Saint Peter's Point- The Catholic Blog of Saint Peter Parish, Stevens Point Wisconsin

In light of my health concerns, many people have asked if I still plan on making the pilgrimage to the Holy Land February 8-18. God willing, I am determined to go and do not foresee any problems. Others have expressed concern for our safety in light of the recent fighting in the Gaza Strip. Of course, there is some element of danger to anyone any time you travel to the Middle East (or anywhere for that matter!). However, the current violence is nowhere near where we will be visiting. Our pilgrimage takes us only to the holy sites in Israel, most of which are held sacred by the three great religions that believe in the One Only God – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Besides, the Palestinians and the Jews both need and want the income derived from visitors to the Holy Land. So, religious and economic reasons make a visit to the sacred sites in Israel a rather safe venture.

This trip to the Holy Land is not merely a vacation and we do not go simply as tourists. Oh, clearly it is a vacation and we are tourists. However, more importantly, we go as pilgrims on a spiritual journey to walk in the footsteps of Christ. I will be spending a good deal of time in prayer and will be offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at the sites made sacred by our Lord. If you have any intentions that you wish me to pray for at the holy shrines I am happy to do so. Please get them to me in writing before Monday, February 2. You may drop them in the collection basket or deliver them to me at the rectory or send them via email (KCL33@MSN.COM). Of course, I will be praying for all our parishioners throughout the pilgrimage. Please keep me and the other pilgrims in your prayers.

You may recall that in July of last year I relayed to you the story of something that happened that I had never experienced in nearly 20 years as a priest. Each parish is required to have a Fund for Works of Charity, an account that is separate from all other parish accounts and that is not commingled with other parish funds or with the Mass Offering Account. Into this Fund are deposited gifts that parishioners specifically designate for this purpose. But the bulk of money in this Fund comes from the offerings that parishioners make on the occasion of the celebration of the sacraments (for example, Baptism or Matrimony) or other sacred rites (for example, funeral) apart from the Mass offering or "intention." In turn, I disburse monies (but never cash) from this Fund to assist the many needy people who come to the rectory each week seeking help. So many times over the years those who received assistance assured me that they would return shortly to repay what was given to them. Not one person had ever kept their word and come back to return to the Fund that which was given them – that is, until July of 2008! At that time a parishioner had an unexpected and substantial expense with regard to his vehicle and I arranged for payment of the bills through the Fund for Works of Charity. At the end of the month, as he had promised me, he returned to the rectory and repaid in full what had been given him. Recently, this young man again found himself short on funds, this time to pay for some prescription medication. He came to me seeking assistance which I rendered through the Fund for Works of Charity. As before, he promised to repay the full amount. Several days ago he came back and donated to the Fund for Works of Charity twice what had been given to him! That certainly has never happened in my years as a priest! No doubt the Lord will bless this young man for his honesty and integrity – and generosity!

In her address at the 1994 National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta noted that "the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems. And, by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion. Many people are very, very concerned with the children of India, with the children of Africa where quite a few die of hunger, and so on. Many people are also concerned about all the violence in this great country of the United States. These concerns are very good. But often these same people are not concerned with the millions who are being killed by the deliberate decision of their own mothers. And this is what is the greatest destroyer of peace today – abortion which brings people to such blindness."

Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us! Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!

Father Kevin C. Louis