by Very Rev. Edward Correia

Our lives are so busy. We seldom pause for a long time.

You know what that does? It makes the soil of our soul very hard.

The prophet Isaiah tells us in the first reading that as the rain pours down upon the earth and the earth produces great fruit, so too the Word of God pours down upon us until it takes root in us and produces good fruit.

Our challenge is to produce good soil so that the seed of the Word of God can be planted in us.

We can help the soil of our souls to become more fertile by sharing our faith with one another.

Do we come to Mass to be alone or do we want to join the others here? The sign of peace means that we are sharing our faith with those who are here.

Do people who live in the same house share their faith with one another? Families are very busy. Would it be possible once a week to sit down for a meal and just share what has gone on in the lives of everyone that week? God is involved in all that we do. We would be sharing our faith in a special way.

There are so many people who are sick, lonely, worried, or just burdened by life. If we were to share with them how we get through these difficult times ourselves we would be sharing our faith because God is part of how we respond to these life experiences.

The parishes of our Diocese are preparing to start a process called "Renew". It is hoped that our faith will come alive in our parishes and in our Diocese.

A very important part of this "Renew" is faith - sharing groups that will meet once a week for six weeks in October and in Lent. A book is given to help in the discussions. These are not self -help groups. They are opportunities to just talk about what the faith means to us. We can learn so much from one another. We can see God working in unique and special ways in the lives of one another. We will see God working in ours.

Catholics sometimes can be very private about their faith. We are not private people. We are a community people.