“But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”  – Mt. 6:20-21

“If honor were profitable, everybody would be honorable.” – attributed to St. Thomas More

Don’t misunderstand: St. Thomas More was well aware of the fact the honor is indeed profitable; his rather wry comment was referring to the fact that many of his peers apparently no longer thought so.  I won’t rehash his entire life story here, as compelling as it is, but those of his social and political circles judged it to better to ignore the laws of God and His Church so as to gain favor with the King.  More was given several opportunities to do so as well, but he decided that it was more honorable – and profitable – to store up his treasure in heaven.  He suffered greatly for it, but won a martyr’s crown.

How honorable are we?  Are we working towards profiting in this world or the next?  Where do we keep our treasures – or our hearts?  This world often makes it tough to focus on anything other than the here and now.  It’s so full of noise and distraction, and it doesn’t seem to accept that we choose to live for something greater.  We must continue to pray for the Holy Spirit’s gift of courage, then, so that we might keep our focus on the things of heaven.

Saint Thomas More and Saint Richard, pray for us!

Some news and notes:

PRAYERS:  Please pray for the repose of the soul of Raymond Sands, whose funeral will be celebrated on Monday.  Please also pray for the 4 men to be ordained deacons tomorrow morning.  Finally, pray for the couples who will be doing the marriage preparation program this weekend.

DEACON MING:  Speaking of the 4 men to be ordained deacons, one is our very own Mingwei Li.  Deacon Ming will make his triumphant return to Saint Richard on Sunday, July 1, to assist and preach the noon Mass.  Following Mass, we will host a reception for him in the social hall.  We need your help in baking cookies for this event.  Call the office for more details.

FAITH FORMATION:  It’s never too early to start thinking about the next faith formation year, and it’s never too early to start praying about whether or not God is calling you to serve as a teacher or a teacher’s aide next year.  See the bulletin for more info.

YOUTH MINISTRY:  There are still a few spots left for the Steubenville Youth Conference, July 13-15.  Call Taylor in the youth ministry office for more details.

PARISH PICNIC:  Mark your calendars for the parish picnic, July 15.  The fun starts following the noon Mass.  This coming week you’ll receive in the mail your tickets for the parish raffle, as well.

And I think that’s everything for right now.  I’m sure I’m forgetting something, but that’s just because I’m too distracted by the World Cup.  I’ll get my corrections in next week’s email.  Have a great weekend and know that you are loved!  See you at Mass!

Peace,

Fr. Mike