Dear Beloved Parishioners,
Just a few things before I head out for the tail end of Christian Family Camp tomorrow. (prayers for cool and DRY weather appreciated…)
All Things New Young Adult Survey
Why a young adult survey?
The Disciple Maker Index survey results proved an overwhelming desire to see more young people involved in parish life. Young adults are gifted with the energy, time, creativity, and talents needed by the Church. Young adults are already the torchbearers for society (major athletes, actors, and cultural influencers are young adults) and the future Church.
Recent studies (Notre Dame, Pew) have shown that “the single most important measurable factor for determining the spiritual and religious lives of teenagers and young adults is the religious faith, commitments, and practices of their parents.” (Christian Smith, Young Catholic America). If we want to build a more vibrant Church for tomorrow, we must target the young adults discerning marriage and families today.
In this survey, young adults may anonymously share their beliefs and interests, their needs, their experience in parishes, and their hopes for the future of the church in St. Louis. All responses will be received by the Young Adult Advisory Board and the Office of Young Adult Ministry. Results will be summarized, reviewed, and distributed at a later date.
The survey will close Monday, September 12, 2022
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The Deeper Dive into the Sunday Scriptures, comes to us from Fr. Frank DiSiano, CSP, and the Paulist Evangelization Ministries.
When we watch TV, we are unlikely to be in a situation similar to most of what’s on the screen. But one situation will probably arise for most of us, the situation when a doctor tells us how much longer he or she thinks we have to live.
When we realize how short our lives can be, or actually might be, two thoughts come into our heads. First, what things am I going to do before I die—the so-called bucket list. The other is this: how will I spend the everyday time I have. The readings at Mass this weekend raise both those questions.
Bucket lists. The things on our agenda. The things we put there, and the things life puts there. Jesus talks about the furious energy that we put into things, mostly concerned with money, and how, in the end, much of that seems pointless. “Who will get your piled-up wealth?” How often, in real life, it’s exactly the accumulated wealth of a loved one that gets family members at each other’s throats.
Indeed, Jesus raises questions about a whole range of economic assumptions that keep you and me running like rats most of the time. Our economic mindset cannot accept the word “enough.” We always want more, need more, demand more. Such a non-stop economic machine is its own enemy, as we see in the regular recessions that happen, in the ridiculously huge inequality of pay, in the low birthrate of just about every modern country, and in the inability to the economy to allow for the necessary human process of pregnancy and new birth.
What are you living for? Jesus asks. Where is your energy going? What are your priorities in life? What, in other words, is our life agenda? It should begin with God and God’s Kingdom.
We hear reference to the first reading from Ecclesiastes many times. “Vanity of vanity.” It’s not easy to translate the word “vanity” but here it means this: emptiness of emptiness, meaninglessness of meaninglessness, wastes of time in one big waste of time. The preacher who says this is pointing us to another insight: unless I can accept the simple pleasures that surround me every day, I cannot find peace in my heart. We let our greed hinder our ability to see our gifts.
Unless I can come to enjoy the relationships that I have with family and friends, the quiet or fun moments that come to me, those silent minutes when I realize the wonder of life, then I’m pretty much wasting the time I have. We got a glimpse of this during the pandemic when we were forced to pause. Life can be different. But our biggest temptation is to demand more without cherishing what we have already been given. In the process, we lose most of what we have, including a vision of God’s peace.
St. Paul tells us in the second reading that Christ has already done the work for us. In him we have died . . . precisely so we can live differently, without the wasteful anxiety that we keep at our side, but with his risen life that makes us free.
“You fool,” God says to the man who would be rich. I wonder what God thinks about us and our crazy way of life.
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From the Missouri Catholic Conference – an action alert on a statewide measure…
In response to the life-saving overturning of Roe v. Wade, Congress – instead of stepping up to assist women and children in need – is moving furiously to lock in other anti-family priorities. The “Respect for Marriage Act,” for example, would prevent states from restoring the authentic understanding of marriage between man and woman if given the opportunity by the Supreme Court. Moreover, it could even require the federal government to honor polygamous “marriages” in states that move to allow it. No one should be mistreated because of their differences. But, as Pope Francis has said, children have a right to a mother and a father, and we must never stop advocating for marriage, in which children do best. Further, it is critical to protect freedom for people like small business wedding vendors and faith-based foster care agencies who serve their communities. Please tell your U.S. senators to vote “No” on the poorly-named Respect for Marriage Act.
Please see the USCCB’s recent letter to Congress on this legislation here.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Click below to send a pre-composed message to the Senate. Feel free to personalize the message!
Share this message with your family and friends.
Report any responses you receive back to the MCC.
Pray that the Senate does not pass the “Respect for Marriage Act”.
CLICK HERE TO SEND A MESSAGE TO YOUR SENATORS!
Mrs. Kathalynas tells me that she is still in need of two more teacher for PSR this upcoming year – in 4th and 5th grades. It is a great way to pass on the faith to the next generation of believers. So, do a little praying and listen for the movement of the Spirit. And if you would like more information, contact Marge K. at 314-605-2499.
And finally, the song of the day is from the group that introduced me to the Windham Hill label of instrumental music, Nightnoise. The song is “The Cricket’s Wicket.” It is for me what I think the end of summer feels like if it were to be put to music…
blessings,
fr bill