Fr. Tim's Corner
29 June 2008
Dear
Parishioners,
Last
weekend, I mentioned in my homily Father Gary Smith, S.J. the Jesuit I
befriended some years ago while living monastic life at the Trappist Abbey in
Oregon.
As
you may recall, I spoke about his work with the homeless in Tacoma,
then Portland; and that, most recently, he’s
lived in Uganda
ministering to Sudanese refugees there.
I
mentioned three books he’s written about these experiences. Some of you have asked about these books, and
so let me list them here for you:
·
Street Journal
(Tacoma
experience)
·
A Radical Compassion (Portland
experience)
·
They Come Back Singing (Uganda/Sudanese refugees)
I
can assure you that any or all three would make for thought-provoking reading
during the summer months.
Father
Gary Smith is a man who takes to heart the vision of Vatican Council II when it
addresses the approach we ought to have in relation to the wider world. This vision is expressed in the Vatican II
document called Gaudium et Spes:
The
joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially of
those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and
anguish of the followers of Christ as well.
Nothing that is genuinely human fails to find an echo in their hearts.
It
was due to these words from Gaudium et Spes and the example of Gary Smith, S.J. that I asked you to consider signing after the Masses this past
weekend two letters: one to Mayor Greg
Nickels; the other to the Seattle City Council in which we expressed our
concern over the way the homeless are being treated at this time. Those letters have nothing to do with
politics and everything to do with what it means to be a follower of
Christ. Over 150 parishioners signed the
letters, and I want to thank you for your concern. Let us pray that such concern bears fruit in
our city and within our hearts.
Fr. Tim Clark
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