The Rev. Shane Stoppel-Wasinger, pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Rush City, shared a reflection in the church's Aug. 16. bulletin, reminding parishioners of the importance of counting their blessings.

The pastor noted that it is common to be inundated by discontentment in the western world, from where we live to what our homes lack in terms of amenities.

“When a friend was visiting me at the Saint Gregory the Great rectory, he asked me how could I tolerate living here,” Stoppel-Wasinger said. The man named a number of the facility's deficiencies. 

“These are real facts about the rectory; I have accepted and learned to live with them,” Stoppel-Wasinger said. While it may be tempting to pick apart what our lives are missing, we must remember that the source of all that we have is God himself.

Many of us possess health, a roof over our heads and more food than we need, but we still find ourselves ungrateful and wanting more. All of this ungratefulness is shameful as followers of Christ, but even more so when we notice the pain and suffering of individuals abroad, such as those impacted by the devastation in countries like Lebanon.

“Even though I have never physically been to Lebanon, I feel like I have," the pastor said. "For this reason, it saddens me that the people of Lebanon are suffering immensely, even before the Beirut explosion several days ago which killed over a hundred and injured thousands.”

With over 25% of Lebanese citizens being Catholic, we should feel called to help those who have been harmed by the explosions, as well as thankful that we are in a position to help.

Caritas Lebanon USA, a Catholic relief organization working with victims of the explosion, is in need of donations, and Stoppel-Wasinger urged parishioners to help.

“Please be generous," Fr. Stoppel-Wasinger said. "The need has never been greater in Lebanon."