Thursday, July 7, 2016

100 Years of St. Thomas Aquinas' Parish Dedication: 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

“Thus says the LORD: Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her, all you who love her; exult, exult with her…”
·      What some awesome readings for this wonderful evening
·      Exult!  Exult!
We have a powerful day after 100 years of a dedication
·      Yes…we have 100 years for different occasions
o   The first time we built a small church here (Holy Apostles)
o   The first time we built our church
o   Other celebrations and historical liturgies
·      Tonight is what we do for a “blessing dedication”
o   In July 2, 1916 the name of our church was dedicated of St. Thomas Aquinas
o   A huge event with a bishop!
Listen again from Isaiah about some cool images of our own Church
·      “Lo, I will spread prosperity over Jerusalem like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing torrent.”
o   Look at these words! 
§  “Jerusalem like a river”
·      Do we not have a river three blocks away?
·      Do we not have the stones on our building outside from this river?
§  “Nations like an overflowing torrent”
·      This is what I want to see at our Church!
·      We must invite, welcome and open our doors to each person that needs Jesus’ love, mercy and compassion
§  “And the wealth of the nations…”
·      Yes, we have a tough economy up here…less families, less kids, less jobs, less money
·      Yes, we have loan for our roof, UCA, heating, school, budget
·      Yes, we ask Him!  Yes, we must discern how we go forward…we think of 2016 to the gifts we have
·      At the same time, we do have “a ton of wealth”!
o   We have 3 kitchens in our Church.
o   We have water, plumbing, electricity, hot or cold air inside
o   Most of the world does not have this
·      Prosperity tough in USA…perhaps
·      But we must share with those DO NOT have any prosperity
A last line from Isaiah…perfect words from God for each of us:
·      “When you see this, your heart shall rejoice and your bodies flourish like the grass; the LORD's power shall be known to his servants.”
·      Rejoice…exult…be glad

·      God’s house…God’s family is THE BEST

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