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Summer Reflection

From Prayers for the Domestic Church by Edward Hays

BLESSED ARE YOU, LORD OUR GOD, WHO HAS FILLED CREATION WITH LIGHT AND SPLENDOR.

Radiant Lord, we rejoice with hearts filled with gratitude that You are not a hidden God for You reveal Yourself daily through the mystery of light.

Your majesty and glory shine out from within all of creation, as well as from sun, moon and stars.

We walk by their light, and we also feed upon that light as it is transformed daily into our food.

Blessed are You, Illuminator of All Creation, for the gifts of sunrise, high noon and sunset.

In the splendor of the sun, the sky-wheel of energy and light, we see Your splendor, O Light of Lights.

Your Son, Jesus, called Himself the light of the world and invited us to be His luminous brothers and sisters and Your children of light.

We are grateful for the daily light of insight, that gift by which we see our way to You.

We are also grateful for shadows and nightfall which serve as background for this light.

In our lives, we often stand in the darkness of failings and suffering.

May Your Divine Presence be a shining star in the midst of gloom.

Like the plants of the earth, may we lean toward You, Eternal Source of All Light and Energy.

Help us, this day, to be light to all we meet.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, who has filled creation with light and splendor.

Amen

Prayerfully, Fr. Pat, C.Ss.R.

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July 15-16

Saturday, July 15
5:15pm Fr. Tuan Nguyen

Sunday, July 16
7:00am Fr. Tuan Nguyen
9:00am Fr. Pat Grile
11:00am Fr. Pat Grile
5:15pm Fr. Brian Johnson

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RCIA

With summer upon us, the starting time for a new year of RCIA classes is getting very near. We encourage you to help us invite people to consider joining the church. Perhaps you have family members or friends who have shown an interest in Catholicism. Invite them to think of RCIA. Perhaps you notice someone at mass who looks lost. Greet them and assist them with the missalette. In the past, this simple gesture of welcome has brought individuals into our church. Please invite any interested people to call Fr. Brian at 913-4401 for more information.

 

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Biblical stewardship

Question: “What is biblical stewardship?”
 
Answer: To discover what the Bible says about stewardship, we start with the very first verse: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). As the Creator, God has absolute rights of ownership over all things, and to miss starting here is like misaligning the top button on our shirt or blouse—nothing else will ever line up. Nothing else in the Bible, including the doctrine of stewardship, will make any sense or have any true relevance if we miss the fact that God is the Creator and has full rights of ownership. It is through our ability to fully grasp this and imbed it in our hearts that the doctrine of stewardship is understood.
 
The biblical doctrine of stewardship defines a person’s relationship to God. It identifies God as owner and us as managers. God makes us His co-worker in administering all aspects of our life. The apostle Paul explains it best by saying, “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9). Starting with this concept, we are then able to accurately view and correctly value not only our possessions, but, more importantly, human life itself. In essence, stewardship defines our purpose in this world as assigned to us by God Himself. It is our divinely given opportunity to join with God in His worldwide and eternal redemptive movement (Matthew 28:19-20). Stewardship is not God taking something from us; it is His method of bestowing His richest gifts upon His people.
 
St. Paul teaches that once we’re called and placed into the body of Jesus Christ, the stewardship that is required of us is not a result of our own power or abilities. The strength, inspiration and growth in the management of our lives must come from God through the Holy Spirit in us; otherwise, our labor is in vain and the growth in stewardship is self-righteous, human growth. Accordingly, we must always remember the sole source of our strength in pleasing God: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Paul also said, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
 
More often than not, when we think of good stewardship, we think of how we manage our finances and our faithfulness in paying God’s tithes and offerings. But as we’re beginning to see, it’s much more than that. In fact, it’s more than just the management of our time, our possessions, our environment, or our health. Stewardship is our obedient witness to God’s sovereignty. It’s what motivates the follower of Christ to move into action, doing deeds that manifest his belief in Him. Paul’s stewardship involved proclaiming that which was entrusted to him—the gospel truth.
 
Stewardship defines our practical obedience in the administration of everything under our control, everything entrusted to us. It is the consecration of one’s self and possessions to God’s service. Stewardship acknowledges in practice that we do not have the right of control over ourselves or our property—God has that control. It means as stewards of God we are managers of that which be- longs to God, and we are under His constant authority as we administer His affairs. Faithful stewardship means that we fully acknowledge we are not our own but belong to Christ, the Lord, who gave Himself for us.
 
The ultimate question, then, is this: Am I the lord of my life, or is Christ the Lord of my life? In essence, stewardship expresses our total obedience to God and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

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July 4th Holiday

Due to the holiday on Tuesday, July 4th, we will only have one Mass that day to be held at 9:00am. THERE WILL BE NO 7:00am or 7:00pm MASSES.

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Father’s Day Blessing

Blessing Prayer for Father’s Day

Blessed are You, Lord and Father of All Life, who has given to us the gift of the father of our family.

Today, we honor him, and we thank You for the numerous good things that are ours because of him.

His love for us has been a sign of Your divine affection and a sharing in Your holy love.

His continuous concern for our needs and welfare is a mirror of Your holy providence.

And so, as we honor him, we praise You, Father of All Peoples.

Bless him this day with Your strength and holy power that he may continue to be a sign of You, our God, and a priestly parent to our family.

May we who have the honor of bearing his family name do so with great pride.

May we, the members of his family, assist him in his holy duties as a parent with our respect, our obedience and our deep affection.

Bless him, Lord, with happiness and good health, with peace and with good fortune, so that he who has shared of his very life may live forever with You, his God and heavenly Father.

This blessing and all graces, we pray, descend upon the father of our family:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.