The readings today are asking us to realize that nothing in life comes without cost. We are encouraged to ask God for the gift of wisdom which is a gift that guides us on our spiritual journey. Living the gospel values requires this gift of wisdom. Following Jesus must influence our attitude toward family, friends and possessions. The readings and the holiday we are celebrating encourage us to ask ourselves some important questions: what have I done for Jesus in the past; what am I doing for Him now; and what do I hope to do for Him in the future? Do we spend enough time with our families? How do we help others to spiritual growth within our families? How do we use what we have, including our time, talents, and treasures? Do we exercise self-sacrifice for the sake of others?

If you are new to the parish over the last few years it is likely that someone called to welcome you and visited you with a basket of goodies to sit down and explain some of the things going on in the parish.

On the first Sunday of the month (October through June) we serve donuts, coffee and juice, really it is a nice time to meet with other parishioners and chat, but a sweet treat for kids and adults makes it a pleasant morning where people like to linger.

If you have buried someone close to you here at St. Bart’s, likely a lovely woman has stopped by with a platter of sandwiches as a gift from the parish. A small way to give you strength for all you are feeling and doing in conjunction with someone’s passing.

The Bereavement ministry also hosts a luncheon after our annual Bereavement Mass for all the families who have lost someone in the past year.

Hospitality overlaps with many of our other ministries, it is a deliberate part of everything that we do as a parish. Hospitality is present when we visit our elderly parishioners, help them with errands, drive them to appointments, and help with other things that life sometimes brings. You offer hospitality in St. Bart’s name when you pick up lasagna and an apple crisp for someone you know who could use some comfort and help. The Circle of Comfort takes a few evenings a year to prepare them so they can be picked up any time in the rectory.

The Hospitality Ministry is an “umbrella organization” comprised of a group of parishioners who, often behind the scenes, sets the scene for the programs and events at the parish. One person cannot do it all, in order to have Community Sunday for example, someone got up early, picked up the donuts, made the coffee, set out all that was needed, all so that we could come in and enjoy. May visiting our parish truly be visiting God’s House.

Every time you walk in and smile to see a room nicely set up and prepared with food and drinks, or give thanks to our gracious Lord for those unseen people who made it happen. If you could be one of those unseen people, please contact the parish office, your presence will bring a smile to someone.

THE FRUITS OF THE HARVEST

As the summer days shorten, the nights cool and darken earlier, and seasonal changes are felt, our thoughts and actions take on different meanings. If we have children, school plans become a priority. If we are retired, maybe we begin to think about our winter plans. If we have become unemployed, getting a job seems to take on an increased urgency. Physically the world is changing around us. It is time for the harvest. If we have personally put forth the love and work, the benefits will be directly ours. But the possibility of harvest may also come to us through the labors of others.

All harvest is a gift. “And God’s love is His first gift and the one through which all others come. And God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us when Jesus promised never to leave us alone. We may be wounded or dead to this love because of sin; but the first effect of His love is forgiveness. Through prayer and the Sacraments, we can reap the rewards of forgiveness. Our harvest is His pledge or first fruits of our inheritance…. which is to love as God has loved us. We will receive a new life in Christ made possible because we have received power from the Holy Spirit. By this power of the Spirit, God‟s children can bear much fruit. He who has grafted us onto the true vine will make us bear the fruit of the Spirit…..love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. We live by the Spirit; the more we renounce ourselves, the more we walk by the Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit we are restored to paradise, led back to the Kingdom of heaven, and adopted as children, given confidence to call God “Father” and to share in Christ’s grace, called children of light and given a share in eternal glory.” *

As we become somewhat obsessed with the physicality of the changing world around us and our place in it, let us pause and remember the true harvest which we are promised if we work in the fields of “knowing, loving, and serving Him in this life in order to spend our next life with Him for all eternity.” Truly, that is the greatest harvest of all!

Stewardship Questions: Kathy Reilly 781-444-0862 Email: kreilly15@yahoo.com

* “The Holy Spirit – God‟s Gift” 733-736 Catechism of the Catholic Church

Please enjoy the remaining days of summer.

