A Letter from Fr. Paul: October 14, 2018

A clarification: some parishioners wondered if my remarks last week about Kingdom Prep High School, both in the homily and in the bulletin letter, were in reaction to concerns that I heard about our rental agreement with the Wisconsin Lutheran Synod. I am pleased to say that I have not heard one negative comment from a Pius parishioner, only very positive ones. I was simply using the rental agreement as an example to illustrate the challenge of the readings to be supportive of those doing good, even if they are “not of our group.”

A reminder that our all parish meeting will be held after each Mass the weekend of November 10-11. And a reflection/Eucharistic adoration to help us enter into the season of Advent will be held Tuesday evening, December 4, from 7 to 8 pm. Please mark your calendar and plan on attending these important community events.

Perhaps a way of stating the theme of our first and Gospel readings this weekend is this: do I own my things or do my things own me?  The stage is set in the first reading from Wisdom where we are told that wisdom is worth more than any wealth, more even than health and being good looking. Why? Because with Wisdom (the ability to discern what is truly important), comes all good things and true riches, that is, joy and peace.

Jesus emphasizes the same point through His challenge to the rich young man: sell all that you have, give it to the poor, and come follow Me.  The point isn’t that possessions are bad in themselves; the danger is that they can possess us, that they can become the focal point of our existence so that we end up trusting in them, instead of in God.

The Lord has blessed us with many good things. These are not only for ourselves, but also to be used to help others, especially the less fortunate. I invite us to reflect this week on how much we use our many gifts for good versus how much they might possess us. And let us support each other in prayer.