From Our Pastor: 30th Sunday In Ordinary Time
Our readings this weekend call us to be people of genuine love. We are reminded in the book of Exodus to treat the poor, the orphan, and the widow with love and respect. Jesus then takes this teaching and the teaching of the commandments and summarizes them to answer the question he is asked today. Which commandment in the law is the greatest? Jesus answers with Deuteronomy 6:5, which Jewish people would say not just every day, but often more. They were told to teach their children this commandment as well. “You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and your whole being and your whole strength.” (Deut 6:5). The second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. The 10 commandments are summed up in these two. The first three are about how to love the Lord and the last seven are about how to love our neighbor. Giving to God what is due to God and giving to man what is due to man is called justice, but this is more than justice, this is love. May we love as Jesus commanded us.
This last weekend we had a wonderful visit from the seminarians of Kenrick Glennon seminary propaedeutic year. We had 15 seminarians, as well as their formator Fr. Auro, and our very own Thomas Marten. They came to see the Tolton sights, to experience Quincy and to visit our wonderful parish. What a beautiful sight it was to have them with us at mass at 4:30. This is the future of our church and priesthood and what a beautiful future it is. Please continue to pray for all of these men and for the work that our seminaries do to form our priests. We hope they return anytime.
We had a wonderful event at the school called the “Fall Festival.” We’ve always had a trunk or treat but this year it was expanded into way more. What a wonderful event with so many of our students and their families present. It was such a wonderful evening including many of our teachers and myself being pied in the face to raise money for our 8th graders going on a class trip. I still can smell the whipped cream but what a fun evening. Thanks for all who made that event happen.
Lastly, I want to commend the parish. We recently had someone join our parish because a random parishioner came up to them and welcomed them when they noticed they were new and not a face they recognized. They talked to them, welcomed them, and told them about the parish. They said they’ve never been so welcomed. Thank you to whoever did that and may we all be just like this welcoming person so that all feel at home here at Saint Francis! How exciting! We have such an alive and vibrant and active and prayerful community! Praise the Lord!
-Rev. Steven Arisman