A Letter from Fr. Paul - September 3, 2017

Only one week until our annual “Grass Mass,” that is, Mass will be held next Sunday, September 10, in the courtyard off of Wauwatosa Avenue at 10:30 am, followed by a luncheon. (There is no 8 am Mass that day). We will also be celebrating our 65th birthday as a community! Please join us and remember our outreach to those who are not participating in a faith community: invite them to join us for Mass and the luncheon. There are special luncheon tickets for the invitees that you can ask for at no cost, both if you buy in advance and at the door.

​I had an elderly aunt who used to say “old age isn’t for sissies!” Our readings this weekend are telling us that being a follower of Jesus (a disciple) is not for sissies. Jeremiah is lamenting about what he has had to endure as a prophet. Paul tells the Romans “do not conform to this age.” And Jesus says “deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.”

Jesus is calling us to move out of our comfort zone: all of us have negative emotions and urges. “Deny yourself” invites us not to act on these but to do positive things instead. “Take up your cross” invites us to think of and help others, not just ourselves. And “follow me” means to live the law of love.

I invite us to reflect on these calls from Jesus during the coming week. As we grow in our ability to do these things, we are bringing about the Kingdom of Love here and now, modeling to others how to live as a disciple of Jesus. Let us support each other in these efforts, both through example and prayer.

-- Paul James Portland, SDS