Pet Blessing - Saint Fabian Catholic Church

PAGE 2 TWENTY FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME SEPTEMBER 16, 2012
Happy 87 th Birthday – today, September 16 th – to Father Bob Kash!
Sto lat! Ad multos annos!
**********
This is Seminary Appeal Sunday. We welcome Pawel Adamus from the major seminary in Mundelein. He will
speak to us at all the Masses this weekend.
**********
The rectory doorbell rang and Gert, the parish secretary answered. “There is a man here who would like
to speak with a priest,” she said, “and you’re the only one here right now.” We went into the office and he began
his story, the details of which I cannot remember. What it boiled down to was this: he needed twenty dollars.
I asked where he was from – he was not a parishioner – and how he found the parish, since it was not on
a main street. He said that he had heard that the priests at St. Genevieve were very nice and would help people in
need. “How did you get here?” I asked, and he said that he took the bus since there was no way that he could afford
a car.
To make a long story a bit shorter, I ended up giving him $10. Our salary at the time was about $300 a
month, so that amounted to a day’s pay, a lot of money for a young priest who was also trying to help his parents
and six little brothers and sisters at home. He thanked me and went on his way, heading east toward Cicero Avenue.
After waiting a few moments, I walked out the front door to see where he would go. As he got closer to
Cicero, he stopped and got into a car. A woman was in the driver’s seat. He handed her the money and gave her a
high-five. Then they drove off.
About two weeks later, he was back. This time he needed $300 for his rent. I excused myself for a moment,
went outside and saw the same car and the same woman down the block. I went back inside the rectory
office and asked how he got to the parish. He said – again – that he took the bus, that he could not afford a car.
I told him that he was lying and that he would get absolutely nothing. Then, he asked for $150 dollars
and got the same response. Then he asked for $50, for $25, for $10. Finally, in absolute desperation, he said,
“Will you at least give me a quarter? I can’t go back to that car empty-handed.” He did go back, empty-handed
and never came again.
From time to time, we have people in the parking lot asking for money. PLEASE don’t give them anything.
The odds are that they are “con” men and ‘con” women and ‘con” families. If you really want to help people,
please donate to the St. Vincent de Paul Society. There is an envelope in your packet. The men and women
of this group are trained to help people in need and they are very generous in helping those truly in need.
When you open your wallet to these strangers, you don’t know where your money is going. When you
give to our St. Vincent de Paul Society, you know that your money will be spent wisely and well.
**********
I’m running out of space, so I will ask a question that has been bugging me for a long time. When restaurants fill
the pepper shakers at the end of the day, the pepper on the bottom of the shaker stays there. How long has it been
there and is it safe to use?