August 31, 2022September 9, 2022
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From the Pastor’s Desk | Sept. 4, 2022, | Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time


“Who can know God’s counsel,
or who can conceive what the Lord intends?”

– Wisdom 9:13

 

Brothers and Sisters,

A message, combined with the confidence of its messenger, can be powerful. Like when I was younger, and I was tempted to let whatever was frustrating me get the best of me, my mother’s reminder, “Lord, your will be done.” helped to adjust my attitude.
As my recent vacation was nearing an end, I felt a pesky summer cold creep upon me. Not knowing if this was my first sinus congestion of the season or something contagious, I did a Covid self-test to be safe. I was pretty confident I’d test negative because of my previous results while prepping for my trip.

Apparently, God had a change of plans for how I’d be spending the last days of vacation. Instead of seeing the beautiful ports in the south of Alaska, I’d get to see the four walls of my new quarantine cabin (albeit treated well by room service). The combination of needing to extend my trip to fulfill returning traveler quarantine guidelines and my impatience to just get back home and back to ministry had all of the makings of a frustrating few days. Instead, I adjusted my perspective by thinking about my mom and the petition of the Lord’s prayer: thy will be done.

God’s ways are indeed mysterious. And when life does not go according to our plan, remember that God already has a plan to set everything right. In humility, the Scriptures remind us we have limitations, but God, in his generosity, provides signs of his enduring faithfulness, reminding us that we are his precious daughters and sons.

As we begin a new academic year, our school and faith formation instruction will focus on the theme, Claimed & Consecrated, We belong to the One Body in Christ. We are not enslaved without hope. Join me in working together to serve one another as an enduring sign in our times – God’s will be done! Let us unite as a witness to the enduring love that leads to true and lasting freedom.

Some considerations:

  • How to Be With Others at Any Age: A Workshop Series, which begins on November 1, 2022:
    Deepen your own self-awareness and discover the psychological and spiritual narrative of your life. Learn how your childhood has helped shape who you are today. This new workshop series will lead you through a person’s psychological and spiritual development during each stage of life. Over the course of these workshops, you will see how each stage of development – from Early Childhood through Adolescence — shaped the person you are today. Presented by Dr. Kathleen Musslewhite, Executive Director of the Alpha Omega Clinic, the series will run monthly on Tuesday afternoons: Nov 1, Nov 29, Jan 31, Feb 28; 12:30-2:00 pm (following Noon mass.) Each session costs $60 per person, or sign up for the entire series for $180 per person. Come to all or some. This program is a collaboration between Our Lady of Bethesda Retreat Center with the Alpha Omega Clinic, both located at 7007 Bradley Blvd., Bethesda, MD 20817.
  • MINISTRY TO FAMILIES WHO HAVE MISCARRIED:  HOLY INNOCENTS is a ministry of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, facilitated by the Offices of Cemetery Management and Life, Justice, and Peace. Its primary mission is to assure every child who is miscarried (dying before birth) has a sacred place to be buried.  If you or someone you know is miscarrying or has miscarried and is in need of having a sacred place to bury the child, please call 410-547-3142. There is no cost to the family for this ministry. Please keep this ministry in mind, when in the future someone you know has a miscarriage and wishes to bury the child. Pastoral visitors will arrange to take custody of the child and secure the child until burial. If the child is born at a hospital, arrangements with the hospital will occur. Burials occur twice per year at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Anne Arundel County. If interested in more information or in serving in this important ministry, please contact the helpline 410-547-3142 or email holyinnocents@archbalt.org.
  • THE BURIAL OF ASHES: The Archdiocese of Baltimore provides a final resting place for those who are cremated but
    not buried. Since cremation has become a more accepted practice, more families are choosing cremation though many are not choosing burial at the time of cremation. As years and decades pass, the next generation inherits the urns of their grandparents and great-grandparents, increasing the incidents of the urns being misplaced and forgotten. The ministry is also for the recently deceased. The Ministry of the 14th Station of the Cross buries the deceased on the sacred ground allowing the deceased to rest in peace. There is a minimal fee of $350 for the burial. The burial occurs annually in November (The month of All Souls). The urns are placed in one vault and buried. This opportunity also provides families peace of mind, as they now know where their family member is perpetually buried. The burial is at Holy Cross Cemetery in Anne Arundel County. Please contact the Office of Cemetery Management
    Rev Patrick Carrion, 410-547-5375, pcarrion@archbalt.org for more information.

In the Lord,

Rev. Michael S. Triplett