Catechetical Sunday and Catholic Services Appeal (CSA) Kickoff!

           Catechetical Sunday and Catholic Services Appeal                                                  (CSA) Kickoff!

This weekend is Catechetical Sunday and Catholic Service Appeal (CSA) Kick-Off. This year the theme for Catechetical Sunday is "Come to me all who labor and are burdened" Matthew 11:28.

A couple years ago, I read a story from one of the blogs from Fr. Bloom. Many years ago, in England, three men were pouring into a trough a mixture of water, sand, lime and other ingredients. A passer-by asked them what they were doing. The first said, "I am making mortar." The second: "I am laying bricks." But the third said, "I am building a cathedral." They were doing the same thing, but each looked at it differently. And what a difference that made! We can see something similar in the way people relate to their parish, why they give. One person may say, "Oh! All they do down there is to ask for money or for volunteers." The second person may reply, "Well, you have to pay the bills and need a catechist and so on." But the third person may say, "I am building the Body of Christ." What a difference in their perspectives! What do you/I see?

We are in Eucharistic Revival Years and Maintenance to Mission. Catechetical Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the role that each person plays, by virtue of Baptism, in handing on the faith and being a witness to the Gospel. Catechetical Sunday is an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to this mission as a community of faith. At the same time to recognize and commission missionaries of our cluster who dedicated to hand over Faith to our younger generation. Last week we celebrated Catechetical Sunday at Immaculate Conception and this week at St. Anthony. I would like to express my gratitude to all our catechists who are willing to take time to share faith with our youngsters. Catechetical Sunday reminds each one of us of our baptismal call to share the faith. Faith      formation is not just for young people. We are lifelong learners too. First Wednesday of the month we are having a class for adults. First Sunday of the month before Mass, we will have a video on Mass. Please make use of these opportunities.

This weekend is the kick-off of Catholic Service Appeal (CSA). We make our pledge and join with Bishop James Powers for the mission of the diocese. This year the theme is “Who do YOU say that I am?” Our gifts make it  possible to answer this question as a diocese through different ministries. This year the goal for St. Anthony is $37,612.00; Immaculate Conception is $11,114.00 and for St. Francis is $3,640.00. Please prayerfully consider being part of CSA and make it visible in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you are not able to do it today, please bring it next Sunday or you can mail it. Envelopes are available at the pew and entrance. We are human and we need reminding. So CSA Sunday and Catechetical Sunday are reminders of our role that each one of us is called to play by virtue of Baptism, in handing on the faith and being a witness to the Gospel. We need to keep reminding ourselves.

This Sunday readings are around forgiveness. The first reading from the book of Sirach, also known as Ben Sira or Ecclesiasticus which seems like it anticipates the teaching of Jesus Christ. The reading ends with a good reminder and gives us a challenge, “Remember your last days, set enmity aside; remember death and decay, and cease from sin! Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor; remember the Most High’s covenant, and overlook faults.” The responsorial psalm affirms that the need to practice forgiveness is part of imitation of the cross.

We have seen Peter the last couple of weeks in the Gospel. The first one was, Peter proclaims the Faith, the second one was, Jesus told Peter, “Get behind me, Satan”. Here Peter proudly asks, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?” Seven is a perfect number in the Bible. Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” In other words, Jesus was telling Peter and the listeners that there is no limit. If we look at the book of Genesis 4: 23-24, we see Lamech, who is a sixth-generation descendent of Cane, said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, listen to my utterance: I have killed a man for wounding me, a man for bruising me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.” In the house of Cain, they had an unending avenge. But Jesus asks of his disciples limitless forgiveness.

Jesus put forward a new guideline for Christian life. Jesus replaced the Old Testament view with love and forgiveness. The first part of the Gospel is a personal dimension of forgiveness. In the second part of the Gospel,  Jesus tells a parable. The English translation does not give a real picture. It says the servant owed a huge amount. The scholars say, the Greek version is ten thousand talents, and if translated to dollars, it is 2 to 3 billion. Now the fellow servant owed only a much smaller amount. Based on the Greek version, scholars say, it was only a hundred denarii which is $5000.00. The master forgave the first one, but he failed to forgive his fellow servant. In the book of Sirach 28:4 “Can one refuse mercy to a sinner like oneself, yet seek pardon for one’s own sins?” We pray in the Lord's prayer, “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us” We prayed in responsible psalm "The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.” Jesus showed us on the Cross the depth of his love and forgiveness for us. We are called to share with one another.