St. Catherine of Siena

In this 26th week of Ordinal Time, the Gospel of Matthew presents a parable and asks for “your opinion” on the topic of openness to God’s Will in the lives of two sons. This same question should be asked of ourselves—“Am I open to doing God’s Will in my life?” On the other hand, is God’s Will too inconvenient or too stressful for me in today’s world? Will it cause someone in my family or circle of friends to feel uncomfortable, embarrassed or will it cause a rift in our friendship? Will people think I am weird or fanatical if I do God’s Will in my life?

In order to keep the momentum of the spirit alive and flourishing, we need to build upon our spirit and lead us all deeper into the Truth of Christ, which ultimately brings Joy to all who Hope, Trust and Act in the Lord. And thanks to the many, many donors to our Forward with Faith campaign a number of years ago—and to all who have remained loyal to the campaign commitments, we are able now to truly add more “meat” to the spirit of our community.

(A storytime for young children ages 3-8) Saturday, September 23, 6 p.m. in Russell Hall This year, youth ministry has started a new program to have our teens engage with the younger children in our parish. Our youth ministry teens are great role models for our younger children, and the children in our parish look up to them. Once a month through December, youth ministry is piloting a program called Once Upon A Book. Our first program is Saturday, September 23, immediately following the 5 pm Mass.

Our gospel today has a powerful message, which our world certainly needs to hear today. We could simply interpret this gospel to say, in our current national climate, that we may not all agree on something, but we do not have to become enemies. The goal of “communal living” and the goal of the Christian faith is to respect one another in the midst of differing opinions.