November 3, 2019

Never Give Up!

In this month of November, when we honor the saints and remember our deceased loved ones, let us give thanks to God for the gift of eternal life and pray that we might live our lives in such a way as to be truly identified as belonging to Christ. St. Teresa of Kolkata wrote and displayed this exhortation to her sisters in Kolkata. 

These words of St. Teresa must have been part of her lived experience. And they were certainly a part of the lived experience of her sisters working among the poor. I can testify to the fact that it is also the lived experience of the pastoral team and staff of Holy Spirit Parish living and working in this community of Lawrence County. We are truly blessed to have many supportive, holy, and kind   parishioners. People who volunteer to help and are very gracious and welcoming to others. But we are also plagued with a small group of people who attack and verbally abuse the pastoral team, staff, and other parishioners.

I guess this is to be expected in a broken world with broken people. But none the less, when it occurs, it is shocking and disheartening. Christ’s parting words to his disciples were words of encouragement and hope. He said, “You will have trouble in the world, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” –John 16:33   Strengthened by Christ our Savior, we persevere. In his beautiful words of the Beatitudes, Jesus calls us to rejoice when we are abused, slandered and mistreated for the sake of His Name. And so we do! Realizing that we have been called to serve Him and to please Him.

I have a sign in my office that reads, “I may not know the secret to success, but I know that the secret to failure is trying to please everyone.” Keeping the main thing the main thing is striving to please Christ and serve His people given our resources and circumstances. We thank all of you who are sincerely working, praying, and striving to do the same. We also, according to the command of Christ, pray for those who are not. May Christ intervene in their lives and hearts.

   God love you,