Parish Happenings

1. In last weekend’s homily about Jesus’ question to his disciples “who do you say that I am??”, I mentioned a very interesting book I recently read by Trent Horn titled “Counterfeit Christs:  Finding the Real Jesus Among the Impostors” published by Catholic Answers Press in 2019.  The author addresses a wide variety of responses that have been proposed over the years to the question of who and what Jesus is–responses from atheists, non-Christians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons and many others.  He then considers those responses in the light of the gospels and other biblical testimony and history in general and demonstrates convincingly the truth of the Church’s teaching about Jesus.  I highly recommend this book.
2. I also mentioned last weekend a passage from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians that expresses so well who we as Christians say Jesus is; we might even call this passage a sort of ‘mini-Creed’:

“Though he [Jesus] was in the form of God, he did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at.  Rather, he emptied himself and took the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men.  He was known to be of human estate, and it was thus that he humbled himself, obediently accepting even death, death on a cross!  Because of this, God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name above every other name.  So that at Jesus’ name every knee must bend in the heavens, on the earth, and under the earth, and every tongue proclaim to the glory of God the Father:  JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!”  (Phil. 2:6-11)

This is one of those Bible passages that we would do well to become especially familiar with because it summarizes so powerfully who Jesus truly is and why we gladly and gratefully place our faith in him.

3. I am very muchlooking forward to our public showing of “The Chosen” that begins this Sunday, Sept. 19, at 2 p.m. in the Elma church hall.  I’ll begin with a brief introduction of this series and how it came about, as well as a few pointers on who and what to look for.  After each viewing there will be an opportunity for questions/answers and discussion.  We will finish up somewhere around 4 p.m. Popcorn and other refreshments will be available.

I also learned last Sunday that the Watts Theater in Osage will be showing the eight episodes of Season One of “The Chosen” during the month of October–check the poster in the church entrance for times and dates.  Admission is free.  The more opportunities there are to see this excellent presentation of the life of Jesus, the better!

Immaculate Conception (Riceville) Fall Festival

Click on this link for information on Immaculate Conception Fall Festival