.=: T H I S W E E K E N D :=. from Father Pat Umberger ___________________________________________________ J O I N S I S T E R J O S E L D A A N D M E Only FIVE seats remain. Seats will be ticketed on October 4th. If you're interested, call Pentecost Tours right away! 800 713-9800 A great Pilgrimage to the Holy Land - 04-15 November 2007! $2714 from Minneapolis or $2599 from JFK in New York! For the brochure and complete information, follow the link from: www.frpat.com F A M I L Y A N D F R I E N D S Encourage them to Subscribe to Morning Prayer! If you enjoy the NEW Morning Prayer, why not forward a copy to family members and friends. Many seem to enjoy the new format. Some say that they like to attend Daily Mass, but cannot always do so. Morning Prayer keeps them in touch with the daily Scriptures and Saint of the day. Not all priests preach on all weekdays. Morning Prayer provides a short reflection and a concrete way to apply Scriptures to our lives. Clergy too, appreciate the simple ideas found in both Morning Prayer and This Weekend. Family members and friends can learn more by following the banner link from: www.frpat.com F A M I L Y F U N F E S T St. Pat's annual Fall Fun Fest is October 13th. There will be food, entertainment and fun for people of all ages. There are also Raffle Tickets available. If you live close to us, why not join us. Or, perhaps you'd like to help us by purchasing some raffle tickets. You can learn more at: www.stpatz.com ______________________________________________ .=: V O L U M E 2 0 0 7 , Number 10-07 :=. .=: T H I S W E E K E N D ' S S C R I P T U R E S :=. Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C. Weekend of 06 and 07 October 2007 Follow this link for this weekend's Scriptures: www.nccbuscc.org/nab/ .=: R E F L E C T I O N Q U E S T I O N S :=. "How long, O LORD? I cry for help but you do not listen!" When do we lose patience with God? "I cry out to you, 'Violence!' but you do not intervene." Why is it that when bad things happen, God doesn't intervene? Would we have true free will if God intervened whenever it looked like we were going to get into trouble? "The rash one has no integrity; but the just one, because of his faith, shall live." How can we summon this kind of integrity and patience? "For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control." What happens when we act without love? Without self-control? When is it easier to be cowardly? The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." The Lord replied, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. Do we need more faith? What would happen if we put into action the faith we have? When you have done all you have been commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.'" What does it mean to be God's servant? What are the rewards of living as God's servant? Why do we sometimes expect more? How are these readings challenging? Comforting? (c)MMVII Fr. Pat Umberger. These Reflection Questions are found each week at the Web Site www.frpat.com. Feel free to link to this page or reproduce them for parish use as long as this credit remains. .=: S P I R I T U A L R E F L E C T I O N :=. Many of us pray, then complain as did the prophet Habakkuk, that our prayers are not being answered. We become discouraged when God doesn't do what we want. In our discouragement we can be tempted to lose heart. How tempting it can be to look outside ourselves for the answers to our prayers. How convenient it would be if God would just do as we wished! God's most common response comes to us in our second reading, "I remind you, to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control." We don't need exterior change as much as change on the inside. We need to see the gifts of the Spirit that God has given us. We can easily quench the spirit when we give in to our doubts and fears. It's tempting too, to ask as Jesus' disciples did, "Lord, increase our faith!" How easy it is for us to feel like we don't have enough. We can listen to stories of the saints and other great heroes and imagine the depths of their faith. If only we had some of that, then we could do remarkable things. We forget that Jesus' own apostles asked for more faith. We forget that many of our greatest Saints sometimes felt empty of faith. They didn't simply wait around for change. They didn't spend time feeling sorry for themselves. They simply busied themselves with prayer, fasting and good works. Although their faith and patience were tested, they persevered with the strength and courage that are gifts from God. "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." We have all the faith we need. We just need to put the faith we have been given into action. This week we can consider times when we have been fearful and discouraged, those times when we feel we might lose heart. We can recall those gifts of the Spirit that have been given us by God. We can trust that those gifts will blaze up within us. We can persevere as God's Saints have done through the ages. We can believe that nothing is impossible with God. Have a good week! (c)MMVII Fr. Pat Umberger. This Spiritual Reflection is found each week at the Web Site www.frpat.com. Feel free to link to this page or reproduce them for parish use as long as this credit remains. __________________________________________________ <TW>This Weekend is free, and comes from: Father Pat Umberger, a priest of the Diocese of La Crosse in Wisconsin U.S.A. Web Site: www.frpat.com Evangelization (reaching out): www.cmonback.com .=: M A K E A D O N A T I O N ? :=. www.frpat.com/donation.htm .=: F O R W A R D I N G :=. Please leave these credits when doing so. .=: C H A N G E Y O U R S U B S C R I P T I O N :=. Unsubscribe from your old address before you subscribe with your new address. Use this link: www.frpat.com/morningprayer.htm#mp You can also set your account to Vacation Mode there.