Parishioners of Our Lady of Joy! Do you understand what God is accomplishing with your cooperation? It is amazing.

Currently, we have many Catholics returning to our parish through your welcoming spirit and the multitude of ministries your volunteerism, financial contributions, and prayers continue to support!

The preschool, children’s catechesis, youth ministry programs, and adult faith formation programs are flourishing!

Organizations like Knights of Columbus are raising money to help worthy causes and powerful parish events—like largely subsidizing our parish bringing in nationally-recognized speakers for our next two parish missions!

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I remember a recent conversation about the mercy of God. One of the people said, “If a serial killer is in heaven, I don’t want to be there.” I thought the person better tread carefully. Thanks to our free will, God will allow us to make that choice. But it sounds dangerously like the brother in the story of the prodigal son—unwilling to accept his father’s forgiveness.

I would propose his mercy is a much tougher pill to swallow than his judgement - although the two are inextricably intertwined.

We can all grasp the judgement of God. Why? We have all been hurt and would like to see the perpetrator get what is coming to them. Judgement from a just judge can be scary, but our minds can make sense of it.

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When I speak or write about key differences between us and our protestant brothers and sisters, my intent is not to drive a wedge between us. We certainly have much in common and must join together in our fight for life, morality and religious freedoms. There are many holy men and women in other denominations. Yet, it is important to understand there are differences and why we believe what we believe.

Toward the end of Luke 12, we read the following: “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly.”

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The national average cost of a 10x10 storage unit is just under $1200/yr. It is the cost of storing all the stuff you can’t even fit in your own home.

$1200 also buys 112 cans of infant formula on Amazon that could be donated to an organization like Maggie’s Place (that supports young women who kept their babies).

There is so much that $1200 could do. Yet, so many of us are afraid that we might need something or we have an emotional attachment to something.

I know there are some very legitimate reasons to rent a storage unit. And beyond that, I can’t tell you how to spend your money or what to do with the things you’ve accumulated. But Jesus can.

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