Dear Parishioners,
First, my email has been hacked again. If I ask you for money, gift cards, or favors, please delete the email, it is not me!
If you feel stressed out, you might want to talk to the prophet Elijah. He has just won a contest with the false prophets of the pagan God, Baal. Elijah then punished them by having them killed. However, King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were unhappy and wanted Elijah killed as well. So today’s first reading (1 Kgs 19:4-8) shows Elijah on the move to get away to God on Mount Sinai.
He is completely worn out, hungry, and thirsty. He is ready to die until the angel of God gave him food and drink which allowed him to walk 40 days and 40 nights to God’s mountain. In a real sense, our life is a journey to God’s mountain. We need not just food and drink; we need the bread of life, Jesus, if we are going to make it. Each week at Mass, Jesus offers us the nourishment we need, the Word of God in the scriptures and his body and blood in the Eucharist. What a great blessing! If we continue to take advantage of these gifts, we can be confident of our safe arrival no matter what difficulties we meet along the way.
Fr Carl
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.
