Dear Parishioners,
In a 1993 film, “Rudy,” Father Cavanaugh gives some sterling counsel to young Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, who wanted to play football for Notre Dame. The wise priest told him, “Son, in 35 years of religious study, I have only come up with two, hard incontrovertible facts: there is a God and I’m not Him.”
Isaiah, Saints Peter and Paul… all these champions of faith met the Lord, and were made acutely aware of their own sinfulness. They never got over the awareness that there was a God, and that they were not Him. They were not perfect when the Lord revealed himself to each of them, and they would not be perfect even afterwards. But God can use those who are not perfect, in fact, it is the only kind of people God has been using through the ages.
So can God use you and me, even though we are imperfect? Oh yes, God is the perfect Lord for people who aren’t. Holy are you, O Lord. Unholy are we. But if you ask who will go for you, like Isaiah and Peter and Paul before us, we will find ourselves saying, “Here I am, send me.”
- Deacon Robert
Rev. Stephen Hook is Pastor of the Pastorate of the Visitation which includes the Catholic Churches of Pasadena, Maryland: St. Jane Frances de Chantal (Riviera Beach) and Our Lady of the Chesapeake (Lakeshore). He is assisted by Associate Pastor Rev. John Belinki, Deacon Howard Klohr, and Deacon Rick Clemens. To learn more about our pastorate, please visit www.catholicpasadena.org.
