Newsletter, April 16, 2020

The More

Do you recall as a child being taught to do things the right way and to avoid the wrong way? As we entered school and other activities such as sports, competitions, relationships with friends and others, once again, we were instructed to learn from our mistakes and do better.

We tend to bring that teaching into our adult life – in the big commitments of marriage, family, career, vocation, and so on. Have you noticed that our stance in life is always to do more, to have more, to see more, to achieve more, and on and on? It seems that nothing is ever enough? The MORE we are seeking seems just ahead, after the next goal is reached, but it eludes us and the fulfillment of what we reach for or seek to achieve remains insufficient.

I think this paradigm of wanting to do more and better is the same with God. We know about the Commandments, the Golden Rule, the responsibilities toward charity, honesty, and integrity, and we suspect that God would want us all to do better. And we behave as if it all depends on us – a recipe for disappointment. This is where the guilt thing emerges and it can become quite self-diminishing. In fact, some of us have perfected self-criticism and troubled consciences to the point of distraction in our daily lives.

The Easter story is one that abounds in hope yet, for many of us, that hope is elusive. We don’t get it. We don’t feel uplifted. We are stuck. The Jesus story is the high point in all of salvation history – it is God acting, initiating, and seeking from the beginning of creation to give us more. Throughout Sacred Scripture the prophets echoed God’s word and called out invitations to turn to God with one’s whole heart – to be in, to accept, to truly cherish an intimate relationship with God.

The Gift of Jesus makes that invitation dramatically more present, as His life unfolds from obscurity to the Master Teacher, always with the fundamental message of Love. His entrance into Jerusalem freely to face betrayal, torture, and death confronts the power of evil and ruptures it in His Resurrection. The entire narrative is about God giving us more, wanting more for each of us. That more is offered in the person of Jesus. Our faith is about a relationship more than anything else.

The only MORE that can satisfy, fulfill, and complete us is the very same MORE that God holds out to us: Jesus. It is in and through our relationship with Jesus that we can discover the way to live fully. We need only to read the Gospels, meditate on His words, and pray for the grace to truly appreciate the path He imparts that leads to the MORE.

Because, you see, it is not about us doing more for God, rather it is about accepting that God wants to do more for us. In this formula, guilt and arrogance, yields to the true humility of acknowledging and accepting that God loves us unconditionally and that God wants us to have the fullness of life that His most precious Gift to us, Jesus, embodied and bestows on all of us who seek Him.
Fr. Ronan

Harvest on Vine needs your support

Harvest on Vine needs support

COVID-19 has hit everyone hard, especially the poor and working poor. Charlestown residents who once worked in restaurants, hotels, the airport, and other hospitality industries have been laid off. They need help, and they’ve been coming to us. In March, Harvest on Vine nearly doubled the tonnage of food we usually distribute. At our last distribution we ran out of eggs, milk, cheese, and most dry goods. We’ve increased our trips to the Greater Boston Food Bank to meet demand. We get excellent deals there, but it still costs money.

The Harvest on Vine spring fundraiser, scheduled for April 16, was canceled. The fundraiser raises enough money to keep us going for months. We are trying to make up for the loss. If you can help Harvest on Vine with a donation, we would be most grateful. If you’ve already donated, thank you.

You can mail a check to:

Harvest on Vine

46 Winthrop Street

Charlestown, MA 02129

Or you can donate online on our web page: stmarystcatherine.org

Tom MacDonald