HI FRIENDS!
Rene Bauer sent me some statistics that I think that we all need to see.
Even before the earthquake...
QUICK FACTS
Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere
95% of aid to Haiti has been reduced since the early 1990s
70% of Haitian people live in poverty-annual income of $400 per year
15% of all children in Haiti are orphaned or abandoned
200,000 orphaned Haitian children live in institutions (the rest are fostered, live with relatives, or are street children)
40% of the population is under the age of 15
A history of an extremely high maternal mortality rate contributes to the number of orphans
Child-headed households are becoming more common as potential guardians succumb to AIDS or other causes of death
(source UNICEF)
Your generosity to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti is astounding. From the donations that have come in through last weekend our three parishes sent in nearly $29,000 to help relieve the suffering that is going on in Port au Prince. But they are going to need our help for a long time. We have received emails from Fr. Alcide and Sr. Mary of St. Marc’s Parish there. They say that even though their city was not damaged, floods of people are coming from Port au Prince to St. Marc’s for food, shelter, water and other essentials. Fr. Alcide also says he is busy burying parishioners and relatives who were killed in the earthquake, including two of his nieces who were only 4 ½ and 5 years old. My hope is that we continue to be generous and support the folks in Haiti and St. Marc’s for decades to come. They will continue to need us.
In the Gospel today Jesus gets ran out of His hometown because he preached that the gates to God’s Kingdom were wide enough for the poor, the blind, and the rejected of the world to fit through. This angered the folks in the synagogue in Nazareth because that was not their idea of who should be included and invited to receive blessings from God.
The Gospel of Christ constantly calls us to open our eyes, our arms, our minds, our hearts, and our lives to include those we don’t want to include into the family of the Children of God. We may think it is unsafe, risky, and even illegal to live with the same limitless boundaries of God. And it is definitely not easy to do so in this militantly individualistic culture we live in. But that is the call of the Gospel and the measuring stick of our discipleship these days. Let’s continue the openness and generosity that we’ve demonstrated for more than 150 years here. Let’s also pray that God continue to open us up to be better able to serve Him and all others.
Peace and Blessings,
Fr. Chuck Walker
Monday, January 25, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Parts is Parts
Hello Folks,
Watching the news about the suffering in Haiti has been heart wrenching. I saw one report that showed that doctors were having to do amputations with rusty hack saws that they had found in the street because the hospitals and all of their surgical equipment was destroyed. In some cases they were using vodka and rum to sterilize the saws and other “medical” equipment. These amputations were taking place in less than sanitary conditions and locations too. Some of the amputations had to happen at the site of the accident in order to remove the person from the rubble. This is all very sad to think about and to know that it is really happening.
I’m sure you and the rest of our parish will be very generous to the collection we’re having for our neighbors in Haiti. We’ll do so because of our association with our friends in our sister parish of St. Marc’s, and we’ll do so because we recognize that these friends who are suffering are part of the Body of Christ.
St. Paul writes to his companions in Corinth today that, “all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ.” And, “You are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.” This image of US as the Body of Christ sometimes goes over our heads and sometimes in one ear and out of the other. But it is a deep part of what we believe about the Eucharist and how interconnected we all are to Christ and to one another.
It also has a lot to say about how vital we are to one another as Church. Over the next couple of weeks we will have some parishioners planning to begin a program named “Re-Membering Church”. (You’ll hear more about this in the bulletin in the near future.) This team will figure out how to contact and then conduct listening sessions for folks who may be ready to come back to the Catholic Church after having been away for a while. The whole thrust of this is to let folks know that the Church as the Body of Christ hurts when another part of the Body hurts and dies if part of the Body is dismembered.
You are an integral member of this Body of Christ called St. James Parish. We need you now to come back if you’ve felt disconnected for a while. We need you all to connect with friends, family members, and others who you miss being here at St. James. Ask them to be re-membered with us.
