Say YES to God’s Call Always

Today’s first reading is taken from the prophecy of Ezekiel 18:25-28. There, the Lord says if a virtuous man turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, then he must die because of that. The Lord adds that if a sinful man turns away from wickedness to do what is right and just, then he shall preserve his life.

Jesus is giving us a new presentation of the same Ezekiel prophecy. Through the story of two sons, Jesus makes it clear that a believer has to express his loyalty and  devotion not through words but through deeds. It gives us a clear understanding of what God wants from us. A believer has to listen to the Words of the Bible and change his mind from evil to the good. We have to respond to the Word of God positively.

The word behind the phrase, “changed his mind” can also be translated as “he regretted it” or even “he repented.” Even if we are living a sinful life and if we change that way of life to good, then we will be saved. Repentance is the key to heaven. Words could be meaningless and promises could be empty if not followed by actions. Do I make empty promises? We have said “yes” to God through Baptism and official membership in the Church. Do I follow those promises through actions of love? This is really the “good news” to many of us. Even if we haven’t done God’s will so far, even if we might have made terrible and shameful choices—it isn’t too late!

We each need to lead a responsible Christian life saying “yes” to God. Each one of us is responsible to God for every one of our actions, and the just God will punish or reward each of us according to our actions. As we do not know at what moment God’s call will come to us, our only guarantee is to be in God’s friendship always, saying “yes” to God in our deeds. God is always with us to strengthen us, to pardon us, and to lift us up again when, through human weakness, we stumble on the road. God is calling us right now or inviting us to work in His vineyard, inviting us to say “yes” to Him with our words and actions. We shall surely put our “yes” into actions always. Whenever it comes to the actions, only then is our “yes” fulfilled. Words and actions should go hand in hand. Always working in the vineyard is not for our sakes but for God. He is the owner of the vineyard and we are only servants who work in the vineyard, so therefore we shall always put into practice what we say, that is “YES!” to the Lord.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, help me to desire only that which is pleasing to you in my whole life, to accept your Holy will, whatever it may be, happiness or sadness. Help me to respect your will and please give me the strength, joy, and perseverance to carry it out wholeheartedly. And always help me to say “yes” to your holy will and put it into action and find satisfaction in all that I do for you and my neighbor. Amen.

With love and prayers,

Fr. Charley

Parish Picnic

PARISH PICNIC

On September 24 we held our annual Parish Picnic. As one would expect, it consisted of FOOD, FELLOWSHIP, and FUN!

Food

Fellowship

Fun!

God’s Generosity Stands High Above Everything

God is generous in opening the doors of his kingdom to all who will enter, both those who have labored a lifetime for him and those who come at the last hour. While the reward is the same, the motive for one’s labor can make all the difference. Some work only for reward. They will only put in as much effort as they think they will get back. Others labor out of love and joy for the opportunity to work and to serve others. The Lord Jesus calls each one of us to serve God and his kingdom with joy and zeal and to serve our neighbor with a generous spirit as well.

The question is: Do you perform your daily tasks and responsibilities with cheerfulness and diligence for the Lord’s sake? And do you give generously to others, especially to those in need of your care and support?

Today’s parable is not about what the workers see but what they do not see. What they do not see is the generosity of the landowner. More specifically, they do not see the generosity of the landowner to themselves. They recognize that the landowner has chosen to be generous to those who were hired last, and they resent it. But they do not recognize how they have been given a job—a day’s labor—by which they can support their families. You see, today’s parable is about blindness, the blindness that so many of us have to the blessings of God in our lives. The parable warns us that we will never be able to see God’s generosity to us as long as we look with jealous eyes.

The parable is realistic. The parable tells us that if we are to be happy in an unfair world, we must focus less on what others have and more on the generosity that God has shown to us. Yes, we may not have the biggest office or the highest salary but we do have a job, a job by which we can earn a decent living. We do have friends and those friends are real. Our children may not be the brightest or the smartest, but they are healthy and we have a good relationship with them. Others in our family may receive more from our parents, but we have parents and they have given us life.

Therefore, we shall pray: Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may serve you joyfully and serve my neighbor willingly with a generous heart, not looking for how much I can get, but rather looking for how much I can give. Thank you, Lord, for all the Blessings that you give to me and my family.

