Pastor's Letter

He’s In Our Midst!
 
In today’s gospel, Jesus tells us “where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the mist of them” (Matthew 18:20). Those are comforting words to hear. He is talking about coming together in prayer and how powerful praying together is. When we come to Mass or experience other liturgies, we come with our lives, our prayers and all we’re going through. But we also come to pray together for what is important and needed for all us.
 
The Prayers of the Faithful (also called the Universal Prayer) is the moment when our prayer as a community—gathered in Jesus’ name—is lifted to God. We pray for the Church and what’s going on in our world, which involves justice issues, such as all that’s happening with immigration, for those affected by prejudice, for the dignity of human life, and so much more. We pray for the sick in our parish and for those among our community and their loved ones who have died.
 
I know there are some here at St. Hubert who have long standing prayer groups, bible study groups, and other ways they come together in prayer and faith. What an awesome thing. Our faith opens up when we share it with others. In praying with others, God notices what’s on our minds.
 
When we pray together, Jesus is there…in the midst of us.
 
Two Ways We’re Helping Those in Need
In the second reading, Paul says “we owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another.” That’s a definition for justice: to give someone what’s due to them. As Christians, it always involves love and care for the other. 
 
So as we pray for others, one of the things top of mind are those suffering from the effects of Hurricane Harvey. Our second collection today will be sent to Catholic Charities USA who are on the ground working and helping provide basic necessities. St. Hubert has a strong history of generosity and reaching out to help those in need and in times of crisis. So thank you very much for all those who have been giving to funds that are supporting the relief efforts. As St. Paul says, “Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.” (Phil 4:5) 
 
Thank you also for bringing food each month to help stock the food pantries in our local community. It really is a touching thing to see all the cartons and bags of food, because it represents the heartfelt desire to share from our bounty with those who are trying to get by. 
 
We have recently learned that Catholic Charities here in the Archdiocese of Chicago has asked parishes with schools to help with a food drive so that they can be prepared for winter. Lack of food is unfortunately a growing need here in our archdiocese—and it affects children as well as adults. Every year more than 150,000 people rely on the Catholic Charities food pantries in Cook and Lake Counties.
 
So, the students in St. Hubert School and our Religious Education Program are going to take the lead in a special food drive, which they will open up to all of us. You will be hearing more about this next week. But in a nutshell, the students will be involved in Catholic Charities’ Soup-er Stadium Challenge, which coincides with Hunger Action Month. The challenge is to collect enough food to fill every seat in Soldier Field—twice.  Catholic Charities says if all of us working together in the archdiocese can reach this goal, it will provide over 100,000 meals; but this challenge is nothing without prayer. So the students will not only be focused on the food drive but praying for all those who need help. Prayer is a way to nurture one another, too.
 
Thank you for all you are doing to make a difference in people’s lives. Let’s continue to pray for one another for strength, help, encouragement, healing and peace as we pray together.