Last Sunday we celebrated our annual Parish Picnic and had a wonderful time with a great crowd, lots of food, games and activities, and best of all, the chance to spend time together with our parish family and many guests and visitors. One of the visitors remarked how great the picnic was and how surprised she was, thinking that parishes didn’t do this anymore, while another visitor commented that she didn’t think Catholic parishes ever did this. Hearing those comments made me so thankful to be here with you, to have a parish family that enjoys being together and having a real community. There are many parishes that don’t have that sense of community and I am so grateful that we have been able to build it up and establish it here. While there is still a lot that we can do to welcome others and build up our community, I am so grateful for all that has happened here. Thank you!
The Gospel today reveals how we should expect to see our parish continue to grow: like a mustard seed that starts off small but, with God’s grace and guidance, grows little by little into the largest of plants. The image of the farmer who plants the seed and then goes to bed reveals that any and all growth comes from God. This is reassuring and frees us from carrying the burden of making it happen by our own strength. So with all of this, we entrust the life of our parish back into the Lord’s hands that He will bring about the growth according to His perfect plan.
Finally, we are looking forward to the celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help on Sunday, July 1. The actual feast day is June 27 but is transferred to the nearest Sunday since it is our parish feast day. I look forward to our celebration and our honoring of Our Mother of Perpetual Help as we ask for her prayers.
God bless you and have a wonderful week!