“When you’re here you’re family” – far more true about St. Bart’s than the Olive Garden.  Often when asked what people like about St. Bart’s, it’s that they feel “at home”.  Greeters are people, or families of any age, who arrive a few minutes early to stand at the doors and welcome people to our parish, whether for the first time or the millionth time.  Greeting takes different forms, it can be simply a warm smile and hello, a helping hand on the stairs, a high five for a toddler, or directions to the restroom.  It is most people’s first experience of Church of the day, and what creates our sense of community more than any program we run or how many donuts we serve.   More importantly, it is the unspoken reflection of the Lord’s hospitality to His home.  Greeting is one portion of our parish hospitality ministry which will be covered in future Highlights.

Come as you are, you are always welcome  in our parish.  It can be a challenge for staff members to be outside right before Mass as there are often last moment tasks to be attended to, any parishioner with a smile can be a greeter, no special skills needed!

The Ushers are seen before the beginning of Mass often with mechanical counters, but for most, the first time the Ushers are noticed is at the time of the offertory when they pass the baskets for the collection.  The offertory is when we offer all that we have and all that we are to the service of God symbolized by a financial contribution.  This is combined with the gift of bread and wine as a sign that we bring the best we have to God.  Even as parishioners move to monthly electronic giving, the offertory is still an important liturgical moment; what do you bring to the service of God this week? Together, we lay it before the Altar. 

Thank you to our greeters & ushers, your service is more than practical, it is a reminder that it is our human gifts that make a parish prosperous, rich not in the bank but in the service of the Lord in all it’s forms.

If your family could come 10 or 15 minutes early to a Mass you are already attending even once in a while, you could be a greeter.  We need people at every Mass to welcome others as they enter.  Try it next Sunday, you will get to know many new people, and any smiles you give away, will quickly be returned a hundredfold! 

To be an usher, you must be at least 18 years of age, and there is training.  Speak to one of the ushers if you have questions about what’s involved.  If it might be for you, contact the parish.

I know, it’s hard to believe, but summer is almost over and we have begun getting ready September. Some of the least known ministries in our parish are the ones that reach out to the elderly, the homebound, the sick and the needy of our parish. Do you know that we bring the Eucharist each week to those unable to come to Mass (either permanently because they are housebound or temporarily because of illness, accident, surgery, etc), visit the housebound and lonely, provide transportation to Mass, parish activities and doctor appointments for those who can not get there by other means? Do you know that we run errands for those who are housebound or lack transportation and provide food for those who need help? We are often the phone call of last resort when someone is desperate and needs assistance.

We need your help. The needs of our elderly and housebound parishioners are growing and we are in need of drivers and people willing to run errands, to shop, to accompany parishioners to the doctor, either on a regular or on an as needed basis. Please think about how you can help with these very important ministries. If you go to the same Mass each weekend are you willing to drive someone else who needs a ride? Do you have a couple of hours that you can set aside on a regular basis (ie. every week or once a month) to be available to drive or run errands when there is a need? Are you willing to make a well-check phone call to someone who lives alone? Are you willing to help coordinate the ministries and services to the elderly, homebound, sick and needy of our parish. These are just a few ways in which you can help; I’m sure that you can think of many others.

If you are willing to pitch in and do just one thing we can, as a caring community of faith, make a difference in the lives of our needy, sick, homebound and elderly parishioners. Call Barbara at the rectory, 781-444-3434, if you are willing to help.

The readings today ask us to focus on the magnificent breadth of God’s kingdom. Such a kingdom demands nothing less than converted hearts. There is a tendency in all of us to try to justify why we should be admitted to heaven. I suspect at times that all of us try to earn our way to heaven. However, the message of Jesus is that we cannot do this. None of us are 100% right or worthy of God’s kingdom. It is best to understand that the narrow door means that we accept Jesus, His teachings, and His decision to never give up on anyone. Jesus is among us to offer hope. Even the worst thief or evil person has a chance to be saved because of Jesus. We do not do this alone; and we only do good with the help of God’s grace. Each one of us is always in more need of conversion. The people who have touched our lives the most are more remembered not because they were sinless, but that they reflected more of God’s graces than personal pettiness or selfishness.

