From the Pastor's Desk | February 15

Mrs. Patton

In last week’s bulletin you read a letter from Mrs. Patton announcing her retirement.  37 years in education, 29 of which have been spent forming young hearts and minds here at St. Martha!  I am incredibly grateful to her.  Her wisdom, care, kindness, collegiality, leadership (I could go on and on) have helped shape not only our students and families but also the school itself.  Fr. Mike often references “the renewal” meaning the turning point of this parish and school beginning in 2017.  At the time there were approximately 60 children enrolled in the school.  Today we are very close to capacity (and interest in St. Martha School has increased dramatically!) and are building six additional classrooms to meet the need.  “The renewal” has taken place, in large part, because of Mrs. Patton’s leadership in the school.  I am grateful and am very proud of her and her accomplishments.  Mrs. Patton has placed her trust entirely in the Lord and through her the Lord has accomplished great things.

We will have a celebration to properly thank Mrs. Patton.  More information on that will follow in the weeks to come…  

The Lord will continue to accomplish great things here at St. Martha.  We will hire an excellent principal to lead the next chapter of St. Martha as we continue to form the hearts and minds of our youth drawing them into an ever deepening relationship with Jesus Christ.  By now the position description has been made public and we are accepting resumes and cover letters.  If you know anyone who might be interested, please have them send their resume and cover letter to my attention.

Be Careful What You Purchase! 

Please exercise caution when purchasing religious articles - especially rosaries - online. It is important to know both the source and origin of these items. I have recently become aware that a number of counterfeit rosaries are in circulation, many of which appear to be mass-produced and commonly distributed as inexpensive handouts.

At first, I was inclined to dismiss these concerns. However, after further research and conversations with brother priests, I found the issue serious enough to bring to your attention.

These counterfeit rosaries can often be identified by certain features. The crucifix may lack the traditional “INRI” inscription and instead display unusual imagery, such as a snake coiled near the top of the cross. In some cases, the cross points feature sun-like symbols with multiple rays, or are shaped like pentagons which is inconsistent with traditional Christian iconography.  The origins of these designs are often unclear, which raises legitimate concerns about their suitability for prayer and devotion.

For this reason, I strongly encourage you to avoid using rosaries of uncertain origin. If you come across such items - or already have them in your possession - please bring them to the parish office so they may be properly disposed of.

Parish Speaker Series

Please mark your calendars for our Lenten Speaker Series The Lordship of Christ March 2, 3, and 4.  Our speaker and present is my dear friend Mr. James (Butch) Murphy.  Jim "Butch" Murphy serves as a Renewal Ministries’ country coordinator for Mexico, organizing and leading multiple mission trips each year to serve the impoverished in Mexico City. He is also the founder and president of Vera Cruz Communications and has been involved in youth ministry on parish, diocesan, national, and international levels; has served as a member of several parish pastoral teams; and has worked in various religious education programs. Jim also is the former chairman of the National Service Committee for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and former president of International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service. Jim and his wife, Susan, have one son and live in Western Michigan.

I have preached a couple of times about my experiences on the Mexico Mission Trip with Father Gabriel Richard High School.  Butch is “the guy” who leads these regular trips and missions to the people of Mexico, particularly those living in the largest garbage dump in North America.  He is an incredible man and this will prove a worthwhile endeavor for you to attend.  So, I look forward to seeing you each night! 

Rite of Election February 22

Bishop Boyea will preside over the Rite of Election for the regional candidates and catechumens (those who will enter full communion with the Catholic Church at Easter) here at St. Martha on Sunday, February 22 at 3:00pm.  Please pray for those coming into the Church at Easter as they strive to be all the more like Christ and receive him more fully within the Body of Christ and through the Sacraments. 

For those attending the 5:00pm Mass that evening, please know there might be a bit of congestion in the parking lot.  When I agreed to host this, the original time was 2:00pm.  It has since been pushed back to 3:00pm.  Oh well!  I’m happy to accommodate the Bishop and the diocesan staff.    

Gospel Reflection

Our Gospel reading today continues, as it has for the last few weeks, from the Sermon on the Mount.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is presented by Matthew as the New Moses.  Just as Moses received the law from God himself on Mount Sinai, Jesus now teaches from a mountain revealing the full meaning of the law originally given.  

