GREETINGS FROM FR.SCOTT
Zoomed-Out
With my camera I can
zoom-in and get more detail. I can also
zoom-out and get a bigger picture.
The first reading from Exodus is like a
camera zoomed-in. “You shall not molest
or oppress an alien. You shall not wrong
any widow or orphan. If ever you wrong
them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry.” This is a camera zoomed into detail. It is the LETTER of the law.
The
gospel is like a camera zoomed-out. The
gospel is about the bigger picture. It is
about the SPIRIT of the law. We did not
hear detail. We did not hear the Ten
Commandments. We did not hear about
helping the poor, fighting for justice, or using our talents for the greater
glory of God.
What
we heard from the gospel is the big picture…the SPIRIT of the law. Like the Beatles sang back in the 1960’s,
“All you need is Love.” Love is the big
picture.
Just
what is Love? It is general moral
guideline. It is the SPIRIT of the law,
the bigger picture, and will never change.
It is what all Christians strive for in our daily lives.
The
lesson we learn today is that love is a very broad term. To be able to love unconditionally, we have
to start with the details. The readings
tell us today that we have to take baby steps first, and then we learn to love.
Here
is how it works. If you wanted to start
an airline, one would not go out and buy 50, 747s, unless you were Howard
Hughes. Actually, even Howard Hughes
took baby steps. He started and airline
by purchasing one airplane and flying one route. He learned the airline industry. He slowly expanded. He hired employees. He took baby steps. It led to Hughes Air West, otherwise known as
the Big Banana because the planes were bright yellow.
In
our spiritual life we must take baby steps.
As we become familiar with our religion, as our relationships with
others flourish, as our faith grows…we are being led to the bigger picture:
loving unconditionally.
As
simple as this sounds, “To love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind and to love
your neighbor as yourself,” can actually be overwhelming. It is virtually impossible to apply in
everyday life. So we take Baby
steps. We try to obey the Ten
Commandments. We try to respect others,
and we try to treat each other with basic fairness. We take baby steps toward the Spirit of the
law, which is love. On our journey we
get snapshots of the love that Jesus tells us about today in the Matthew’s Gospel .
STEWARDSHIP
Oct.16,
2011 $7,505.72
Last Year $7,603.50
Property
Improvement $245.00
OLV School $10.00
Daily
Mass Readings
Monday
Oct. 24
Rom 8:12-17
Ps 68:2,4,6-7,20-21 Lk 13:10-17
Tuesday Oct.25
Rom 8:18-25 pS
8:18-25 Lk 13:18-21
Wednesday Oct.26
Rom 8::26-30 Ps 13:4-6 Lk 13:22-30
Thursday Oct.27
Rom 8:31b-39
Ps 109:21-22,26-27 Lk 13:31-35
Friday Oct.
28
Eph 2:19-22 Ps 19:2-5 Lk
6:12-16
MASS
INTENTIONS
Saturday Oct. 22
5:00pm For the People of the
Parish
Sunday Oct. 23
9:00am
11:30 am
Monday Oct.24
9:00
am
Tuesday Oct. 25
9:00am
Wednesday Oct. 26
9:00am
Thursday Oct.27
9:00am
Friday Oct.29
9:00am
FAITH FORMATION
PRESCHOOL — HIGH
SCHOOL
Registration forms
available after Mass and on line for all faith formation classes. Please
contact Julie at the office.
Congratulations to all the students who celebrated their
1st Reconciliation on October 22nd. A second group are preparing for Advent
Reconciliation.
INQUIRY—RCIA
Sunday classes are
ongoing. Please contact the office for information about this group.
WELCOME CHILDREN OF
GOD IN BAPTISM
Marley-Jane and Sean
Burns
Congratulations
Patrick Santiago
on the his celebration of
Confirmation
YOUTH MINISTRY
Youth Nights are every Wednesday in the Old Church; 9th-12 graders are welcome for faith, food,
fun, and friends!!
BLOOD
DRIVE—OCT 23
The
need is real.
Give
blood: Save lives!
Please
help fill all the appointment slots to supplement the very low blood supply at
this time. Hospitals are in need of the your life
saving gift.
CHRISTMAS
BAZAAR
St.
Jude’s Quilt and Chat Christmas Bazaar will be Saturday Nov. 19th in the old
church. Several spaces are still available for handcrafted items. Parishioners
are encouraged to participate in this fun and profitable event. A donation of
$25 will be given to the church. Call Priscilla 357-3571
OUR LADY OF THE VALLEY
CATHOLIC SCHOOL
Registration packets are at all the parishes and the
school.
Please join OLV for an evening of fellowship with a FREE
spaghetti dinner on Saturday, October 29 following
the 5pm Masse. While you are enjoying a
delicious meal, be sure to purchase a winning ticket in this year’s school
raffle. Tickets are just $10 each with many chances to win cash prizes!!
Please buy 2 or 3!!
Theresa Sand, Principal
907.376.0883
tsand@valleycatholicshool.org
COMING EVENTS
October
23 Blood Drive 10am-4:30pm Blood Mobile
Roman
Missal 10am
Music
Ministry ( All Choirs) 1:00pm
24 Centering Prayer 6:30pm
27 Rosary 7pm
29 6pm Free Spaghetti Dinner OLV Raffle
30 Roman Missal 10am
Debra
Lighthart—Rosaries
November
1 All Saints Day 9am & 5:30pm
2 All Souls Day Noon Mass only
Blessings
of the Graves
Sacred
Heart 1pm
Aurora
2pm
5 Ace’s Mystical Rose Ranch—Catholic Gifts
Announcements
for Fr. Garret must be submitted by Wednesday, noon for consideration.
MUSIC MINISTRY TRAINING
Parishioners who would
like to know more about the
music ministry are invited to a meeting with Fr. Scott on Sunday,
October 23 1:00pm.
WORDLWIDE MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER
November 4-6 at Holy Spirit Center, Anchorage
WWME had been enriching joy filled marriages for over 40
years! Contact James and Shaharriet Houchins at 644-8677 or 230-5589. View the Inviting Video
at http://alaskawwme.org
ROMAN MISSAL
What's going on with the changes in the Roman Missal? For the next 3 Sundays, Fr. Scott will host
an information session between the morning masses to briefly introduce the
changes and answer questions.
FOOD
PANTRY
These are the items needed
at
the pantry:
cereal,
oatmeal
dried
beans: canned pinto/kidney beans
grocery
bags, egg cartons
KNIGHTS
OF COLUMBUS
The
Knights have 2 opportunities for parishioners:
A
donation of $10 to the
Vocations Fund of Alaska will help the archdiocese recruit young
men and women to vocations in the church. Donors will receive a special thank
you pin.
Students
in grades 8-12 are invited to submit essays on the topic “The Responsibility of
the Catholic Citizen in a Free Society.”
The essays should be 500-750 words and are due November 15th. Please
contact Steve Gabavics for entry forms: steve.gabavics@gmail.com