Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus offers us a powerful teaching on humility and true Christian hospitality. As He dines at the house of a Pharisee, He notices how guests choose places of honor at the table. In response, He reminds us: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

In a world that often encourages self-promotion and recognition, the Gospel invites us to a different way—to place others first, to serve without seeking reward, and to open our hearts and homes to those who cannot repay us. This is the essence of Christian love.

Jesus challenges us to look beyond appearances and social status. Whether in our parishes, homes, or communities, may we be people who welcome the poor, the outcast, and the forgotten. When we give without expecting in return, we reflect the heart of Christ Himself.

Also, to provide an update on our upcoming construction project that was requested even before my arrival, we will present a phase one proposal for the metal storage building for approval at 6 pm to our Parish Council and 7 pm to our Finance Council on Thursday, September 4. We would like to start phase one as soon as possible. We plan to raise at least half of the funding to support the kitchen remodel and the parish hall bathrooms via our Building Campaign collections on the first and third weekend each month beginning September 1 and the annual Fall Carnival on October 19th. The remaining balance of funding we need will be a loan from the Archbishop and added at the back end of our current loan for the 2021 HVAC purchase. We pay $3,191.59 per month on the loan with a current balance of approximately $50,000. The original HVAC loan amount was $98,000.00.

Let us pray this week for grace to live with humility and to serve with generous love. In doing so, we prepare our place at the eternal banquet of the Kingdom.



In Christ’s peace,

Father Joe