This past Thursday and Friday, I was away at St Meinrad Benedictine archabbey and seminary in southern Indiana, as I was a presenter at a workshop for new pastors from Dioceses throughout the country. Some of our own new pastors from the Diocese of Jackson will be attending these St Meinrad workshops this year. I have been giving the presentation on finance and accounting at these workshops at St Meinrad for many years now. Also, this weekend, I am out of town at a Mission appeal at St Ignatius Catholic Church in Annandale, Minnesota, about an hour from Minneapolis-St Paul. I always enjoy representing our Diocese at these Mission appeals, telling our story as a Mission Diocese in the heart of the Bible Belt of the South.
As we hear the story of Lazarus and the rich man in our Gospel today, I think of the words of Pope John Paul II that he gave a visit to the United States as pope for the first time. These words were spoken at Yankee stadium in New York in 1979: "The parable of the rich man and Lazarus must always be present in our memory; it must form our conscience. Christ demands openness to our brothers and sisters in need: openness from the rich, the affluent, the economically advanced; openness to the poor, the underdeveloped and the disadvantaged. Christ demands an openness that is more than benign attention, more than token actions or halfhearted efforts that leave the poor as destitute as before ...We cannot stand idly by, enjoying our own riches and (our own) freedom, if, in any place, the Lazarus of the 20th century stands at our doors.”
Blessings to all of you this weekend. I am thankful for Father McGing for celebrating the Masses here at Holy Savior and Immaculate Conception this weekend. Father Lincoln.
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