Sunday July 27th, 2025 – Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Love grants in a moment what toil can hardly achieve
in an age.”
(Johan Wolfgang von Goethe)
Dear Friends,
After reading this Sunday’s first reading in which Abraham bargains with God, I realize how much I am like Abraham! From little on, I have bargained with God. If I do such and such, then you God will do such and such. And then when I perceive God has not upheld his end of the bargain, I pout and sometimes even despair that God was ever really listening in the first place.
But then I read Jesus saying in the gospel of St. Luke: “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (ch. 11)
Jesus’ corrective to my faulty perception of a calculating love is his revelation of his loving Father who gives us whatever we need, but in his time and not on our bargain or our calculation. Eternal Love works things out for us, but we have to let God be God, and not just the puppet of our demanding and controlling egos! God’s response is always YES, but it is his plan for when and how that YES will be revealed to us. That is why we can fully say: “Thy Will Be Done.”
So let’s keep breathing and trusting these summer days, and let God know what we need. The answer will come. Not in Central Standard Time, but the far more promising and infinitely more reliable timeline of Eternity!
Sincerely, with love,
Fr. Tim
Sunday July 20th, 2025 – Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“All things were created through him and for him”
(Col 1:16)
In the Gospel proclaimed this Sunday, we hear about Jesus’ visit to the home of his friends Martha and Mary in Bethany. Martha, a dedicated host, embodies the importance of hospitality in the Ancient Near East, while Mary places herself at the feet of Jesus so that she can take in all that Jesus is teaching. Both women were being attentive to the presence of Jesus, each in her own way.
As we reflect on this story, we might think of what it has to say to us about life today. After all, this passage from Luke’s Gospel isn’t simply a story about Jesus dropping in for a weekend away from the crowds. Instead, this story is a lesson in discipleship, inviting us to reflect on how we recognize and welcome Jesus as he comes to us today. There are many ways Jesus is present to us. This obviously includes how he comes to us in the proclaimed Word and in the Eucharist, as well as how we experience his divine presence in prayer. But we also encounter Jesus in those whom we are called to serve, as well as in the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, refugees, and all those who need our love.
The question before us—posed by the figures of Mary and Martha—is this: Are you creating a space for Jesus, paying attention to him and serving his needs, here and now, in whatever way he comes to you?
In the Divine Savior,
Fr. Silas, SDS
Sunday July 13th, 2025 – Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“All things were created through him and for him”
(Col 1:16)
The month of July has a way of reminding us of freedom. Things like the heat of summer summoning us outdoors, the cool waters in our lakes constantly inviting us to go out and have a good time, the Northwoods calling us to enjoy a breath of fresh air, and to top it off, fireworks, parades, and the American flag flying in the open air while the National Anthem is being intoned, have a way of reminding us of the great freedom we enjoy. Truth is, we love freedom – and we should. But what happens when freedom is no longer free? Are we truly free? What exactly is freedom? Or better yet, when was the last time you felt truly free?
St Paul reminds us, “all things were created through him and for him”. Yes, we are God’s creatures, so this principle applies to us as well, “we were created for him”. This is the fundamental nature of human freedom, our capacity to choose Him above all else. Thus, for humans, freedom is acquired in the measure in which we chose Christ. St Ignatius of Loyola puts it succinctly in his Spiritual Exercises. He writes, the principle and foundation of the spiritual life is this, “man was created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord”. In this understanding, freedom is not a detachment from our duties (i.e. freedom from), but rather, the power to choose the good (i.e. freedom for). We all seek freedom, but not everyone finds it. Ultimately only those who truly praise, reverence, and serve God will be truly free.
Yours in Christ,Fr. Ariel
Sunday July 6th, 2025 – Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Sisters & Brothers,
July 15, 2012, is a day that is burned into my memory. That year, the Sunday gospel readings were from the Gospel of Mark, and on July 15, Mark’s version of the sending of the disciples was proclaimed. (At Mass this weekend, we hear Luke’s version proclaimed.)
As Jesus sends the disciples out to proclaim, “The kingdom of God is at hand for you,” he tells them what they must leave behind. They were to leave behind their money bags, sacks, and even sandals for this journey. I wonder if that directive was confusing for those first disciples. How would they be able to do their work without these seemingly necessary items? Whatever their thoughts were at the beginning of their journey, they returned to Jesus full of excitement and rejoicing at what they had accomplished with the power he had given them. The power of the Lord enabled them to leave behind what they thought they needed, and their mission flourished.
This past June 27th, I celebrated thirteen years of sobriety from alcohol. When I proclaimed this gospel on July 15, 2012, it had been nineteen days since I had had a drink. I was not happy. I could not imagine what my life would be like if I could not drink alcohol. I had little optimism, little hope, and certainly no idea how God’s power could work in me if I would only surrender to it. Yet, when I read this passage in 2012, it was as if the Lord was speaking directly to me. At that point in my life, the Lord invited me to trust in his power in a way I never had before.
The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous has a listing of changes that will become apparent if we work the simple program of the 12 steps. One of those changes is, “We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.” I can honestly say that I have experienced God’s power in countless ways over the past thirteen years. Leaving behind the alcohol was the first step. Similarly, those first disciples also experienced God’s power working through them, and it began with leaving behind what they did not need.
What is God asking you to leave behind today? It may or may not be an addictive substance or behavior. Perhaps it is hardness of heart, intolerance, self-centeredness, doubt, or an inflated ego. If you’re not sure, ask the Lord what he is inviting you to leave behind. When we decide to let go of what we think we cannot do without and surrender to God’s power, we will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.
I am more than grateful for the love and support I have received from all of you in the Family of Five Parishes.
