With Thanksgiving, Make Your Requests Known to God

27th Sunday of Ordinary Time

With Thanksgiving, Make Your Requests Known to God

“Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God” (Philippians 4:6).

Paul writes his letter to the people of Philippi (modern day Greece) while in prison. At this point, around 62 AD, Paul had completed his three missionary journeys; he had been arrested in Jerusalem and sent to Rome for imprisonment (cf., Acts 28:16; 30). While living under arrest, Paul continues to make the kerygmatic proclamation. He speaks to the Philippians passionately about having humility and a spirit of thanksgiving; he also spends a great deal of time talking about joy. (Paul mentions “joy” about 16 times in the four short chapters that comprise the Letter to the Philippians.) And while in prison! You may think one would be downtrodden and discouraged, sad and sulky. Not Paul: why? Paul has surrendered himself to the Lordship of Christ. Paul understands that true joy comes from justification in Christ. To be justified in Christ means to not just be forgiven of all our sins, but rather it means to claim the title of adoption, to become an adopted child of God whereby his Divine Life is infused within us. To have everlasting friendship with God, and to know that I am a result of God’s friendship, as Paul did, is to experience spiritual joy. It is within this framework that we pray, calling God “Abba”. I’m always fascinated with Philippians 4:6, because this particular verse is bold and exudes a calm, collected confidence. Have no anxiety – even when you’ve hit rock bottom (like Paul) – but rather pray, turn to prayer – make your petitions known to God, already with thanksgiving. But why with thanksgiving? Paul is taking a proactive stance. Even before knowing what will happen in the future or how God will answer prayer, you can count on God, you can trust that He will make a way, and you can be assured that the way God will answer prayer is truly the way we need it answered. Therefore, even before the final result is in, as we make our prayer requests known to God, be thankful, be grateful. God will provide!

Speaking of trusting in God’s provision as beloved children of God, I have been in contact with Pastor Dave Mudd of The Hope Collective Church in Lake Zurich. As you may know, they recently sustained a fire in their lobby that caused a great amount of damage, including destroying most of their food pantry. Sincerely yours in Christ, hile renovation and repairs continue to be underway, the congregation has been able to return to in-person worship in their gymnasium. Hopefully, thanks to the support and aid of many, Hope Collective will be able to return to normal operations in just a few weeks. I have assured Pastor Mudd, on behalf of St. Francis de Sales, of our prayers and support. Please continue to keep them in your prayers; they are a community steadfast in their faith! In a recent sermon preached by Pastor Mudd on “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3a), he emphasized the importance of radical trust in God. When you are feeling poor, let your requests be known to God, with thanksgiving, for the Lord will make a way out of no way. In other words, thank God now for what He will do! To that extent, Pastor Mudd highlighted the spiritual principle that when you are poor in spirit, in fact, try to give more of yourself in service to another, and you will not be disappointed.

Make your requests known: The Jubilee Garden! As you know, our wonderful Jubilee Garden ministry, led by Sharon Fredrickson, is currently located in the area of Route 22 and Quentin Road. We have been blessed to be able to use that land to house this parish ministry over the years. However, the landowners will be selling that property. Therefore, a request was made to relocate the Jubilee Garden to our very own backyard, here at St. Francis de Sales! In consultation with others, I have accepted that proposal and I am pleased to announce that the Jubilee Garden will be established adjacent to (north of) the school playground. Currently, we are in the process of moving equipment to the parish grounds. More details will be provided in the future. This is an exciting moment for us to have this garden ministry on-site, which will provide for formative educational experiences for our school and religious education children as well as Christian service opportunities.

With thanksgiving, I remain –
Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Christian Shiu
Administrator

2026 Season Jubilee Garden Team