Offertory Report

Sunday Collection

.......... $ 3,988

Amount Budgeted

.......... $ 3,060.00

Budget to date ($3060/week x 24 weeks) $ 85,680

Collections to date

.......... $ 87,765

Collection surplus/(deficit) to date

.......... $ (2,085)

Second Collection

.......... $  742

 Do We Think That We Change God's Mind?

What do we think we're doing when a we kneel down at the child's bedside and say together, “God bless grandma and grandpa” and “God help Uncle Harry find a job”? Or what is the point of our reader or singer coming forward each Sunday and asking the assembly to pray for this, that and the other thing? There are lots of valid ways to think about praying for someone or something. One beginning point is the psalms. What strikes me if I recite these ancient Jewish prayers that became the core of the Christian prayer book is this: The person who wrote these prayers was never hesitant to point out to God the urgent concerns of the day. Never. The psalms are full of: Please do this. Do that! Do it now! And for centuries the churches hardly ever gathered without a time for naming the needs of that day. Mornings, evenings, Sundays. Always the Christians rolled out their list of urgent concerns: peace, health, good weather, strength in the face of hardship, the poor. This kind of praying was thought of as something a baptized person had to do. It was, in fact, something the unbaptized catechumens were not allowed to do. They couldn't do Eucharist, they couldn't give the peace greeting, and they had to be sent out before the baptized people did those intercession prayers. It was that important. But what did they think they were doing? Probably one thing was this: They thought that the church, the body of Christ, was here to shout in God's ear on behalf of all the helpless people, on behalf of the earth itself, on behalf of the living and the dead. Jesus had prayed and now the body of Christ would pray. I don't think ordinary Christians got too wrapped up in questions of what it meant. They just did it. Somebody had to keep reminding God (that's not such a strange way to think: just check out the psalms) that all was not well. Remember us, remember the poor, remember the prisoners. No one ever said: It isn't working, folks, let's quit. We pray and pray and there are still poor people, still sick people, still all kinds of evil. But interceding was what Christians did-like living thankfully, like sharing with those in need. The baptized were trained in this kind of praying. So are we. In our parish book of prayer, in our book of the names of the dead, with our children at bedside each night, with the sick when we visit them, by ourselves-and here in our liturgy every Sunday week after week. Year after year, can we get louder? Put more of our heart and soul in these prayers?
Copyright © 2001 Archdiocese of Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 1800 North Hermitage Avenue, Chicago IL 60622-1101; 1-800-933-1800; www.ltp.org. Text by Gabe Huck. Art by Luba Lukova. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

JOINT LITURGY
Tuesday, January 24th at 7 PM. Advent/Christmas wrap up. Lent/Easter Preparation.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES -ST. MALACHI CENTER
St. Malachi Center is seeking volunteers for office work including answering phones, helping with mailings, filing, and reports. The Center is open from 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday. If you are interested, please call the Center at 216-771-3036 and ask for Jackie. 

BACKDOOR MINISTRY NEEDS
Our Backdoor Ministry desperately needs men's white tube socks and L & XL. T-shirts. If you can help with this, please drop them off at the rectory. Thank you!

BACK DOOR MINISTRY BRUNCH
8:30 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 29 (and the last Sunday of every month) in the hall. Info: Phil Daly, 216-631-4056.

GOSPEL REFLECTION: JOIN THE CONVERSATION
The St. Malachi Vine and Branches Gospel Discussion Forum allows parishioners and Community members to link to the readings for the upcoming Sunday and, if so moved, post a reflection. In addition to spiritual preparation for Sunday's Liturgy, the forum provides a format for deepening our understanding of God's word and its impact in our lives through shared reflection. Visit the forum at www.stmalachi.org/parish/forum. 

HELP NEEDED
A meal without cost is served at 6:00 p.m. Mondays to the needy in the parish hall. Sandwiches, doughnuts, & coffee are served daily at the rectory. Volunteers are needed, especially weekdays. Call Sr. Francis at 216-861-5343.
 

ST. COLMAN CREDIT UNION
All members of St. Malachi are eligible to join St. Colman Federal Credit Union, which offers checking/savings accounts, home equity, credit card loans, personal loans and many other services. For information, call 216-281-4570.

SEEDS OF LITERACY
Seeds of Literacy, a non-profit adult literacy organization, is in need of volunteer tutors. Seeds of Literacy provides adults in Cuyahoga County with basic education and G.E.D. preparation free of charge. Become a tutor and help someone down the path to success! Call 216-651-4302 for more information.

THEOLOGY ON TAP
Jim Schlect will present “Witnessing God at Work” - West Side Catholic Center, Thursday, January 26th. For more info: 216-631-4741.

ADULT AND HOMEBOUND VOLUNTEER VISITOR TRAINING. VOLUNTEERS WELCOME
An eight hour training is being offered on the following two Saturdays, February 25th and March 4th (with Saturday, March 11th as a snow date if needed) at St Albert the Great in North Royalton from 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. This training is specifically designed for outreach to the older adult and homebound of the parish. Space is limited. Please contact Terese Hardman at 216-334-2978 for registration information or a Brochure.