7 November 2016

O Saving Victim, Open Wide

O saving Victim, open wide

the gate of heaven to man below;

our foes press on from every side;

thine aid supply; thy strength bestow.

All praise and thanks to thee ascend

for evermore, blest One in Three;

O grant us life that shall not end

in our true native land with thee.

     Thomas Aquinas, thirteenth century

23October 2016

The Life of God in the Life of the Parish

“The Life of God in the parish implies an end of commercialism in the financial affairs of the parish. If we cook, it will be for the hungry; if we sew, it will be for the needy; if we collect clothes, it will be for the ill-clad; if we eat, it will be for the joy of being together as children of God and not to raise funds for Him who is the Creator and Owner of the world’s wealth. The kingdom of God is not buying one another’s pies, but in faithful stewards of the gifts with which God has bountifully endowed even the poorest. The problem of parish finance is not getting into people’s purses, but getting God into people’s hearts.” -- A.C. Piepkorn, The Life of God in the Life of the Parish – In the Church, p. 117-118.