The Body of Christ has many members. Just like the human body we all hurt when one part hurts. Help us heal here, in Haiti, and everywhere the Body of Christ is hurting.
paz,
Fr. Chuck
Watching the news about the suffering in Haiti has been heart wrenching. I saw one report that showed that doctors were having to do amputations with rusty hack saws that they had found in the street because the hospitals and all of their surgical equipment was destroyed. In some cases they were using vodka and rum to sterilize the saws and other “medical” equipment. These amputations were taking place in less than sanitary conditions and locations too. Some of the amputations had to happen at the site of the accident in order to remove the person from the rubble. This is all very sad to think about and to know that it is really happening.
I’m sure you and the rest of our parish will be very generous to the collection we’re having for our neighbors in Haiti. We’ll do so because of our association with our friends in our sister parish of St. Marc’s, and we’ll do so because we recognize that these friends who are suffering are part of the Body of Christ.
St. Paul writes to his companions in Corinth today that, “all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ.” And, “You are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.” This image of US as the Body of Christ sometimes goes over our heads and sometimes in one ear and out of the other. But it is a deep part of what we believe about the Eucharist and how interconnected we all are to Christ and to one another.
It also has a lot to say about how vital we are to one another as Church. Over the next couple of weeks we will have some parishioners planning to begin a program named “Re-Membering Church”. (You’ll hear more about this in the bulletin in the near future.) This team will figure out how to contact and then conduct listening sessions for folks who may be ready to come back to the Catholic Church after having been away for a while. The whole thrust of this is to let folks know that the Church as the Body of Christ hurts when another part of the Body hurts and dies if part of the Body is dismembered.
You are an integral member of this Body of Christ called St. James Parish. We need you now to come back if you’ve felt disconnected for a while. We need you all to connect with friends, family members, and others who you miss being here at St. James. Ask them to be re-membered with us.
The Body of Christ has many members. Just like the human body we all hurt when one part hurts. Help us heal here, in Haiti, and everywhere the Body of Christ is hurting.
paz,
Fr. Chuck
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Love is a Radiator
Howdy!
Last weekend was Vocation Sunday but this weekend's readings seem to say more to me about being called by God for His special purpose.
The 2nd reading is St. Paul's I Corinthians 12:4-11. In it he talks to his fledgling Christians about how God gives us all gifts, and that they are all different, but that they are still God's gifts. Isaiah in the first reading (Is.62:1-5) tells the chosen people that in God's mind they are intimate lovers. God considers His people to be just as a new bride or groom is to their new spouse. He uses intimate language to talk to his ancient (and now modern) audience about how dearly God loves us and calls us. In the Gospel from the second chapter of John we see Jesus beginning His ministry at a wedding in Cana. The unsuspecting guests are going to receive a real treat. Where logically folks can be served the Old Crow after they've had plenty of Maker's Mark and they won't know the difference; Jesus turns water into Blanton's. (okay, it was really wine, but I know there are more folks around here who know about the quality of bourbon, and less who know about the quality of wine.)
Here's why I think that these readings talk to us about vocations. A vocation is a calling to use our gifts for the service of God and others. I did not choose the gifts that God gave to me and neither did you. But they all came from God. We are called in turn to return our gifts for God's good. This morning I used the image with our 1st-3rd graders that we use our gifts like radiators. We are not the source of our heat, or our power, or our gifts. God is! We are given our gifts to be radiated or spread, like a space heater or radiator is. That is what Jesus did in Cana. He used God's gift of generosity and joy to make the wedding day for the unsuspecting newly weds a party with the finest of wines. He used His gifts not to make Himself better, but to enhance the lives of His hosts and the other wedding guests. This first miracle of His was to be followed by many other miracles, works, and words. And every step of the way, in everything that he did, he used His life to radiate the gifts that His Father had given Him for the benefit of others and ultimately for the glory and honor of His Father.
We all are called by God to use the life we have for the benefit of others and to praise God. Hows' your radiator working?
peace,
Fr. Chuck
Last weekend was Vocation Sunday but this weekend's readings seem to say more to me about being called by God for His special purpose.
