In the First reading, when Solomon was offered any gift from God, he did not ask for something to benefit himself, or even his own family or friends, but asked for Wisdom so that he would be a just ruler for his people. He remains renowned for the decisions he made in seemingly impossible situations. Like all people, his desire to do best by his people did not prevent him from having to battle selfish inclinations, and failing in some of those battles. He remains a hero of our faith heritage for the good he accomplished when he remained true to God’s Will.

Hard to understand for people in the “free world,” especially in our teen years, the Psalmist praises God for His commands. 
Like a child, who recognizes his or her rescue from danger at the last moment, the Psalmist celebrates the Wisdom God shared with us through His commands – these commands are not fences to keep us from desired experiences, but to protect us from permanent harm. 
The consequences are often hard for us to perceive
until long after the deed.

 A hard thing to hear in difficult circumstances, St. Paul tells us in the 2 nd Reading that all things work “to the good” when we are faithful to God. He promised that our faithfulness requires us to carry a cross, but every joyful and sorrowful moment will one day be revealed
with its consequences – and everything that is of God
will reap a wonderful reward.

Jesus expounds on this understanding in the Gospel in His talk of treasure and a pearl. Everything is considered nothing in comparison to God's Wisdom shared with us. Everything can be given up for the great trasures – just as the Word, the Wisdom, of God is of such great value that we should be willing to relinquish it all to follow God’s Will. Note that it is not necessary to give everything way – we do have responsibilities He wishes us to fulfill – but that we should not value what we have above what He wills. AND He explain why – there will be a day of reckoning when those who chose God over everything will be drawn to God and those who rejected Him will be sent away, unable to change their lifelong habits of choosing “other” over God. 

Newsy Notes

Monthly Rosary is Back!
Join us August 19th!
and the 3rd Wednesday of every month
A powerful weapon and tool for every occasion!
Through the saints God has made known His wish that we pray the rosary, seeking Mary's influential intervention on our behalf -a reminder of the power for change God gives humanity through prayer!
3rd Wednesday at 6:30 pm in Church

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PSR Resumes September 13th!

First Communion Celebration Date: September 20, 2020!

8th grade Confirmation - October 4, 2020
Meditation

" Let no one ever come to you
without leaving better and happier.
Be the living expression of God’s kindness;
kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile,
kindness in your warm greeting.”
- St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Greetings Parents!
Although my youngest (now a teenager) seems completely dependent on me at times – i.e., when he has a need, be it for an injury, locating socks, or planning and making his dinner – most of the time he makes clear that I should better recognize his growing  independence, especially when asked to do chores. If he’s independent, then shouldn’t he make his own decisions about everything? Ha! Ha! Ha! (Yes to a point, decide not to do them and experience the natural consequence of being grounded.) We seem to have some conversations repeatedly – yes, you are more independent and therefore I shouldn’t have to keep reminding you to do these chores or find your basketball because you should be able to manage these things on your own. Independence is not freedom, but the ability to complete on your own all that is necessary for your life. Until you can eat, breathe, and survive without any assistance from me – in a house that is not mine, waking up on your own for school and work, and without me doing your laundry… you are not fully independent.

               Taking that to our relationship with God, we first realize that we are never truly independent of God. Even when we die, whether we are in heaven or hell, our very existence is dependent on His willing us to exist. In the Avengers movies, the bad guy, Thanos, had to roam around until he collected all the special stones and then he snapped his fingers to literally extinguish half the population of the universe. With God, every moment we exist only because He wills us to keep existing. Pretty humbling! And how much love is that – to continue to will the existence of those who hurt us in both small and massive ways? There are some people in history that had I the power, I don’t know that I could have resisted “erasing” them from existence. But God doesn’t – for which we should all be grateful! If he were to have in mind a line we shouldn’t cross, are there times in our life that we might have crossed it, but now we realize the errors of our ways and either have or are trying to correct ourselves. 

               What a strange God He must have seemed to those of other faiths! Redemption offered through second, third, and quadrillionth chances? The only definitive line is when we die. And we know we WILL die, so no secrets there! But so many other gods were vengeful and unforgiving, focused on themselves and their power, much like many earthly rulers. In myths or other stories of their deities, some gods might offer forgiveness to a few favorites, but this revolutionary idea that a God would love ALL people was beyond anyone’s experience: A mighty and powerful being, a male image, with tenderness, compassion and understanding like a mother, a female image. How did they process the idea of our one true God who has the best attributes of both men and women in one all-powerful Being? Actually, it is humanity who has been made in God’s image and been given these “best attributes” in our human nature. When we live them, we are more like the God Who made us to become like Him.

Hug your children tight and help them see, and appreciate!, that God loves them at every instant and we need Him at every instant!

-- Linda Bader, Coordinator of Religious Education

P.S. Did you know... St. Gabriel spoke to people before he spoke to Mary? He spoke to Daniel in the Old Testament to help him interpret his dream and then to John the Baptist's father to tell him Elizabeth would have a baby. He is considered a patron of messengers. If you have difficult news to deliver, perhaps ask his help beforehand!