Gifts abound

Sunday was the anniversary of the deaths of two great men. One, you probably know, is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He began playing piano at the age of three and composing music at the age of five. His talent will be remembered for a long long time, and his melodies, though sometimes defiled by remakes, are timeless and speak to our souls.

The second person is someone you probably dont know, St. John Chrysostom. He was the bishop of Constantinople in the 300's. He was known for his pointed and powerful preaching (Chrysostom translates as golden mouth). One of his famous quotes is "Feeding the hungry is a greater work than raising the dead."

Sometimes, in the shadows of greatness, it's hard to see our own gifts and talents in the proper light. This weekend, our youth group went down to the homeless shelter downtown and had a great time. Two weeks ago, they also put on a very nice musical written by two of our high school students, in our cafeteria. Last weekend, a small band of musicians and singers gathered to make some very impressive music for our Saturday mass. Beginning this month, I am helping to start a dinner club comprised of some friends of mine in the parish.

This parish has so many gifted people. I guess I'm writing this to thank everyone for all their work and effort in making Good Shepherd Parish a great place to be and worship each and every week.

Talents are so often overlooked, or squelched early on. I cringe everytime I hear a mother or father tell their child that they cant sing or they dont have rhythm. If you are in the Simon Cowell school of parenting as a talent show, maybe, but why not let them try. I know I would have never discovered my voice or musical talent (or any other for that matter) if I hadn't been encouraged and given the chance to fail or succeed. Where would the world be without the 3 year old Mozart being given the chance to sit at a piano when the rest of his class was out playing somewhere?