A message from Father Pete

For Sunday, October 29, 2023 Exodus 22:20-26, 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10, Matthew 22:34-40 How do I feel? How do I feel about the people in my life: family, relatives, friends, companions, those I work with, relax with, interact with? Now how about those I see or hear about on mass media: those locally, nationally, throughout the world? Have I formed opinions based on reports that I hear or read? Who do I trust? Is this individual trustworthy or opinionated? Are they reliable or do they speak off the cuff? Do they do research or speak ad lib? There is a song, often heard in churches, written by John Foley entitled The Cry of the Poor which repeats the chorus: “The Lord hears the cry of the poor, Blessed be the Lord.” Can I identify with this song? The media tells of refugees turned back at border crossings, children taken from parents, immigrants mistreated by government agents, bodies of persons who die attempting to flee from violence and terror to find safety and hope. We pass by indiv...

For Sunday, October 22, 2023 Isaiah 45:1, 4-6; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5; Matthew 22:15-21 Why were the Jewish leaders set on proving that Jesus was not God — was not from God — and was a charlatan at best? It’s interesting looking at the definition of charlatan as a noun: a quack, sham, fraud, fake, imposter, pretender, cheat, deceiver. Why do people want to classify God this way? Are they afraid of God? Do they feel that if they admit that God is the creator of the universe, they'll realize they have to change their way of living? If I set myself up as the authority on God, where do I get my credentials? Who am I to judge what I am not: GOD! If there is a God, what is due God? Am I the one to make that decision? God is God! I did not create myself — nor can anyone create themselves. Richard Rodgers composed a special song for The Sound of Music : Perhaps I had a wicked childhood, perhaps I had a miserable youth But somewhere in my wicked, miserable past there must have been a mom...

For Sunday, October 15, 2023 Isaiah 25:6-10; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22:1-14 Imagine a drive with the family to begin a much-needed vacation. Finally the car is all packed and repacked; the necessary preparations for leaving the home safe and secure are complete. The trip has begun. One hour into it the youngest asks, “Are we there yet?” Others join in: “I’m hungry”… “I have to go to the bathroom.” Basically the kids have no worries … or they're solvable because their parents are up front and in charge of this trip, and soon they’ll arrive and have fun. Life for the parents is about the driver — hopefully the kids will doze off. The road is busy, sometimes treacherous. Questions abound: Is the rent paid? Is the laundry done? Did we put the mail on hold along with the newspaper? Did we forget anything? Did we call everyone? Hopefully, peace and comfort appear. Did you notice the Psalm response today? It's Psalm 23. For so many people from so many faith convictions,...

For Sunday, October 8, 2023 Isaiah 5:1-7, Philippians 4:6-9, Matthew 21:33-43 When we read the gospel account of the tenant farmers we wonder, What was on their minds? What made them so thickheaded? How could anyone be so dumb to believe that if they murdered the master’s servants and then his own son, they would inherit the master’s vineyard? [Matthew 21:38] It just doesn’t make any sense that the act of killing could cause one to receive a legacy from the very person who is most offended by the killing. This has been repeated by many countries' leaders and dictators — thinking that if they kill enough of the opposing side's soldiers or the central figure who is the very heart of the opposing nation, that nation will be forced to give in and give them what they want so they can gain its wealth and be rich. A folk song from long ago, Where Have All the Flowers Gone , has a very poignant refrain: “Oh, when will they ever learn?” In this passage we have another case where the ...