11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes
Jesus says, “this is how it is with the Kingdom of God.” Seeds of the Kingdom are scattered on the earth. Day by day, we sleep and rise like farmers while God’s seeds sprout and grow. Though we each have a role in tending these plants in our local fields, exactly how they grow remains something of a mystery to us. Yet we can pause, look around, and see what heaven and earth have worked together to cultivate. Today, I would like to review some of the good fruits and fruits in progress which God has produced around us at St. Paul’s Catholic Parish.
In addition to our daily worship, our baptisms, confessions, weddings, and anointings, there are good things happening at St. Paul’s. Our entryway has been renovated, featuring a first-floor bathroom, with new exterior doors to be installed by the end of this summer. Our beautiful vestibule provides a new space for our community. It has already hosted one funeral visitation and will host Fr. Chinnappan’s farewell parties next weekend. It is sad to see Father go. He’s been a blessing and will be missed. But we are promised a new associate priest from India arriving hopefully this summer.
Our (4K through 8th grade) Catholic School has concluded another good year, and we are predicting higher enrollment this fall. An enhanced St. Paul’s school and parish website and other marketing efforts are making our great school better known. This summer, we’re renovating school bathrooms while refreshing other spaces and implementing a new English language curriculum which utilizes phonics. We have a full set of certified teachers lined up, including for our special courses like computers, phy-ed, health, and art. Our only unfilled spot remaining is for a one-fifth-time music teacher, so if you know someone excellent, please send them our way.
You have seen the gradual growth of our Sunday morning Children’s Liturgies. It’s a joy to see our little ones scamper off for their children’s gospel, homily, and prayers and come back proudly carrying their completed crafts. We are currently seeking lay volunteers to accompany them, so talk to me if you’re willing to support this important ministry. This summer, our young people are invited to Saints Basketball Camp every Monday and Wednesday evening (beginning this week), Saturday morning youth group at 9:30 AM every Saturday, and Vacation Bible School later this August.
With two priestly ordinations from our parish in recent years and a likely diaconate ordination to come, I would not be surprised to see more vocations emerging here. Pray for more vocations to priesthood, religious life, and holy marriage and encourage the young people in your life to pursue their true calling.
The volunteers at our St. Paul’s Thrift Sale, through the donations and purchases of so many, are on pace to achieve another record-breaking year. So drop off used treasures and pick up some new treasures on Thursdays or Fridays this summer. They also always welcome new volunteers.
Our 2023-24 Diocesan Annual Appeal campaign ends at the end of this month, and we are happily going to surpass our goal. Not only will any gift exceeding our goal fully return to the parish, but we also expect to receive school tuition grants this year like the $23,000 we received last year from our diocese (which is funded by the Annual Appeal).
Looking ahead, the second part of our St. Paul’s Church renovation is slated for the summer of 2026. As we continue fulfilling our Inspired by the Spirit campaign pledges, we will have all the necessary funds by then for wall repainting, floor reflooring, pew refinishing, and kneeler repadding; for security and streaming video cameras, new lighting, a new speaker system, and more. Your generosity towards this worthy effort is appreciated and will bring these plans to reality. Your donations to this project are likely a factor in another topic which I should mention.
Parish contributions come to St. Paul’s in various ways. Some people drop envelopes or cash into our collection baskets, others mail in checks to our parish office, some people have signed up to make no-fee, ACH automatic contributions from their bank accounts, and still others make donations directly from their IRAs. But as we now approach the end of this fiscal year, our parish Finance Council has noted that our year-to-date parish contributions are 10% under their year-to-date budget target. While fulfilling our renovation’s campaign’s pledges, it’s important that we maintain our regular parish giving as well.
So if you are regularly giving $10 on Sundays, please perhaps raise this up to 11 or more. If it’s $20, to 22; if $50, to 55; or $100, to 110, and so on. And if you do not tithe, I encourage you to start. It is a tangible way to exercise your trust in God, giving him an opportunity to prove himself faithful to you. And our Lord will not be outdone in generosity.
Jesus says the Kingdom of God “is like a mustard seed.” Even beginning as the “smallest of all the seeds on the earth,” the mustard seed is potent in flavor and powerful in potential. It springs up and becomes the largest of plants, putting forth large branches, and the birds of the sky dwell in its shade. Let us help grow the Kingdom of God among us so that our St. Paul’s Catholic Parish may be a still greater fruitful blessing and holy home for many more. And let us pray:
St. Paul our Patron,
please intercede with the Lord
for our parish and plans’ success,
for the glory of God
and salvation of souls. Amen.
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