First, I would like to thank all of you for the generous support you extended last Sunday to the mission appeal, presented by Fr. Efren Ambre for his diocese, the Diocese of Bangued in the Philippines. I was not here last weekend because Fr. Efren asked me if I would celebrate his masses in his two parishes located in Delmont and Export since he was having the mission appeal in our parish – a kind of swapping of schedules. As a way of helping him with the appeal for his diocese, I agreed, especially since the mission appeal was intended for their clergy retirement fund. I know the condition of most of the priests in the Philippines - they do not receive enough financial support when they retire because their diocese is a small one and especially poor. Priests do not receive a salary. They only get honorarium, which is less than $300.00 a month. Therefore, your generous support is a great help for their clergy.
This week, October 15th-18th, there will be the annual clergy convocation of the Diocese of Greensburg where all the priests in the diocese attend. As in previous years, the convocation will be in Blairsville, PA. Because I will be attending, mass will only be celebrated on Monday, October 15th. Following mass, I will leave to attend the clergy convocation. There will be a communion service, led by our Extra Ordinary Ministers of Holy Communion on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The mass intentions scheduled for those dates will be taken by me and celebrated in Blairsville. Please keep us in your prayers so that we may have a fruitful clergy convocation that can help us to become better in our priestly ministry.
During my absence, RCIA will still meet on Tuesday at 6:30 P.M. The Bible Study will meet on Monday at 6:30 P.M. instead of Wednesday. This schedule change for Bible Study is only for this week due to a scheduling conflict for the team facilitators.
REFLECTION FOR THE 28TH SUNDAY GOSPEL
The gospel is about a rich young man who approaches Jesus asking what to do in order to inherit eternal life. He was a good and righteous man, observing all the commandments, but felt his life was incomplete. Jesus looked at him with love and invited him to follow Him by selling what he had and give it to the poor. But the rich young man could not do this for he was too attached to his possessions. He went away sad.
MORAL LESSON
Material things in themselves are not evil; they are evil when they become our idols and we worship them either consciously or unconsciously, as if our lives totally depend on them. Jesus wants us to be free so that we can follow Him. Detachment to what we consider as material wealth and living in simplicity are just some ways we can live peacefully and be happy while we maintain a relationship with God.