Blind to Blind, Teacher to Disciple, Beam to Splinter, Tree to Fruit, Heart to Mouth
The counter-cultural messages of the Gospel of Luke continue this weekend. This will be the third straight weekend of messages from Jesus Christ that at least make us think and perhaps make us uncomfortable if we really take them to heart. Two weeks ago, we heard Jesus tell us that eternal rewards are right in the midst of our poverty, our hunger, being excluded and even in the midst of persecution. Last week our Lord’s challenge was to treat EVERYONE as we want to be treated, including those we do not like.
We hear several challenges this week from the author of Luke. Are we blind to injustice, to others in need, to those who need us? Who might we be leading because of our blindness? What lessons have we learned from teachers or mentors in our lives? Are we perpetuating the good, strong and healthy example of those who have taught us? What kind of fruit are we bearing? What kind of tree are we? What kind of tree are we from? Do the words that come from our mouths reflect the goodness of our heart?
And perhaps the most challenging message is, do we take the time to reflect and to be honest with ourselves regarding our own beams of issues, faults or shortcomings? The hope is that if we are aware of our own issues, we may come to realize that they could possibly be even larger than the shortcomings (splinters) of others. The metaphor points out that we REALLY need to reflect on ourselves before judging others.
A Special Thanks to Cara Morkes and
Lauren Hills, this year’s Gala Co-Chairs
Cara and Lauren have worked very hard at coordinating many efforts for this year’s Gala—The Greatest Show. They took on a huge project that involves planning, coordinating volunteers and staff, asking and securing support for our Gala in many varied ways. Their dedication to our community has led to a very successful Gala. Please join me in thanking them for bringing our entire community together for a wonderful evening. They truly led us all in putting on The Greatest Show!!
Congratulations, Chad Archer
This year’s recipient of the Barb and Kurt Knuth Service Award is Chad Archer. Chad was acknowledged at our Gala Saturday evening and this is a further opportunity to both congratulate and thank Chad for the many ways that he serves our community. He is an Academy parent and coach, serves in several leadership roles in the parish and shares his gifts as a musician, singer and in our loft on a regular basis for weekend liturgies.
Conversations in the Spirit
One of the two pillars of our Be More Movement of Growth is a parish wide effort to engage as many as possible in Conversations in The Spirit. These conversations will engage us in LISTENING to each other as well as discussing certain questions that I know will lead us to accomplish two goals:
• To GROW our parish numerically and
• For all of us to GROW spiritually
Certain members of our staff and parish leadership have been trained in leading groups of 5-15 in a process that is prayerful, respectful and thus meaningful. It is difficult to describe all of the details of this process, but please know that it carries out an ancient way of proceeding as church called The Synodal Process. It is founded on the belief that this process gives room for the Holy Spirit to truly surface and work in the midst of people genuinely listening to each other, and thus that Spirit guides us in carving out a path to proceed. That is why I am calling it a movement, not a plan. It is based primarily on listening more than talking.
The words Synodal and Conversations in the Spirit may seem to be new to us, but our Pope Francis has resurrected them and suggested that we use them to guide us now. We are taking his lead very seriously here at Holy Family and along with the other pillar of our Movement of Growth—Eucharistic Renewal—we are confident that the Holy Spirit will work among us here and beyond in a powerful way, helping us grow into the community that God has intended us to be.
We have such a strong foundation here and yet we face significant challenges. If we do not embrace the challenge and excitement of growth, we risk becoming stagnant. Let’s let the Holy Spirit help us to GROW!
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