July 18 – Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

I bet many of you have had a travel nightmare!  Flights delayed then canceled requiring an unexpected overnight stay in a city not your destination.  Frustrated and hungry you end up in accommodations miles from the airport, and by the time you got to the hotel you discover the restaurant is closed.  This happened to me on a flight from California to Chicago via Dallas.  Storms in Chicago forced the cancellation of my flight home and there were no other flights that evening.  Others and I ended up at a hotel in Fort Worth, starving, and the restaurant is closed.  The hotel staff, recognizing the need of the many stranded travelers, surprised us by ordering several extra-large pizzas for us to share.  It was like a miracle!  It surely was manna in the desert to us that night!  We all fell asleep grateful instead of grumpy!

In today’s first reading, the Israelites are hungry.  They are truly in need of physical nourishment and God provides for them by sending them food in the form of manna.  In the Gospel, however, the people searching for Jesus are no longer physically hungry.  The passage follows immediately on the heels of the miracle of the loaves and the fishes.  As the crowds return in search of last night’s miracle worker, Jesus knows that their stomachs are full and that they likely had eaten breakfast before getting into their boats to travel across the sea.  Jesus knew that the people, having had their physical needs met, were now able to accept the true bread from heaven.  They were now free to hear and receive the good news that Jesus had to offer them, the bread of life, a relationship with him.

In our efforts to be missionary disciples, we often get it backward.  How many times do we harshly judge those not in our pews before meeting their very real needs for food, clothing, shelter or health care?  St. Mother Theresa often described the loneliness and emptiness of people in the West as a hunger more difficult to satisfy than physical hunger.  How often do we not recognize that hunger and fail to nourish those who are lonely or hurting?  In spite of our best intentions, do we sometimes find ourselves quoting the Catechism rather than first seek to understand their situations or their pain?  Pope Francis often speaks of the church as a field hospital.

Today’s readings show us that God truly does start from the ground up.  God met the Israelites need for food in the desert.  Jesus met the crowds’ need for food in Galilee.  Only then did Jesus offer them the true food, the bread from heaven that was his very self.  God uses us, the body of Christ, the church, to do as Jesus did!

Have a blessed week!

Father Don

July 11 – Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

WE’RE STEPPING OUT IN FAITH!

 In today’s Gospel, Jesus sends his disciples on mission telling them to take NOTHING with them.  In other words, to trust in Divine Providence that their needs will be taken care of.  And so it is with us at Our Lady of Mercy!  We trust that the needs of the parish, God will provide for through the generosity of our parishioners.  Today I want to share with you a message about the financial status of our parish, as the fiscal year 2020-2021 ended on June 30, 2021.  I am pleased to inform you that we did have a positive end to the fiscal year primarily for four reasons – continued generosity of our parishioners, a reduction in staff salaries, a reduction of expenses due to a lack of use of the facilities, and reception of a PPP loan, which has been forgiven.

I want to say a word of profound thanks to all of you who, during the pandemic were able to continue your Sunday contributions, especially through online giving.  Prior to the pandemic, our average Sunday collection was $32,000 weekly.  During the pandemic and currently, our average Sunday collection is $27,200 weekly.  As I said, we were able to weather that loss in income for the reasons mentioned above.

The new fiscal year 2021 – 2022 just began on July 1^st.  With most Covid protocols no longer in effect and capacity restrictions lifted, we are gearing up for a return of in-person participation at Mass and our parish organizations and ministries. This will require the re-hiring of custodial services from Buck Services and daily maintenance of the building in addition to purchasing supplies for organizations and ministries. We are re-organizing our RE staff and office and are planning to hire an additional youth minister to focus especially on evangelizing our teens.

So, here is where we are stepping out in faith!  To cover these expenses in our new fiscal year, our financial council has budgeted our average Sunday collection to be $30,000 weekly – an increase of $2,800 from where we have been during the pandemic, but still short of the $32,000 we were averaging prior to the pandemic.  It would be great to get back to that pre-pandemic level!  But, we feel with our faith in you, we will reach our goal of $30,000 weekly!

God bless all of you for however you can support OLM financially and with your time and talent, and with your prayers!

Father Don

July 4 – Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today, with parades, fireworks and barbecues we celebrate our Independence – an Independence which was won and is maintained by the sacrifice of many lives.  However, our independence is not absolute.  Our nation was founded on belief in God.  Our Independence is DEPENDENT on God.  This dependence on God is clearly stated in our Declaration of Independence.  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their creator with inalienable rights….And it ends “with a firm reliance on Divine Providence we pledge our lives, our fortunes and our honor…..”  As a nation founded on belief in God, our President takes the oath of office by placing his/her hand on the Bible, the Word of God, and ends with, “So help me God..”  In our pledge of allegiance we say, “One nation under God.”  Engraved on our money is “In God we trust.”  Our Congress has a chaplain, begins each session with a prayer and provides for chaplains for the Military.

