The Extra Mile

Dear Parishioners,

I’m not sure where you are today or what the past week, month, or year has done to all your cherished dreams. I do know this… the One who died and rose again walked the first mile to Pilate’s court and the second mile to Calvary to show us the way of love is the way of life. I do know this… first and second mile Christians have gone through the furnace of difficulty, being forced to face all kinds of spiritual, physical, and relational challenges.

What if today you believed you could turn the other cheek, give generously, and go the extra mile? What if today you challenged yourself to follow Jesus, and in so doing, discover the way of love is the way of life? What if today you did just that?

- Deacon Robert

“Society as a whole must defend the conceived child’s
right to life and the true good of the woman who can
never, in any circumstances, find fulfillment in the
decision to abort.”
~ Pope Benedict XVI, address to the Pontifical
Academy for Life, February 26, 2011

True Lasting Happiness and Joy

Dear Parishioners,

In today’s world, we value intelligence, initiative, hard work, talent, appearance, popularity, power, and money. Now these are not bad things as long as we use them for good. However, more important than all these things is wisdom. The Book of Sirach says, “Immense is the wisdom of the Lord.” (Sirach 15:15-20; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10; Matthew 5:17-37)  St. Paul tells us that “God has revealed this wisdom to us through the Spirit.” The wise man or woman knows “what God has prepared for those who love him” even if “eye has not seen, ear has not heard.” Knowing the infinite love, power, and mercy, the wise person realizes that true lasting happiness and joy can be found only in God. Jesus and Sirach both say the key to wisdom is found in God’s commandments. However, Jesus goes further and reminds us that commandments without the spirit behind them is not enough. The Pharisees kept the commandments, but didn’t have the right attitude. That attitude is the attitude of love of neighbor as well as love of God. That will bring us the holiness we need to enter the kingdom of God.

- Fr. Carl

“The future of humanity passes by way of the family.”
~Pope John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, 86

You Are The Light Of The World

Dear Parishioners,

Last Sunday, 40 days after Christmas, we celebrated the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. Simeon there referred to Jesus as “a revealing light to the Gentiles…” The feast also used to be known as Candlemas Day as the candles to be used during the year were blessed on that day. So light, as embodied by Jesus, was the prevailing theme of the day.

This week’s gospel (Matthew 5:13-16) continues the theme of light as Jesus tells his disciples, “You are the light of the world.” Jesus is telling his disciples and us that we should reflect him to the surrounding culture. If we are faithful to Jesus, people should see that we are different from others—that Jesus has made a difference in our lives. The first reading from Isaiah (Isaiah 58:7-10) gives some suggestions as to how we can do that. Feed the hungry; shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked. In short, we are to do what we can for those who are in need. Then we can bring some light and joy into a world that badly needs it.

- Fr. Carl

“Give us the grace - When the sacredness of life
before birth is attacked, to stand up and proclaim that
no one ever has the authority to destroy unborn life.”
~ Pope John Paul II, Homily, October 7, 1979

The Presentation Of The Lord

Dear Parishioners,

Today we celebrate a joyous moment in the early days of our Lord’s earthly life (Malachi 3:1-4; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40). There is the holy couple, Mary and Joseph, Simeon the sage, and Anna the prophetess of God, all brought together by the presence of the infant Christ. He is in their midst, and because he is touch-ably, beautifully among them, their lives overflow in worship and joy.

That is why we are here today. We gather in this place where the scriptures are read, the word proclaimed, and the sacraments given, to say with one voice that God is among us. In Christ, God is beneath us and over us, behind us and before us, with us and within us. Live in His presence always, and we all will find new joy in living.

- Deacon Robert

“Human life must always be defended from its
beginning in the womb and must be recognized
as a gift of God that guarantees the future of humanity.”
~ Pope Francis

The Sense of a Beginning

Dear Parishioners,

This sense of a beginning in our Lord’s public ministry felt here in Matthew’s gospel (Isaiah 8:23, 9:3; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17; Matthew 4:12-23) transitions into a movement that gathers followers in places like Bethsaida and Sidon, Gadara and a grassy hillside. The movement makes its way to Jerusalem as one by one, the crowds peel away and disciples scatter until only Jesus is left before a sneering mob and a splintered cross.

And so what is this sense of a beginning for you? How might you make this moment a beginning moment in your life? What if you acknowledged your apprehension with one breath and then took in deeply the oxygen of resolve saying with your lips and lives, “I will follow, too!”

And who knows where this beginning might lead: a changed heart, a more open acceptance of others in their need and longings, and even a new awareness that God’s Spirit in Christ is the very atmosphere in which we live and move and have our being.

- Deacon Robert

“Help one another: This is what Jesus teaches
us, and this is what I am doing—and doing with all
my heart—because it is my duty. As a priest and a
bishop, I must be at your service. But it is a duty that
comes from my heart. I love it.”
~ Pope Francis

Here Am I Lord

Dear Parishioners,

Now that the Advent and Christmas seasons are over, we are back in what is called “Ordinary Time.” However, time is never plain and ordinary. It is a gift from God. Furthermore, ordinary is given the name from the ordinal numbers (1, 2, 3, 4…) as opposed to the special liturgical seasons (Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter). In any event, the color of the vestments is green—the color of life and hope. During this time, we hope that God’s grace will grow in our hearts that we may have life to the fullest.

In the first reading (Isaiah 49:3, 5-6; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3; John 1:29-34), Isaiah is told that Israel is to be God’s servant. The responsorial psalm tells us the motto of a good servant, “Here am I Lord; I come to do your will!” Of course, not everyone wants to serve; many want to be served, instead, forgetting the words of Jesus who came not to be served but to serve. Our Lord taught us many lessons in life but none more important than the greatness of serving God and our neighbor. That’s what the psalmist means when he says, “Here am I Lord, I come to do your will.”

- Fr. Carl

“God thinks like the Samaritan who did not
pass by the unfortunate man, pitying him or looking at
him from the other side of the road, but helped him
without asking for anything in return; without asking
whether he was a Jew, a pagan or a Samaritan,
whether he was rich or poor. He asked for nothing.
He went to help him. God is like this..”
~ Pope Francis

Baptism Of The Lord

Dear Parishioners,

Jesus came from Galilee and submitted to John’s baptism in the Jordan (Matthew 3:13-17). Jesus trusted his whole life to God, his Father. At our Baptism, we became more intimately united with Jesus and God, our Father in heaven. We who hear the story of our Lord’s death and resurrection, entrust our lives to the One who died and rose again. To be a Christian, to take into your life the Christian story, to believe God’s Spirit can work through you is to entrust your life—past, present and future—to Jesus Christ.

- Deacon Robert

“May you also be true evangelizers! May your
initiatives be ‘bridges,’ means of bringing others to Christ,
so as to journey together with him. And in this spirit may
you always be attentive to charity. Each individual
Christian and every community is missionary to the extent
that they bring to others and live the Gospel, and testify to
God’s love for all, especially those experiencing difficulties.”
~ Pope Francis