To watch Fr. Joe’s homily from the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time: CLICK HERE!

Recently, FBI Agent Troy Sowers retired after 22 years of service.  He expected nothing more than some doughnuts and coffee at his retirement party.  But his colleagues arranged something much bigger.

Seems when Sowers a Rookie Agent working in Seattle, he and police were called when a baby was kidnapped from a Washington Hospital by a woman impersonating a nurse.  The kidnapper was soon apprehended, and Sowers managed to convince her to lead him to the baby.  She had left the infant in a box next to a restaurant dumpster.  Sowers rushed to the restaurant hoping the baby was still alive when he found him.  When Sowers picked up the infant, he was not crying, but just nuzzled right into his neck and he knew he was fine.  The medical crew arrived shortly and took the baby away.

A senior agent told Rookie Sowers, “Troy, I’ve got to tell you, something like that… You’ll never do anything better than that.”

The case stuck with Sowers and over the years, he wondered what had happened to the child he rescued.  At this retirement party, he found out.  His fellow agents tracked down the baby – now 22 years old – and invited him to the retirement party.  And so FBI Agent Troy Sowers was reunited with Stewart Rembert, now a corporal in the US Marine Corps.

“My parents wanted me to give you a big hug,” Rembert told the stunned FBI Agent. “Thank you for giving me an opportunity to have a life…  It’s crazy to think that without his efforts, I would not even be here today.  I would not be a Marine.  My family would not be the same. I am just super excited and honored to meet this man today,” said Corporal Rembert.

Agent Sower said the reunion was “probably one of the best surprises I have ever had.”

“I am glad to see what you have done with your life,” he told Rembert.  “Pass it on!”

Today’s Gospel and the Lord’s reminder that however small our faith (mustard seed faith) that much good is possible.  Ordinary acts of kindness; simple acts of caring; every act of generosity done in faith can change lives and will one day bear fruit, abundant fruit.

In recent bulletins, and in a mailing going out to all the Parish this week, we will be sharing information about a Diocesan Campaign entitled:  “Re-Igniting our Faith.”

In a nutshell, we are being asked to look to the future as a church locally and as a Diocese, not just today, or this week or this month…

Among Diocesan efforts in need of consideration are:

• Support for Vocations
• Increasing efforts for evangelization
• Increasing resources for Catholic Education
• Providing critical funding to assist our retired priests (my favorite)

And here in our Parish there is always a wish list for such areas as:

• Increasing outreach to the needy (locally and beyond)
• Meeting changing needs in ministry to the Parish and beyond
• Increasing efforts to share and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Obviously there is a financial ask here.  And there is no doubt that St. Mary’s, Crescent has been and continues to be very generous to the Parish financially when it comes to weekly parish support and to the Annual Bishop’s Appeal, for which each of us here at St. Mary’s are very grateful.  And it goes without saying this support must continue and I have faith that we, the people of St. Mary’s, Crescent, will do so.

When it comes to supporting the Re-Igniting our Faith Campaign, there may be reasons for doing so or not…  However, I only ask that you:

1. Read, reflect and pray about the information that will be coming to you in the coming days at your home….
2. And when it comes to a financial gift – whether it be a one-time gift or a gift over the coming 5 years for Re-Igniting our Faith, think mustard seed faith, mustard seed generosity… that can go a long way and make a big difference.
3. Remember today’s story about the actions of a Rookie FBI Agent that made such a difference over the years…  Acts of kindness and generosity by others have bloomed over the years for which we have been and are beneficiaries.

Re-igniting our Faith is an effort, a campaign, for us to pass it on.

To watch Fr. Joe’s homily for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time: CLICK HERE!

There is no doubt that our Scripture Readings this weekend speak to the wonder of marriage. Marriage that calls a couple:

• Not to perfection, but to commitment
• To the hard work of patience and understanding… and more
• Despite disappointments and failed expectations, to center their lives in the love of God and so much more…

Today however, I would like to center in on the last few lines of today’s Gospel, with the children coming to Jesus…

Many of us are aware of the picture of Jesus sitting on a rock surrounded by serene children gazing attentively at him. Those of us who know real-life children doubt the genuineness of this artwork.

In the time of Jesus, children did not have rights and were often regarded as property. The Disciples even felt that Jesus had more important things to do than to waste time on children. But, Jesus being Jesus, has another message for us: by serving children, we serve God.

As we know children often mirror the behavior they have observed from their parents or other significant adults. How many parents have been either embarrassed or charmed when they hear their own words coming out of the child’s mouth or the child insists on doing something exactly the way a parent does it.

