ST. PAUL, LETTER TO THE ROMANS, 8:26-27

by John Russell

The full text of Romans 8:26-27 (which wouldn't fit in the blog title) is:

Brothers and sisters:
The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit intercedes with inexpressible groanings.
And God who searches hearts
knows what is the intention of the Spirit,
because the Spirit intercedes for the holy ones
according to God’s will.

Every once in a while, I hear someone say that a prayer wasn’t answered because it was not made explicitly enough. I think this sells God short. God knows the intentions of our hearts without our prayers. Down to the last detail. We cannot tell God anything that God does not already know. We do not pray to tell God our secrets. We pray to soften our hearts and let God in. We pray to open our ears and hear the Word. We pray to become God’s hands and do the work for the Kingdom.

So why doesn’t God seem to answer our prayers? We are here to do God’s will, not the other way around. God’s ways are not our ways, and sometimes we may not like it.

I have not been able to participate in the last few virtual social hours but my wife, Ann Kuder, loves them! From Ann: “I would recommend that every parishioner try one of the Sunday Social Hours. (Check the bulletin for which Sundays and how to get the Zoom link.) it is a wonderful way to see people's faces! The larger group is put into smaller "rooms" to talk about a suggested topic. There is no pressure to speak but it is a pretty safe space to do so. I highly recommend it.”

You can find the video from our Vigil for Social Justice by going to st-therese.cc and clicking on the Facebook logo in the upper right or searching on St Therese Seattle in Facebook.

Let us support Father in a smooth transition to reopening the Church for mass. Contact Nicole St. Hilaire at nicoles@st-therese.cc to volunteer to be an usher or Diane Figaro at paa@st-therese.cc for safety concerns.

Let us be generous with our financial resources:

Give to the St Vincent de Paul Society by going to our website at st-therese.cc. Scroll down to the St Vincent de Paul button near the bottom of the home page. If you prefer to write checks, please send them to Sr. Kathleen -SVdP , 3514 E. Marion St. , Seattle, WA 98122. The St. Therese conference has been overwhelmed by requests in the St Edwards area, which our conference is now serving. Please be generous!
Support the work of the Church of Western Washington by clicking on this link: Annual Catholic Appeal. If you have questions about the Appeal, please email me at jvrussell85@gmail.com
Finally, you can make a contribution online at st-therese.org and clicking on the “Donate Now” button or use the Push-Pay app on your phone.

Finally, join the Social Justice Commission! The Commission has but three members. It needs at least five more. If there was ever a moment that St Therese needs a Social Justice Commission it is now! If you want to work for justice, email Trisha Tinsley at citizencoach@gmail.com.