Hidden Blessings

Giving God gratitude for all our many blessings

11/05/2022

PHIL 4:10-19 Brothers and sisters: I rejoice greatly in the Lord that now at last you revived your concern for me. You were, of course, concerned about me but lacked an opportunity. Not that I say this because of need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I find myself, to be self-sufficient. I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need. I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me. Still, it was kind of you to share in my distress. You Philippians indeed know that at the beginning of the Gospel, when I left Macedonia, not a single church shared with me in an account of giving and receiving, except you alone. I am very well supplied because of what I received from you through Epaphroditus, “a fragrant aroma,” an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Today we hear one of the most famous lines from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians. You often see it just as the citation from Scripture, Phil 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” St. Paul realizes that his greatest asset, his greatest gift, his greatest glory, his greatest boast, is Jesus Christ, through whom he can do all things. Sometimes we don’t always realize, or recognize our greatest gifts, our greatest assets.

That’s something that Fr. Daniel was trying to teach me as he was teaching me tennis. He would say, “The best part of your tennis game is your coach.” Fr. Daniel is the best part of my tennis game, not anything I do on the court. So just like that we often overlook the gifts and blessings we have received. Today, I just want to mention two such hidden blessings that we here at Immaculate Conception are liable to overlook.

The first is our wonderful Ladies Auxiliary. And as you know today we are going to have their great Bazaar, that they have been preparing all year long to create and produce for us, and not just for us but for the whole community. People come from Arkansas, Oklahoma and all around to do their early Christmas shopping at the Ladies Auxiliary Bazaar.

And I don’t want us to ever take them for granted. They are a wonderful organization that works very hard, and most especially because they bring meals for the priests every Tuesday, so we priests never want to take them for granted. They are a gift, an asset that we have. And it is very easy to get busy in our daily lives and not recognize the people on whose shoulders we stand; the people who make our lives easier and more enjoyable.

Another asset I would like us to be aware of and give God the glory for in our parish is the fact that our parish is multi-generational. Do you know what I mean by that? Multigenerational means that in our parish we have great-grandparents, and grandparents, and parents and children from the same family right here in this parish. And that is a huge asset and blessing.

I remember being very surprised by this when I first came to I.C. almost nine years ago. I would come to Mass and I was beginning to get the know the families. And I noticed the grandparents were sitting on one side of the church and the parents and grandchildren were sitting on the other side. And I began to wonder, “Oh, no, is there some family problem? Perhaps there has been some falling-out and they are not sitting together at Mass anymore.”

But later I learned that is as normal as it could possibly be, because they were going to get together after Mass and go to breakfast. But if you go to another parish in some other area of the state or the country, you would never see grandparents sitting on one side of the church and their kids and grandkids on the other side. Why not? Well, when you don’t live in the same place and you end up at Mass, of course you would always sit together.

Some people cannot conceive of a multigenerational parish, where there are great-grandparents, and grandparents, and parents and children who all go to the same church. And that is a tremendous asset and blessing. Let me give you two examples of why that is such a blessing besides being able to go to breakfast together after Mass.

For example, that is why it is easy to put in new carpet in the church. Do you know why a group of families got together and donated together to provide this beautiful carpet in the church? Because they were not just doing it for themselves. They were doing it for their children, and grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, who are all in this parish. Can you see how easy it is to donate when you are not just doing it for yourself but when you belong to a multigenerational parish?

That is the reason why this magnificent church stands here today. Those people (Irish immigrants) who built this church did not just build it for themselves but for their children, their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren and for us, their great-great-great-great grandchildren. You see, that is the blessing of a multigenerational parish.

Perhaps that is why when you travel and see some of the churches we are building today, it does not look like Immaculate Conception. Why? Because we live in a very mobile society, in which people come into a community, where they will be for three to five years, and they are moving on. They think: “I’m not living here for very long. I’m not going to raise my kids here. Lord only knows where my grandkids are going to grow up! Why would I want to make a donation to build a beautiful church?”

But if you knew you belonged to a multigenerational parish, and your kids, and your grandkids and your great-grandkids might live in this church and worship in this place, you might dig a little deeper. That is an asset we have. That is a gift we have. And sometimes we don’t notice it until we go somewhere else and see how other parishes live their life as a Christian community. I don’t mean to criticize anyone else, I just want to point out how blessed we are.

Praised be Jesus Christ!