May 8, 2021 - Pastor Message
November 21, 2024THE YEAR OF ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER (cont.)
THE YEAR OF ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER (cont.)
“Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few, so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest’” (Matthew 9:35-38).
When we read the above gospel passage, we generally think of the need for vocations to the priesthood, which we certainly do need, so please encourage the young men of our parish to prayerfully consider a priestly vocation. But we are all called to labor in the harvest, each in our own way. We are all called to serve the mission of the gospel. That’s what discipleship means.
Each of us is called to do that in our own way, though. We have many opportunities for serving the Lord in the mission of the gospel right here at St. Boniface through our various parish ministries. Our new parish directories, which you should have received in the mail, list those ministries and describe what each of them is. You should also have received a mailing about our time and talent stewardship drive, “Helping Our Parish Grow.” If you didn’t, brochures with a commitment form are available in the gathering space. We ask everyone to prayerfully consider the gifts of time and talent you can offer back to God through our parish ministries and to sign up by filling out the commitment form in the brochure. If there are also needs in our community that are not currently being met and you feel called to address them by starting a new parish ministry, please write that on the commitment form. We ask that you return your completed commitment forms by dropping them in the basket at Mass the weekend of May 15-16 or by dropping them off at or mailing them to the church office.
So often, like Jesus, we see the great needs present in our community, but, unlike Jesus, we do nothing to meet them. We think that is someone else’s job, or that someone else will take care of it, or that I don’t have the time or ability to address those needs. Like the apostles at the feeding of the multitude, we think, “What good is so little for so many?” We forget the power of God’s grace, which Jesus so bountifully revealed by taking the meager five loaves and two small fish, blessing, breaking, and sharing them with the people until, not only were all the people fed, but the apostles themselves each had a whole basket full of food to eat. That’s how the work of God’s harvest goes. We offer Jesus our seemingly meager gifts of time and talent, and he takes, blesses, breaks, and shares them with the people until all, including ourselves, are fed with a superabundance of his grace. May we remember that as we prayerfully consider how to fill out our “Helping Our Parish Grow” commitment form, and may we offer our gifts, whatever they may be, in Christ’s service through our parish ministries.
Fr. Marc Stockton
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