October 4

Weekend Bulletin
Children’s Bulletin
Volunteer for Parish Bazaar
Parish Annual Report

Fr Terry’s Teaching…
On Happiness & Joy
I have decided to give you a prayer exercise to do. It is a good one to do in the days ahead as we liturgically conclude our present religious year and with the First Weekend of Advent begin a new one. First I invite you to make a list of the things in life that bring you joy, not fleeting joy, but the lasting joy of life. For example, I will give you some of mine: Reading; Hiking especially in wilderness areas; Any kind of movie except horror; Traveling to places I have never been to; Prayer time that includes meditation and contemplation; Holding a baby except when it’s diaper needs to changed; Listening to music both instrumental and songs; Fishing whether I catch anything or not; Snorkeling in the ocean or seas; Sailing on a sailboat; Hearing the rain at night as it hits the roof; The freshness of the air after a rain or snow happen; Studying religious art as a story; Sitting around a campfire while telling stories; Teaching students and adults in ways that help them explore their life or discover something about them; Visiting the tombstones of my relatives and friends to spend time with them and my memories of them; Ministering to those in need; plays, especially musicals; Watching my favorite Baseball team; Surprising people with an unexpected gift; and many more but these were the first to come to mind. Then I ask you to look over that list to see if any of them are sinful. I would propose to you that none of the things that bring you total and lasting joy, have anything to do with sin or evil. Sin and evil cannot complete us. They cannot bring us lasting joy. It makes me wonder and maybe it will make you wonder, why we spend so much time and energy on that which takes away our quality of life and happiness? With true and lasting happiness, there is always room for God. With sin and evil, there is not room for God. So why do we choose them?