Dear Parishioners,
So the new year has begun, the presents have been opened, the eggnog drunk, the fruit cake consumed, the champagne even is done. It’s 2020, and we are again given the task of taxes, work, traffic, homework, and dinner dishes. Sorry! But let us remember what we have been through. Christ has been born to Mary. Mary and Joseph have protected him, nurtured him, educated him, sustained him so that he may be ready to do his Father’s will. He will spend time in the desert, be tempted, be baptized, find followers, cast out demons and bring people back to life. He will share his divine wisdom, teach and exhort, show us the way, and touch the hearts of many. During a brief public ministry, he will give us a new way to live, challenging us to be generous, to turn the other cheek, to love others, and to pray, to pray always. He will show us the love for the Father leaving us the bread and wine turned into his Body and Blood. He will show us the difficult road of discipleship. He will arouse the anger of the religious authorities and be tried and condemned. They will crucify him on a tree, but he will rise and return to his disciples, giving them the lesson of eternal life. And he will start a Church which shall come through the ages and be a place for us of truth, of peace, of communion. His Body and Blood will remain a constant over the centuries, and all people shall be called to abide by his teachings and follow his Way. There will be a time in January 2020 when his people will look around their lives and ask where they are going and how they should live. Christ will answer as always: love God with your whole heart, mind and strength and love each other as I have loved you. And so this is the reality we are called to, a most beautiful reality!
Happy New Year!
Deacon Steve
Rev. Stephen Hook is Pastor of the Pastorate of the Visitation which includes the Catholic Churches of Pasadena, Maryland: St. Jane Frances de Chantal (Riviera Beach) and Our Lady of the Chesapeake (Lakeshore). He is assisted by Associate Pastor Rev. John Belinki, Deacon Howard Klohr, and Deacon Rick Clemens. To learn more about our pastorate, please visit www.catholicpasadena.org.
