A Letter From Fr. Paul — July 10, 2016

​This past week $26,400 was wired to Tanzania for wells and $5,500 was wired to our sister parish in Guatemala for construction materials for catechetical centers in outlying communities. Pius Parishioners Always Come Through!!!! Congratulations and thank you.

The assembly of the Association of United States Catholic Priests that I attended last week in Chicago went very well. It was refreshing for me to be with 195 other priests who are committed to the inclusivity and collaboration promoted by Vatican II. In the coming weeks I will share salient points from the various keynote addresses and workshops.

​Fr. Bill Remmel sent an impressive report to our Salvatorian community on what he has been doing in Arizona in terms of immigration. The report is in the News Section of our website. You can read it online or download a PDF copy. Congratulations, Fr. Bill, for excellent ministry to those in dire need!

We have two beautiful readings this weekend. In our first reading from Deuteronomy, we are told that the Voice of the Lord is not far away: his command of LOVE is written in our hearts. And then we have Luke’s story of the Good Samaritan: the outcast, the foreigner, the hated one, the unclean person who helps the injured Jew when the Jew’s own religious leaders pass him by. The bottom line is we show our love of God by our loving actions towards others, especially those most in need. If we hate and ignore others, we are not walking the journey with Jesus and to think otherwise is to fool ourselves. It is not religious observance but love for others that defines discipleship, according to Jesus’ words and actions.

Let us pray for each other that we may grow in our ability to respond to the commandment written in our hearts, the commandment to be the Good Samaritan to others, especially those hated, neglected, and/or reviled by others.

-- Paul James Portland, SDS