7TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME......SEEKING WHAT WE TRULY NEED............

Our Sunday prayer, worship, and ministry, today brackets the conclusion of this first part of Ordinary Time in Liturgical Year 2012, as we arrive at Mardi Gras, the doorway to the Season of Lent, starting in three days on Ash Wednesday.  The Sunday Scriptures convey the sense of Forgiveness and Healing we need in our relationships to be the human beings we were created to be, and to fulfill our roles and responsibilities as People of God and Disciples of Jesus Christ.  The  healing and restoration we need as persons on the continuously unfolding journey of life and faith, can only come to fruition with forgiveness, acceptance, and commitment, to the way and truth of God's Plan for us.  We are not in total control of anything on earth, not even our own lives, as any of us who are ill, infirm, diseased, disabled, or otherwise physically or developmentally challenged, or limited by circumstances we do not choose, can attest.  This is the very real presence of the Cross in our lives, and a hunbling awareness that we need more than personal desire or self sufficiency to succeed, sustain, and survive, the shortcomings and limitations that may beset us.  The Forgiveness and Healing of our Loving, Compassionate, God and the Caring Support of Others are essential components to finding the wholeness and renewal of opportunity we seek and need.  In these Mardi Gras days before we envelop the redirection Lent as the Springtime of the Church can bring us, may you discern the power of Healing and Forgiveness in your lives............Fr.  Troy