July 26, 2020: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
“The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.“
Matthew 13:45-46
Pastor’s Message
Today, we celebrate the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time. What do you value the most? In our gospel, we hear two parables in which Jesus describes the physical treasure that two different men valued so much that they sold all they had to gain it. Jesus will use that illustration to teach the spiritual truth that there is nothing on earth as valuable as entering into His kingdom. In the parable of the hidden treasure the person stumbles onto the treasure where in the parable of the costly pearl the merchant had been diligently looking for it. God uses a variety of circumstances to bring the treasure of the kingdom of God – eternal life in Jesus Christ – to an individual, but there is only one way by which that individual can partake of what is being offered. In both parables, the man and the merchant recognized the supreme value of what they had discovered and everything else became secondary to taking possession of what they found. They “sold all they had” with nothing held back.
Our second collection this weekend will be the Mission Co-op Envelope. This year, the Archdiocese will be sending the contribution to the Diocese of Long Xuyen, Vietnam.
Congratulations to our RCIA Elect and Confirmation Candidates on the occasion of their Reception into the Church on July 25th at St. Helena during the 4:30pm Mass in the Lower Church.
Congratulations to our Parish children on the occasion of their 1st Communion on July 26th who will receive Jesus, the Bread of Life for the first time at St. Helena during the 11:15am Mass in the Lower Church.
Thanks for reading, stay healthy, reach out to those close to you and last but not least have a good week.
Your Brother and Shepherd,
Rev. Msgr. Joseph Trinh