Dear Friends,

                  I once listened to an audio tape of a talk given by Fr. David Wright of the Diocese of Memphis.  One thing that completely jumped out at me was when he asked the audience: “What is the job description of being a Catholic?”  Since no one in the audience was able to come up with the answer he described it using a phrase from the Sacrament of Baptism.  When the newly baptized are anointed with the Sacred Chrism, the celebrant of the sacrament refers to Christ as being anointed Priest, Prophet, and King.  Just as Jesus was so anointed, we also were anointed when we were baptized.  He says that this is our job description!!

This talk came to mind as I sat with the readings we have for this weekend.  The emphasis here is the prophetic calling of Jesus.  The people could not understand where Jesus received his wisdom and how he could do such mighty deeds.  We believe that he is the Christ, the Son of God!  That is why he could do what he did.  It is so common for us to overlook the prophets all around us. It is Jesus’ answer today that is so very true and striking:  “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place.”  Everyone else can see that Jesus is someone so special except those from his home town.  The same is true for us.

Sometimes there are extraordinary people in our midst that are really prophetic in what they say and do and we can’t realize how special they are.  We can take prophets for granted while they are alive and then honor them after they have died.  We can also take prophets in our everyday lives for granted, e.g. parents, teachers, mentors, etc.  Are there people in our families or in our midst, or in our world that we overlook, in spite of the wonderful things they say?   Are there people we consciously overlook because they challenge our beliefs and how we do things?  They may also be calling us to be better and more faithful to our call as Christians and Catholics?   Since we are all human, I would truly be surprised if we said that we can sense all the prophets in our midst.   So the challenge for us today is to take some time to reflect on what Jesus said and then to allow him and all the prophets in our lives to touch and to change us.   A prophet is someone who speaks for God because what they say or do reminds us of what God wants us to say or do.  Who are the prophets in our midst???

In the next few weeks, we will begin working on our annual Stewardship Report.  Our fiscal year has ended and we will know exactly how 2008-2009 turned out for us, as a parish.  The economic times are filled with uncertainty.   I appreciate your generosity in keeping our parish going by sharing your time, talent and treasure.

 This past week we sent out our Stewardship grant allocations.  I am pleased to say that altogether we have dispersed approximately $125,000 in Stewardship funds to many people in need locally, nationally and also internationally.  Your generosity makes this possible as you share the blessings God has bestowed upon you!  The full accounting of the grants will appear in our annual Stewardship Report.

Peace,

Fr. Rich

A Church in Crisis:
Is Catholicism in conflict with the American culture of
the 21st Century?  Printed version of Dr. Anthony Massimini's talk