The Key is Humility ~ by Josephine Fernando

Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
Psalm 68:4-7, 10-11
Hebrews 12:`8-19, 22-24
Luke 14:1. 7-14

The key word in today's message is humility and the key verse is Luke 14:11, which is "For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." The opposite of humility is pride. It is very clearly written in the Bible that pride has a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)

Faith, hope and charity are the tools to live a decent Christian life. When someone humbles himself, he will be exalted by the Lord; for that is a promise given to us by the Lord.

Very often we are caught up by the peripherals of the world. We live in a materialistic world and the focus is on "I and me", rather than "we and us". However, the yardstick that our Lord uses is very different. It is amazing, for the Lord not only taught us how to live our life on this earth, but He Himself lived it.

Though being a King, He chose to be born in a stable at Bethlehem. He also chose to be born as a baby, completely dependent on His mother and father. If He wished, He could have been born in a palace and ruled over us like a King. However, Jesus identified Himself with the least. He came for the lost sheep of Israel. He encountered the miserable people in society, the outcast, those who no one would befriend. Not only that, He was a carpenter by profession.

The Lord had and has everything at His command, but He is the Hope of the hopeless. He did not defend Himself when he was tried and condemned before His death on the Cross. He endured everything patiently for us. He humbled Himself before God the Father, who exalted Him and glorified Him at His Resurrection. What a tough lesson our Lord has taught us, by living His very own life and by not just giving instructions.

We go by beauty, the money we have, the house we live in, the car we drive, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the list goes on and on. We are very much self-centered. In our modern society, we have no time for others. We are selfish. The Lord wants us to share our resources with the less fortunate. To share our meal, clothes, shoes, time, and finances with the needy. The Lord blesses those people who share their resources with others.

Our churches have many outreach programs. We can definitely involve ourselves in any one and render our service to the Lord... by serving His people. For it is written, "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren you do it unto me, says the Lord." (Mt 25:40)

So, let us be charged, gear up and shake ourselves and be of service to God's people, in whatever way we can, because drops make an ocean. Mother Teresa has said, "If you want to be humble, the Lord will send you humiliations." All the great saints in our Church are saints today, primarily because of their humility.

A Reflection on the Readings of the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Isaiah 66:18-21
Ps. 117:1, 2 (Mark 16:15)
Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13
Luke 13:22-30

We learn in today's Gospel reading from Luke that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem where he will meet his destiny. As he travels through the towns and villages teaching the people, even his disciples have no clue what the end will be. As he teaches, people begin to ask questions.

Someone asks: "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered them: "Strive to enter through the narrow gate." (Luke 13: 23-24)

Notice that Jesus does not answer the question directly. Instead, he elevates the discussion to a different level; namely, how can a person enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

What is the narrow gate that Jesus invites us to enter. How do we reach his Kingdom?

We know from another Gospel (Mat.22: 36-40), that we are to love God with our whole heart and soul and mind. And in addition, we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. These are the "greatest commandments" and when we follow them, we fulfill all the other commandments too.

But how do we love our neighbors as ourselves? We have only to look around us and we can see quite easily how we are to follow that command. We are to strive as best we can, to take care of those in need; whether they are hungry or poor or sick or in emotional turmoil or a victim of war or of natural disasters. We are to treat everyone as a brother or sister in the Lord. This is how we would want others to treat us; and so we must do the same for them. This is loving others as we love ourselves.

Following Jesus' commands is not easy. We need to be taught from childhood how to love God and how to care for the needs of others. When we learn these lessons and put them into effect as we grow older and more mature, we also come to realize that obedience to Jesus and his teachings are themselves the narrow gate that we must pass through to reach his Kingdom.

From Isaiah we learn that there is hope for all of us. "Thus says the Lord: I know their works and their thoughts, and I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory." (Is. 66:17-18)

Van de Vyver Reunion News Clip and Story

Michael Paul Williams, columnist of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, used his column to highlight this past weekend's Van de Vyver Reunion.

His video clip and story can be found HERE.

Leadership Changes at St. E's

Congratulations to our old and new parish leadership!


St. Elizabeth Parish Finance Council:

Barbara Vaughan, Chairperson
Maeola Strother, Vice-Chairperson
Katrinia Murray, 1st Secretary
Sharon Morton, 2nd Secretary
Jay Schwermer
Peter Thompson




St. Elizabeth Parish Council:

Shelton Jones, Chairperson
Mary Ann Allen, Vice-Chairperson
Mieko Timmons, 1st Secretary
Almetia Strother, 2nd Secretary
Phyllis Booth
Lula Lamb
Ken Soistman
Vivian Sullivan
Barbara White

A Woman Clothed with the Sun!

