We had a bit of an exciting week here at St. Michael’s! Our big event was the celebration of my 30th anniversary to the priesthood. It was a wonderful! I wish to thank all those who made the party possible and all those who attended. Special thanks for all the wonderful cards, prayers and kind words. Cathy Asbury expertly planned and executed a dinner and party that I will remember the rest of my days. Rich and Marie Stankiewicz and their team cooked up a scrumptious meal. Everything was as perfect as it gets in this life!
Adding to the excitement was the presence of a missionary from Ghana, Fr. Paul, who preached at all the weekend Masses. It was an important reminder to all of us on two fronts. Sometimes we forget how fortunate we are in this country and in our community. Father commented many times on the beauty of our area. He also lamented that his people “back home” do not have schools, beautiful churches, good roads and nice houses. I took some extra time in prayer to thank our Good God for all our opportunity and blessings. Our three churches raised nearly $1000 to help the poor of Ghana. On the other front, I was so encouraged by the spread of Christianity in Ghana. He said there are many people coming to faith in Jesus in his diocese.
Then there was the excitement of the huge tree that was blown down right behind the church. We are thankful to God that no one was hurt. I mention this because, providentially, this weekend we are reading from the Gospel of Mark 4:33-45 where Jesus calms the storm. Saint Augustine reminds us that the boat's crew are human souls sailing across the sea of this world in a wooden vessel. That vessel, of course, also represents the Church; but as each one of us is a temple of God, each one's heart is a sailing boat which cannot be wrecked so long as we fill our hearts and minds with Jesus.
This great saint of God adds, "Try, then, to be more like the wind and the sea; obey the God who made you. The sea obeys Christ's command, and are you going to turn a deaf ear to it? The sea obeys him, the wind is still; will you persist with your blustering? When your heart is in a troubled state, do not let the waves overwhelm you. If, since we are only human, the driving wind should stir up in us a tumult of emotions, let us not despair but awaken Christ, so that we may sail in quiet waters, and at last reach our heavenly homeland.”
An exciting week, indeed, capped off with an exciting and inspiring passage from the Gospel of Mark.
Peace in Christ Jesus,
Father Mike