Hunger for God’s Love
Dear Parishioners,
It’s hard to believe that July is over. The summer festival at St. Bart’s has concluded; it was a great success! I am very grateful to God for the good weather and everyone’s safety, and want to say THANK YOU to the wonderful team of volunteers who made it possible. They are very dedicated, competent, and generous, and I am inspired by their example! It takes an incredible amount of work to pull off what they did, and it paid off!
A special note of thanks to everyone who made the Prayer Booth possible. Our seminarian, Peter Hoffman, pulled off something incredible, with the help of our Family of Parishes staff and volunteers. We handed out more than 230 rosaries, received more than 160 written prayer requests, and prayed on the spot with more than 40 people who were hurting and wanted assurance of God’s love. This booth shows what evangelization is all about. Some people weren’t even aware they were at a Church festival! All the volunteers did a good job offering a ministry of presence and a powerful witness to God’s love. We had volunteers from across our Family of Parishes. This is a great example of our Year of Unity: pray, reflect, and participate.
The readings for this weekend remind us of how God cares for and provides for us. The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves foreshadows the Eucharist. The Eucharist feeds our souls, and is the source and summit of our life. Let’s never forget and never take for granted this infinite gift. Always remember: Here in our churches, we have the Bread that if you eat it, you never die! That’s a powerful message that we need to proclaim to our families, our neighbors, and the world. Everyone hungers for this living Bread of Life in their heart of hearts, and it is our privilege and responsibility to proclaim Its reality and how It can be received in Communion.
Next week, our seminarians will be returning to the seminary to continue their studies. They will be missed! Peter did a tremendous job helping out with our communications team. He set up and recorded videos, made the prayer booth possible, and helped with some other projects. Dominic has helped set up a server training program, which we will roll out this Fall. He also did a lot of great carpentry work inside the rectory. Please be sure to thank them this weekend! Keep them in your prayers as they continue their formation and journey to the priesthood.
Yours in Christ, with Mary
Fr. Henry Hoffmann
Reading Reflections
Fr. Henry Hoffmann
I thought I would share a little bit about what I’ve been reading this summer. Lately, I’ve been feeling called to contemplate the connections between Scripture and liturgy, especially in the Hebrew Bible. This connection is sometimes neglected, but is still very relevant today. It’s good to remember that the Old Testament was Jesus’ Bible, and so to understand Him and the Church He founded, we have to focus on the Old Testament.
While I was on retreat, in addition to stuff about St. Thérèse, I read That I May Dwell Among Them: Incarnation and Atonement in the Tabernacle Narrative by Dr. Gary Anderson, who is a Bible Professor at Notre Dame. It is a fascinating exploration of how God responds to sin by drawing closer to His people. Dr. Anderson clarifies the role of sacrifices and how they worked before Christ.
I’m currently reading another one of Dr. Anderson’s books that focuses on the Biblical idea of sin (titled, Sin: A History, appropriately enough…). In the Bible, sin is progressively described as a burden, a debt, or as a miss. These different symbols and metaphors have a tremendous influence on how we think about forgiveness and salvation. For example, at Mass, we say, “Behold the Lamb of God, Behold Him Who takes away the sins of the world.” This idea of ‘taking away sins’ implies that sin is a kind of burden that Jesus lifts off of our shoulders, and onto His own.
This has some pretty profound implications for how we think about forgiveness. I look forward to discussing forgiveness more in the future, as I explore another book, called Jewish Temple Theology and the Mystery of the Cross by Richard J. Barry IV. More on that book in the future!
