Grounded: On this 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time Jesus exclaims that “whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” The word ‘humility’ is derived from the Latin word ‘humus,’ which means ‘grounded’ or ‘from the earth.’ Pope Francis remarked that, “Christian humility is not within the virtue of saying: ‘I am not important’ and hiding our pride. No, Christian humility is telling the truth: ‘I am a sinner’. Tell the truth: this is our truth. But there is another truth: God saves us. He saves us when we are on the margins; He does not save us in our certainties. Let us ask for the grace of having the wisdom to put ourselves on the margins, for the grace of humility so that we may receive the Lord’s Salvation.”
Explained: This weekend is the 4th and final part of our four-part series on the Sunday experience. I hope you have enjoyed them. Fr. Dan is doing an explanation Mass for all Masses this weekend. See the insert in this bulletin for more details.
State of the Parish: Next weekend, Nov. 11 – 12, I will be giving a state of the parish address at all the Masses. After the Masses our building committee will be on hand to display our tentative renovations plans. Please feel free to (and we hope you do) offer suggestions.
Encounter: Please pray for the men’s Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) taking place this weekend. We had several last minute sign-ups. These weekends are a tremendous blessing for our parish and for the individuals and their families.
School/Religious Education: Lots of functions to attend this week. On Monday, November 6, the parents of our First Communion students will meet. I will be giving a reflection on the Sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation. On Tuesday, November 7, our second graders will have their Saints play. Each 2nd grader dresses up as a saint and tells their story. They are very adorable! In the evening, I hope to stop by at our fall sports banquet as we honor our cheerleading, girls basketball and boys football teams. On Saturday evening, Nov. 11, the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is sponsoring a Family Bingo Night. I went last year and had a lot of fun.
Our Mother and the Saints: Speaking of the Saints, last Sunday I gave a presentation on Our Blessed Mother and the Saints to the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) class. It was great to be with so many who are inquiring of the Catholic Church. And what a blessing to have Our Blessed Mother and the Saints as our family and friends!
A favorite: Speaking of our RCIA class, one of my favorite saint stories is that of St. Martin of Tours, who had not yet been baptized when he had an encounter with Jesus. On a winter day, he noticed a poor man shivering with cold. Martin had nothing with him but the clothes he wore. So he drew his sword and cut his woolen cloak in two pieces, giving half to the poor man. The following night, Martin in his sleep saw Jesus surrounded by angels and dressed in the half of the cloak that he gave away to the poor man. He then heard Jesus say to the angels, “Martin, as yet only a catechumen, has covered me with his cloak.” Martin’s biographer said that he then “flew to be baptized.” St. Martin’s feast day is Nov. 10.
Guest: This Wednesday evening, November 8, I will be attending the Genesee County Right to Life dinner. The guest speaker is Msgr. James Lisante from New York. He will be staying at our residence for a couple of days.
Classmates: This Friday evening I will be heading to Detroit to spend some time with my classmates from Sacred Heart Major Seminary. Unfortunately, I will miss euchre night in St. Joseph Hall that evening.
A First: I’ve blessed a lot of people/items over the years. But last week was a first for me when it comes to blessings. A couple of high school students recently began dating and they asked for a blessing on their relationship. I really appreciated their humility in desiring God’s grace.
Love and blessings,
Msgr. Jerry
Saint quote/stories: “Those who are not good to others are bad to themselves.” St. Leo the Great, whose feast day is November 10