Saturday of the Third Week of Easter
“Does this shock you?”
Jn 6:61
In recent homilies Bishop Zurek has made it clear that the standard for love and unity in our diocese should be the encyclical of Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti. Today, let’s reflect on paragraph #195 in that regard.
Chapter 5
A BETTER KIND OF POLITICS
FRUITFULLNESS OVER RESULTS
195. All this can help us realize that what is important is not constantly achieving the “Quota”, since this is not always possible.
This is a promotional photo for Mont La Salle Altar Wines produced in Napa, Calif. (CNS photo/courtesy Mont La Salle Altar Wines)
In diocesan finances, we should remember that, “appearances notwithstanding, every person is immensely holy and deserves our love. Consequently, if I can help at least one person to have a better life, that already justifies the offering of my life. It is a wonderful thing to be God’s faithful people. We achieve fulfilment when we break down walls and our hearts are filled with faces and names!”[193]
Pope Francis greets a child as he visits people who came to the Vatican for the second dose of their COVID-19 vaccinations in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican April 23, 2021. The Vatican press office said those present sang their best wishes to the pope to mark his name day, the April 23 feast of St. George. The pope was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
The great goals of our budget and plans may only be achieved in part with the “Pledged Amount”. Yet beyond this, those who love, and who no longer view the United Catholic Appeal merely as a quest for power, “may be sure that none of our acts of love will be lost, nor any of our acts of sincere concern for others.
Sisters Francis Dominici Piscatella, center, and Francis Daniel Kammer, left, members of the Sisters of St. Dominic of Amityville, N.Y., are joined by their friend Lillian DeMarco as they chat with crossing guard Barbara Visogno after attending Mass at St. Aidan Church in Williston Park, N.Y., April 17, 2021. According to searchable public data, Sister Piscatella, who celebrated her 108th birthday April 20, is the second-oldest living religious sister in the U.S. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)
No single act of love for God will be lost, no generous effort is meaningless, no painful endurance is wasted. All of these encircle our diocese like a vital force”.[194]
It is a time to help all our brothers and sisters to blossom as children of God, we do this by serving the spiritual and material needs of each other.
Bishop Patrick J. Zurek
St. Fidelis , pray that Bishop Zurek unbounds us from the quest for the “Quota”, and allows us to “Abound in Hope”, helping all our brothers and sisters to blossom as children of God,…by serving the spiritual and material needs of each other from our “Pledged Amount”.
Catholic Bicycle 