I don’t know about you but I am feeling a little restless. It’s not that I am unhappy. I enjoy what I am doing and in general life is going well for me. Some of it is probably the weather. Yet there is something deeper.

There is an inner thirst for more – for being more, for doing more. From time to time, I am in touch with the less in my life. It is not so much about things as about being less. I am not always all that I would like to be. I am less loving than I should be. Less caring. Less giving of myself.

At times I find myself too involved in self and my wants. I find myself too absorbed in self. Too lazy. Too comfortable with the way things are.

As pastor of this parish, I am aware that I am not all that I can be for the people of this parish. I don’t always reach out. At times when I do, it is not as fully as it should be. I don’t always do things in as timely a manner as I should .

I’m not discouraged or weighed down by the above. However, I do feel a call to do and be more.

I want to be all that I can for the people of this parish.

I know part of it is to pray more and better so that I allow the Lord to work in and through me. Part of it is discovering effective way to reach out to people and to get others to reach out to people.

When I think of the parish, I want to find better ways of taking care of the faithful, those that come regularly. I think of the many who rarely or never participate in the life of this parish and what I can do to encourage their participation. I think of what I can do for youth, young adults, married couples and families. I think of the elderly – their needs and their untapped gifts and wisdom. I also think of the homebound, the sick and grieving.

Why am I sharing this with you? Because I would like to invite you to reflect on your life, to reflect on your relationship with God and your participation in the life of this parish…HOW ARE THINGS GOING?

©2014 Eugene S. Ostrowski