From the Pastor’s desk— October 13, 2024
Dear Parishioners,
“Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter; whoever finds one finds a treasure” (Sirach 6:14). I hope everyone here at Sacred Heart has friends. This past week I met with a group of brother priests for our “Jesu Caritas” meeting. It’s a time to spend in silent prayer together for an hour with our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, then we catch up on what’s been going on with us since we last met, and we end the evening with a good meal. Sometimes we go out to eat, sometimes we do our own cooking when we can. Do we all agree on everything? No, we have our disagreements. But what we have in common is our faith and our need for friendship and accountability.
Friendship has been at the foundation of my life as a Christian from when I first believed in Jesus because of the testimony of a friend. Now I am strengthened in faith by my Christian friends, and I have helped others find faith by being a friend to them too. Jesus came to befriend the friendless, and the friendship of His disciples proves it still today.
Again, I hope everyone here at Sacred Heart has friends. If you don’t, let’s see if we can fix that. Begin with prayer. Ask God to send a good friend to each of us and ask that we can each become a good friend. Next, keep your eyes open for someone who God may be sending you. Talk to them and ask if they would like to do something together you both enjoy so you can get to know that person better. If this one is a fellow Christian, pray together. If this one is not a Christian, pray before and afterward that you can both know Jesus Christ better. Then let friendship grow as it will from there.
God made us to be in community, so we’re happier in community. God himself is a community in the Holy Trinity. Too many people today are lonely and waiting for someone else to talk to them. As Christians we’re called to make friendships, just as Jesus the Son of God became man to be a friend to us. Friendship has helped me, and I want it to help you too.
Fr. Joseph