Mean What You Say

04-26-2020Everyday Stewardship - Recognize God in Your Ordinary Moments

Missouri is known as the "Show Me" state. There seems to be differing points of view as to how this motto came into existence, but today it is said to speak of a people who operate with common sense and are not easily fooled by slick-talking or show.

We would be prudent to adopt such a disposition ourselves. To be this way is not really like St. Thomas in the Gospel when he doubts what he clearly sees right in front of him. It is more about holding ourselves to a standard explained in another motto: "Say what you mean and mean what you say."

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Tell God All that is on Your Heart

04-26-2020The Pastor's PenFr. Matthew

Dear Friend,

Francois Fenelon, a seventeenth century Roman Catholic writer said this about prayer:

"Tell God all that is on your heart, as one unloads one’s heart, its pleasures and its pains, to a dear friend.

Tell Him your troubles, that He may comfort you; tell Him your joys, that He may sober them; tell Him your longings, that He may purify them; tell Him your dislikes, that He may help you conquer them; talk to Him of your temptations, that He may shield you from them; show Him the wounds of your heart, that He may heal them; lay bare your indifference to good, your depraved tastes for evil, your instability.

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He Cried for Me

04-19-2020The Pastor's PenFr. Matthew

Dear Friend,

Yvette, who is a young mother in Washington, D.C., recently told me her remarkable story, she wrote:

"It was the end. I knew it. I could no longer fight. I sat here emotionless. I was totally alone. Others had tried to help -- doctors, nurses, parents, husband, children. But they were gone. Hours earlier I had come into the hospital on an emergency basis. I had back pain so severe that at times, it dropped me to my knees. This was not my first hospital stay. I had been sick for a long time it seemed...

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COVID-19 Mailing - April 2020

04-05-2020Coronavirus UpdatesFr. Matthew

Dear Friend and Parishioner of OLP in Fords,

This is Holy Week; these are profound and solemn days that call to mind the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus.

First and foremost, we need to continue and remind ourselves to pray, earnestly, and for one 
another. These are certainly difficult and polarizing times for us, individually and as a society.
 But remember, prayer is our one-on-one time with the Lord. In our prayer, we need to remind
 ourselves that Jesus Christ is with us and wants to be with us; remember all the blessings in our
 life! Then, we need to read this week's Scriptures. Finally, we need to reflect on what we read. Listen to what God wants to say to us. Perhaps, especially now in a time of anxiety.


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