St.Joseph
St.Michael

Learning from Today’s Readings

January 15th, 2018 | Posted by K Graham in Bulletin Message - (Comments Off on Learning from Today’s Readings)

January 14th 2018 Bulletin Message, Fr. Floyd McKinney

Who is the one who helps you the most in your life? Some of those people who help us, guide us, we call mentors. Our life can be better when someone supports our ideas – the good ones, and teaches us which direction we need to go in order to succeed. The first reading from Samuel tells of the Lord calling out to Samuel but Samuel does not understand who was calling to him. Each time the Lord calls out, Samuel runs to Eli to answer. Eli finally pieces everything together and as a mentor to Samuel he helps Samuel understand how he should answer by instructing Samuel to say, “Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.” Eli’s encouragement helped the young Samuel to be open to the word of God that guided Samuel throughout his life.

Another spiritual mentor, Paul, speaks to the Corinthians in the second reading. Paul says: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.” Hearing these words through a lens of mentorship brings new meaning to the phrase “your body is a temple” which sadly has become a bit of a cliché. Excuses to not eat certain foods or to exercise a particular way can be framed in the “my body is a temple” phrase, but somehow the call to glorify God gets lost in the translation. Paul is challenging the Corinthians to consider their attitudes and practices about sexuality.

Hearing Paul challenge the Corinthians breathes new life into this phrase and invites me to explore what attitudes about my life I need to pray about. Today I am inspired to look for opportunities to be a spiritual mentor to others. When can I invite someone to hear God’s call? How can I challenge someone who might be making a choice that does not glorify God? What are some ways I can support those who appreciate the truth and grace of our Messiah? And how can I be open to the mentors in my life who urge me to behold the Lamb of God?

Share

Celebrating Our Future

May 26th, 2017 | Posted by K Graham in Bulletin Message | Uncategorized - (Comments Off on Celebrating Our Future)

May 28th 2017 Bulletin Message, Fr. Floyd McKinney

Sometimes we want to know the future; we even dream of a time machine to take us forward so we can see what might happen to us. In the final analysis, we know that knowing the future would not be good for us, even if it were possible. We cannot make our present ‘better’ by knowing about what will happen in some future time. How many times did Jesus talk to the disciples and tell them of his future, where He was going and what would happen to Him. Than we hear that little phrase in the gospel about the eleven disciples…they doubted. Even if we could ‘know’ the future, I think we too would have doubts as to how to handle that information. Yes, we do look back on what has happened in our lives and we might even make the remark, ‘if only I would have known’; yet even knowing what we know today at some previous time may have not changed our options at that time.

As we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord we are, in a sense, celebrating our own future if we are living our faith to the full. Many times, Jesus spoke of where He was going and that He would be with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the Advocate who would be with us. If we are going to think about the future, our goal is to remember what the Lord has prepared for us so we do not lose sight of that goal. In the first reading, the two men dressed in white asked, ‘why are you looking at the sky?’ or we could say ‘why are you trying to see where He has gone?’ We live in the present knowing that God is with us. That is why we set our sights, not on the future so much, but in living the commandments here and now. By living our faith now we are working towards that future that God has prepared for us.

Share