Fourth Sunday in Ordinary
Time
Catholic Schools Week
The reality is that you and
I know is our faith needs to be nourished.
Faith was first given to you and me when you and I were baptized. When our parents brought us to the church,
probably most of us as little
babies. We were baptized into this faith
community and from that time forward a journey began in which we had to grow
from infancy, through adolescence, to young adulthood, to adulthood, to
maturity and so forth. We have never
stopped growing physically, emotionally and hopefully spiritually. Faith has to be nourished. It starts in the home, right? You as parents are the first teachers of your
children of the ways of faith. The
baptismal liturgy says, “May you also be the best of teachers bearing witness
to that faith by what you say and do.”
Your children watch everything you do, mom and dad, right? They see it, they watch it and inside their
heads they say, “Well if mom and dad can do it do can I.” And then you have to counsel them, instruct
them, admonish them, lead them, guide them.
And then you turn to other
people for help. You come to our Faith
Formation classes or CCD classes depending on where you grew up. Or you went perhaps to a Catholic school and
you entrusted your children to the teachers there as well and they tried to
work with you so that no one realizes that we do this alone. We are in this together.
And that’s why when we come
to that second reading from scripture it’s so powerful, so beautiful because
Paul is saying, “Love is a way of life.”
Love isn’t just a nice emotion or feeling. Oh, I feel like loving you today. Or I feel like dating you today. But love is a way of life that has to be
constant. The marriage vows that you as
husbands and wives said what? “For
better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, I commit my life
to you all the days of my life.” Not
just when things are rosy huh? But in
everything love needs to grow and be nourished.
Our love for one another will never run out.
As Paul says, “Love never
fails.” Why? Because it’s based on the nature of God. God’s love is infinite, everlasting,
overflowing. We’ll never run out of
God’s love. And that love is given to
you and me once again this morning.
Jesus in the gospel reminds
us that “what is given to you and me, you and I in turn must share and give to
one another. You probably didn’t realize
but hidden in there He talks about Elisha and Elijah, the prophets and whom
they healed. It wasn’t their people,
their fellow countrymen, it was foreigners who where given the food. It was the foreigner who was healed of
leprosy.
So Jesus is telling His own
native people in His own native town of Brooklyn Center, or Brooklyn Park, or
Champlin Park, or Grand Rapids, wherever it might be, whatever your native city
or town is, God’s love isn’t just for you.
Once again God’s love is infinite, all-embracing, 360 degrees, the whole
circle, that’s what God’s love is about.
So Jesus says to His
townspeople, “Hey I’m a missionary. I’m
not going to stay at home. I gotta go
out and spread what God, My Father, has entrusted to Me and so must you.”
Now practically go back into
that second reading. And wherever you
find the word love, you can take the little 4-letter word love out and put your
own name in there and then you can see what God and Jesus is challenging you
and me to today. So where it says, “Love
is patient”, Pat is patient, Brian is kind, Theresa is not jealous, Jan is not pompous,
Margaret does not seek her own interest, Mary is not quick tempered, Joe does
not brood over injuries. Put your own
name in there. You go through that
reading again, there’s the challenge for you and for me right? Love is not just and emotion or feeling. Love is a way of life. Who you and I are.
So let’s take the love
that’s entrusted to you and to me again today, we nurture it, we grow with it
and we give it away. We do not keep it
for ourselves.
In a very wonderful way
today we have some people who want to share with us about their journey. As I mentioned at the beginning of Mass this
is called Catholic Schools Week, it’s also called Catholic Education Week
because it’s a reminder that we as Christians.
Here at St. Alphonsus parish we are Catholic Christians. There are many other denominations throughout
the whole world. Other Christian
denominations who believe in Jesus as well.
Flows right from that gospel. You
and I are not better or worse just because we have the title Catholic. But that has been entrusted to you and to me,
that’s who we are as people of God. Even
in our parish school there are many other Christian denominations present. All who believe in Jesus. We all work, play, pray together.
