October 17th, 2004
Aaron and Hur
Hurricane
Help
The news is no longer about the hurricanes hittiing Haiti, the Carribean
or Florida. Yet, the cleanup effort is a daily reality for hundreds
of thousands of people. “Cleanup” is really not an adequate
word for those trying to rebuild lives when family members were swept
away to death or crushed by falling buildings or trees. Some folks lost
their businesses, their farms, their way to support their families.
No insurance. Nothing. Nothing. Less than nothing.
So on behalf of all those who struggle to start life again, I’d
like to say thank you to our parishioners who contributed $4915 this
past week in our special collecfion for hurricane relief. We’re
sending those funds in right away to make a difference. Thank you. Grazie.
Merci. Gracias.
At
College?
At St. Brigid’s we like to stay in touch through
e-mail “letters from home.”
Once a person has an e-mail address at school (or if he/she uses a personal
address), please let us know what it is so we can include them when
we write.
Here's a handy college link so you
can send this info online.
e-mail Father Ralph:
Past Columns:
October 10: Heritage Celebration
October 3: Is it safe?
September 26: Up and coming...
September 19: New Year Resolutions?
September 12:Our New Priests
September 5: Got Two Hours?
August 29: In My Humble
Opinion
August
22nd: Hot Asphalt, Cool Church
August 15: A Big Assumption
August 8: Do It Anyway!
August 1: Parking Lot Joys!
July 25:"Doh!"
July 18: Taking Church Home
July 11: Seven Eleven
July 4th: Independence Day
June 27: God Bless Father
George
June 20: Our New Priests
June13:Missing you
June 6: Farewell Father
Leonard
May 30: Going & Coming
& Going
May 23: P.O.P.S.
May 16:
Celebrating Our
Parish
May 9: Facing the Future
May2: Resurrection Sequel
April 25: Chapel Design
April 18: Oh what a week!
April 11: Easter Life!
April 4: Palms & Passion
March 28: Plenty Good Room
March 21: More Passion
March 14: Reconciliation
March 7: A sequel from Mel?
Feb 29: Come to
Life!
Feb 22:
An Adventure to Life
Feb15: A rose
by another name?
Feb 8: If at first...
Feb 1: Our Patron Saint
Jan 25:A View From Inside
Jan 18: Our School
Jan 11: Baptism with Fire
Colums from 2003
Columns from 2002
Did
you hear the story about the time Moses was leading God’s people
in battle against Amalek and as long as his hands were raised in prayer,
the troops did well? And when his hands got tired and he couldn’t
raise them, the troops did poorly? So Aaron and Hur stood on both sides
of Moses and held his hands up until the battle was won? (If you DIDN’T
hear this story it’s because either (a) you’re reading this
bulletin before mass or (b) you didn’t go to Sunday mass this weekend.)
So what did you think of this story?
I thought, “Thank God for the Aarons and Hurs in our lives.”
You see, in some ways each day could be seen as a battle. Our “Amaleks”
could be stress or busy-ness or unpaid bills or fighting with our families
or fear of gang violence or illness or unemployment -- the list goes on
and on. And we hold up our hands and our hopes to God, trying as hard
as we can to get to the end of a day without being slaughtered by jealousy
or impatience or prejudice or weariness, etc...
And then Aaron and Hur step in.
You know who I mean -- the people who help lift our hands and our hopes
(and our groceries or our children or our elderly parents or our piles
of leaves or our spirits). After last week’s gospel about the leper
who gave thanks, we know this is a good week to give thanks for the Aarons
and Hurs who do a lot to get us through our days. Why not take some time
this week to do two things:
(a) Pray for the people help us keep on going in our life
(b) Reach out to them and say “thanks.”
One more thing: Each of us knows
someone whose hands are getting tired, someone who needs a little lift.
Why not be that person’s Aaron or Hur this week?
You are Person
