September 29, 2024
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The day was a Sunday two years ago: September 25th, 2022. It was the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, like it is this Sunday (coincidence, or God-wink???). That year, the Gospel reading was from Luke 16:19-31 – Lazarus and the rich man. Fr. Joseph Kim, our former Parochial Vicar, gave an inspiring homily where he preached about the importance of making time to listen to people in need, like Lazarus waiting at the rich man’s door. At that time, I was feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the many contrasting opinions I found in the music satisfaction survey that we had distributed throughout the parish. My closest friends know how much I struggle to make decisions, so when many voices tell me different things, let’s just say my mind will be debating with itself for days! I wondered if I should ask a Priest for advice, but I was hesitant, cause they always seemed so busy doing, you know, holy things! But then I heard Fr. Joseph’s homily and thought, “Well, he literally just preached about making time to listen to people, so if there was ever a time for me to ask him for advice, it’d be now!”
So Fr. Joseph and I went on a leisurely walk around the neighborhood. He shared about how church life had gone downhill, largely due to the pandemic, along with several other exacerbating factors. And in a sincere, heart-to-heart moment, Fr. Joseph told me that when I was hired to work at St. Joe’s in October of 2021, parishioners looked to that as a hope for new life. It felt like a tremendous request, and I’ve carried that with me ever since. Like you, I want to see this community bursting with life! I’d love to see more people in the pews, in the choirs, in the parking spaces. I’d love to see more enthusiastic teenagers at the Confirmation Masses. I love hearing the joyful bustle of kids in the school playground. I love seeing kids raising their hands and giving such earnest answers to Fr. Bryan’s questions at the 9:30am Family Mass. I love how much bigger the choir sounds at the 11am Mass now. I love how people are starting to say “Good afternoon/evening” back to my friend Kathy whenever she delivers the announcements at the 5pm Mass in her usual charismatic way.
Today, our Youth Choir officially has 10 kids, which is the most we’ve had so far. Our Adult Choir has doubled in size, having welcomed several choir members from St. Bart’s, who have decided to continue the work of music ministry at St. Joe’s. Our Worship Band has two new members – Danielle and Jacob – who have worked so diligently to offer a powerful rendition of David Foster’s song The Prayer, which you’ll hear at the 5pm Mass this Sunday. I wish I could see Fr. Joseph again, invite him to all our Masses, and show him how we’ve all been hard at work to actualize the dream he shared with me: new life.
With my peace,
Carlo Serrano, Music Director