Love and prayers,

Fr. Charley

Silver Rose Visits Parish

From Susan Turner: "Yesterday the Holy Spirit Knights of Columbus stopped at Queen on their Silver Roses Pilgrimage to pray the 3rd decade of the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. Several of us from Queen were here to welcome them."

For more about the Silver Rose and it's journey, see

https://www.facebook.com/100095346525055/posts/pfbid0X9gFPJwbs3Xee6b3ZSCkrL6WUhiV6pPh1RkZPPCCau6UqEH8XDtBcZQdx1WMkmkol/?mibextid=cr9u03

 

Forgiveness Is the Key to Open Heaven

A MESSAGE FROM FR. CHARLEY

As Seen in the Bulletin

September 17, 2023

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Forgiveness Is the Key to Open Heaven

Today, through a beautiful parable, Jesus is highlighting why a Christian should be repeatedly forgiving the offenses done to him. The parable starts by saying "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king." This king is enormously rich. "A huge amount" in v. 24 is literally translated as "ten thousand talents," which is equal to seven hundred and fifty-five thousand pounds of gold! This servant is pleading for more time to pay back the loan. V.27 says, "Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan." The loan of such an enormous amount is written off! This resembles the mercy of our Heavenly Father. He writes off all our sins and offenses!

"A much smaller amount" in V.28 is literally translated as "a hundred denarii." A denarius was the normal daily wage of a laborer. Therefore, a hundred denarii when compared to 755,000 pounds of gold is nothing! The mercy of God is without any limits. He forgives all our sins. And so, a Christian has to forgive all the offenses done to him. At the end of the story, we see the servant in prison and being tortured for NOT forgiving! If you don't forgive, then you will find yourself in prison/in bondage and being tortured!

Offenses leave us with inner wounds. Inner wounds are more painful and will take more time to heal. But still, let us keep in mind that there is no wound that God cannot heal. Inner healing needs more time and so we need more time to forgive the offenders. Let us take strong willful decisions that we will forgive, and then in due time we will be able to forgive the other.

If we can forgive unconditionally, then we will enjoy absolute freedom as children of God. It is these forgiving and loving deeds of mercy that help us to be blessed and to enjoy peace.

Forgiveness is a heavenly gift that God has already put into our hearts. It is also a sacred duty. Always take these gifts and put them into practice towards our brethren. Don’t think that when you forgive others you become less before others; you become greater! Forgiveness is the key to open heaven. That’s how Jesus opened heaven for us. When He was crucified, He looked down and saw his offenders and Jesus prayed to His Heavenly Father to forgive them, "because they do not know what they are doing." We shall ask the Good Lord to give us a heart like His to forgive others unconditionally. Make our hearts like Thine. Be blessed and always be a blessing to others.

With love and prayers,

Fr. Charley

Forgiveness Is the Key to Open Heaven

Today, through a beautiful parable, Jesus is highlighting why a Christian should be repeatedly forgiving the offenses done to him. The parable starts by saying “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king.” This king is enormously rich. “A huge amount” in v. 24 is literally translated as “ten thousand talents,” which is equal to seven hundred and fifty-five thousand pounds of gold! This servant is pleading for more time to pay back the loan. V.27 says, “Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan.” The loan of such an enormous amount is written off! This resembles the mercy of our Heavenly Father. He writes off all our sins and offenses!

“A much smaller amount” in V.28 is literally translated as “a hundred denarii.” A denarius was the normal daily wage of a laborer. Therefore, a hundred denarii when compared to 755,000 pounds of gold is nothing! The mercy of God is without any limits. He forgives all our sins. And so, a Christian has to forgive all the offenses done to him. At the end of the story, we see the servant in prison and being tortured for NOT forgiving! If you don’t forgive, then you will find yourself in prison/in bondage and being tortured!

Offenses leave us with inner wounds. Inner wounds are more painful and will take more time to heal. But still, let us keep in mind that there is no wound that God cannot heal. Inner healing needs more time and so we need more time to forgive the offenders. Let us take strong willful decisions that we will forgive, and then in due time we will be able to forgive the other.

If we can forgive unconditionally, then we will enjoy absolute freedom as children of God. It is these forgiving and loving deeds of mercy that help us to be blessed and to enjoy peace.

