Pastor’s Corner

I. Gratitude Party! How does one capture in words the spirit of Fr. Suneesh Mathew Kulathanapadikel! Positive. Upbeat. Good. Accepting. Risk taking. Cheerful. Sunny. Friendly. Fit. Funny. Free spirit. Faithful. Joyful. We congratulate Fr. Suneesh on being named pastor/shepherd of Precious Blood Parish. We will miss him, but send him forward on mission with a real sense of gratitude for his presence with us and ministry with us these past three years. You are invited to a reception to say Thank You after the 5:00pm Mass on Saturday, July 16th.

II. Listening Carefully: saddened by the immoral state of society, Benedict of Nursia (480-553/7) left the city to live as a hermit at Subiaco. In time, more and more men were attracted to his charismatic personality as well as to his way of life. He eventually moved a group monks to Monte Cassino where he completed the final version of his rule, now known as The Rule of Saint Benedict. The whole of the monastic vocation can be summarized in the opening line of his rule, “Listen carefully.” Benedict also was noted for his belief that one should “treat every stranger as you would Christ.”

III. Faith Expressed in Action: the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37) is so well-known that it’s meaning has become part of our everyday vocabulary. For example, many Catholic hospitals in the U.S. carry the name Good Samaritan. When someone does a compassionate and merciful deed, we often say the person is a Good Samaritan. Jesus teaches us that a good Samaritan is, in fact, a good neighbor.
The most important question raised by the Gospel, however, is not “who is my neighbor,” but “how should we love our neighbor?”  Our love must be like that of the good Samaritan: personal, extravagant, and continual. Indeed, this is how God loves us.
Jesus’ view of neighbor is someone in need—a person who needs help, the person who needs MY help. In our global society, who is not my neighbor? In our global society, how can any of us not be neighbor—lovingly personal, extravagantly, continually?
     This is how God loves us. “Go and do likewise.”

IV. Memorial of our Lady of Mount Carmel: part of a mountain range in northern Israel, Mount Carmel is significant to Christians for its biblical association with the prophet Elijah (cf. one Kings 18). In the 12th century, the Carmelites were founded at a site reputed to have been Elijah’s cave. They soon built a monastery here. The Carmelites honor the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The English Carmelite, Saint Simon Stock, is believed to have been given the brown scapular by our Lady, and those who wear it believe they can be sure of Mary’s help at the hour of their death.

V. Community Garden: please contact Deacon Dirck if you have time to help with our community garden. It is full of life and needs attention. There are always weeds to pull and veggies to be harvested!