I have been preparing for the start of Religious Ed classes in September. All summer long. I am updating the curriculum, researching text books from a new company, creating handbook guides for 2nd grade families, recruiting and training new Catechists, working with new families and much more.

So, as I read this Gospel, I thought of how in a couple of months, we will once again begin teaching our 1st graders how to say “The Lord’s Prayer”. This is something that starts in 1st grade and continues every year straight through to Confirmation. It is the prayer all adults remember and have said a thousand times. We say it in church, we may say it before we go to bed. We say it as we ask for God’s help. This brings us into a deep personal connection with God the Father. This prayer serves as an affirmation of the worldview Jesus teaches and how the good news manifests in us. Sometimes, we break it down for our students to better understand its components and true purpose…

 We know God is our loving Father
 He is holy
 We pray for His will to be done, not ours
 We ask that He provide us with what we need, rather than our wants
 Forgive others, as God has forgiven us
 Help us to stay on the right path, away from temptation

This week, as I take a break and head to the Jersey shore with my family, I will be looking forward to relaxing, getting some sun, finishing a book I have no time to read and just being together. With my children getting older, it is rare that we spend any long periods of time all together. We will also be with my mom and my brother’s family as an added bonus! Coming full circle, I am reminded that all things originate in God. It is then that I express gratitude and appreciation for all that I have and have all that I need.

Dear Parishioners,

This is one of my favorite gospels…particularly the part about not cluttering up your life with things, useless talk and gossip. Jesus is entrusting His disciples with the precious gift of the proclamation of the good news and He wants their total attention to be focused on preaching and proclaiming to all whom they meet.

I have often commented and thought about the relevance of the gospel message to our own lives. In this present age, the word I like to use is distracted. We are so distracted by all the noise and activities that permeate our lives every day. I am sure we have often asked ourselves the question—how much of this is really necessary to what I have to do today? The answer is inevitably…not much.

What we wish for is peace and hope for ourselves and for others whom we love. This is exactly the proclamation that Jesus proclaims in the gospel, “Peace to this household.” The key for each of us is to discern the difference between our needs and our wants. We have most of what we need, much of it God given, but wants can be without end because as I often say, “The world wants to sell you stuff.”

Ultimately, our lives should be about fulfilling our needs in union with the creator and enriched through the salvation won for us by Jesus His Son.