Forgiveness is a heavenly gift that God has already put into our hearts. It is also a sacred duty. Always take these gifts and put them into practice towards our brethren. Don’t think that when you forgive others you become less before others; you become greater! Forgiveness is the key to open heaven. That’s how Jesus opened heaven for us. When He was crucified, He looked down and saw his offenders and Jesus prayed to His Heavenly Father to forgive them, “because they do not know what they are doing.” We shall ask the Good Lord to give us a heart like His to forgive others unconditionally. Make our hearts like Thine. Be blessed and always be a blessing to others.

With love and prayers,

Fr. Charley

House Blessings

Fr. Charley has been blessing our parishioner’s homes this summer. The blessings are a wonderful way to dedicate your home and family to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. If you would like to have your home blessed, please contact the parish office.

House Blessings

Fr. Charley blesses homes

If your brother sins against you…

A MESSAGE FROM FR. CHARLEY

As Seen in the Bulletin

September 10, 2023

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If your brother sins against you...

Today's first reading is from The Book of Ezekiel. The Lord makes it clear that the prophet should be the guide of the people of Israel. If the prophet fails to warn a sinner, then he will be held responsible for that sinner.

In today's second reading, the Letter to the Romans, Saint Paul concludes that love is the fulfillment of the law. He makes it very clear that one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Today, we should take all the three readings as one single unit. Jesus made it clear that he has come not to call the righteous but the sinners (Matthew 9:13). In fact, in Matthew 18:14 Jesus says, "It is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost."

Today's message could very well be derived from the prominent question and answer in the very first book of the Bible, Genesis 4:9, "Then the Lord asked Cain, 'where is your brother Abel?' He answered, 'I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?'"

Yes... I am my brother's keeper! I should be responsible for his life. Today’s Gospel is all about how to bring back the lost brethren. Jesus is trying to tell us that our brother must not be lost by us anytime but always to bring him back to a love relationship.

Jesus came into this world to bring back the lost one, not looking for the righteous ones or good ones.

We are here to express our relationship to God, but God is concerned about our relationships with each other. Matt.18:20 says "When two or three are gathered for my sake, there am I in the midst of them." When we are mutually connected, God is there. Therefore, God’s relationship with us and our relationships with others are interconnected.

According to St. Augustine of Hippo, "If someone has done you injury and you have suffered, what should be done?" You have heard the answer already in today's scripture: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone." If you fail to do so, you are worse than he is. He has done someone harm, and by doing harm he has stricken himself with a grievous wound. Will you then completely disregard your brother's wound? Will you simply watch him stumble and fall down? Will you disregard his predicament? If so, you are worse in your silence than he in his abuse. Therefore, when any one sins against us, let us take great care, but not merely for ourselves. For it is a glorious thing to forget injuries. Just set aside your own injury, but do not neglect your brother's wound. Therefore "'go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone,' intent upon his amendment but sparing his sense of shame" (Excerpt from Sermon 82.7).

Love and prayers,

Fr. Charley

Dedication to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ Have Mercy on us…

As we know my dear brothers and sisters, this month (June) is specially dedicated to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus—Friday 16th is the Feast Day. On that day at 12 noon we will dedicate our homes to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. We will pray the dedication prayers to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus at home as well as in our Parish Church right before the Holy Mass on Friday. We shall offer all our houses and families and our Parish to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus that day. Please remember that His Heart is the most powerful Heart to accept us always under any conditions and circumstances of our life. Because He is full of mercy, love and compassion, He will never abandon us.

Dedication to the Most Secret Heart of Jesus

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, now we gather before You to dedicate each one of us to You. We believe and proclaim that You are the King and Master of our homes and our Parish. We dedicate all those who are living in this Parish/home. Whenever they go out and come in, You keep them safe in Your hands. Protect them from all the dangers of the world. Protect them from sudden death and from all the natural and unnatural calamities. Keep our hearts always clean and pure. Lead us not into temptation. If anybody has been in the state of sin, give him the chance to repent and come back to you as soon as possible. Please show mercy and love towards us always and at every time. May all those who have passed away from this family enjoy Your everlasting life in Heaven. Give us also the chance to be with You in Heaven after our life here on earth. All these prayers and dedications are lifted up to You, through the Most Holy Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: Have mercy on us (3 times)

Immaculate Heart of Mary: Pray for us
Saint Joseph: Pray for us
Mary, Queen of the Universe: Pray for us
Mary, Help of Christians: Pray for us.
Jesus, Meek and Humble of Heart, Make our hearts like Yours.
May the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus protect us and keep us safe always within His heart.

With gratitude, love and prayers,

Fr. Charley