July 1, 2018 Pastor’s Corner

I.  Connection Between Saint Thomas and Fr. Sinoj! The people of Kerala in southern India, where Fr. Sinoj Esthappanu Pynadath was born, fervently believe that it was Thomas who evangelized them—Fr. Sinoj’s birthday is Saturday, June 30th.  He is represented in art with a spear, the instrument of his martyrdom. Thomas (first century), also called “Didymus“ or “the Twin“ (John 11:16) was as one of the 12 apostles. He is remembered for DOUBTING the resurrection of Christ. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (John 20:25-29). After seeing the risen Christ alive, Thomas exclaimed, “my Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Whether we doubt or believe, St. Thomas, pray for us! 

II. E Pluribus Unum (Latin for “from many, one”): God has “molded into one of our nation, drawn from the people of many lands.” Just says the grains  of wheat become one bread, and the many grapes one cup, we pray that we, as one, be instruments of peace. Our focus is on Christ’s love for all peoples, his witness of justice and truth. We are “reborn in the Spirit”, and like the Spirit we are to be “filled with love for all people.” How we need to pray for our country. On holidays, like July 4th, our two regularly scheduled Masses are combined into one Mass at 9:00am. You are invited to respond to the Freedom to Worship this Wednesday, July 4th at 9:00am!

III. Habitat for Humanity is one of our many outreach ministries. As you may have noted, we had an envelope in our tithing packet for May and June  for this ministry. To date our community has contributed $2080; our verbal commitment through our Social Concerns Committee to H4H is $3,000. We still have 6 months, and you may contribute on line. 

“For God formed man to be imperishable;
the image of his own nature he made him.
But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who belong to his company experience it.”

Wisdom 2: 23-24