Pastor’s Corner — October 19th, 2025
Covenant Eyes: A Resource for Parents and Adults
I was thankful for Deacon Peter’s bold homily on protecting our kids from the evils of pornography. My hope is that talking about creating a “Safe Haven” for our children away from the damaging content of pornography can also help us adults ask the questions for ourselves, “have I created boundaries for myself so I can remain pure?” After all, the reason why seeking out pornography is wrong is that it is designed to get us to turn into ourselves selfishly and use others. This, in turn, warps our view of ourselves and others which not only destroys marriages but also our capacity to love others purely.
The website Deacon Peter mentioned in his homily is Covenant Eyes, an outstanding website specifically designed for:
• Individuals seeking to quit pornography (men and women).
• Friends or spouses who want to help a loved one quit.
• Parents who want to protect their kids in the digital world.
• Churches seeking resources to lead their congregation to freedom from pornography.
Please see the website www.covenanteyes.com/ for more information.
Thanks Sandi (Hootman) Moulton!
While I know this was already shared with some families in the parish, I wanted to take this opportunity to write about this to the whole parish. As part of our long-term plan we announced this summer that we were transitioning to the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) youth faith formation. CGS is popular and we are currently full at this time. This transition, however, meant that the traditional in-person evening religious education classes, which were a main part of Sandi’s job, were being phased out. For the past sixteen years, Sandi was a dedicated staff member who worked in various capacities and we definitely wish her the best as she and her husband pursue a potential relocation this fall. Thanks Sandi!
Pope Leo’s First Teaching Document: Dilexi Te (To All Christians on the Love for the Poor)
This past week Pope Leo XIV released Dilexi Te which is an exhortation on the love for the poor. Given its length I haven’t read it yet, but I am very much looking forward to reading it. In his reflection of the new document, Dr. Jeff Mirus, one of my favorite Catholic commentators, penned this little summary of Pope Leo’s Apostolic Exhortation:
1. A Few Essential Words: The Pope introduces St. Francis of Assisi as a model and examines “the cry of the poor” as we encounter it today through inequalities built into our society that we take for granted, especially as they affect vulnerable women and children—and including various ideological prejudices.
2. God Chooses the Poor: Here Leo gives the lie to the “prosperity gospel” and explores the poverty of Christ as an important model, along with the emphasis on mercy toward the poor that we find throughout Sacred Scripture: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works?” [again, citing St. James: 2:14]
3. A Church for the Poor: This is a wonderful review of care of the poor as exemplified by saints and religious communities down through the centuries: Feeding, educating, caring for the sick, freeing prisoners, protecting migrants or even, as with St. Teresa of Calcutta, serving the very poorest of the poor. Leo also discusses the growing awareness of the preferential option for the poor under Pope St. John Paul II.
4. A History that Continues: This is a brief history of the development of the Church’s social doctrine. “We must continue”, Leo writes, “to denounce the dictatorship of an economy that kills”, emphasizing that “the dignity of every human person must be respected today, not tomorrow, and the extreme poverty of all those to whom this dignity is denied should constantly weigh upon our consciences.” The Pope challenges our modern “throwaway culture” and our assumption that human dignity is a product of our own abilities and worldly achievements. Citing a 1984 statement by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Leo quotes: “Spiritual conversion, the intensity of the love of God and neighbor, zeal for justice and peace, the Gospel meaning of the poor and of poverty, are required of everyone…. The concern for the purity of the faith demands giving the answer of effective witness in the service of one’s neighbor, the poor and the oppressed in particular….”
5. A Constant Challenge: It is from this concluding section that I drew the opening point about the worst discrimination against the poor being a lack of spiritual care. Leo also returns to the example of the Good Samaritan, who cared for those in need personally: “No Christian can regard the poor simply as a societal problem; they are part of our ‘family’.” Or, again, “For Christians the poor are not a sociological category but the very ‘flesh’ of Christ. It is not enough to profess the doctrine of God’s Incarnation in general terms.”
We should allow our Holy Father’s teaching to challenge us for sure.
New Date: Outpouring Saturday November 15th at 7pm
Because we wanted to avoid Thanksgiving Weekend and Christ the King weekend when we are bringing so many people into the Church, this is just a “save the date” for Saturday November 15th for our bi-annual “Outpouring: Evening of Prayer.” The goal of this is to pray for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit for those who are hungry to know and encounter God’s love more deeply. In essence we are praying for the grace of Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
God is faithful and he longs to pour out more of his love upon us. Parishioners have really been blessed richly at these bi-annual events. If you need more grace in your life, more love, or you just want to encounter his love more deeply, please put this in your calendar. Remember, there’s always more of God.
Your servant in the Lord,
Fr. Mathias