St. James Kansas Blog

One night a man was sleeping in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and God appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. So, this man did, day after day.

For years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Since the man was showing discouragement, the adversary, Satan, decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the weary mind.

“You have been pushing against this rock for a long time, and it has not moved.” Thus he gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. Satan said, “why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort, and that will be good enough.”

That’s what the weary man planned to do, but then decided to make it a Matter of Prayer and to take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.

“Lord,” he said. “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”

The Lord responded compassionately. “My friend, when I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back is sinewy and sleek, your hands are toughened from the constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard.

Through opposition you have grown so much and your abilities now surpass those that you used to have. True, you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in MY wisdom. That you have done. Now, my friend, I will move the rock.”

At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what God wants, when actually what God wants is just a simple obedience and faith in Him.

By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God who MOVES the mountains.

So remember to P-U-S-H: Pray Until Something Happens.

• When everything seems to go wrong, PUSH
  
• When the job gets you down, PUSH
  
• When people do not react the way you think they should, PUSH
  
• When your money is gone and the bills are still due, just PUSH
  
• When people do not understand you, PUSH
  

Pray Until Something Happens.

Go to http://stjameskansas.blogspot.com/ and http://www.stjameskansas.org for more details.

St. James in Kansas Ohio is sometimes referred to as “one of the last parishes standing” from Bishop Leonard Blair’s parish restructuring project of 2005. It still exists as a faithful community, and the building still stands. The parish community meets weekly for prayer services and carries on in the St. James tradition in every way shape and form. The future of this community is solid, but the future of the property and building in which it has thrived for over 115 years hangs in the air.

There are opportunities to uphold the rights of parishioners for current and future generations. This opportunity exists NOW with St. James. Currently, the parish is preparing to make an appeal of their case.

We faithful parishioners from all over our great nation know that our charitable generosity is what drives the Church in our communities to be a force for good, and a living testament to the Body of Christ. As faithful and practicing Catholics and Christians, we know that our parishes are built and maintained by us so that we may do Christ’s work to build His kingdom here on Earth. If we are to do so, we must tell those who act to inhibit our mission and good works in our communities to stop taking what does not belong to them. We know that there are those who believe that what is donated to the Church can be used at the discretion of Church leadership. But how can the larger Church community of faithful people everywhere build up the mission of the Church in their communities when parishioners’ talents, generosity, and labor are taken for granted, used for purposes in which they have no say; and squandered on financial endeavors that have nothing to do with Christ’s mission for the world community?

Not only must we act, but we must act quickly when we have the opportunity to do so. St. James has this opportunity, but it will not last long.

We are NOW holding a drive to raise $50,000 in 10 days. Should this goal be met, this fight WILL continue. If you are ready to take this opportunity with us, please go to http://www.stjameskansas.org/ and fill out the form on the home page to make a pledge. All pledges will be dedicated to the effort to assert that St. James church porperty is owned by its parishioners, which can help establish by proxy and precedent that all parishioners own their parish property. Any amount in excess of the costs to continue this fight will be dedicated to assisting other ‘parishes in peril’ who wish to take up the cause for parish ownership.

St. James is a member of a coalition of Ohio parishes called United Prishes. United Parieshes motto is “Together We Can.” It is the laity that makes up an absolutely overhelming majority of the Catholic population. If ever there were a place and a time to say “Together We Can,” it is right here, right now. Let us pledge not just to unite, but to ACT!.