A Letter from Fr. Paul - July 30, 2017

Plans are underway to have a special day of prayer to mark our patronal feast day, St. Pius X, on August 21. The day will begin with the 8 am Mass, followed by exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and all day adoration. Closing will be a 7 pm prayer service, followed by Benediction. All will be invited to drop in and spend some quiet time with the Lord. Those who can’t make a personal visit will be asked to take some quiet time to pray in solidarity with those at the 7 pm prayer service and Benediction. Watch the bulletin and web page for more information in the weeks to come.

Please see the announcement on our website for the celebration of 125 years of presence in the United States of the Society of the Divine Savior. I hope you will be able to join us for the dinner and concert by Fr. Joseph Rodrigues, SDS, our provincial.

In our first reading, we find Solomon scared out of his wits. He is young, just made king over the vast number of Israelites, and admits “I do not know how to act.” The Lord offers him whatever he wants and he asks for wisdom, not for himself but that he can “govern the people justly and distinguish right from wrong.” The Lord was pleased because Solomon was thinking of others, not himself.

How about us? If we were in Solomon’s shoes, what would we ask for? The treasure buried in a field? The pearl of great price? Health? World peace? Distribution of the world’s resources so everyone has enough? There are lots of jokes about a genie granting three wishes and someone being fooled for being selfish. Honestly answering the question of what we would wish for is a good indication of whom we think of first: ourselves or others. May we continue to grow in our ability to think of others, as Jesus modeled for us with His life.

-- Paul James Portland, SDS