Sunday, October 14, 2018

What are your priorities in Life? Today’s readings reflect on this challenging question. In the Book of Wisdom, the writer prays to God for the spirit of wisdom to be given him. Wisdom is God’s greatest gift since it provides true insight into how to lead a life with integrity – a gift far more precious than gold, silver, or even health! Today’s Gospel offers us a concrete example of a man discerning his priorities in life. He comes running to Jesus with enthusiasm, eagerly asking:” What must I do to inherit eternal Life?” Jesus tries to curb his enthusiasm and deepen his understanding by challenging his to consider exactly what his priorities are. The Lord focuses on those commandments that involve how we lead our lives and treat our neighbor. They all reflect a common thread: “I have never done anything to harm anyone!” But, Jesus implies something more is needed: “What have you done to help another person? “Looking into this man’s heart, Jesus says in effect: “You consider that leading a good life entails not harming others. Instead, spend your resources in doing good for others”. Unfortunately, the eager young man could not accept Jesus` challenge, and he walked away. Notice that Jesus is not stating that riches are evil, and we all have to give everything away. This rich man was presented with the challenge of accepting the real priorities in his life: using his gifts and talents to help others. We discover true happiness in serving others. This challenge is present to us as well: to discover our true priorities and scale of values and to implement our lives. At Home with the Word.

In His love and mine,
Father Ken

In the Spring of 1988, Bishop William D. Keeler formed a new parish to accommodate the rapid growth in Silver Spring Township and named Reverend James R. O’Brien as the founding pastor. That same year, Mother Katharine Drexel was beatified by Pope John Paul, II. At Bishop Keeler’s request, the Holy Father gave his permission to name the Parish in Silver Spring Township as the first parish in the world to be named in her honor. Eighteen years later, on October 1, 2000, Blessed Katharine Drexel was canonized and the church’s name changed to Saint Katharine Drexel.

The Saint Katharine Drexel Parish Family, guided by the Holy Spirit, commits itself to reaching out and sharing with all people the love and service modeled by our patroness, with the Eucharist as our source of strength. Through prayer and action, we will serve God, our Lord and Savior, and our community, exhibiting a special concern for the poor, oppressed and marginalized of our society, especially those among the African-American & Native-American peoples.