Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime, is on my side. Yes, it is!” or at least it is according the Rolling Stones. Jim Croce once sang “If I could save time in a bottle, the first thing that I’d like to do…” “Time is ticking away; time is ticking away” is the message the Christian rock group, D.C. Talk wanted to get across to their listeners. There have been many songs written over the years about time. These songs reflect the fact that we are in this world for a limited amount of time. We are all given one life, and we are reminded by God to use it wisely. Perhaps these summer days provide us with some time to think about this. Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of daily life we can all get so caught up in getting everything done, that there’s little time left to think about what we are doing, and even more importantly, WHY we are doing it. My hope and prayer is that this summer, whether we get to take a vacation or not, that all of us would get to think a little more about what we are doing with our lives.

I hear more and more people, usually in desperation, say things like: “I can’t wait for these next couple of months to be over.” Or “I just want this year to be over.” Or “I wish it was fall.” Are we wishing our lives away? Sometimes, we can get so caught up in looking forward to things, or even more realistically, to getting whatever we are currently going through over, that that’s exactly what we do! We wish our lives away. We have today, guys. We don’t know if we’re going to have tomorrow or not. We might not be able to do a whole lot about yesterday or the past, but we have today to enjoy and savor every minute of what God has given us. If anybody is so unhappy with the way that things are in their life, that they are wishing it away, then it is a sure-fire sign from God that it is time to make some drastic changes. God wants us to have peace. He wants us to be happy. He desires that we enjoy this great Gift of Life. That doesn’t mean that we won’t get crosses, and be challenged, and have difficult days. Even crosses and death are part of the great mystery of life. God has great surprises in store for all of us even in our crosses and even in death. Resurrection is the ultimate surprise. It’s going to be good!

And yet, for now, let us enjoy this gift of life. Drink some lemonade. Have some ice cream (Notice that I said some. I didn’t say “a half-a-gallon”). Go for a walk on a warm summer evening. And enjoy the people that God has given you in your life. Our families, our friends, and even our fellow parishioners are the special people, the greatest treasures that God has given us in this life. They make life more interesting. They make life more entertaining. They make life more fun! What a shame it would be to miss out on that point of life, for whatever reason.

Over the years I have spent a lot of time with people when they are dying. Dying people never talk about their jobs. They don’t talk about how clean the house was or how neat the yard was. I’ve never had a dying person tell me about how much money they had in the bank or the square-footage of their homes. People when they are dying usually talk about the lives and the people who affected their life. I hear about their parents and grandparents. I hear about their children. I hear about close friends and co-workers who made a difference. I’ve never heard anybody on their deathbed worry about their weight, or their height, of how much hair they had on top of their heads. What are you spending your life on? And is it an investment that is going to pay off for you after your time, your life in this world, is over? Think about that. Pray about it. And then enjoy and make the most of this summer of 2005. It is the ONLY summer of 2005 that you are going to get in your life.

We recently received word from our Diocese that one of St. Maria Goretti’s high school seniors, Clayton Thompson, has been awarded the Christopher Warner Diocesan Scholarship for 2005. Clayton recently graduated from Carmel High School. Out of hundreds of applicants from all over the Diocese of Lafayette, Clayton was chosen for his Faith, his service, his leadership, and his commitment to Catholic values. This is a very big deal. We have nominated high school seniors for many years now, and Clayton is the first to win the award and scholarship from SMG. Congratulations, Clayton!

Have a great week! Next Saturday’s 4:30 PM Mass is Father Christopher (Jack) Weldon’s First Mass at St. Maria Goretti. It will be a very special homecoming. I hope to see you there.

In Christ,
Fr. Kevin

One reason to smile is that every seven minutes of every day,
someone in an aerobics class pulls a hamstring.