From the Pastor's Desk | July 14, 2024

Fourth of July

I hope and pray that all of you had a relaxing and enjoyable Fourth of July!  Thank you for your patience with me in transferring the daily Masses on July 4 and 5 to St. Mary in Williamston.  It was really nice to get away and visit with my brother and sister-in-law.  We played 36 holes on Thursday and slept in on Friday.  It was excellent!

Claudia (Fountain) Jones 

Mrs. Jones informed me months ago that she would be leaving her position as Director of Youth Ministry effective July 1.  Her life has included many changes, most importantly her wedding on May 11!  She has concluded her student teaching and is going to take some time to settle into married life before she begins actively looking for full-time work as a teacher.  She has been an extraordinary youth minister and an important part of our team.  Personally, I wish her nothing but the best.  Please congratulate her and thank her for her faithful service to the Lord and St. Martha Parish!  She will be missed.  

Youth Ministry 

Regarding youth ministry and young adult discipleship, I suggested to our staff and parish leadership that we pause this next year and really pray into what the Lord is asking of us for the youth of our parish.  When I arrived last year, I communicated to the staff and parish leadership that we need to invest greatly in our youth.  My suggestion to pause seems like a departure from that vision.  However, I think it best to be very prayerful about our next steps to help us ensure that we are truly doing what the Lord asks of us.  Our prayer should always lead our action.  

I have some ideas in mind and there are conversations being had both internally and externally about how to best minister to the youth with both good formation and dynamism.  After we are able to pray through this next fiscal year, I think we will be in a better position to minister most effectively.   That said, there will still be a handful of opportunities for the teens of our parish to gather socially over the summer with Dcn. Jack taking the lead.  We just had our first one last Thursday with dodgeball and s’mores.  Look for these High School Nights in the bulletin.

St. Martha Feast Day Celebration 

Monday, July 29, is the feast day of our Patron Saint, St. Martha!  The weekend of July 27 and 28, we will be celebrating her feast day liturgically at all the weekend Masses including the prayers and readings proper to St. Martha’s feast day.  After Mass on Saturday, July 27, all are welcome to join us at the fire pit for a celebration including MSU dairy store ice cream, s’mores, and hot dogs.  Thank you to the Knights of Columbus for helping in this endeavor!  

Annual Report 

We closed the fiscal year as of June 30, 2024.  The books will not close until everything has been recorded which will take a couple of weeks.  Please look for the annual report sometime in early September.  

Gospel Reflection

It is interesting to note that after Jesus commissioned his disciples to go and preach the Kingdom of God they preached repentance.  It says explicitly in the Gospel today, taken from the sixth chapter of Mark, that “they preached repentance.”  It does not say that they preached mercy, love, kindness, niceties, or the like.  Mark uses the word repentance.  

We bristle a bit when we see, read, or hear that word - repentance.  We bristle just like Amaziah in the first reading today.  Why?  Because it means we must change.  It means we fall short in some aspects of our lives.  The word sin in Greek, hamartia, means “to miss the mark.”  It connotes the same idea of an archer aiming his bow to hit a target but missing the mark.  We still suffer from the effects of our fallen human nature and, quite often, miss the mark in our attitudes, behaviors, actions, speech, etc.  These are simply symptoms of something much deeper within us.

Repentance requires two things - humility and conversion.  First, we have to be humble enough to realize and accept that we, quite often, miss the mark.  We have to be humble and honest enough to ask ourselves why?  Where does my anger come from?  Where does my slander or gossip come from?  Where does my excessive drinking or lustful thoughts come from?  Where does my greed and lying come from?  Second, we have to make an effort to change.  In the act of contrition that we pray each time we go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we pray, “I firmly resolve with the help of thy grace to sin no more and to avoid whatever leads me to sin…”  In other words, we resolve to repent.    

Repentance is the beginning of our realization of the Kingdom of God.  That realization begins here and now as we move through this life.  Jesus is certainly gentle, loving, and kind.  We have nothing to fear in bringing Him our sinfulness.  Why?  Because it gives Him the opportunity to actually be our Lord, to love us in the midst of our greatest weaknesses and struggles, and to be our strength as sojourners in a fallen world. 

As we pray today - let us pray for the gifts of humility and conversion ultimately leading us to true repentance.  

Know of my prayers for you all!