Dear Seton Family,
We have all had occasions when we have had good news to share and couldn’t wait to tell someone... “Guess what?!” “I just have to tell you...!” Excitement overflows and we want others to experience it with us. There are plenty of things, however, that we keep quiet, that we don’t want others to know about. Sometimes that is just a matter of discretion and privacy, and we have a right to keep things to ourselves.
Our own relationship with God is a deeply personal matter, and we are not often comfortable speaking about matters of faith. Some people find encouragement and help in being part of a bible study or a faith-sharing group, but others might find such settings intimidating or uncomfortable, and that is perfectly fine. Living an authentically Christian life, though, includes being a witness to what we have seen, heard, and experienced... and that is easier said than done.
Jeremiah, the reluctant prophet, expresses this conundrum in this Sunday’s first reading (Jeremiah 20:7-9). He feels “duped” by the Lord’s call to do what he does not want to do, but in the end he is compelled: “I say to myself, I will not mention him, I will speak in his name no more. But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.”
These uncertain times remind us of the urgent need for the Word of God to be proclaimed: the call for justice, for respect for life,
for peace and tranquility in our times, for healing and safety. The voice of the prophet is never easily heard, for prophets aren’t generally delivering pleasantries. Sadly, the civil discourse of the day, especially as we approach the November elections, is too often uncivil. Let us pray for respectful dialogue, and let us pray also for prophetic voices to say what needs to be said, and for hearts open to hear the Word of God.
In spite of the pandemic, our annual backpack and school supplies drive went well. We received a little over $900, of which $700.00 was used to purchase backpacks and supplies and the remainder $200.00 will be given to St. Gregory’s. Thanks to your generosity 85 backpacks were filled. Extra supplies were given to them should they need more. Many thanks to Barbara Emden and her family for leading this effort and for delivering them to St. Gregory’s.
We welcome back Fr. Zack Crowley to Seton for a Mass of Thanksgiving this Saturday at 4:30pm. In addition to our regular Sunday 9:30am Mass, for this weekend only, the 4:30pm Mass will be live-streamed so we can celebrate remotely and affirm this new priest who was a summer seminarian here 6 years ago!
The RCIA program is getting ready to begin for the fall. If you are curious about joining the Catholic church or know of anyone who might be interested, please email John Russell at john.russell@seaseton.org
Here is this Sunday’s Worship Aid
A reminder....
As usual, we will continue to live-stream Mass on the parish Facebook (link) and uploaded on YouTube (link), and our parish website, https://www.seaseton.org/Resources/Media. If you do not have Facebook but wish to watch our livestream, click here for instructions.
Have a good week!
Fr. Paul