Our Founding Fathers may have opted for a separation of Church and State but not for a separation of God and State.  There is no brotherhood of man without the Fatherhood of God.  The division of life into the sacred and the secular is a false dichotomy.  There is not now, there never was and there never will be the purely secular, that is, anyone or anything which is not dependent on God.  Atheistic capitalism would suffer the same fate as atheistic communism.

What the Constitution guarantees is not freedom FROM religion but freedom OF religion, freedom to practice religion.  Thankfully, we can choose to let the values of the kingdom of God have an influence on the values of our nation.  We can choose to accept the peace and healing of Christ that they bring peace and healing to our country.  We can receive the body and blood of the Lord so that all the children at God’s table will be fed and receive their due in life.  As we come together to celebrate the Eucharist, we become Christ’s body, to be in the world and serve it, but not to be totally of it.  We are thankful for our country and our independence, but as Christians, we must remember our ultimate home, now and forever, is elsewhere.  While we may be citizens of the United States, our ultimate citizenship is in heaven!

I wish to express my thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers at the time of my surgery on June 10.  The surgery to remove my cancerous thyroid went well.  I will in the near future need to have the radioactive iodine treatment, and then the process of getting the right dosage of thyroid replacement medication determined.  Thanks as well to those who sent cards and prayer enrollments.  I appreciate your concern!

Happy Independence Day!

Father Don

June 27 – Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

At this time of the year, parishes throughout the Diocese often experience a change in staff.  OLM is no exception.  It is with mixed feelings that I announce that Jean Rehmer who has worked as secretary in our Religious Education office for the past 18 years is retiring at the end of June.  I say mixed feelings because retirement is a happy thing to look forward to, but Jean will be sorely missed!  Jean has been a huge behind the scenes support to our staff, catechists, and leaders in the Junior High (EDGE) and High School (LIGHT) religious education programs for our parish youth and teens.  Taking care of all the details for Confirmation and many other celebrations and programs, Jean has been the one to answer all your calls and questions.  She has especially enjoyed meeting and working with our parish youth and teens, always offering support and encouragement to them.  Jean has also worked with and coordinated the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) for the past 15 years.  She has also covered the parish office reception desk and answered phones when needed.  Jean has always been gracious and willing to perform any needed tasks.

Jean and her husband Deacon Phil (who retired a few months ago) have also been great witnesses to their faith.  Members of OLM for 28 years, both volunteered in baptismal preparation ministry for many years.  Jean also was a catechist for several years prior to employment at OLM.  Both Jean and Deacon Phil have been powerful witnesses to justice and peace ministry with their commitment to Hesed House and PADS.  They will continue to coordinate our Hesed House/PADS ministry at OLM during their retirement.

So, Jean, we thank you for all you have done for us at OLM and wish you all the best in your retirement!

God Bless Jean Rehmer!

Have a blessed week!

Father Don

June 26 – Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

At this time of the year, parishes throughout the Diocese often experience a change in staff. OLM is no exception. It is with mixed feelings that I announce that Jean Rehmer who has worked as a secretary in our Religious Education office for the past 18 years is retiring at the end of June. I say mixed feelings because retirement is a happy thing to look forward to, but Jean will be sorely missed! Jean has been a huge behind the scenes support to our staff, catechists, and leaders in the Junior High (EDGE) and High School (LIGHT) religious education programs for our parish youth and teens. Taking care of all the details for Confirmation and many other celebrations and programs, Jean has been the one to answer all your calls and questions. She has especially enjoyed meeting and working with our parish youth and teens, always offering support and encouragement to them. Jean has also worked with and coordinated RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) for the past 15 years. She has also covered the parish office reception desk and answered phones when needed. Jean has always been gracious and willing to perform any needed tasks.

Jean and her husband Deacon Phil (who retired a few months ago) have also been great witnesses to their faith. Members of OLM for 28 years, both volunteered in baptismal preparation ministry for many years. Jean also was a catechist for several years prior to employment at OLM. Both Jean and Deacon Phil have been powerful witnesses to justice and peace ministry with their commitment to Hesed House and PADS. They will continue to coordinate our Hesed House/PADS ministry at OLM during their retirement.

So, Jean, we thank you for all you have done for us at OLM and wish you all the best in your retirement!

God Bless Jean Rehmer!

Have a blessed week!

Father Don