Dear friends,
Charity towards impoverished communities constitutes one the hallmarks of our faith. Saint Paul tirelessly encouraged different communities he founded and that were blessed to demonstrate their faith and love for God through their support for other communities that were less fortunate, to boost their missionary activities. The Church has carried out that same concern for the poor as one of her identities and missions. We are the Church and we are meant to continue and support that honorable activity.
Next weekend, we are going to welcome to Holy Cross Sisters Servants of Jesus, the High Priest, from Vietnam. Spread throughout the world to support the missionary activities of the Church, especially in education and service to the poor, the Servants of Jesus, the High Priest are established in our diocese in Largo and will be serving at The Holy martyrs of Vietnam Parish, here in St. Petersburg in a very short future. They come to us to ask for support and help to carry out their missionary activities.
The word of God we listen to this weekend invites us to discern the reflections and thoughts of our hearts. This means that we are invited to strengthen our own identity as children of God and brothers and sisters in Christ as we carry on the responsibility of being keepers of one another. I am aware of the difficult situation we are in, especially during these very trying times of the coronavirus pandemic. But also know that it is mostly during difficult times that our generosity and charity increase, because that is who we are here at Holy Cross. The spirit and embrace of the Victorious Cross we venerate gives us the strength to take extra miles, and extra steps to improve the lives of our brothers and sisters. In the gospel reading Christ responds to the crucial question of “what to do to inherit eternal life.” His response is an open invitation to sacrifice ourselves and to share with those in need. Here He is asking to share our blessings with others. To put otherwise, Christ reminds us that God blesses us so that we may bless others. Through those blessings, we support our parish community and it’s missionary activities,
we support our diocese to expand the love of Christ, and we stretch out our hands to reach out to those far off to support them in their need in the name of Jesus Christ. This is the response we give to Jesus when he tells us, like to the young man: “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
As we strive to respond to the call to improve the lives of our brothers and sisters in need through our generosity, let us continue to pray for one another and for our parish family. Thank you so much for your generosity and love.
Fr. Emery