September 11 ~ 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

No matter how large or small, parishes rely on volunteers in order to function. Maybe that wasn’t the case decades ago, when the numbers of clergy were so high that they could do virtually all the heavy lifting. But that’s certainly not the case in recent times. Fortunately, the spirit has inspired countless men and women to offer their talents for the sake of their local faith community.

September is typically the month in which the church honors and calls forth parishioners to serve their respective parish. And I would encourage all St. Ignatius parishioners who have yet to volunteer their assistance to consider doing so. If you are not sure about volunteering in a particular area or need more information, call the parish office. Or you can call a parishioner who currently leads the area of your interest.

Speaking of volunteers and newer parishioners, I would like to highlight one parishioner in particular. Her name is Sr. Jo Ann Recker, SNDdeN. She is a sister of Notre Dame de Namur, and has been a member of that religious community ever since the ripe young age of eighteen.

A few years ago, Sr. Jo Ann retired from fully time ministry, having served as a professor of French language and literature at Ohio State and Xavier universities. Sr. Jo Ann has generously offered her service as a sacristan in our parish. She works with our other sacristans in making sure the church sanctuary and sacristy have the items we need in order to celebrate the liturgy. If you see her in the sanctuary replacing altar candles or helping to set up for Mass, please be sure to introduce yourself to her. Or you can reach her via email by contacting her at recker@xavier.edu.

This weekend, in the parables of the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin, we learn about the God who seeks out the lost, the sick, and all who are regarded as “outside the flock.” God creates every single life for a purpose, and it is up to us to work with God in order to offer the material and spiritual assistance they need. Is it always comfortable and convenient for us to do this? No. But we are called to do it nonetheless. Equally so, we are called to invite those outside of our community of faith to bring them into greater communion with our faith. To be sure, we do this with such ministries as RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults). But we also do this by the witness of our own faith life, and by inviting those who have lost touch with our faith to rejoin the church community, so that God might renew their lives with him, and so follow in the ways of salvation.

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