Letter from the Pastor

          It is a psychological fact of life that each of us is not one person, but many.  Surely, we all recognize that truth about ourselves.  There is one part of us that is gentle and kind, another part that is mean and ill-tempered.  There is one part that is open and honest, another part that is deceitful and conniving.  We could multiply the examples endlessly, because every one of us is a bundle of mixed motives and conflicting emotions.           The ancient psalmist recognized that reality.  So he decided to do […]

               Sometimes, I fear that we in Church have become embarrassed by and almost abandoned by the idea of evangelization.  This is not without reason.  Many have seen in recent years a brand of evangelism that is little more than beautifully packaged, slickly marketed religion.  It isn’t surprising that we would disassociate ourselves from religious salesmanship, but we must not make the mistake of throwing out the baby with the bath water.                We need to be reminded that Jesus called people to follow Him and then sent them […]

                Some people, many of whom are honest and sincere, have difficulty believing in the Bible.  Whenever they read it or hear it read, one question keeps coming to mind: Is this true or not?  Did this event or that event actually take place?  That reaction is certainly understandable, because the Bible says some things and tells some stories that are not easy to believe.  Perhaps it would help if we would remember that the Bible is not one book, but many books bound into one volume.  And it is not one type […]

                How do we – priests, religious, lay persons – become involved in efforts to build a human society which respects the dignity and promotes the welfare of all?  Obviously, as believers we must call attention to the moral and religious dimensions of all issues.  We must point out the demands of our Christian Faith for a just transformation of society.  We must keep the gospel values alive and well in a world that needs them desperately.                 How many of us take a stand on the side of gospel values when issues […]

                “In the cities the wounded and dying cry out, but God ignores their prayers.”  This cry of Job must be one of the most poignant statements in the Scriptures.  Although the scholars keep telling us this is an anguished cry for help from a man in intense pain, it sounds more like a cry of despair.  After all, this is the same Job who also cried: “I give up, I am tired of living.  Leave me alone.  My life makes no sense.”  But the scholars must be right:  knowing Job, a man […]