Announcements: 8th Sunday Ordinary Time Year A

Dear Holy Rosary Mission Parishioners, here are a few announcements:

Ash Wednesday: The ashes will be dispersed during Mass at 12:15, April 9th, at Holy Rosary Catholic Church.

Holy Week: Holy Thursday and Good Friday celebrations will be at 5:30 PM at Holy Rosary Catholic Church. Easter at Saint Theresa in King Salmon/Naknek will be at 4:00 PM, Saturday, April 23, and at Holy Rosary in Dillingham at 10:00 AM, Easter Sunday, April 24.

Gospel: The readings for the eighth Sunday talk to us about the value of worrying. Please see the homily and readings below.

Liturgical Cycle: We are currently in Year A out of three liturgical years, A, B, and C. For the daily readings we are currently in Year 1 of two years, 1, and 2. The way to remember what year we are in for the daily readings is to think this: 2011 is an odd number and 1 is an odd number so we are in Year 1.

Confirmation: We have three candidates for confirmation this year. We will be introducing them at Mass during Lent.

Anchorage: I will be in Anchorage the next couple of weeks fixing our Cherokee (alternator, altimeter) and meeting with the priests in the Archdiocese to go over the changes in the New Roman Missal. I can be reached at the Holy Rosary number because it is forwarded to my cell phone.

Prayers: Please keep all those who are sick in your prayers, especially Pat Durbin and Paul in Aleknagik.

Have a fantastic week and see you Sunday…Fr. Scott


Homily:

8th Ord A DLG 2011, Best Day, Isaiah 49:14-15; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5; Matthew 6: 24-34

I tend to be a worrier. In the story about Martha and Mary I am like Martha, running around worrying about everything, the dishes, how clean the house is, etc. I worry about friends. I worry about traveling. I worry about my retirement. I worry about my health. To combat worry I have done a number of things in my life.

I read one book that said to think of your thoughts inside of a box. Don’t let your thoughts go out of the box to the past or to the future. Inside the box is the present.

I also read that 99 percent of the things we worry about never happen.

Another angle I have taken is to think of this slogan: Today is the best day of my life, because it is the only day. Yesterday is gone and we really don’t know what will happen tomorrow, so today is the best.

The most helpful remedy for worry, I have found, lives in our Catholic Christian Faith. The things that come from God are the greatest of remedies. I am talking about calling on the Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts and the outcome situations. I am referring to prayer. I am talking about the gospel stories in the bible.

In the first reading, if you are worried about something Corinthians tells us that God will never forget us, similar to a mother never being able to forget her infant. This says to me, the worrier, that (1) since God made me and I have value to God, he wants the best for me. (2) God wants me to be at peace because he loves me and since he has not or never will forget me, God is with me in my worry and will help me.

The second reading from Corinthians also helps the person who tends to worry. It tells us that in the END, what will count is what is in our hearts. So, what that says to me, a person who tends to worry too much, is this: why worry if it doesn’t count. What counts is how we view others. What counts is our relationships. What counts is how we have loved others. What counts is how we use our gifts to help others. What does not count is whether we worry.

The Gospel gives me the most help about worry. “Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life span?

The image of the birds is wonderful. No matter how busy a bird is gathering twigs or wool for their nests or feeding their young; no matter what their struggles are with the wind, rain, snow, or ice, Jesus tells us that our Heavenly Father cares for them and feeds them.

Jesus then says, “ARE YOUR NOT MORE IMPORTANT THAN THEY!” Saint Matthew tills us that even the very hairs on your head are numbered.

Most of our worry comes from managing our material possessions. Will be have enough money for food? Will we be able to retire with enough money to live? Will we have enough money to pay our bills?

If we let material things of the earth consume us we will only know disappointment. Jesus says, “Think of the flowers growing in the field. The flowers do not work and look how beautiful they are. Not even Solemn, in all his splendor, was clothed like them.” If God provides for the flowers, won’t he provide for you as well?

So, after the readings this week, what conclusions can people who worry make?: Don’t worry (599 Words)!

Isaiah 49:14-15
But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me." Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.

1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now it is of course required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. It does not concern me in the least that I be judged by you or any human tribunal; I do not even pass judgment on myself; I am not conscious of anything against me, but I do not thereby stand acquitted; the one who judges me is the Lord. Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts, and then everyone will receive praise from God.

Matthew 6: 24-34
"No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?' All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.