St. Mary Parish, Manchester at 210 West Main Street, Manchester, MI 48158 US - Do Not Be Afraid!

Washington continues to paint a picture of gloom and doom. The rhetoric of our President is that of evoking fear and desperation in order to push through an economic stimulus package that offers no guarantee of succeeding. This climate of fear is causing many people to fall into despair and into making decisions out of desperation.

Certainly there is good reason to be concerned. Most likely the economy will get worse before it gets better. But it will eventually get better. For those of us who have faith, it is a time not to fall prey to fear but to cultivate the virtue of hope. The current financial struggles are an invitation for those of faith to depend more deeply upon God and to place more of our trust in him. God is with us! God is our shelter and our strength.

SOLIDARITY IN CHRIST
Not only does the current economic crisis provide us with the opportunity to trust more deeply that God will provide for all of our needs, it also offers us an opportunity to be in deeper solidarity with those in our parish family and beyond who are in need of financial and moral support. When we become so fixated on our own needs and problems, it has the tendency to blind us to the struggles and needs of those around us.

There are some people in our parish who are struggling with serious health problems, with marriage problems, with financial problems. During this time of economic crisis God is also offering to us an opportunity to move beyond ourselves and to practice the virtue of charity. God will bless us with an abundance of graces and blessings when we care for those who are in need.

ALL WILL BE WELL
I share the same concerns that many of you have regarding the economy and the ability to pay our bills. I too wonder if we will be able to hold on long enough for the economy to make an upswing. Sometimes I can become overly concerned about whether or not our buildings will hold together and if we have a future. But, then I realize that all of what we have on this earth is fleeting. It will all pass away. But what doesn’t pass away is the love that God has for me and for our parish family.

As the father of this spiritual family I have been praying each day that God will provide for all of our materials needs as well as the financial needs of those who are struggling in the parish. The more that I am able to place the correct focus on God and the more that I am able to remember that God cares for me, for us, the more that I am assured by him that all will be well.

Let us continue to turn to God in our need and be assured that he is with us more than ever in these times of financial uncertainty. In doing so, the peace of God will gently wash over us, we will not lose hope or fall into despair, but we will be at peace.     

—Fr. Tim