SUMMING UP JANUARY 2010 - SUCCESSFULLY STARTING AT SACRED HEART..........

My first month In Residence at Sacred Heart Parish in East Sacramento is complete, as we celebrate the 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time. In these past 31 days, I have celebrated 24 Masses; 33 Confessions; (plus 18 First Reconciliation Confessions at Assumption Parish") Anointed 1 Sick person; Met With 1 Engaged Couple; and attended 3 Adult Faith Formation meetings; while settling into being here..........In our Sunday Scriptures we hear the prophetic voices of Jeremiah in the First Reading and Jesus the Christ in Luke's Gospel. They both proclaimed an unvarnished message of God's Truth, not seeking to be popular, but true to their mission as messengers of the Divine. Jeremiah, Isaiah, Hosea, Elijah, Elisha, and their fellow Prophets spoke authentically, not out of a hardness of heart, but with a direct and intentional direction for God's People, often showing a softness of heart in their interactions with others, as evidenced by Hosea in his tender love for his wife; and Elijah and Elisha, in their provision for the needs of widows and orphans. Paul in 1 Corinthians today proclaims for us the necessity of love and compassion being included in the exercise of the God given gift of prophecy. To be prophetic while being detached from the reality of the lives to whom one is prophesying, is to be a false prophet, for authentic prophecy is grounded in God, and God is Love. Humility in fulfilling the gift of prophecy is essential, because prophets serve at God's Call, and not of their own choosing. A true and faithful prophet to God's People are steeped in love for God and others, which is what makes them deliver their challenging messages of repentance and re-direction. Thus authentic prophets are able to blend the speaking of Truth with a sufficiency of Love for the persons they are proclaiming to. I have long said, "Priesthood is not a popularity contest". Neither is Christian Discipleship. If we are to be fervent and faithful witnesses to God's Prophetic Word, then our concern must not be popularity or acceptance, but a balanced, well rounded, response to hearing, speaking, living the Truth. In today's Gospel Proclamation, Luke shows how Jesus put the Truth, even at the risk of His own endangerment, before the acceptance and popularity of the crowd. How willing are we as followers of Jesus Christ in the Church and the World, to speak or act on the Truth and risk rejection and unpopularity ? Or are our own comfortability and acceptance by others, even at the cost of denying or remaining silent in regards to our values and beliefs, the easy way we choose to take, instead of prophetically proclaiming the Truth by our words and actions ? Prophets old and new, hear, answer, and speak, of the Call God summons them to embrace. And as God's People and members of the Body of Christ, the Church - we too are being called yesterday, today, tomorrow, and always - not to be indifferent or uncaring, but active, faithful, and true to prophetically and constantly proclaiming God's greater glory and serving the common good of humankind. Thank you to my blog readers and all those who are continuing to pray for and with me, for your ongoing support .........Peace + Prayers in the Prophetic Word of God, Who Is Jesus the Christ..........Fr. Troy