Jesus is clear, he has not come to abolish the law but rather to fulfill the law.  We can look at the law as having two dimensions - moral and ceremonial.  Open your bibles to the Pentateuch (first five books including Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) otherwise known as the Torah.  The Torah are the books of the law and we can see in them two dimensions - moral and ceremonial.  The ceremonial laws (washing, sacrifice, worship, dietary, festivals, etc.) have all been fulfilled in Christ.  Christ is both the object of our worship and the one who was sacrificed on our behalf.  The laws of purification, sacrifice, festivals of worship, etc. all point to Christ himself.  He is the sacrificial lamb and, as such, he is the one we are called to worship - the one who takes away our sin and the sins of the world.      

Jesus, in our passage today, is primarily concerned with the moral law.  And, again, he is clear.  He has not come to abolish the moral law primarily found in the Ten Commandments, but rather to explain and teach the meaning behind them - conversion of heart.  Jesus reveals their deepest and fullest meaning and he reveals this meaning through both his teaching and in the way he perfectly lived the law himself.  

There are 613 laws in the Torah known as the mitzvot.  365 are negative laws (abstentions) and 248 are positive (things or actions to be done or undertaken).  The Jews took the law very seriously.  So seriously, in fact, that Rabbinc law (Talmud) developed thousands of extra laws known as gezeirot (fences or hedges) and takanot (ordinances) in order to protect themselves from violating the original commandments.  In other words, these extra laws and ordinances were developed so that they would not come close to violating one of the original Mosaic laws.  

God himself takes the law very seriously because relationships are built on mutual respect, trust, and commitment.  There are certain things that ought not be done within the context of relationship lest the relationship break down and be destroyed all together.  As an example, within the context of marriage, the spouses are called to be exclusively faithful to each other.  Anything otherwise would sew distrust, anger, and resentment.  

Jesus seals the law, or covenant, in his own blood.  That is the means through which he has chosen to show his faithfulness to us.  Those of us who call ourselves Christian and profess to be in and have a relationship with Christ, respect the relationship so much that we strive not to fall into sin.  That is the whole point of our first reading taken from the fifteenth chapter of the book of Sirach.  And, in our Gospel, Jesus is quite clear in that he has not come to abolish the law but rather to fulfill it.  He fulfills the law by teaching us the meaning behind it - conversion of heart, mind, and soul.  

The word conversion comes from the Greek word metanoia which means a fundamental change of mind or change of heart involving a radical change in one’s perspective, direction, and way of life.  Metanoia means going much deeper than simple regret or repentance, but rather a complete reorientation toward something new.  Jesus, in both his preaching and teaching, but even more fundamentally in his Paschal Sacrifice, teaches us the deeper meaning behind the law - to love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds and to love our neighbors as ourselves.  In the Gospel today, Jesus provides a little insight into this:  

The letter of the law, for example, says that one shall not kill.  But, the deeper meaning of that command is that anger itself kills.  

The letter of the law says that one shall not commit adultery.  But, the deeper meaning of that command is that lust and disordered sexual desire is itself destructive because it is selfish and not at all directed toward the other out of love.  

The letter of law allowed for divorce if a bill of divorce was provided.  But, the deeper meaning of that command is that God never intended divorce.  He permitted it because of the hardness of the hearts of the people.  But, Jesus, through the law, is calling each of us into something deeper.  In marriage God intends a lifelong faithful covenant between a man and woman as a witness of the covenant between Christ and His Church.  

The letter of the law says that one should not make a false oath.  The deeper meaning behind the law is that we should always be people of the truth regardless of whether the truth is advantageous or disadvantageous to us because the truth matters and the truth will always come out.  

It would take Jesus’ disciples to come to understand what Jesus meant by all this.  That understanding would not come until his suffering, death, and Resurrection when law would actually be fulfilled and finally revealed to them.

As we pray today, let us understand that law is rooted in relationship or covenant and that Jesus Christ himself is the fulfillment of both the law and the prophets.  Let us pray for a metanoia to take place in our hearts as we turn all the more completely toward the Lord.  

Know of my prayers for you all! 

Fr. Ryan