Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Last Sunday, we heard the Lord tell Martha to focus on the one necessary thing in life: attentive listening to God’s Word.  From this listening, we allow the Lord to order our lives and guide us in the midst of life’s cares and responsibilities.  This Sunday continues the focus of spending time with the Lord, as we get a lesson in prayer from Jesus, who teaches us to approach the Father with a great confidence, ease and trust, even as Abraham does in the first reading.  Pope Benedict has applied this in a practical way to our summertime vacations, encouraging us last week in his Wednesday audience to “rest from our daily labors, so that we may give time to the one thing that is truly necessary in our lives -- listening to the word of God in attentive stillness”, praying that the holidays would leave us “truly refreshed in body and spirit so that you may return with renewed vigor to the responsibilities of your daily lives.”  I am going to take the Pope’s advice and get away for a week of vacation with some good priest friends I travel with each summer.  I won’t be with you next weekend, but I’ll look forward to seeing you soon after.

            Thank you for your continued prayers for Emily Kerstetter.  As she continues to undergo surgeries, we want to keep her in our prayers, knowing that they are effective and are a means of God’s grace and love being poured out on those in need.  As I mentioned last Sunday, we will take our Poor Box collection from next weekend (July 31-August 1) and contribute it to the special fund that will help the Kerstetter family cope with all of the extraordinary expenses they will face with Emily’s recovery.  Thank you for your generosity!

            Finally, please join us for our next OLPH Family Dinner Night on Friday, August 13 at 5:30pm.  Our first Dinner Night in June was a huge success and we had a great time with a huge crowd of people.  Don’t miss our next our next Family Dinner Night as we celebrate our return to the renovated church with a very special meal.

            May God bless you in this new week!