SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
14 MAY 2023
We
continue to hear the words of Jesus in his farewell discourse to his disciples
at the Last Supper in Saint John’s Gospel.
Because this is the living Word of God, Jesus is speaking to us at this
Memorial of the Last Supper. He commands
us to keep his commandments to love God and neighbor. We must love as he has loved us. He has just shown what this love looks
like. Like a humble servant, he has
gotten on his knees and washed the feet of his disciples. On the next day, he will give himself
completely on the cross out of love for us.
This is the type of love he commanded his first disciples and which he
commands us: to humble ourselves and
wash the feet of others, no matter how difficult or demanding that action may
be.
We see an
example of this type of love in the first reading from the Acts of the
Apostles. Phillip goes down to Samaria,
to the heart of the divisions and hatred between Samaritans and Jews. He proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ to
his former enemies. The Samaritans are so
moved by the signs worked by Phillip that they accept baptism into Jesus Christ
with great joy. Then the apostles in
Jerusalem send Peter and John to impart the gift of the Holy Spirit. Despite the former differences, their mission
demonstrates both the continuity and the unity between this missionary
community and the mother Church in Jerusalem.
The Lord
commands us to love in this same way.
You who are mothers know this style of loving. I join the mothers of our parish and invite
all of you to consider taking a step forward in faith to give a generous
portion of your time in service to this community. Our parish is alive, because so many people
are involved. And people can see the
signs of the Lord’s love in our efforts to be humble servants. Jesus has sent another Advocate, the Holy
Spirit, to strengthen us in our efforts to serve, just as he had sent the Holy
Spirit with Phillip to Samaria. Please
read the information in your stewardship of service packet. Be sure to study the needs of the parish. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you
consider what gifts God has given you.
After praying over your decision, be prepared to make a one-year
commitment to be a humble servant in this parish.
You might
expect me to say all these things. It’s
my “day job”. So, listen to another Bill
and allow him to share how he has come to embrace the stewardship of service at
Saint Pius.
Stewardship of Service Witness Talk
May 13 – 14, 2023
Bill McDonough
Thanks Fr. Bill
My wife Vicki and I have been part of this Parish since 1992
when we moved here from Pittsburgh with our three children – Kelly, Bill and
Katie. It is amazing how fast time goes
by!! Our youngest Katie is now 30 and is
about to have a baby, our first grandchild.
This Parish has become a big part of our lives.
What is Stewardship?
Stewardship, quite simply, is recognizing that everything we have
and everything we are is a gift from God and being grateful and generous with those gifts. God calls us all to steward
everything about our lives focusing on the good of others.
In Colossians 3:23-24 Paul writes:
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as
working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an
inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
There is humility in stewardship, it evokes images of
service. Service is central to the idea of stewardship.” Service and
stewardship, and through them the commitment to something greater than
ourselves, are the antidote to self-interest and selfishness.
I believe we all have gifts that God has given us, and He
wants us to use these gifts to serve others – in this Parish, in our Community
and also in the bigger world we all live in.
If you are like me, you may be thinking right now “I have heard that
many times, but I don’t have any special gifts or I don’t know what they
are! For me it took a long time to get
it. Of course, I had my faith, and I
came to Mass every week and I contributed financially but I was busy with my
job, family, friends etc, etc. It wasn’t
until I attended a men’s retreat right here at St Pius that my eyes and heart
were really opened to the idea of serving others. This clarity has helped me in my job, family
and in becoming more involved here at St Pius.
I have been encouraged and motivated to do more by the many in our
Parish that give of their time and share their gifts. It has been amazing to see what happens when
you open yourself to the idea of serving others at a whole new level –
opportunities come to you! For me that
has been serving as a Hospitality Minister at Mass, helping with other men’s
retreats, Saturday mornings with my brothers at TMIY and I am a part of our new
Prison Ministry – helping others strengthen their faith.
I encourage you all to spend some time reflecting on what
gifts God has given you – it could be Faith, Evangelism, Helping, Giving,
Hospitality, Mercy, Leadership or many others that you may be touched
with. You just have to be open to the
idea that we are all here to help others.
There are so many ways to get more involved here at St Pius, Fr. Bill
said, “keep it short” so I don’t have time to list them all! There are ways for
all of us to get more involved. Don’t
worry about not having enough time to get more involved – God challenges us to
get out of our “Comfort Zone”, when you accept the challenge, he takes care of
the rest.
The benefits are many – there is a real joy in serving
others, it brings our community together and as you get more involved in our
parish it helps make it feel not so big and it becomes a bigger part of your
life. I am so thankful for the
relationships I have made here through getting more involved in serving!
I will leave you with this from the First Letter of Peter – “As
each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of
God's varied grace.”
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