Pastors Notes from October 24, 2023
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October 24, 2022Seems the pastoral plan for Boone County Catholic churches continues to be a bit perplexing. Though the Diocese has recently decreed our ‘overall’ parish name as Ascension—after a process that began in the summer months—we are not able to officially use the name until the first of the year. Likewise, our finances for the two parishes will remain separate for the next several months or longer per the diocesan directive. Thus, the Finance Board will continue to monitor the two separate parish accounts, honoring the intentions of those who tithe and those who give memorials, financial donations, and gifts. Whatever the timeline for changes, such will occur with the diocesan directives.
We are looking for a bookkeeper/accountant as Heather is stepping back from the position because of health and family needs. If interested or have questions, please contact me at the parish office. Thank you
Marsha Skinner has agreed to be the Coordinator of Ministries and Activities at St. Malachy, a part-time position with the responsibilities still being formed. She will have scheduled office hours at St. Malachy for a portion of that time.
Looking ahead, All Saints Day, November 1st, our holy day of obligation, falls on a Tuesday. Mass times for this unique holy day: 5:30 pm/Sacred Heart on the 31st; noon/Sacred Heart, and 5:30 pm/St. Malachy.
Thank you to those who have donated towards Together As One (DAA), supporting the diocesan ministries of Vocations, Minority Outreach, Religious Education, Youth & Adult Ministries, and Sacramental Preparation—all of which directly affects our parish activities. If you have yet to donate I just ask for your prayerful consideration toward those ministries and our own. Thank you. Luke’s short, simple passage focusing on humility and self-righteousness remains a vital examination of our efforts as Christians. Considering the tax collector who humbly bowed his head in recognition of his own frailty and God’s grace to heal, his simple straightforward words form a prayer vital for each of us: “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” As Jesus went on to say in this passage from Luke, “for whoever exalts himself will be humbled and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
C.S. Lewis, noted English author and Christian—by the Catholic faith of his friend and fellow author, J.R.R. Tolkien—wrote several books that remain relevant to this day. Within his book, Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis provides insights into Christian pride and our need for humility. “As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you. . . . .Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man... It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition is gone, pride is gone.”
De LaSalle Medical and Health Institution offers this reflection on today’s gospel passage: God cannot hear if we boast in ourselves and despise others. This parable presents both an opportunity and a warning. Pride leads to self-deception and spiritual blindness. True humility helps us to see ourselves as we really are in God’s eyes and it inclines us to seek God’s help and mercy. God dwells with the humble of heart who recognize their own sinfulness and who acknowledge God’s mercy and saving grace. I pray that God may hear all of our inner thoughts and intentions.
As the leaves fall, the grass and plants go dormant, a thank you to the volunteers who took the time and care to plant the flowers around St. Malachy Church, creating a welcoming presence; and their time to pull up the flowers and plants as winter encroaches. And, a thank you to the volunteers whose efforts created a welcoming presence around Sacred Heart Church; to Bob Clark who spent numerous hours nurturing the flowers, plants, and newly seeded grass.
God Bless, Fr. Tim