FM's Message | Sunday, October 9th, 2022

One of the truths about our faith is that at the basis of it is a work of gratitude to God. The Greek root of the word Eucharist means thanks. The word liturgy implies a “public work.” So Every time we come to celebrate Mass, we are taking on the “work” of thanking God for the gift of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It is a ongoing grace to be called into this work and we are blessed to have this knowledge, that Jesus the Christ has been sent by the Father for each of us.
At just about every funeral I preach, I remind people that the reason we “celebrate” a funeral Mass is because we are celebrating and remembering that Jesus Christ died for the person who has died. It is as if God said to himself, “one day my adopted beloved son or daughter might commit a sin, so I will send my Son Jesus, without sin, to die for them as if they were the only one who would need that grace of forgiveness achieved for them.” That applies to each of us whether we are the Holy Father or baptized last week. (The Gospel of Matthew has a great parable about this (Mt. 20:1-16)
Our Gratitude is a way of growing in  humility, which is the path of the Christian. Everything we have is a gift and so remembering that is a way of staying humble while here. When we gather at Mass, we are a people who humbly thank God that he has sent us his Son Jesus to help us. This week’s Gospel reminds us of the importance of remembering that while God needs nothing from us, an act of Gratitude goes a long way in helping us. It helps us to remain balanced in our relationship with God and  let for each of us, lets us not get too caught up in ourselves. We are dependent on God for our lives and every breath and this helps knowledge helps us to continue to live humbly and gratefully
This week’s Gospel also highlights healing and the power of Jesus to heal. To this day it is still a mystery how and when God sends this healing grace. In our own parish we have seen, at healing masses, moments in which someone is rescued from pain or some type of suffering. It is the same grace that Jesus applied and it is a blessing to hear that people have felt healed in different ways. We have had reports after our healing masses that people’s illnesses have been removed and that they are free of different afflictions. It is of course, the Holy Spirit working through the community and particularly through the prayer teams. We trust the Holy Spirit’s wisdom to help and always to be present in our midst.
In the next few weeks, I hope to present a vision of the parish and highlight the way we would like to organize the parish as we continue to see growth as we evangelize and call people to faith. We have had a committee working on this and I hope that all their hard work helps us to bear fruit now and into the future.
Peace,
Father Murray


Building news: This week we had a plumber in to look at the hot water heater in the lower church at IC. For many years we have gotten by with a small water heater that was used mainly for the hot water in the bathrooms and the maintenance room. As we make the lower church more conducive for meetings and events, It has become more evident that we need a bigger hot water heater and so one will be installed shortly.
We will be moving to St. James for two weeks for the restoration of the Mary painting at IC. We will be there two weekends. We also plan to install a new rug that will match the colors a little better. Thanks for your patience.