A Letter from Fr. Paul: November 4, 2018

This coming weekend we will have our all parish meeting after each Mass. Please plan on attending to learn more about what is happening in our community and to have any questions answered.

Our 2019 pledge drive is underway. If you have not received the mailing, please contact the
parish office. I trust you will be as generous as you can. Please keep the drive in your prayers.

​If you were asked, “What do you have to do to be a really good Catholic?”, what would you answer? Go to Mass on Sundays? Pray every day? Or what?

The way I was brought up, I would have given those answers, along with “don’t eat meat on Friday.” Those are good answers for an “Old Testament” mentality, because they emphasize my relationship with God, as Moses presents in our first reading: “…you should love the Lord your God…”

In our Gospel reading, Jesus quotes Moses and reinforces that love of God is essential. But He adds another commandment and puts it on the same level as the first: “…love your neighbor as yourself.” These two become the one Great Commandment.

So, what is the answer to our question? To be a really good Catholic you must show your love of God by your love of others. There is no way around it. With whom did Jesus get upset? Those who practiced the law without demonstrating love of others. Those who did “all the right things,” but were not available for the needs of their neighbors (think of the parable of the Good Samaritan).
​
I invite us to reflect this week on how we are allowing our religious observances to help us grow in selfless love and service to others. And let us support each other in prayer.

-- Paul James Portland, SDS