The Rest of Our Lives
By Father Jim
In last week’s message, I explained that my recent retreat guided by Sister Elizabeth Wagner of Transfiguration Hermitage focused on the Rule of Saint Benedict, Robert Benson’s A Good Life, and the challenge of finding a balance between prayer, rest, work, and community. As we all know, modern life is increasingly busy and noisy. Most Americans work an average of at least 225 days per year. Two-thirds of our days are work days. So our lives are clearly weighted toward work. This means that our lives can lack balance even before we begin to work toward balance!
I love my life and ministry. I love Gloucester and Rockport. And I love the people here. But as the pastor of two busy parishes, the days can be long and hectic. All too often, the work day begins at sunrise and lasts long past sunset. Believe me, I have no complaints. Some of the most moving and satisfying moments of my priesthood have occurred during “after hours” calls to a hospital or nursing home. Even so, by the end of a typical week of confessions, home visits, special events, administrative duties, and the celebration of Masses, I am sometimes very tired.
As parents and grandparents who care for your families and struggle to make ends meet, you already know about fatigue, busy schedules, and the struggle to find some balance in your lives. Robert Benson writes: “Time and attention are the currencies of our age. And most everything in our society — every organization, every institution, everyone with an 800 number and a website — is somewhere right now plotting to get as much of both as they can get.” It is not just our friends, families, and colleagues who demand our attention. It is the technology that surrounds us day and night. The mental, visual, and auditory stimulation of radio, television, and the internet are often difficult to escape. It sometimes seems impossible to tune out and turn off.
If we want to find balance and live a good life, we must cultivate some silence, some stillness, and some solitude in our lives. If you are an extrovert like me, this does not mean that you should strive to become more introverted. It does not mean that you should, like Brother Patrick, live as a hermit in prayer, silence, and solitude. It simply means that we all should learn to take advantage of those precious moments that allow us to rest in the peace and soundless presence of our God. We should learn to rest in the loving quietness of our Creator. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Twenty minutes. Sixty minutes. Every day.
In A Good Life, Robert Benson warns of the primary obstacle to this kind of restorative rest. He writes: “If the way in which we live does not have some silence and solitude and stillness and rest, then there is only one person to blame in the end. There is only one person who can, in fact, get me to do less and not more, to stop moving and be still, to slow down instead of speed up. And I am that person.” Our challenge, then, is to recognize our need for rest; to nurture our love for God during the quiet moments; and to be attentive for God’s voice in the silence of our hearts. God is waiting for us. Are we listening?
Reverend James M. Achadinha, Pastor
Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport
Contact: frjim@ccgronline.com
Note: Father Jim’s reflections on A Good Life will continue next week with a focus on community.
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A Grave Sin
Letters to My Country III
By Brother Patrick
assisiproject.com
CCGR Weekly Newsletter (9-15-24)
Bringing Home the Word (9-15-24)
The Kids Bulletin (9-15-24)
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Call to Prayer
Rest & Silence in Scripture
God rested (Genesis 2:3).
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul (Psalm 23: 1-3).
Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10).
My soul rests in God alone,
from whom comes my salvation (Psalm 62:1).
You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shade of the Almighty,
will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge, my stronghold,
my God in whom I trust’ (Psalm 92:1-2).
Better is a handful with quiet
than two handfuls with toil,
and a chasing after the wind (Ecclesiastes 4:6).
Come to me, all you that are weary
and are carrying heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me;
for I am gentle and humble of heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy,
my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).
Come away to a deserted place
all by yourselves and rest a while (Mark 6:31).
A sabbath rest still remains for God’s people;
for those who enter God’s rest also cease from their labors
as God rested from his labors.
Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest,
so that no one may fall through the disobedience
of our ancestors (Hebrews 4:9-11).
Pray: Assisi Project – Our Daily Prayers
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Season of Creation
Hope & Act with Creation
By Pope Francis
In our hopeful and persevering expectation of the glorious return of Jesus, the Holy Spirit keeps us, the community of believers, vigilant. He continually guides us and calls us to conversion and to a change in lifestyle in order to resist the degradation of our environment and to engagement in that social critique which is above all a witness to the real possibility of change.
This conversion entails leaving behind the arrogance of those who want to exercise dominion over others and nature itself, reducing the latter to an object to be manipulated; and instead embracing the humility of those who care for others and for all of creation.
