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From the Pastor&
Take, Lord, and accept all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will,
all that I have and possess. You have given it all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. All is yours;
dispose of it according to your will. Give me your love and your grace; with these I am rich
enough and ask nothing more.
-- St. Ignatius of Loyola
The greatest gift anyone can present to God is the gift of self -- not the crude, unredeemed self, but the humbled, totally responsive self, aware of how richly blessed one is and eager to make a generous gift to God in return. The prayer of St. Ignatius has no reservations -- the prayer is a total gift of self to God.
That is precisely what we are doing at every Mass we attend: celebrating a lavish outpouring of God's love and a whole-souled response by the Christian. At the Last Supper Jesus said to his friends, "Do this in memory of me." Of all the things we do in life, the Mass is unbelievably wonderful. It goes back to the last meal Jesus shared with his disciples, where he was the host and servant and -- the food! We are privileged to come every Sunday to the same meal -- hosted by Christ and partake of his body and blood. In this sacred meal we are loved and fed, and we give ourselves totally to God. Is this too wonderful for words? How can one be bored in this wonderful exchange?
Over the last thirty years we have switched from Latin to English, from Gregorian Chant to different styles of music, from communion rails to standing for the Eucharist. In transition, involving the abandonment of many cherished attitudes and customs, has been painful to many. The reason for all the changes were to help us be aware how long and how tenderly God has loved us, and to create a hunger among us to be filled with that love.
The way we celebrated Mass before Vatican II was four hundred years old. We've only had thirty years of the present style and celebrating. Let's not give us, but keep working together to improve the beauty and dignity of celebrating the Lord's Supper.
Because the Lord's Supper, the Eucharist, the Liturgy, the Mass, whatever you choose to call it, is the most important activity of the church/the parish, we are going to add an evening Mass on Sunday at 6:15 pm beginning the first Sunday of Lent, March 12.
Society has changed over the last forty years. Not everyone stays in town and gets up for a Mass on Sundays. Weekends are a welcome relief to work and the stress of modern life. Maybe the best thing Fr. Michael and I can do for many parishioners is to make ourselves available to preside at a late Sunday Mass.
Please let your teens, grandchildren, friends and neighbors know that there is a 6:15 pm Mass at St. John's. Peace & God Bless!
-- Fr. Bill Murtaugh
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