As we hear in the Gospel today, how do you think the children emulated Jesus blessing them?

God created us to be in relationship so we could mirror God’s presence to each other…

Simply put, Jesus wants us to BLESS each other… A blessing that happens or can happen not just at home, but needs to happen every day in many many ways! Like Jesus, may we grow in being more and more welcoming of one another and other into our lives and bringing and being blessings to one another and others every day.

Finally, since children do say the darnedest things (Art Linkletter), let me close with this amusing anecdote: One day a 4^th Grade Catholic School teacher asked her students:  “Does anyone remember the words Jesus spoke about matrimony?”

One student trying to think of Jesus quotes, shouted out, “Yes, Teacher! Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.’”

May we all know what we are doing as we bring the blessings of Jesus into the lives of our children and others in and through our lives of faith daily.

Today’s readings using the vineyard as our focus can lead us in a variety of directions in the area of stewardship.

One of those areas is the “vineyard” we call planet Earth and how are we caring for the gifts of this planet, given to us to watch over.  We hear about things like floods and droughts, global warming and efforts to better use the resources that we have, like water and oil.  I guess the point is, God asks every generation to use what he has given us – in a positive way.  For in reality, we are not the owners, but are the present day caretakers of planet Earth.

This weekend, invites us to look at the ways we as a nation, a people, a family, a person – can be good caretakers in our time.

Certainly there are many efforts – big and small – that show our care and respect for our planet – Earth.  Using its resources not only for our own needs but for others and for future generations.

Sometimes we need to begin with the little things when it comes to caring for this vineyard: planet Earth.  For instance:

+ Avoid Littering – I see fast food containers or empty cans along the road side here by the church all the time. Might I add, if we do see litter on the ground, we can pick it up and place it in a trash receptacle.

+ Return those bottles and cans for your five cents.

+ Recycle to the best of your ability.

+ Avoid waste.  Do we really need a 52 oz. big gulp soda, when all we want is an 8 oz. soda?

+ Turn the water off, I would guess it need not run for the two hours we are in the bathroom each morning.

+ And speaking of turning things off, do turn off the lights when leaving a room, especially at home.  At least when you are the last one out.

Fun fact: if you turn off the faucet or light switch, they can be turned on again.

In our Gospel today, Jesus did not call for the elimination of the rebellious tenants, rather he called for other people to take their place and do what needed to be done.

May we be the people who do what we need to do for our planet and its people for this generation and for the next.

Just maybe a good many of us have said, as we heard the Disciples of Jesus say today, “Lord, increase our faith.”  Maybe the increase of faith is not in “the knowing, ” maybe the increase of faith is in the “living.”

In a Book entitled: Will Our Children Have Faith, the author shares:

“Christian education has modeled itself on the schooling-instructional paradigm of our secular schools.  Instead of expecting faith formation to happen within a variety of contexts — the family, church, school, and the church school — religious education has been relegated entirely to Sunday morning classes.  There children learn the facts about religion, but will they learn or experience faith?  How can we be communities that nourish and nurture the faith of children, instead of only teaching them facts?”

As I shared a few weeks ago, not only are we being surveyed by camera but also by others, most especially our children.  What are our children seeing and learning about faith from the ways we live our lives daily at home, work, and school and beyond.

What is it we are learning (because we are always learning) or have learned what needs to take root in the lives we live every day, more and more…  I think over the past few years, this is exactly what Pope Francis is reminding us of when he reminds us to live the FAITH we know:

• stop the gossiping
• stop judging
• pray, everyday

When he says, “good works, do not keep well in the fridge.  Good works need to be shared the minute there is a need.”  Good works at home, at work, at school to name a few places.

As pilot “Sully,” the captain of the plane that landed in the Hudson River 7 years ago said at the NTSB when he was called the “x-factor” that allowed everyone to survive, “everyone survived because the co-pilot, stewardesses, passengers, flight controllers, emergency medical personnel and good Samaritans – all came together.”

Finally, let me share this reflection about living the faith verses just knowing the faith: Right now, a month before national elections, are we refusing to speak to our Republican or Democratic neighbor?  Have we let our tongues wag with negativity about national or local candidates?  You may say, “but it is the truth!  The candidate has done such and such, has said such and such!”  Jesus says to remember that person is created in the image and likeness of God.  That person is a temple of the Holy Spirit.  Love your neighbor as yourself, even it that neighbor is a political candidate!”

As the present day Disciples of Jesus, we too say, “Lord increase my faith.”  May our prayer lead us to make the effort with the grace and power of God to live the gift of faith that can grow and grow and grow into a life beyond our imagining, but not beyond God’s.