but the values that we are actually living as shown in our actions and choices. The commandments deal with actions; the beatitudes ask us to look inside at our motives. I invite us this week to take quiet time to reflect on how the values of the “beattitudes” are influencing our actions. And let us support each other in prayer.

​-- Paul James Portland, SDS