St. Paul the Apostle

And so, this October, I invite all Catholics to think about building a culture of life in terms of radical solidarity. We are the Church. Our prayers, witness, sacrifices, advocacy, and good works are needed now, more than ever. We are the hands and feet of Christ in the world today and we each have a personal responsibility to care for one another.

“Let Justice and Peace Flow” is the theme of this year’s ecumenical Season of Creation, inspired by the words of the prophet Amos: “Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream” (5:24).

The visionaries were two poor and uneducated children. They were entrusted with a beautiful message of reconciliation with the self, others, nature and God. God calls us back to Him. When we sin, He is generous with his forgiveness. But we must also be willing to reconcile with others and extend the forgiveness God has extended to us, as illustrated in the Gospel parable this weekend. To refuse to forgive those who have sinned against us would be to exclude ourselves from receiving God’s forgiveness for our own sins.

You may have already noticed by now that the theme for this year’s Parish Annual Report and Harvest Festival is the same: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” In the context of the Annual Report, the theme invites us to remember the many blessings the Lord has given us, both personally and communally. The Lord has been so good to us that he has allowed us to achieve many great things as a church. In the context of the festival, it invites us and all people to see the goodness of coming together, playing together, eating together and creating beautiful memories together. These are good things that can only come from the Lord, for He is a God of unity, and not of division.

We are called to examine ourselves: Do I have enough faith to offer up a genuine sacrifice for the sake of Christ and his Kingdom? Am I willing to sacrifice my time, talents and treasures for the missionary activities of the Church?