Responding to God’s Goodness

Dear Parishioners,

Happy Labor Day weekend! Enjoy the close of summer and a nice holiday! As the school year begins, we are also starting a new season of faith formation at the parishes. Please check out programs like the St. Joseph Boot Camp, Alpha, and Sanctuary. You can learn more in the bulletin.

I want to say thank you again to everyone who offered and collected comments during the past month. I am working on answering all of the questions, and we will publish summaries of the comments, so that we all know what everyone is thinking.

I would like to briefly address some thoughts and questions about finances now. You will soon find more explanations for various aspects of parish finances in the bulletin itself. We hope to provide better and clearer information about the financial status of each of the parishes on a quarterly basis. The numbers in the bulletin published reflect offertory giving at Sunday Mass, which is only one part of the picture.

You may notice that the amount being given each Sunday doesn’t match the projected amount in the budget. I would encourage everyone to consider giving to the parish not as a reaction to a need, but rather a response to trust in God’s goodness. We give as a response of trust to God’s generosity to us. We should see giving as an opportunity, rather than an obligation. I would encourage everyone to prayerfully consider, in the presence of God, how to make a gift that expresses your gratitude to God and your confidence in the message of the Gospel. The goal is not to financially support one particular parish building as much as it is to support the mission of the Catholic Church in our area.

Our Scripture readings today challenge us to accept the mantle of responsibility for reconciliation and unity. Unity comes through truth, through the willingness to speak out, to admonish, to convert, and to evangelize. Jesus further emphasizes in the Gospel that reconciliation with God comes about through the authority and ministry of the Church.

Commenting on our Gospel passage, the Catechism says in Paragraph 1445 that “reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with God.” It further specifies that this Gospel passage teaches three things: about the Sacrament of Confession, the doctrinal authority of the Church, and the disciplinary authority of the Church. Let’s always remember the importance of conversion, of repentance, and of rebirth. The rebirth comes from our union with the Church. Reconciliation (especially in the Sacrament of Confession) is our means to achieve unity within ourselves and with the Body of Christ, the Catholic Church.

Yours in Christ, with Mary,
Fr. Henry Hoffmann

Comments on the Collect

By Fr. Henry Hoffmann

Lately I’ve been paying closer attention to, and weaving into my homilies, the opening prayer at Mass, called the Collect (When referring to this prayer, the emphasis is on the first syllable: KOL-ekt). It’s called the Collect because it collects all the prayers of the Church and offers them as one. It helps us to unify the readings in a common theme. The more we pay attention to these kinds of details, the more we can fully participate in the Mass.

In my opening Sanctuary talk next weekend on Sunday, September 13, I’ll be talking more about what participating in the liturgy means, according to the powerful phrase from the Second Vatican Council: “full, conscious, and active participation.” What does that mean? It starts with faith, and then requires paying attention, to things like the Collect.

Our Collect this week is about our identity as adopted Children of God, who are eligible to receive an eternal inheritance. This fits in well with the Scripture readings at the Mass, because the readings point to the reality and authority of the Church. Participation in the Church is what makes us children of God. We are not orphans. No Christian is an only child. We are all siblings in the Church.

This provides context and more food for thought for the words from Pope Leo that I shared the past several weeks. Pope Leo encourages us to view the liturgy as “reverence, not preference.” If we understand that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, we can free ourselves from narrow-minded thinking about the way we like things, and instead embrace the way that things are supposed to be. That is determined and taught by the Church, who is our Mother, just as God is our Father.

Learn more at Sanctuary, presentations on faith for adults. Sundays starting Sept. 13 from 6:00-7:15 PM St. Vivian Gather Rooms (enter behind school)