Dear Parishioners,

Following last week’s description of the Kingdom of heaven that we heard from the Gospel of Matthew, we hear Matthew transition to how the Scribes and Pharisees began to plot against Jesus.  They sent a representative to challenge Him with a political question.  “Is it lawful to pay tax to the emperor or not?”  Once again, they were not looking for an answer to the question, but more of an opportunity to trap Jesus because no matter how He answered the question, someone would not be happy.

This Gospel reading is very timely as we are close to another election time in our country and this brings out conflict in people as they battle to present their thoughts and opinions.  The Church leaders cannot endorse a particular party or candidate; however, it is important for all of us to understand what our role as Catholics is in the voting process.  As Faithful Citizens of God and this country we are obligated to consider the Gospel moral values and all Catholic teaching into our voting.  We must take our right to vote seriously as we apply our Catholic principles and teachings and we should not vote in favor of a candidate or an issue solely on its contradiction to our Catholic teachings or Gospel moral values that we might not agree with.

A few weeks ago, we were asked to make a firm commitment to our Lord and Faith by asking what our “Yes” to the Lord means.  This time of voting is a time to put into practice what our “Yes” means.  If we value and respect life and our Catholic principles, then we must express that reality in thoroughly studying the issue or candidate’s platform so that we can vote with a clean and clear conscience.  We must vote; however, before voting we must study and apply our Gospel values and Catholic teaching to what and who we are voting for.  As Jesus says in today’s Gospel: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s but give to God what is God’s.”  Pray for the grace to apply the correct balance to our voting process.

Another way to show our “Yes” to the Lord is in our response to World Mission Sunday which is today.  On this day, we have the opportunity to support the missions with our prayer and our financial contributions so that missionaries around the world have the resources they need to proclaim the Gospel message in mission territories.  Some may be called to join a Mission group in sharing their talents by going to work in Mission Lands.

Today, we have a special collection for the Missions, and we have envelopes available for this collection.  Thank you for your generosity and prayerful support of the Missions.

May God continue to Bless us all as we say “Yes” to Him.

Fr. George P. Blais

Dear Parishioners,

Jesus continues to teach in this week’s Gospel with the use of parables.  He compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a wedding banquet in which the initial guests are invited, but they mention many reasons why they cannot attend, so more guests are invited.  This is to show that Jesus is calling all people to come to the wedding banquet, and He will determine their worthiness. 

This brings us back to the question from two weeks ago when we were asked to say “Yes” to God and what that “Yes” means.  Are we prepared to say “Yes” to God’s invitation to come to His Banquet or do we make excuses or reasons why we must decline His invitation?

We have the opportunity to experience God’s invitation in this life as we are invited to be His followers in our world.  We have the gift of the Mass which will prepare us for the Kingdom of Heaven as we are fed by the Word of God in the Scriptures, and by the Eucharist, Jesus’ Body and Blood.  When we attend Mass but don’t live our lives according to His plan, we are like the person who came to the banquet not properly dressed and was turned away.  “The invited are many, the elect are few.”

Jesus wants us to know that all people, because we are all created in His image and likeness, have been invited to the Wedding Banquet in the Kingdom of Heaven.  The scribes and the pharisees often times judged people for who they were and what they did in their life, and we are sometimes like them; however, He wants us to know that it is not our place to judge and condemn others for their actions in this life.  It is His responsibility to make the final judgement, while it is our responsibility to encourage and pray for one another in this life.

God is all loving and merciful and He will treat each invited guest with that love, mercy, and compassion.  In this time, I pray that we may all respond with conviction our “Yes” to God’s invitation to His Kingdom.

Fr. George P. Blais