So today I’m going to invite
Emily and Maria to share their faith journey with us today.
Maria:
Good morning. I have been asked to talk to you today about
what Catholic education has meant to my life.
I’m a junior at Park Center Senior High School and my Catholic education
is through SALT, the St. Al’s Leadership Team and NCYC, the National Catholic
Youth Conference. Being involved has
enriched my life in three ways. I have
been able to surround myself with kids and adults that share my faith. I have been educated and I educate others
through religious education. I have been
given the opportunity to be a leader in these organizations.
Thirteen of us went to NCYC
in Kansas City, Missouri to join 21,000 other young Catholics for what turned
out to be a very enlightening experience.
We met many peers from all over the United States throughout the
educational sessions we attended. The
Saturday night Mass was viewed by 21,000 people and you knew the Holy Spirit
was there because Communion got done in just 20 minutes. Even to this day words cannot describe the
awesome feelings we experienced that weekend.
The SALT team, or St. Al’s
Leadership Team meets twice a month. It
is here that we are given opportunities to practice our leadership skills. We discuss the readings in more detail and
connect it to our daily lives. It helps
us keep our faith in check throughout our lives outside the church.
At NCYC they challenged us
to show up, step up and step out. To me
it means you have to show up at Church, step up and take leadership
opportunities, and step out—outside of your comfort zone and share your faith
with others.
I am an example of Catholic
Education.
Emily Notturno:
Good morning. My name is Emily Notturno. I am 16-years-old and I am a parishioner here
at St. Alphonsus. I have been asked to
talk to you today about what Catholic Education has meant to my life. I am not your typical Catholic teenager. I wasn’t brought up Catholic as a child. It wasn’t until I was 14-years-old that I
became Catholic. On Easter Vigil of 2008
I was baptized, had my First Communion and was Confirmed. March 22 of this year will mark my 2-year
anniversary as being Catholic.
When I was born my parents
did not baptize me because they did not belong to a church at that time. Later our family joined the Methodist Church
and we practiced there for a number of years.
While there I wasn’t comfortable talking about God or going to
Church. I didn’t feel part of the
community. My family stopped going to
Church and slowly drifted from that community.
When I was 12-years-old my best friend, Katherine Hibbs brought me here
to help with the preschoolers at Sunday School.
It opened my eyes and opened my heart.
I continue to help with the preschoolers, to this day in fact, for two
years. And during those two years I
learned more and more about the Catholic religion. I discovered in those two years that this is
where I want to be. This is where I feel
like I’m part of a community, and this is where I feel that God can actually
hear me. That if I pray, He listens and
He guides me.
My Catholic education has
consisted of many people, places, events and programs, some more important than
others. My Godmother, Mary Ann Marschall
has been an inspiration for my becoming Catholic and being Catholic. She teaches me many things that contribute to
my Catholic education. I was taught by
John Heyer in the RCIC program and in religion classes on Wednesday nights. These prepared me for becoming Catholic and
being Catholic. Barb Walhood has taught
me how to help the children to learn about God on Sundays in Sunday
School. Teresa Rousseau, my youth
minister, the leader of the St. Alphonsus Leadership Team has taught me that
it’s okay that I don’t know everything about being Catholic and how I can be a
leader in the Catholic Church and in the world.
There are so many people
that have helped with my Catholic education.
Three of the most important are Katherine Hibbs, my best friend and
God-sister. She brought me here, helped
me to learn and helped me to succeed in all aspects of my life, especially in
my Catholic education. And my parents
Missy and Joe Notturno, even though they are not personally Catholic, they
encourage me to be. They come to church
with me and they come to my Catholic education classes. They support me because I believe in the
Catholic religion.
Whether it is in our school
here at St. Al’s or in our religion programs there is no better way to learn
about the Catholic religion than Catholic education. I am an example of Catholic education.
Thank you Emily and Maria,
great witness.