Dear Parish Family,
In today's Gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a man scattering seeds and then going about his day to let the seeds grow. Jesus commends the man for letting the seed grow naturally without the man trying to micromanage the growth of the seeds. We play our part by planting the seeds of God's grace in our lives and in the world around us, but then we're called to step back and let God's grace take effect. 
 
Many of us might find that part about stepping back the most difficult. While we shouldn't neglect relationships or our responsibilities, neither should we obsess about them. "Let go and let God" is a simple phrase that comes to mind. Good ideas like good wine takes time to mature. People can be the same way. 
 
If you've prayed for a loved one who has left the faith, it can be difficult to talk with, pray, support, or encourage them without sounding like a nag to them. Focusing on enjoying these people as a gift of God and loving the person in front of you. That's what Jesus did, and it was an incredibly infectious way of drawing people into a relationship with God.
 
As a homebrewer and winemaker myself, I also know that some batches go bad. Not everything we put a lot of time and effort into will turn out well. Sometimes things turn out poorly because we are too fixated on "making it work" rather than letting it be. I remember a beer I made a few years ago turned out so bad because I over-planned the recipe that I had to dump the whole batch! I'm sure we can all relate in some way, whether something went wrong by chance, neglect, or micromanaging. If we trust and believe in God's providence, even these failures can be a valuable lesson to help us grow in our discipleship as a mature human person. 
 
Night of Love
Come to the Night of Love evening of adoration and reparation this Thursday at St. Mary's! We will have the traveling pilgrim Fatima statue in the church starting at 1 pm, a presentation at 5 pm, confessions from 6-8 pm, Mass at 8 pm, and reposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 10:30 pm. Rosary, chaplet, and consecration prayers will happen throughout the evening. See the schedule in the bulletin for full details. 
 
"Reparation" is a key word in this Night of Love. It may help to think of reparation like this: if you steal something or hurt another person then go to confession, the guilt of the sin is forgiven, but there is still need for "reparation" or restitution of the item stolen or the damage done. Giving back what was stolen, repairing what was damaged or broken, and binding up our neighbor's wounds is what reparation is all about. Reparation may be done by the person who committed the offense, or by a Good Samaritan acting on their behalf. Similarly, we can make reparation for our sins and the sins of those in the world who don't even know that they are doing anything wrong to restore love where love has been deprived or destroyed. St. John of the Cross writes, "Where there is no love, put love, and you will find love". I can't think of a better way to sum up reparation than this!
 
Oktoberfest Save the Date
Save the date for the 3rd annual St. Mary Parish Oktoberfest on Sunday, September 15, less than 3 months away! St. Mary's will once more have an outdoor Polka Mass starting at noon, and Oktoberfest festivities, food, drink, music, and games from 1 pm - 7 pm. Stay tuned for volunteer opportunities, ticket pre-sales, schedules, sponsorships, and more!

I am yours in Christ,
Fr. Scott Goodfellow