Sunday, July 15, 2018

For today and the following six Sundays, we read from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, whose theme is captured by these words: “In the Church, Christ fulfills and reveals his own mystery as the purpose of God’s plan:  ’to unite all things in Christ’” (Ephesians 1:10; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 772). Our reading today presents a beautiful hymn praising God the Father who has chosen us in Christ and blessed us in the Spirit “with every spiritual blessing” from all eternity.

In the First Reading, God calls Amos from his ordinary life as a “shepherd and a dresser of sycamores” to become a prophet carrying God’s Word to God’s people. Amos’ task is to challenge the people to repent and return to their covenant relationship.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus sends out the Apostles in pairs to share in His ministry of preaching and healing. Called to “preach repentance,” they have no visible means of support, but God’s Grace was with them as they “drove out many demons and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.” This is the first of two places in the New Testament where healing occurs in relation to anointing with oil. The Letter of James shows the early Church continuing Jesus’ instruction to heal those who are sick: “Are there any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord” (James 5:13). Today the Church continues this instruction in the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.

Like the prophet Amos and the Apostles, we have chosen to be the Son’s coworkers in continuing God’s plan of bringing healing and grace to a broken world. At Home with the Word.

In His love and mine,

Fr. 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.