bulletin reflection - 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time - HOLY SAVIOR CATHOLIC CHURCH - Clinton, MS - 18 SEPTEMBER 2022

      Most of you know that I love the traditions of the Church. I love celebrating the community of saints in different ways. The liturgies we celebrate this week say so much about our faith.  Tuesday was the feast day of St John Chrysostom, the Archbishop of Constantinople in present-day Turkey in the 4th Century, an important center of Christianity in the Early Church.  Wednesday was the feast of the exaltation of the Holy Cross, commemorating the recovery of the actual physical cross of Jesus by St Helena, the mother of the Roman emperor Constantine, in the 4th Century. On Thursday, we commemorated Our Lady of Sorrows, a major feast day of the Blessed Mother.  Finally, on Friday, we commemorated St Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage in North Africa in the 3rd century, and St Cornelius, who was pope during that same era.  Both Cornelius and Cyprian died martyrs of the faith. Finally, this weekend, we start our classes of religious eduction and we celebrate Catechetical Sunday in our Church, giving a blessing to our catechists and teachers of religious education. 

       In recent years, we see many people trying to tear down statues and erase history, judging the historical figures of the past through our current lens.  Yet, like anything in life, reality is often more complicated that what we want to see and what we understand.  We have to recognize both the good and the bad of our history in order for us to make sense of our current reality.  The saints were human in their strengths and weaknesses, in their joys and struggles, in the way they followed God in their lives and in the way they sometimes missed the mark.  We can learn from the saints and from our history.  We can unite our prayers with the prayers of the saints, asking the saints to help us, lead us, and guide us.  

       I give thanks for our wonderful staff here at Holy Savior and for all our catechists, religious education teachers, and volunteers.  So many people work very hard for our parish.  Blessings to all of you.  Have a blessed week.  Father Lincoln.