Pastor's Column for September 15, 2024
Dear Parishioners,
We express our sympathy to Scott & Art Yurek on the passing of their mother, Carole whose funeral Mass we celebrated last week. Carole was 84 and had a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary as she prayed the rosary often. She was also a very generous person, giving to organizations that she admired. She was someone who “put the needs of her family above her own and set an excellent example of how to be an awesome human being,” according to her obituary. As St. Irenaeus said, “the glory of God is a human being fully alive.” May Carole rest in peace as we pray for her and her late husband Arthur.
We also celebrated last week the funeral Mass for Patrick Mills, whom I met early on in my time here at St. Leo’s. He was devoted to his wife Lucile, whose funeral I celebrated 4 years ago. We extend our condolences to his son Scott and to the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Pat. We are grateful for Pat’s service to our country as he was a Veteran of the US Marine Corps. I am glad that I had the opportunity to anoint Pat and give him Holy Communion (which was his “Viaticum” or last Communion) just days before he died. And then I was able to pray with his son and daughter-in-law as I administered the last rites to him. May Pat and all the faithful departed rest in God’s peace.
You can view pictures of those who labor in our parish and school community in the display case in the vestibule of the church, which of course is timely given our recent Labor Day holiday. As always, thanks to John & Jeanne Sabol who do a great job updating these pictures throughout the year.
After watching the first Presidential Debate this past week, I was reminded of something I read recently by Bishop Barron concerning the Church’s involvement in the political life of our nation. It said, “Today we live in a nation with the fundamental right to religious freedom. The state is forbidden to establish or dis-establish any religion. This is the clear and simple meaning of what later came to be the ‘separation of church and state.’ But that is not what many say it means today. They say it means silencing the Church’s voice in the public and political sphere.” Again, we hear the voices of many say that the Church (which is called to amplify the voice of the Scriptures and of Christ himself) should stay out of politics. But nothing should be farther from the truth. Politics has to do with how we live with each other in society…how we communicate, make laws, live in harmony, freedom, etc. And all of that has to do with God…with God’s will for society. Again Barron says, “Christianity has some basic principles about politics, but it does not have a detailed political program…Christians have moral principles by which to judge states, but they are not principals that come from politics; they come to politics.”
I share these words with you as I encourage you, not to vote for this candidate or for another, not to join this political party over another, but simply to stress the importance of forming your conscience and thereby your political opinions and decisions based on the will of God as you understand that will through Sacred Scripture and the teaching of the Church. To that end, I’ll conclude with these further words from Barron: “And Catholic Christians know what their Lord says…by listening to what their Lord’s authorized Church teaches in his name—about everything: immigration, the poor, abortion, marriage, the environment, business, law, education, the arts, the media, everything. If he is not the Lord of everything, he is not the Lord of anything.”
Fr. James. P. Schmitz
