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HOLY FATHERS PRAYER INTENTION
JULY, 2017
That our
brothers and sisters who have strayed from the faith, through our prayer and
witness to the Gospel, may rediscover the merciful closeness of the Lord and
the beauty of the Christian life.
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DEAR PARISHIONERS, please keep all of the teens and young
adults going to Steubenville Catholic youth conference in San Diego next week
(7/27-7/30) in your prayers. If there is anyone wishing to make a private
donation or sponsor a youth for this conference you can do so in the
church office.
YOUTH CONFERENCE
PARTICIPANTS: Nic
Salazar, Tyler Pena, Brian Yellowhorse-Christiansen, Brandon James, CJ
Verdugo, Hunter Fullen, Bella Salazar, Jaque Beltran, Elly Ditmore, Madison
Storms, Lauren Storms, Jessica Campos.
ALTAR
NEEDS: We are
replacing our old chalice ($500)
and ciborium ($400) with new ones
for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. If anyone would like to give a
donation toward this project it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you as
always for your kind generosity!
BAPTISMS: Congratulations on the decision to baptize your
child into the Catholic faith! We are here to help you with the process.
Please call or stop by the office and we will be happy to get you started.
Travel plans for out of town guests should not be made until a date for the
baptism is confirmed by the parish staff. We look forward to hearing from
you. Baptisms are the 3rd Sunday of every month.
SICK AND
HOMEBOUND: We are
blessed to have a group of volunteers in our parish who are happy to bring
Holy Communion to the sick, the hospitalized and the homebound. Please call
the parish office to make arrangements. If you or your loved one would like
for a priest to visit with the Sacrament of Anointing, please do not hesitate
to call us.
IT IS TIME
FOR OUR ANNUAL BULLETIN ADVERTISEMENT RENEWAL. If you want to keep your Ad in the bulletin or if you would like to
buy one for your business for the fiscal 2017/2018 year please send your
$50.00 payment to PO Box 1566 Springerville, AZ 85938 along with any
information you would like. You may also bring it to the church office. One
of the many ways our Catholic Community survives financially is by the
assistance we graciously receive from businesses that support us within our
community of Round Valley. Thank you for your sponsorship! We encourage our
parishioners to support the businesses that support us!
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Sixteenth Sunday in
Ordinary Time
Only
the patient and forgiving can sing: We shall overcome. All too often we
feel used by others and conclude that violent retaliation is the order of the
day. We are betrayed by others, even loved ones, and reason that only revenge
is the proper reaction. We are often hurt by the actions and words of others
and judge that to hurt in turn is the right antidote. Yet only the patient
and forgiving can sing: We shall overcome.
In
the first reading, the Jews in Alexandria experienced pain and frustration.
The Pagan Egyptians mocked them and even persecuted them (Wis 1:16-2:14). To
the question, Yes, but a God of mercy as well! This God manages to control
both justice and clemency so that blind rage does not result. In turn, the
author exhorts his fellow Jews to exercise restraint by being kind and to
offer hope by forgiving. For the author of Wisdom only the patient and forgiving
can sing, We shall overcome.
In
the responsorial psalm the setting appears to be one in which the people of
Israel have rebelled yet were forgiven (Exod 32-34). Despite the present
suffering and pain the psalmist pleads for the Lords forgiveness. To bolster
his petition, the author underlines the Lords covenantal credentials: good
and forgiving (v.5), steadfast love/kindness (v.5), merciful and
gracious (v.15), and abounding in steadfast love/kindness and fidelity
(v.15). In the context of todays liturgy the faithful are challenged to
emulate their Gods capacity to forgive. They too are to abound in steadfast
love and mercy by offering forgiveness to all offenders. Only the patient and
forgiving can sing: We shall overcome.
In
the gospel Jesus realizes that the kingdom is no utopia. Both good and evil
coexist-and not peacefully. Confronted by attacks, he yet recommends the
policy of the wise farmer to overcome evil with good. To check ones wrath in
the face of the weeds means to protect the common good. To refuse to yield to
rage implies hope for future repentance. For Jesus, only the patient and
forgiving can sing: We shall overcome.
How
can we embody this message today? The married person who, while remaining
firm, chooses to forgive his or her spouse has captured Jesus liberating
message. Parents who exercise long-suffering and patience with their family
have grasped Jesus understanding of freedom. Those who demonstrate tolerance
and compassion in their jobs and personal lives have uncovered Jesus
strategy for the kingdom. Priests and religious who prefer pardon to revenge
and understanding to retaliation have accepted Jesus manner of
self-assertion. These and similar people maintain that only the patient and
forgiving can sing: We shall overcome.
We
proclaim this message whenever we celebrate the Eucharist. For it is in the
sacrament that we see a Jesus who exercised forgiveness and understanding at
the time of the passion. The Eucharist offers a Jesus who continues to pray:
my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the
forgiveness of sins (Matt 26:28). The Eucharist demonstrates that to die to
self in forgiveness is to experience the ultimate human liberation. The
Eucharist, too, proclaims that only the patient and forgiving can sing: We
shall overcome.
John
F. Craghan
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