From the Pastor's Desk | August 20, 2023

Thank You!

Having been here for about six weeks, I am amazed by the outpouring of help by our many volunteers.  This includes sacristans, altar servers, liturgical ministers, the Knights of Columbus, the Council of Catholic Women, our funeral luncheon teams, accounts receivable and payable review teams, finance council, pastoral council, education commission, and the many others who regularly and happily step up to help!  Thank you so much for your generosity and willingness to help, not only me, but our staff and the people we serve.  I am so proud to be a part of St. Martha Parish and School.  

This past week was particularly busy, and I am very thankful to both Kathy Wood and everyone who helps with funeral luncheons.  Many parishes have stopped offering them because they just can’t find the volunteers.  We are blessed to be able to offer such hospitality to those families who are grieving the loss of their loved ones.  Thank you very much!  

Another huge thank you goes out to Doug Hunter who is constantly helping around the parish.  He took the time this past week prior to the funeral luncheon to wash the chairs that are used for seating in the main dining hall.  This is just one example of his love and dedication to the parish!

ALICE Training and Security Upgrades

This past week, the school and parish staff took part in ALICE training.  Everyone found it valuable and enlightening.  I think we are all the more prepared, and I hope that you feel safe and confident while you are on the campus.  We are still working with various vendors to get quotes for security upgrades.  More information is forthcoming as soon as we solidify our plans.  

Collection at Offertory

We passed the baskets at both evening Masses during the Solemnity of the Assumption.  We haven’t passed the baskets since Covid and have relied on the offertory boxes in the back of the church.  First, as I said at those two Masses, my sincere apologies for not saying anything sooner.  I was supposed to have announced it at the weekend Masses before, but the last two weeks have been particularly busy, and it slipped my mind.  That’s my fault.  It was not my intention to make anyone feel put on the spot.  After having consulted with the staff, we will begin passing the baskets at all weekend Masses beginning the weekend after Labor Day (September 9 and 10).  If you are not enrolled in online giving, I encourage you to do so because it is quite a bit easier.  As always, please know of my sincere gratitude for your generosity in giving and helping us to advance the mission of the Church through sacramental worship, faith formation, and education.  

Great is Your Faith! 

In our Gospel this weekend, Jesus says something that is rather bizarre.  In His dialogue with a woman who asks for His help, He responds by saying, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs."  Why does He sound so mean?!  Well, He’s actually not being mean.  He’s being merciful.  We have to keep in mind a couple of things.  

First, Jesus was being persecuted, and people were plotting to kill him.  So, He and His disciples travel to the area of Tyre and Sidon.  Tyre and Sidon was not Jewish territory.  The people there were the descendants of Cain, the son of Adam and Eve who killed his brother Abel and was exiled.  Cain and his descendants inhabited the territory of Tyre and Sidon and were therefore not descendants of the faith but rather were Gentiles.  God sent His Son to a particular people, in a particular place, at a particular time.  Jesus’ mission and ministry was for the “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” as He explicitly tells the woman.  Of course, through the Apostles and the Church, He would expand that ministry to the entire world and to all of humanity.   

Second, Jesus spoke in parables.  Parables are allegorical, meaning that there is always a hidden message or lesson.  Jesus’s parables always had a twist or a shock value.  This statement to the woman is no different.  He is telling her again, that He came for and to the people of Israel.  

In this encounter with the woman, Jesus is being merciful because He is drawing this woman, who is not of Jewish ancestry, into deeper faith.  He wants to see the depth of faith that this woman has in Him.  At the end of this encounter, because the woman is persistent in her belief in Him, He cries out, “O woman, great is your faith!” 

How has God tested your faith?  What trials have you had to endure?  Have those trials drawn you into deeper faith, or, because of human weakness, have they at times caused you to doubt your faith in Christ?  

As you pray today and throughout the week, take some time to reflect on your faith in Christ especially in the face of trials.  Perhaps our words are like the officials in Matthew’s Gospel, “Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief.”  Let our desire be that we hear Jesus say to us, “Great is your faith!” 

Know of my prayers for each one of you!

Fr. Ryan