When human beings claim to take God’s place, they become their own worst enemies, for Adam’s sin has tainted our fundamental relationships, namely with God, with ourselves, with each other, and with the universe. All of these relationships need to be integrally restored, saved, and put right. None of them can be overlooked, because if even one is lacking, everything else fails.
To hope and act with creation means above all to join forces and walk together with all men and women of good will. In this way, we can rethink, among other things, the question of human power, its meaning, and its limits. Our power has frenetically increased in a few decades. We have made impressive and awesome technological advances, but we have not realized that we have turned into highly dangerous beings, capable of threatening the lives of many beings and our own survival. Unchecked power creates monsters and then turns against us…
To hope and act with creation, then, means to live an incarnational faith, one that can enter into the suffering and hope-filled flesh of others, by sharing in the expectation of the bodily resurrection to which believers are predestined in Christ the Lord…In this way, our lives can become a song of love for God, for humanity, with and for creation, and find their fullness in holiness (9-1-24).
Read: Pope’s Message for World Day of Creation 2024
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Season of Creation
A Prayer for Our Common Home
By Pope Francis
All powerful God,
you are present in the whole universe
and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
so that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with your peace,
so that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned
and forgotten of this earth,
so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
so that we may protect the world
and not prey upon it;
so that we may sow beauty,
not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts of those
who look only for profit
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth
of every living thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united with every creature
as we journey toward your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us in our struggle
for justice, love, and peace. Amen.
The Season of Creation (September 1st through October 4th) is a time to renew our relationship with our Creator and all creation through prayer, reflection, and care for our common home. We join Pope Francis and Christians around the world in rededicating ourselves to loving God, loving neighbor, and loving and caring for the world around us. Saint Francis of Assisi, Patron of the Environment, pray for us, now and always!
Watch: The Pope Video – Cry of the Earth
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Holy Family Women’s Guild
Fall Gathering
Tuesday, September 24th
Established in 2005, the Holy Family Women’s Guild brings together women of all ages and backgrounds in prayer, fellowship, and service to our parish and community. As the change in seasons approaches, we are resuming a more regular schedule of meetings.
Our Fall Gathering will be held on Tuesday, September 24th at 6:00pm in Our Lady’s Hall. Old and new mem- bers are invited and encouraged to join us! Our hope and prayer is for a new beginning that will inspire us to meet quarterly throughout the year! At our fall gathering, we will select officers and a fundraising committee — by asking members to serve in various roles. Refreshments will be provided.
For more information about the Holy Family Women’s Guild and its good work in our parish, please contact Lydia Bertolino at bertolino4@msn.com. Please join us! New members and volunteers are always welcome! Saint Ann, pray for us!
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Words of Wisdom
From Saint Benedict
One must not be excitable, anxious,
extreme, obstinate, jealous,
or overly suspicious.
Such people are never at rest.
There are times when good words
are to be left unspoken out of esteem for silence.
Diligently cultivate silence at all times,
and especially at night.
From the Rule of Saint Benedict of Nursia
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We Share
Safe & Easy Electronic Giving
Good will come to those who are generous. — Psalm 112:5
Electronic giving has become an essential part of parish support in the Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport; and it is available in both Holy Family Parish and Our Lady of Good Voyage Parish. It is safe and easy to make online donations to your home parish using a credit card, debit card, or electronic check.
Donations can be made on a weekly, monthly, or one-time only basis; and it takes just a few minutes to set up a secure personal account. In addition to the weekly offering, you can also give electronically to our church restoration funds which help us plan for the repair and maintenance of our four beloved and historic churches.
Holy Family Parish and Our Lady of Good Voyage Parish always need your generous support! Please prayerfully considering enrolling in our electronic giving program! For more information about creating a new account or assistance with an existing account, please contact Father Jim at frjim@ccgronline.com. Peace, blessings, and sincere thanks to all!
Support Holy Family Parish
Support Our Lady of Good Voyage Parish
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About Us
Established in 2014, the Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport is a collaborative of two historic parishes: Holy Family Parish and Our Lady of Good Voyage Parish. Working together as a family united in prayer, fellowship, and service, we are committed to living the Gospel of Christ, sharing God’s love and mercy with all people, and rebuilding the Church in Gloucester & Rockport. All are invited! All are welcome! Always!
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