Message from Fr. David October 10, 2021

NEWS AND UPDATES
PARISH FESTIVAL
It’s here!  The Parish Festival has arrived!  A big thanks to all the parishioners who have given so much of their time in planning for a successful Parish Festival.  As I said at the Masses a few weeks ago, while the Parish Festival Leadership Team has worked hard to make this year’s festival successful, it simply cannot be successful without your participation and assistance.  Please visit our website, Facebook page or bulletin for more info on how to volunteer.  We still need volunteers to help with games, food, setup, and cleanup throughout the week.  Please consider volunteering as a family at the festival.  WE NEED YOUR HELP VOLUNTEERING!
LITURGICAL MINISTERS WORKSHOP
On Monday, October 4th we welcomed our Lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, and Ministers of Hospitality for a    Liturgical Ministers Workshop.  Fr. Tom Iwanowski did a brilliant job.  His lively yet reflective presentation helped enliven the energy of our liturgical ministers.  We are so blessed here at Saint James to have such competent and fervent liturgical ministers.  Thank you to all of our Lectors, Eucharistic Ministers and Ministers of Hospitality (Ushers) for their wonderful service!
REFLECTION ON THE READINGS
How hard is it to enter the Kingdom?
The preferential option for the poor is sometimes criticized as a secret campaign against the affluent.
Why would God love poor people more than rich ones?
Is the church suggesting that disadvantaged folk are automatically more moral than wealthy ones?
We may hear complaints after Mass, I’m sure, from well-to-do parishioners.  Rich people need spiritual help, too, they insist.  So they do, and scripture regularly dishes it out.
But like the man in today’s gospel who goes away sad because he had many things, many of us reject the spiritual guidance offered to the highly advantaged because it’s not what we want to hear.  Friends, we are the most privileged people on the planet, and every one of us is invited to consider what the inherent responsibility of those privileges might be.  Just when you think you’ve done everything strictly needful, Jesus invites you to do more.  WHY?  Because there’s always more that needs doing, and more that you and I can do.
For the record: God doesn’t love poor people more or the rich less.  The church invites us to give the place of prominence to the poor in our decisions and deliberations, that’s all.  That’s a lot if we would actually do it.  Think of the impact on the lowliest person first, then choose a course of action.  Imagine how such a practice would influence family life, the neighborhood, the parish, the nation, and the international scene!
Second, are disadvantaged people more moral than the rich?  Only in the movies.  In real life, nobody’s perfect—not even and especially those who claim to be.  Poor doesn’t make you better—it also doesn’t make you worse, as any perusal of white-collar crime stories will attest.  The size of your wallet merely determines the theatre in which your present morality will operate.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
That which can be lost cannot be deemed riches.
~Leonardo da Vinci, Thoughts on Art and Life