In this weekend’s Readings from Sacred Scripture, we see two wonderful readings about the gift of hospitality. In the First Reading from the Book of Genesis, we see Abraham welcoming three strangers. We see him taking care of their needs and then he receives a promise from them that they will return the same time next year and, at that time, Abraham will have a son. In the Gospel, we see Jesus reclining at the table at the home of Martha and Mary. We see Martha being attentive to the details of hospitality, while Mary is truly hospitable to Jesus and sits and listens to Him.

Hospitality is an important part of the life of the disciple. We are called to welcome people into our parish home. We are all called to make sure that the needs of the stranger who enters our church doors are met. There are some very simple things that we can do to assure this. We can smile at a person that we do not know. We can offer them our seat if it is at the end of a pew and other seats around us are full. We can even reach out and speak to the stranger. These are all things that we can do to make a person welcome in our parish home.

This Past Monday I attended my first Parish Council Meeting. I am grateful for the opportunity to be with and listen to the members of our parish council. It is my hope that we all will be able to grow in our relationship with one another as we strive to build God’s Kingdom here in Marathon, Whitney Point and Cincinnatus.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Fr. Jim