A Message from Fr. Murray

We are now in Ordinary Time and with it comes all the ordinary stuff of our faith. It means we can focus on all the things that help us to learn about, express, and practice our faith. In the last few weeks, we have been hearing from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. At another parish I served at, a lector had the practice of saying, “A reading from the letter of Paul, John etc.,” (like we all do), then added, “and to us.” It was a nice reminder that God’s word is shared across time, languages, and cultures. It is generally believed that Paul was responding to others who wrote to him when he wrote these letters. Reading them now, we see the Church was growing, but it was and still is an uneven project. It is even more comforting to know that even in the beginning, the Church experienced some messiness.

Today’s second reading, which follows where last week’s left off, reminds us that we are purposely created differently and uniquely for the body of Christ. Everybody has a part, and we see between both weekends’ readings, each part is based on love. The solution to the problems of the Corinthians is our solution too. If we do not base our actions in love, we are noisy gongs too. At weddings, where we frequently hear this reading, I usually choose to concentrate on the phrase, “... Love believes all things, hopes all things, bears all things, endures all things, love never fails....” I love that part of the reading because it clearly identifies the concreteness and enduring strength of love. As a couple begins their lives together, they cannot see future events, but we know from generations of examples that love was and is the most powerful force in the world and in marriages. This is the ordinary work of marriage, and it is the ordinary work of every Christian. This week, we have an opportunity to assess how we are doing with our growth in this area and hope to continue to be inspired by the love of God given to us in Jesus, His words, and actions.

Building news: We recently received a clean inspection certificate for the kitchen at St. James. This long process of renewal is over, and now we can use the kitchen as a possible income source. Presently, we are waiting to get a price on the restoration of the floors in the main church at IC. Coming up, we will need to look at the ceiling and walls in the chapel which is peeling. Finally, I have been meeting with some people about the possibility of obtaining grants for work on the roof and the bricks on the front, side, and back walls of the churches. All need work and have not been attended to for many years. It will be expensive, but with God’s help, I hope that we can restore what we need to and prepare the churches for the next 150 years.

Peace, Father Murray