October 14,
2007
Who
Says Thank You?
Thank
you Online
Have you ever tried making your own prayer of thanks at out church-interactive
site? It’s an easy and fun way to create a thank you prayer --
the whole family can try this.
Click here!
Heart
Update
I still am getting many inquiries about my recovery from my heart attack.
Thanks for your prayers. I just had my latest checkup with my cardiologist
(where I met nearly a dozen parishioners who were also in for various
heart situations!) and things are progressing nicely. I’m still
doing cardiac rehab, exercising and watching my diet,
though I still haven’t figured out how to schedule a nap into
the busy days.
Are
you in College?
Please
subscribe to our occasional "letters from home" service and
receive news of interet from St. Brigid.
Signup online here.
Online Masses
We are now able to stream masses and other events live over the internet
to homebound folks and to relatives who live in other lands. If you’re
interested in this, in this, click
here.
e-mail Father Ralph:
Past Columns:
October 7: Sacrament of
Charity
September 30: This Old Gazebo
September 23: Missing Sheep
September 16: Speaking English
September 9: He's baaaack!
August 26: The Narrow Gate
August
19: Comings & Goings
August 12: Mass Schedule
Change
August 5: Better Late Than
Never
July 29: Sunday in the Chapel
July 15: Celebrating Kelly
July
8: I'm so not dead yet
July 1: Worse than Raccoons
June 24:Sommertime
June 17: Celebrating
Fr Cine
June 10: When Nature Turns
June 4:Celebrating Father
Jim
May 27: Praying in Tongues
May 20: Making (up) the
difference
May 13: Loving our Mothers
May 6: About Father George
April 29: Hearing Voices
April 22:Three Stones
April 15: What a week!
April 8: Alleluia! Alleluia!
April 1: Holy Week
March 25: Climate Change
March 18: Take A Step
March 11: Cold Enough for
You?
March 4:Stocking the Shelves
Feb 25: Basket Case
Feb18: Ashes and Desert
Dust
Feb11: Get Ready, Get Set,
REST!
Feb.4: Lent Lurking
Jan.28:Catholic Schools
Week
Jan.21:Crying in Church
Jan.14: Love ahead
Jan.7: So How
Was Your Christmas?
Columns
from 2005
Columns
from 2004
Columns from
2003
Columns from 2002
In today’s
gospel (Luke 17:11-19) we hear how Jesus heals ten lepers and how only
one comes back to say “thank you.” That helps us to reflect
on how we say thank you to God and to others in our lives.
We are somewhat shocked that the
lepers weren’t so grateful that Jesus healed them, that they didn’t
thank him. After all, if we experienced a radical healing or other favor
from God, or others, we’d easily say “thank you.” But
when things are going well in our lives, it’s easy to take others
(including God) for granted and forget to say thank you. Think about it
for a moment? In the past week, how many people said “thank you”
to you? You did many things for others in and out of your family, but
who said “thank you” for washed dishes, or cooked meals, or
folded laundry?
Rather than dwell on how many times
we were taken for granted, take a moment to think about how many people
WE thanked this past week. After all, there were many taken-for-granted
kindnesses that benefited us. How many times did we acknowledge the work
and help of others? Perhaps we could use the inspiration of this week’s
gospel to say “thank you” to the people around us -- say it
face to face, leave a little thank you note, send a card or e-mail , etc.
And together let’s thank
God for the blessings we’re received this week. Did you know that
the word “eucharist” means “thanksgiving?” So
the best way we can give thanks to God is to celebrate the Eucharist together,
and to invite others to join us.
While I’m reflecting on giving
thanks, let me take a moment to say thank you to all who were involved
in Bishop Dunne’s visit to our parish last weekend. He got a good
picture of what life at St. Brigid’s is like these days and I couldn’t
help feel proud of so many who tirelessly give their time and support
to so many ministries here. So I’m filled with gratitude for all
that people do to build up God’s kingdom day after day. Thank you,
merci, gracias, grazie!