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Rev. 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab
1 Cor. 15: 20-27
Ps. 45: 10, 11, 12, 16 (10bc)
Luke 1: 39-56

The first reading today, from the Book of Revelation, gives us a beautiful and dramatic image of the Mother of God as "a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child..." (12:1-2)

In reading this passage in a literal sense, we know that both mother and child were saved from the dragon that sought to destroy them. The babe, "caught up to God and his throne" (12:5), is the resurrected Christ. His mother is the woman we celebrate today through the feast of her Assumption into Heaven.

Mary, the young girl who said "Yes" to God; who carried in her heart all the things that happened to her Son as He was growing up; who watched her Son suffer horribly and die like a criminal on the cross; whose own heart was pierced with sorrow... lived on til the end of her life in the company of John and the other apostles. These men, and the women who were part of the beginnings of Christianity, surely recognized and revered the holiness and blessedness of this woman.

And how did God reward her for her life of obedience to His Will? Surely, that the corruption of the grave would not touch one who was conceived without sin as she was.

The Church has had a tradition of reverence for the Virgin Mary for most of two millenia. During this time, the Church's understanding of just who Mary was continued to grow. Finally in 1950, Pope Pius XII formally declared Mary's Assumption into Heaven an infallible doctrine of the Church.

What does Mary's Assumption mean for us today? It gives us hope that her Assumption can be our assumption too. That the glory of her heavenly reward can be ours also.

The many recorded appearances of the Virgin Mary to ordinary people over the centuries all point us to the message she wants us to hear. That message is for us to change our lives, to live in hope, and to become one community.

2nd Annual St. E's Jazz and Food Fest ~ August 7, 2010

Can you imagine a small congregation like ours even attempting to put on a jazz and food festival for our parish and our Highland Park community? Well, we did and the event was a big success!

It could only have happened if everyone worked together toward our common goal. And this we did! Everyone did their part to make sure that parishioners and visitors alike enjoyed themselves. Our cooks outdid themselves preparing a delicious variety of ethnic foods and the jazz bands had people rocking to their music all afternoon and into the evening in our beautiful St. Elizabeth Park. That's not all either. There were raffle drawings, a fun house for the children, books and jewelry for sale and tables dedicated to free public service health and financial information.

The following photos were taken by Ken Soistman during the set up time earlier that Saturday morning. There will be pictures of the festival in action to place on the blog at a later time.

Wait til next year when we do it again!

~ Photos by Ken Soistman ~

Be not afraid; Have faith and be prepared ~ by Ronnie Archer

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wisdom 18:6-9
Hebrews 11:1-2,
8-12
Luke 12:32-48

The theme of our readings for this Sunday is having faith, being fearless and being prepared... because we know not the day, nor the hour that our Lord will come to us to either change our current lifestyle and move on or when He will call us from this earth to Himself.

The Wisdom reading speaks of how the people of Israel, who were living under the Egyptian rule, had faith and courage to endure that night of the Passover.

The reading from Hebrews tells us that "Faith is the realization of what is hoped for, and the evidence of things unseen." (vs.1)

Abraham was told to go to a foreign place where they were to receive an inheritance, and even though they both were so old and Sarah was sterile, they received the promise of many descendants. They knew that the ONE who had made that promise was trustworthy.

Today's Gospel also reminds us of how faith and vigilance result in blessings.

Jesus said to the disciples: "do not be afraid, your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms." (vs. 32-33)

Abraham and Sarah had enough faith and trust in God to abandon their own plans and submit to His will to go to a place unknown to them, and they were rewarded.

Sometimes we are afraid to leave the comfort of our own lives to go where God means for us to be, or to do what He's calling us to do. We should be vigilant and prepared to go at any time.

Preparations take effort and energy, but preparation is necessary because we don't know when our time on this earth will end.

We can ask God to help us to be open to His Grace and His Will for us and ask His help to overcome fear.

"God did not give us a spirit of fear... but power and a sound mind," (2 Tim.1:7), therefore, we should not fear.

The Parable of the Rich Fool ~ by Cathy Woodson

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23
Ps. 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17 (8)
Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11
Luke 12:13-21

Today's readings suggest that we reflect on the priorities we set in our lives. The homily reminded us that our daily challenge is to keep our focus and attention on what pleases God.

We were also reminded that this country's founding leaders included the Eye of God over the monetary systems, showing us that the watchful Eye of God is above it. Possessions and achievements should not be our goal; but we should use these to serve others. This keeps our attention in the right place, on what matters to God.

Our culture may reward our earthly accomplishments, but we should not be consumed by this reward. Instead we are called to use our accomplishments and possessions to serve God. Keeping our eyes on the prize, doing what we are called to do, and answering God's call to almsgiving.



~ Picture found at the Daily-Word-of-Life website