Conversion is the invitation to see all people as sisters and brothers in God’s kingdom and Gods’ plans. This means for us to let go of our masks, try to read the human heart and leave the recordkeeping to someone else. If we were to look for the extraordinary efforts of others, we would be amazed at how often people go way past our expectations. Hopefully, we would praise God, say “thank you” to them and notice how God invites us to continue or do the same for others.

Please enjoy the remaining days of summer.

As Catholics, our liturgies have music as a way to be engaged at a multitude of levels, physically, emotionally, poetically, verbally, and more. The beauty of music should inspire us to see God and our world as beautiful as well, a reminder of angels singing, the loftiness and grandeur of God in the most profound way. However, the music at Mass is never intended to be a “concert” to which we sit and listen, but an invitation to participate. Although our choir members are talented and gifted singers and musicians, singing at church is not just for those with a good voice!! Every member of the congregation is called to offer up a joyful noise to the Lord, not a perfect-pitch.

The choir leads the congregation in song as a way to praise God with the gift of musical ability He has given them.

Music speaks what words cannot, it invites and enables an affective response capturing the heights and depths of human experience. As Catholics, our human experience is inexorably bound up with Christ’s life, death and resurrection – a mystery beyond words. The choir leads us to express this reality through song together, a symbol that we are gathered as the Body of Christ.

Liturgy should engage us to full, conscious, and active participation; as we bring our whole self to worship, praise, glorify, and pray to God. Throughout the Liturgical year we hear a variety of different music – some highlighting specific themes, but also the tone, speed, and pitch of the songs helps us enter into the appropriateness of the season.

At St. Bartholomew we have different elements to our music ministry: the adult choir, the youth choir and our cantors each provide a different perspective and a different avenue to enter into the richness of the Liturgy.

If you love to sing or express yourself through music, please speak to Marianne Germano, our Music Director to see where your gifts might add joy, beauty, and reverence to our Masses and special celebrations.

Sharing:  Time   Talent   Treasure

HOW DO YOU MAKE GOD LAUGH?  TELL HIM YOUR PLANS FOR TOMORROW

Silly as this question seems to be, it is extremely timely and important to comprehend now.  God alone is in control and is the only One who knows the future.  We ‘know not our time’ nor do we have any power to control the length of our time.  Because we don’t like to think about this, we rush forward making all kinds of plans and the never-ending To Do List.  Summer is too rapidly coming to an end and so we are in the throes of September planning for back to school, our work life, social obligations, change of season clothing, etc.

 How many times have we read or listened to others imploring us to live in the moment?  The past is finished and unchangeable.  The future, at best, uncertain and unknowable with no guarantees.  The present moment is all we have.  And how many present moments have we had this summer in which we never thought of God, prayed to Him, or thanked Him for all our blessings?  God has made known His infinite love for us.  We are incapable of such infinite love.  And so He has said that “all we do for others, we do for Him”.  How many little or big things have we done for others recently? Have we even noticed the ‘others’? 

Stewardship is a ‘way of life’ as  stated at the top of this message every week.  Our Lord gave us everything with the request that we lovingly care for His gifts and return them in greater abundance by the end of our lives.  This return on His investment is not something we should do or plan to do in the future.  Maybe a Christmas gift?  A Thanksgiving service?  An Annual monetary gift? 

September 11th should be in our minds as we make all those Fall plans.  That day 3,000 plus people got up, dressed, and left for their workday or other plans.  3,000 plus people never spoke again or came home to loved ones.  Thousands and thousands of people’s lives were turned upside down when 3,00 plus never came back.  Not one of these people knew their day would end as it did.  It certainly was not on anyone’s To Do List. 

Planning is a necessary part of our lives; and it would be irresponsible to ignore.  However, everyday is a present moment in which we should include our Lord and remember “today is the day that the Lord has made”.  Today I am your good steward.  It is the most important, #1, item on my list of things I MUST do.

Stewardship Questions:  Kathy Reilly  781-444-0862   Email:  kreilly15@yahoo.com

If anyone needs a ride to Mass or a home Communion visit, please contact me.