Dear Parish Family,

Our readings this weekend focus our mind on God's way of thinking, which is very different from the thought patterns we are accustomed to in our world. God sees all time and space at once, not from a detached state, but deeply entering into the framework of our human history through the Holy Spirit and the Incarnation of Christ, the Son of the Father. This divine perspective should help us to trust God's providential plans for our lives, and assist us in thinking in terms of an eternal perspective when we deal with temporal issues.

 

The first reading from Wisdom recognizes this difference in our thinking and the difficulty in transforming and transporting our minds and hearts to think, see, and feel as God does. Our Psalm sets us in the framework of our salvation history in recognition that in every age the Lord has been our refuge. In the second reading, Paul speaks of this divine reality in transforming Philemon, a slaveowner, to receive Onesimus back as a brother in the Lord rather than as a slave (to see him as God sees him rather than as the world sees him). In the Gospel, Jesus relates the path to discipleship in renunciation of all that separates us from a full following of Christ.

 

In all of these readings, we can begin to see that God is very much concerned with the transformation of our minds, hearts, and desires. We need to keep an eternal perspective as we go through our day, and this requires that we pray daily, stay close to the Word of God and the Sacraments, and prioritize our relationship with the Lord above all else. It is very easy to slide away from healthy spiritual disciplines because of the anxieties of life, yet these disciplines keep us on the straight and narrow road to holiness in Christ.

 

Remember to save the date for our upcoming Oktoberfest on Sunday, September 28 from 12 - 7 pm! Bishop Malesic will celebrate the Oktoberfest 12 pm Mass at St. Mary's that day and bless the new rectory after Mass. Please plan on joining us for Mass, the rectory blessing, and all the Oktoberfest festivities to follow! Volunteer and Presale signups are available at https://stmarychardon.org/oktoberfest-2025.

I am yours in Christ,

Fr. Scott Goodfellow