Follow Me: In today’s Gospel, Jesus invites Matthew to “follow me.” Jesus knows everything about Matthew—including his sins—and still calls him. Jesus knows everything about us and invites us to “follow me.”
Come to Me: In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear Jesus’ heart say to each one of us, “Come to me, all you who are labored and burdened.” Where do we go when we are burdened? Jesus is always inviting us into relationship with him, to express what is on our hearts to his heart.
Sound of Freedom: I have heard very positive reviews on the movie Sound of Freedom, which is based on a true story of human trafficking. It will be a very difficult movie to watch, but still I hope to see it soon and I hope you can too.
150: I am looking forward to celebrating the 150th anniversary of St. Isidore Parish in Cuba this Sunday. 150 years of faith!
Green Tie: We are less than a month away from Catholic Charities’ Green Tie Celebration, one of my favorite events of the year! I hope you can join me on Saturday, July 29 in Salina! Green Tie honors the lifesaving hope YOU provide to our neighbors in need across northern Kansas every day. The evening includes dinner, live music, testimonials, and an auction! Tickets are limited and the deadline to register is Monday, July 10, so reserve your spot today! https://ccnks.org/greentie
Looking ahead:Besides the Catholic Charities event on July 30, I want to invite you to attend some other special gatherings:
Seminarian dinners: This year we will have three seminarian dinners. I hope to see you at one of the following:
12th Annual Diocesan Men’s Conference: The men’s conference is on Saturday, August 12, from 8 am – 12:30 pm at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Hays. Please join our priests and seminarians for this event.
Healing Retreat: We are inviting anyone who has been sexually abused to attend a healing retreat at the Manna House in Concordia the weekend of September 29 – October 1. There is a nominal cost of $25, however scholarships are available. Please contact Wendy Backes for more information or to register at wendy.backes@salinadiocese.org or 785-827-8746 #124
Awareness: The Church celebrates the beautiful gift of NFP the week of July 25 – 29. The theme for this years NFP Awareness Week is “Marriage: One Flesh, Given and Received” There are many great resources available to help celebrate this week on the USCCB website.
Pitch: Recently I visited four of our seminarians at an Institute for Priestly Formation program for on the campus of Creighton University. We ended up playing 13-point pitch with the bidder asking for a particular card so that person could be his partner. The winner of the game was the first to reach 54 points. I ended up with 20 points, finishing dead last. My seven-year-old great niece tells me every time I lose in cards, “maybe you need to practice more!”
Veggies: I hope many of you are enjoying the blessings of fresh veggies from your garden. Blessings on all your summer endeavors and plans.
Please know of my love and prayers.
Bishop
Inspiration from the Saints:
The following is what is called the Principle and Foundation of life, a quote from St. Ignatius of Loyola, whose Memorial we celebrate on July 31.
“God freely created us so that we might know, love, and serve him in this life and be happy with him forever. God’s purpose in creating us is to draw forth from us a response of love and service here on earth, so that we may attain our goal of everlasting happiness with him in heaven.
All the things in this world are gifts of God, created for us, to be the means by which we can come to know him better, love him more surely, and serve him more faithfully.
As a result, we ought to appreciate and use these gifts of God insofar as they help us toward our goal of loving service and union with God. But insofar as any created things hinder our progress toward our goal, we ought to let them go.”
