Sunday, February 5, 2012
Dear Parishioners,
As Pastor of St. Dorothy Parish, I continue to be overwhelmed by the support of so many of you who use your God-given talents here. The hours of volunteering cannot be numbered. Many serve in liturgical ministry: lectors, extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, ushers, hospitality ministers, altar servers, choir members, musicians. Many of you coach the young, prepare food for the needy, educate the young, prep teachers, classroom volunteers, the list goes on and on. Most people volunteer because they enjoy working with others who share their faith, and they like giving back to God something they have received.
Every gift God gives also comes with a desire to use it - as if God packaged our gifts with start buttons. Having gifts is one thing, but using them is something else. If we don’t use the gift we have, we feel it eating away within us. It wants to come out. It wants to be used. Paul the apostle writes about his own vocation this way. He is a preacher, people have praised him for his ability, but Paul says, “If I preach the gospel, this is not reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it!” Paul felt the gospel like a raging river within him. He had to let it out. Otherwise, he would personally suffer.
God has given us our gifts that we might use them. Like St. Paul, we have not reason to boast of our gifts, they were given to us. But we do have reason to use them. They will fulfill the purpose for which God made them, and all will come to know the greatness of our God. Take a moment today to thank God for the gifts He has given you and pledge to return your thanks by using them for the good of His church
God bless you,
Fr. Murphy
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