Dear Parish Family,

Be rich in what matters to God. These closing words of Jesus in our Gospel define the blessed life He came to bring us. What matters most to God is setting our heart on heaven and helping others receive what they need in order to do the same. Jesus isn't opposed to us pursuing wealth, pleasure, power, or honor, but shows us that these riches are meant to be received in proportion to our state in life and for God's glory. When anything in life becomes self-serving, we know we have lost our way. On the other hand, when we receive in gratitude the things that better help us love God and our neighbor, we begin to live the blessed life. 

 

St. Paul reminds us that we have been raised with Christ and that the sinful parts of our heart need to be put to death. He identifies greed as idolatry since it makes a god of whatever it is we pursue in a self-serving way. In the first reading, Qoheleth calls this kind of greed "vanity of vanities" since it empties riches of the value of God's creation generously given and turns them in themselves through evil desire to possess selfishly. 

 

"If today you hear God's voice, harden not your hearts." God is consistently speaking to our conscience letting us know when we are using the gifts given us in a self-giving or self-serving way. Hardening our heart towards God is like putting our fingers in our ears and shouting so we drown out the voice of truth and charity speaking to us. 

 

Jesus' words should challenge us this week to consider our relationship to our money, time, work, recreation, food and drink, status and reputation, and all other goods in life. Again, none of these are wrong to pursue, but we need to make sure our heart is set first and foremost on God and that our desire or possession of any of these goods is for the glory of God, our good and the good of those around us with our hearts set on heaven.

 

We have a lot of exciting things happening in the next two months. The new rectory is in its final days of completion. We will have a rectory shower and open house at the new rectory at St. Mary's on Saturday August 16 from 11 am to 1 pm. Please see the flyer in the gathering space or check out the blurb in this weekend's bulletin for more information and to register. We look forward to moving into our new home and bringing you in to see the finished product!

Fr. Gary J. Malin will become our new Senior Parochial Vicar starting on August 15. He is coming from St. Joan of Arc Parish in Chagrin Falls and will serve the parishes of St. Mary's in Chardon and St. Patrick's in Thompson. He will help me and Fr. Fabian minister to the pastoral and sacramental needs of God's people. As a Senior Parochial Vicar, he will have a reduced workload and not be part of the regular rotation of Parochial Vicars on a four-year term (like Fr. Fabian). 

 

We welcome Fr. Gary as he brings his gifts to share with us. Please note that one limitation that Fr. Gary has is  limited tactility in his hands. As a result, he is not able to distribute communion. For the Masses at which Fr. Gary presides, I've asked the deacons to distribute communion in the center aisle for those who wish to receive communion from an ordained minister. When a deacon is not present at Masses which Fr. Gary celebrates, an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion will distribute in Fr. Gary's place. Thank you for your understanding of this accommodation. I am sure we can adjust to this as have the people at other parishes he has served. Please welcome Fr. Gary to our parish in the coming weeks, and pray for him during this transition!

 

Remember to come to our St. Patrick Parish Picnic next Saturday, August 9! We will celebrate the Vigil Mass together at 4 pm and then have a cookout out on the lawn between the church and rectory. Every year the picnic is fun and a blessing for all as we celebrate the gift of our faith and our parish community. Sign up forms to help setup, cleanup, and bring food items are available this weekend in the back of church. I look forward to seeing you there!

 

Please note that our parish office will be closed this Thursday, August 7 for a Parish Day of Reflection for our staff. This is an all-day event hosted by our diocese to offer practical leadership skills and spiritual renewal for our parish staff. Please keep our awesome staff in your prayers this day as we receive refreshment and encouragement for the year ahead!

I am yours in Christ,

Fr. Scott Goodfellow