At the time when Jesus walked the earth, tax collectors were not the most loved people in Israel. They were considered social oppressors, collaborators with the oppressive and dictatorial foreign Roman Government and so they were despised by the rest of the chosen people because they perfectly fit into the group categorized as “public Sinners.”’

The masons continue moving forward on the bell tower, the elevator, north restroom areas and the east arches.

The concrete sub was scheduled to do a major pour on Wednesday, October 26, but has rescheduled us to November 4. This delay is due to a surge of concrete demand from the Intel and the Taiwan semiconductor facility construction projects. The General Contractor is analyzing the schedule to see how we can make up for the lost time.

There are many who believe that other than Christ, St. Paul had the most significant influence on the Theology, Liturgy and life of the early Church. His description of his personal encounter with faith in Christ and his reaction to that encounter amidst great persecution and hardship shows why many believers hold him in such high regard.

The masons continue with their great progress. The northside elevator shaft and the restroom area should be completed mid next week. The bell tower should be completed by the end of the following week. The tower block work will top out at 72 feet. The arches on the eastside of the building are being completed.

The choir loft iron work is complete with the metal decking completed by mid next week. At the end of next week we anticipate a concrete pour for the completion of the flooring of the choir loft. After the choir loft pour, the first concrete pour of the Sanctuary and the Sacristy should begin.

Ora et Labora, pray and work; this is the famous motto of St. Benedict, Patron Saint of our parish. This motto is providentially the theme of the Readings at the liturgy this weekend.

The masons continue the work on the elevator area, the arches and the bell tower. Every four (4) feet up on the elevator shaft and the bell tower requires a City inspection. This causes the team to rotate between the 2 areas to keep the areas moving.

The choir loft steelwork should be completed by early next week, then the area will be decked and the rebar will be installed for the concrete to be poured. Once the steel work is completed and the large equipment is removed from inside the building, the work on pouring the slab for the west end of the building will begin. This will require multiple pours as we create the height required for the Sanctuary.

The First Reading and the Gospel passage this weekend can be placed side by side for our reflection, not only because both tell the story of the healing of lepers, but also because both focus on gratitude for God’s salvation and how it should be expressed.

The masons are on their third lift for the tower and elevator construction. The north arch entry is in the process of being completed.

The south side sewer is in. The north side sewer is ready for inspection. The plumber will start on installing the new major fire line feeder pipe next week.

At 6:00am on Monday the final steel for the mezzanine will be delivered. By the end of next week we should have a mezzanine steel structure.

This weekend, the Readings from Holy Scripture invite us to reflect upon the theme of faith. We are presented with Israel’s faith experience at the time of the Prophet Habakkuk in the old covenant, and the faith to which we are called in the new dispensation.

We will end the month of September with great activity at the construction site. With the leadership of our General Contractor, Double AA, we end the month on schedule. Currently, our target completion is September 2023. As we get closer we will refine this date.

Imagine celebrating our future Masses in this building. The pictures you can take of your family’s celebration of Baptism, Confirmation and Marriage. The children of St. John Bosco will attend Mass and receive their Sacraments in this beautiful building. It is becoming a reality for us!

We often think of sin as the evil that we do, the uncharitable words that we say and the evil thoughts that we cultivate in our hearts. What we leave out most times is the good that is within our competence, which we know, yet fail to do. When we attempt an examination of conscience, the failings that readily come to mind are the things we did which our good conscience rightly judges as inconsistent with Divine precepts and so, offensive to His Holy will and to our neighbor.

The mason has installed the lip on the northside expansion. The construction crew will address the southside lip on Friday. Inspection is scheduled for Monday.

Work continues on closing the existing door and window openings that are no longer required. The saw-cutting for the new door and window openings should be completed by Monday. The underground duct work for the A/C to the Sanctuary has been installed. The ceilings in Father James' office and the break room have been removed to redirect the roof drainage system. A temporary wall has been installed in the existing doorway leading to the old restrooms. This wall is in preparation of the red wall and the double doors to be removed. Coming up, the plumber will begin digging the trench to reconnect the existing plumbing.

The Readings this weekend prescribe for us the right attitude a Christian should have towards the acquisition of, and the disbursement of, wealth. The Prophet Amos, one of the champions of social justice in the Old Testament, offers a descriptive rendition of prevailing dishonest, arrogant and oppressive attitudes of the wealthy towards the needy.

The construction team has worked hard to get us back on schedule after the rain and cleanup delays. The work for the week progressed well.

Concrete was poured on the north and south side areas. They saw cut a new door on the south side of the building, the second confessional, north windows, new entry to the electrical room and cleaned up a number of old openings. Old gas meter and main gas line (an 8 foot assembly) has been removed allowing for construction work to continue on the south side.

The world and time we live in makes a sincere practice of our Christian faith very difficult. We are surrounded by standards and ideas that facilitate easy fall into idolatry. The idols of our time include (but are not limited to) money, intellect, power, connections, family, the state, false religion, and even self. Whatever we are quick to ascribe our successes and accomplishments to, whatever we cannot do without, whatever we prioritize above everything else, is a candidate for the replacement of God in our lives.

The ABC stone will be spread next week in preparation for pouring of the slabs. Concrete has been ordered for next Wednesday for pouring the slabs. Workers will be saw-cutting the east and west walls for the i-beams that will support the loft. The choir loft decking is 4 to 6 weeks out which may impact the pouring of the west slab. We need to allow the heavy equipment access to construct the loft infrastructure. The masonry on the north and south side of the buildings will commence after the slabs are poured. We will see the walls starting to go up.

Two Sundays ago, we heard Jesus admonishing His followers to enter the Kingdom of God through the narrow gate. By this, Jesus revealed that only the difficult and costly way of discipline can lead to eternal bliss. In the Gospel passage this weekend, Jesus teaches on the cost of discipleship, that is, what one would necessarily need to forego in order to successfully navigate life under the banner and standard of Jesus.

The underground plumbing has been completed on the north side of the building. The City inspected the work and passed it. The remaining underground plumbing and electrical work continues.

By the end of next week the slabs should begin getting poured. The north and south areas will be first. The west side will be completed after the steel for the choir loft arrives and is installed. It will take an 8,000 pound forklift to lift the 4,000 pound beam.

There are no pictures this week as the visible work did not change.