Dear Friends,

Recently we had a reading in daily Mass from the book of Judges. It was about how the people of God turned away from the Lord and worshiped other gods. This seems incredible. After all, the people had been led out of Egypt; they had seen the miracles; they had entered into the covenant; and finally they had entered the promised land. How could they turn away after all of this? The answer is that the surrounding culture corrupted them. When they entered the promised land, they were supposed to clear out all the peoples who had been there. But they did not do this. They cleared out some of the peoples but not all of them. Those that remained worshiped false gods and it was these that lured the people astray. It was the surrounding culture.

Hello,

File this under “Getting to know Fr. Vietor Better.” I like to read literature. This probably goes back to my being an English major in college, and this probably goes back to my boyhood when I first developed a love for reading. Every day I try to get in a few pages at least. I find it relaxing and invigorating to make my way through a good book. Recently I started a walloping new book called In Search of Lost Time. It is actually six fat volumes, so this will keep me busy for quite some time. It is by a Frenchman named Marcel Proust and so I am reading a translation in English, but it is still very well done. I read it once before and thought it was worth doing again.

Hello,

Today we celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a wonderful reminder of our priorities in this back-to-school month. Just as we have begun again the busy school schedule, we pause to remember the great honor bestowed on our Blessed Mother. We see again what is of real value in our lives. We see again the right order of things.

The lens through which we view life makes a difference. It also determines who we choose to learn from and what we allow to shape our thoughts and feelings. For many, life is simply what it appears to be, a given that either through evolution or some other means just came to be. There is no apparent rhyme or reason to things and things can be dissected and understood only in terms of what they empirically present. To the person using this lens, a tree is a tree and a flower is a flower. Their composition and existence can be understood only to the extent that current human knowledge allows. Through this lens, what gives life purpose and meaning? This lens has an essentially unknown beginning and definite end. Once those are accepted, the middle becomes some kind of pursuit of happiness, with values and principles being things that are self-created and found acceptable.

Greetings in Christ!

What a joy and grace it has been to serve as St. Joan of Arc’s Youth Minister this past year. I look forward to the graces our good and gracious God has in store for our upcoming year. Two words come to mind as I reflect back on this past year of Verso L’alto youth group- those words are hope and courage. I have a tremendous amount of hope in the future of our Church. Getting to journey and walk with the teens of St. Joan of Arc has been such an authentic source of hope to me. The ways the teens have opened their hearts to dive deeper into a relationship with Christ in the midst of some crazy and unpredictable times is absolutely incredible. It is a gift to have St. Joan of Arc as the patroness of our parish and to pray for her intercession as a youth group. She modeled courage in the face of adversity and strong faith despite what the threats were. Please join me in continuing to pray for St. Joan of Arc’s intercession for the teens in our youth group, that they may have the courage from the Holy Spirit to live out and share their faith.