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July 3, 2022Thoughts from Deacon BillThe Kingdom of God is at hand for you.” (Luke 10:9)
In the Gospel passage from St. Luke this weekend Jesus sends out 72 of his disciples to proclaim that the Kingdom of God has arrived. It reminded me of a well-known prayer composed by Bishop Ken Untener of Saginaw, MI entitled “A Future Not Our Own” and included as a reflection on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador in 1980. Many of you may be familiar with the “Romero Prayer” but I thought it would be worth repeating. Bishop Untener wrote:
“It helps now and then to step back and take a long view. The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us. No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection, no pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the Church’s mission. No set of goals and objectives include everything.
This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water the seeds already planted knowing that they hold promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities. We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing this. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.”
In today’s Gospel Jesus tells us, “the harvest is abundant but the laborers are few” which reminds me of the words in the Dan Schutte song, “Come With Me Into The Fields”, “your arms may go weary, your shoes will wear thin, come with me into the fields.” Won’t you join us? Amen?
May Jesus Bless each and every one of you.
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Past Reflections
2021
July 4
Our Call to Be Prophets
June 6
Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
May 30
Parish Gathering re Altar Enhancement
May 16
Ascension Sunday
May 2
Bearing Good Fruit
April 18
The Law of Moses, the Prophets, and Psalms
April 11
Divine Mercy Sunday
March 7
Fasting as a Pillar of Lent
February 21
Lent as a New Beginning
February 14
Lent Invitation from Fr. Lawrence
February 7
Preparing for Lent
January 17
Discerning God's Call
January 3
Epiphany
2020
December 20
Blessed Are You Among Women
December 6
Waiting in Joyful Hope
November 15
Living Our Talents
November 1
Updates from Father Lawrence: Moving back into the Church
October 17/18
Loving Your Neighbor at Election Time
October 10/11
The Heavenly Banquet
September 12/13
Forgiveness and Mercy
August 15/16
Hunger for the Eucharist
August 8/9
Trusting Faith in God
August 1/2
Invitation to 54 Day Rosary Novena
July 25/26
Gratitude from Fr. Lawrence on Installation
July 18/19
I Am Honored to Be Your Pastor
July 11/12
Enoying the Harvest
June 27/28
Living Our Baptism as Disciples
June 20/21
Welcoming Bishop Barber
June 13/14
Corpus Christi
June 6/7
An Invitation
May 23/24
Ascension
May 16/17
Alpha Is Coming
May 9/10
How Long, O Lord?
May 2/3
Engaging You amid 'Shelter in Place'
April 18/19
Divine Mercy Sunday
April 11/12
Easter Sunday
April 4/5
Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord
March 28/29
The Raising of Lazarus
March 21/22
The Man Born Blind