Obviously, there is so much to say about God, yet we can never say it all. Among the things we can say is this: “our God is one who feeds our hungers and longings.” That is what we celebrate, in large part, every Sunday when we gather around His Table to share in the Mass: God feeds our hungers.
Satisfying our hunger, of course, is not a matter having a ham sandwich and a cup of soup. God satisfies our deeper and our deepest hungers. But what are they, really? What do we all hunger for? So many of us crave something we can’t really name. Dignity. Peace of mind. Love. Things that are so often elusive. Yet, Christ sees to it that we are fed. He gives us what we truly need. In fact, He gives us more than what we need, from things we might never have expected or in surprising ways. Sunday after Sunday, in Word and Sacrament, He creates a feast for us and invites to “come and eat.”
Thought for the day: Evangelization, spreading the Good News of God’s great love for us and our world, is all about one really hungry person telling another hungry person, “I found some food. In fact, I found the food.”
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For further reflection: If you have had an education and know how to read, then you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read anything at all. If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the thousands who won’t survive the week. If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of the world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in your pockets, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy. And if you can attend a church service without fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are more blessed than millions of other people in the world. Do we see and appreciate how truly rich we are?
“Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” (Luke 12, 13-21) Jesus did not answer the greedy brother as he expected He would do. Jesus did not make a legal judgment, but a moral one. Jesus told him that the most important thing was not to have Jesus to solve his problem, but to change his heart. In how many ways are we like this brother? How often do we take an accounting of our many blessings, our true richness, and give thanks and praise to God? How often do we just want God to solve our many problems or give us more and more “stuff?” In all honesty, how often do we ask God to change our hearts and make them more grateful?
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Parish Announcements:
On the parish calendar, the next “event” for Religious Education and Families called “Faith, Family, and Fun” will be Sunday, August 14th (from 10am to noon). Everyone, regardless of age, is welcome!
The SVdP Food Pantry will be open this Sunday at 1pm. We thank our SVdP Conference for their generosity. If you know someone who needs some fresh produce or other food, please come by at 1pm (after Mass) so that you can deliver the food to them … or, if you have need of food yourself, please come by and the workers at the Food Pantry (which has been blessed with an abundance of food) will be happy to help you.
Masks (again) are mandatory in the church. The number of Covid cases has been on the rise, the vaccines which we have previously received may not be as effective against the new variants (and those variants are more easily spread), and we want to avoid overloading hospital and clinic personnel who are burdened by “regular” patient needs and simply do not need more cases of Covid to deal with. Oh, and we are also concerned about your good health!
Thanks to all those who have been working hard for so long and also those who have responded recently to our request for help on the “parish grounds.” Working with the plants and flowers, trimming trees, and cleaning everywhere – you have been so generous and we are thankful.
