Thank you all for
your response to our collection for the beset Christians in the Middle East
last weekend. The total received over
the weekend was $3,965.13, and I am sure more will come in over coming
weeks. You are quite generous; this
outpouring is toward the higher end for a second collection here. This is more remarkable because it was not scheduled,
but “special,” situational, and the third
second collection during September.
Please, please do not
forget to follow up with your prayers and attention. Do not neglect to attend to the travails of
these people! I did notice a few extra
folks who made the sacrifice of time for them at Adoration this past Sunday. Do not underestimate the value of your
prayers.
If you want to
continue your material support, allow
me to commend to you the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (http://www.cnewa.org). They have been on the ground in the Holy Land
and surrounding nations for decades, and are integrated with the local churches,
who are the best at identifying authentic needs and providing long-term
help. They also have full oversight of
the Church, and therefore meet all standards of transparency and
accountability.
I have been
supporting CNEWA as one of my personal charitable endeavors for as long as I
have had a paycheck. I think this started because of my seminary trip to the
Holy Land and Jordan, when I saw just how great the disadvantage our Baptismal brothers
and sisters there face even when they are not being persecuted, much less
martyred for their faith. This is the
ancient home of the Church, and the geographic and cultural ground of our
Faith; it is worthy of our support and attention.
It seems I haven’t preached
to you in ages, since we are enjoying the efforts of our weekend seminarian Deacon
Steve Graeve. It is good for me to get a
break, but also to be preached to, a
rare luxury in my life. As he explores
all the elements of homiletic style and technique, he does not fail to bring
insights that I had not considered before.
It also frees my meditation from weekly compartmentalization into homilies
on specific Sunday scriptures, and allows me to reflect on whatever the Spirit
reveals.
In the context of all
that our Christian brothers and sisters are facing, I am drawn to the mystery
of the Holy Trinity that is the heart of God’s self-revelation, and our
faith. Every year on Trinity Sunday I
acknowledge it to be the most daunting subject to preach, but now world events
lead me to the conclusion that it is the most vital aspect of our faith to
explore. You will hear more from me on
this subject soon enough, but I invite you to join me in preparatory
meditation.
What is the greatest
gift of the God who is in Himself Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Is it love?
Is it intelligibility? Is it
freedom? What is the most marvelous sign
on earth of this heavenly Communion? Is
it the unity of the Body of Christ that is made of many members? Is it the unity of the Sacred Scripture that
is the fruit of many authors? Is it the
dynamic of the life-giving unity of Holy Matrimony, in which multiple souls are
bound into the basic unit of society, of culture, and the Church? Join me in reflecting on this.
I look forward to
seeing you all on the field this weekend at the Fall Festival. A lot of people have put in a great deal of
work so that we can all have fun. Right
now the prediction is for it to be chilly, but sunny. Make a prayer for the weather to reflect the
glory of the Lord, and the radiance of our love for one another, rather than be
a reminder of our Baptism. There is
never a shortage of worthy intentions for our prayers, and never anything less
than abundance of care in the Providence of God who responds to them.
Monsignor
Smith
