This Sunday Pope Francis concludes his historic trip to the United States. During his visit, he was greeted with great warmth and affection as he spoke eloquently about the role of the family. In addition to his great concern for the family, he has also expressed in the past his great concern for stewardship. In one of his Papal audiences shortly after he began his papacy, he stated, “In this period of crisis today, it is important not to turn in on ourselves, burying our own talent, our spiritual, intellectual, and material riches, everything that the Lord has given us, but, rather, to open ourselves, to be supportive, to be attentive to others. Set your stakes on great ideals, the ideals that enlarge the heart, the ideals of service that make your talents fruitful. Life is not given to us to be jealously guarded for ourselves, but is given to us so that we may give in return.”

As we reflect on these words of Our Holy Father, we are reminded that God has very definite plans for each one of us. He has blessed each of us with a unique set of gifts, skills, talents and resources so we can play a special role in building up the kingdom of God here on earth.

During this time of stewardship renewal in our parish, I am asking all parishioners to take some time in the days and weeks ahead to reflect on what stewardship means to us. Stewardship involves doing what God wants us to do with the gifts He has given us. The challenge is that it is difficult to discern what God wants from us unless we spend some time communicating with Him. In order to have a more thorough understanding of God’s plans for us, we are invited to pray.

Prayer is essentially communication with God. I invite you to spend time in prayer, especially with your family or other loved ones. Listen to hear if God is calling you to a more active, conscious participation in our parish – sharing your time, talents and treasure as Pope Francis suggests.

In addition, I invite you to come and enjoy the Parish Family Picnic this Sunday from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. on the Holy Redeemer soccer field. There’s plenty of free food, drinks and entertainment for the kids. Take a few minutes to visit some of our ministries that will have tables set up there. Pick up a ministry booklet to take home and look over. It lists all of our Saint Brigid ministries and there may just be one that interests you or a member of your family. If you have not previously been actively involved in our parish, I invite you to get involved in just one ministry and embrace our theme of “one person, one ministry, one year.”

My brothers and sisters in Christ, God promises us that He will always give us all that we need. I believe that is true for us as individuals and as a parish. I am confident that God will give our parish what we need through your active involvement. I am asking you to do your part in enhancing the spiritual vitality of our Saint Brigid faith community, especially in the area of vocation awareness. Please ask God what He is calling you to do to enrich and strengthen our faith community.

As always, I thank God for you and all the ways that you give so generously.