I know that it has been some time since almost all of you have been on our beautiful campus. Many of you have been here to celebrate Mass, but not able to congregate afterwards because of the current virus restrictions. Some of you might have gotten glimpses of our maintenance staff who have been working so hard to keep our campus clean and safe. This has been a monumental task and I want to commend the entire team for their hard work.
Many of you may simply remember that members of our hard working maintenance staff all wear light green shirts that identify them. The shirts have a collar and a pocket. They are very stylish, in my opinion. About six years ago I asked Ray Lacek from the staff if I could have a cool maintenance staff green shirt. Two days later, draped across the chair in my office, was the green shirt. I was proud to have it and talked a lot about having one.
One day I put the shirt on and was walking around the campus. Ron Biesiada, one of the senior members of the maintenance staff, noticed that I was wearing the shirt and heard me talking about it. As I passed Ron in the hallway he calmly said, “Terry, don’t wear the shirt if you are not going to do the work.” I have come to know Ron well since the beginning of my time here at Holy Family. He has been with us long before I arrived. I know that he meant no disrespect, and even admits that on one level he was kidding, but his words rang true to me and give me a lasting example of the importance of the old adage, “Don’t talk the talk, walk the walk.” This is also articulated as “Actions speak louder than words.”
This whole concept is at the heart of our Gospel story this weekend. Jesus tells a story to the chief priests and the elders, the leaders who are always talking about God and promoting themselves as faithful and obedient to the Law, but also stuck in a tradition that is stagnant because of judgment towards others. Jesus perceived that this religious tradition, and hence they as leaders, was in need of change.
The story is of two sons given the same order by their father to work in the vineyard. One says “No,” and changes his mind and actually works in the vineyard. The other initially says, “Yes,” but never works. Jesus asks, “Which one walked the walk?” —or, more importantly and spiritually put—which one did The Father’s (God’s) will? The answer is easy. The first son actually did the work or the will of the father. The second lost integrity because his words and actions were not consistent.
It seems that the significant message here is that a change of heart leading to changed behavior is a powerful path towards doing God’s will. Doing God’s will is a matter of action, not words. We can all get stagnant and stuck if we cling to strong judgment and condemnation of others, as the Elders condemn the prostitutes (sexual sin) and tax collectors (sins of power). A change of heart for them could have led to doing the Father’s will. Let us all apply these lessons to our lives.
This weekend we will begin live streaming Masses, starting with the first two of three First Communion Masses, and 9:00am Mass Sunday morning. Our pre-recorded Mass will no longer be available, but following the live 9:00am Mass the streamed Mass will be available for viewing any time on our website. Just go to the tab on the website marked Live Streamed Mass. The 5:00pm Saturday evening Mass will not be available initially, but please be patient as we work out some kinks in the very labor intensive live streaming process, particularly as we add some of the unique Holy Family elements.
We congratulate our young Academy and Family Faith parishioners making their First Communion this weekend and next weekend. These students have been very patient in waiting to celebrate this very important milestone.
Racism
We are continually offering resources for a heightened awareness and education around Racism and its sin. More are offered on our website following our parish statement on Racism. One of our first steps is to clarify terms such as:
Implicit Bias – the attitudes or stereotypes that impact understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. These biases, which encompass both favorable and unfavorable assessments, are activated involuntarily and without an individual’s awareness or intentional control.