The 2nd reading is St. Paul's I Corinthians 12:4-11. In it he talks to his fledgling Christians about how God gives us all gifts, and that they are all different, but that they are still God's gifts. Isaiah in the first reading (Is.62:1-5) tells the chosen people that in God's mind they are intimate lovers. God considers His people to be just as a new bride or groom is to their new spouse. He uses intimate language to talk to his ancient (and now modern) audience about how dearly God loves us and calls us. In the Gospel from the second chapter of John we see Jesus beginning His ministry at a wedding in Cana. The unsuspecting guests are going to receive a real treat. Where logically folks can be served the Old Crow after they've had plenty of Maker's Mark and they won't know the difference; Jesus turns water into Blanton's. (okay, it was really wine, but I know there are more folks around here who know about the quality of bourbon, and less who know about the quality of wine.)
Here's why I think that these readings talk to us about vocations. A vocation is a calling to use our gifts for the service of God and others. I did not choose the gifts that God gave to me and neither did you. But they all came from God. We are called in turn to return our gifts for God's good. This morning I used the image with our 1st-3rd graders that we use our gifts like radiators. We are not the source of our heat, or our power, or our gifts. God is! We are given our gifts to be radiated or spread, like a space heater or radiator is. That is what Jesus did in Cana. He used God's gift of generosity and joy to make the wedding day for the unsuspecting newly weds a party with the finest of wines. He used His gifts not to make Himself better, but to enhance the lives of His hosts and the other wedding guests. This first miracle of His was to be followed by many other miracles, works, and words. And every step of the way, in everything that he did, he used His life to radiate the gifts that His Father had given Him for the benefit of others and ultimately for the glory and honor of His Father.
We all are called by God to use the life we have for the benefit of others and to praise God. Hows' your radiator working?
peace,
Fr. Chuck
Monday, January 4, 2010
Cannon Ball!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sometimes I get upset with photographers. Whether they are professionals or folks who just love to snap pix I think they get in the way sometimes. I am very sympathetic to the stars and sports celebrities who get upset with the paparazzi always sticking a camera where it need not be.
One of the places that it seems that photographers take over is at weddings. I think they think that the wedding is about the pictures. Most churches including our own have "rules" for photographers at weddings mainly to keep them and everyone else at the wedding focused on the "wedding" that is going on.
Marriage, Communion, Reconciliation, Baptism, Confirmation, Healing, priesthood, religious life are all important Sacraments and/or commitments. Sometimes though the ritual of the commitment or Sacrament becomes more important than the Sacrament or commitment.
My point here is that commitments and Sacraments are meant to be lived. I know a lot of people who come to Mass to receive the Body and Blood of Christ. But when they get in the parking lot or the grocery store the Body or Blood of Christ is not evident by their actions. I could go down the line with all of the Sacraments and our other religious commitments. We like to feel the warm waters of Baptism, and be inspired or consoled in the pew. But are we willing to live what we have just received and be who God calls us to be.
On Sunday January 10th we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord Jesus. After His Baptism Jesus began the work and preaching of His ministry. It eventually led to His total commitment to God and us on Calvary. Where He has gone we are called to follow.
paz,
Fr. Chuck
One of the places that it seems that photographers take over is at weddings. I think they think that the wedding is about the pictures. Most churches including our own have "rules" for photographers at weddings mainly to keep them and everyone else at the wedding focused on the "wedding" that is going on.
Marriage, Communion, Reconciliation, Baptism, Confirmation, Healing, priesthood, religious life are all important Sacraments and/or commitments. Sometimes though the ritual of the commitment or Sacrament becomes more important than the Sacrament or commitment.
My point here is that commitments and Sacraments are meant to be lived. I know a lot of people who come to Mass to receive the Body and Blood of Christ. But when they get in the parking lot or the grocery store the Body or Blood of Christ is not evident by their actions. I could go down the line with all of the Sacraments and our other religious commitments. We like to feel the warm waters of Baptism, and be inspired or consoled in the pew. But are we willing to live what we have just received and be who God calls us to be.
On Sunday January 10th we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord Jesus. After His Baptism Jesus began the work and preaching of His ministry. It eventually led to His total commitment to God and us on Calvary. Where He has gone we are called to follow.
paz,
Fr. Chuck
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