Dear St. Luke friends, 

On this 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Christ assures us that He is in our midst whenever we gather in His name.  Christ comes to us anew as we gather again to worship Him around the Lord's table at St. Luke's or virtually at home.   Let us pray that the Spirit of God will help us follow His call to live in peace with one another and recognize Christ's presence in others. 

We look around and see that Christ is present in our loved ones, in those whom we work with, in the front-liners who help provide basic services, in the strangers we meet, and in our marginalized brothers and sisters. Christ emphasizes the power of prayer and calls us to intercede for those He has placed in our lives.  "...amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father." He assures us that there is nothing impossible with God, who will grant our united prayers offered out of love for God and for our neighbors. 

I ask you to spend some moments with the Lord in prayer, at Mass, in sacred scripture...listen to Him and allow Him to point to you those people in your life whom you need to reconcile with...pray for them and ask for God's gift of peace and compassion...pray for all whom the Lord calls you to lift up to Him in trust and surrender.  Then the God of peace and love will dwell in you and those whom you pray for.

See you all at St. Luke's and in our prayers for one another.  Have a safe and grace-filled holiday and week ahead.

In Christ,

Rev. Jonathan Paala

Pastor

Reminders: 

1) WEEKEND MASSES will be CELEBRATED OUTDOORS on SATURDAYS at 5:00pm and SUNDAYS at 8:00am and 10:00am.  No signing up required.  Chairs will be provided.

2) You are required to submit your CONSENT FORM (click here to print and download) each time you attend Sunday Mass.  This is in compliance with the San Mateo Health Officer's guideline and will serve as a waiver to limit St. Luke's liability and will be used for contact tracing purposes. Forms will be kept confidential and will be discarded after 45 days.

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:20)