Pastor’s Post (Page 14)

It’s been an unusual Christmas this past year. Covid and its variants, disrupted our routines, masking and other things have put a scare into our celebrations and lives. Despite all this, our Christmas collection amounted to $16,827.00. Thank You for your generous support and all you give and do for your parish. God Bless You!

With Jesus’ Baptism, we hear God speak this is my beloved, listen to him. It began the public ministry of Jesus, his teachings, miracles, parables and all that he was about. Our baptism is more than a ritual or a time for a party or family gathering. It is our being called to be a disciple of Jesus. Maybe only a baby, but the seed of faith is planted. Then it is up to the parents and godparents, working together…

A New Year has begun: 2022. Here’s where we look back at the old year and make resolutions for the new. But what do we see when we review last year? Usually we see the difficult times, the hurtful experiences and the bad situations. Then we try to fix them or change them or avoid them. Most often to no avail and our resolutions fail. This year look back and see the good things that have happened in your life,…

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! This is the greeting I share with anyone I meet at this time of year. It’s not meant to be an affront to anyone else’s beliefs. But it is my way of sharing with someone that special gift, feeling, and enjoyable presence of Jesus in my life. Sharing happy holidays is a secular term expressing something different. Not the birth of Jesus, but a day closing work and schools and some stores. But for me, Merry…

It’s the Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas is at the end of the week. What do we celebrate? Do we forget these last few days of Advent and celebrate Christmas? Maybe we celebrate both: Advent and Christmas! Sometimes the preparations we put into our activities is more of a celebration than the actual event. All during Advent, we say Wait! Prepare! Anticipate! When we do this, we are reflecting on the birth of Jesus. How will we make Christ’s…

Advent is a time of waiting, anticipation and preparing for the Birth of Christ. In the midst of this season, we all lead different lives that take us in all directions. Some of these are family oriented activities; some are individual aspirations; and some may be sickness or unusual or unexpected problems. But we continue to prepare because the Birth of Christ is the peace that we seek that gets us through the most difficult times in our lives. We…

Scripture is filled with anxious moments when doubt, uncertainty, and fear preceded great events. The prophets Moses, Abraham, Mary, and the Apostles – all felt a little uncertain as they waited and prepared for God’s Plan to come to fruition. As one scholar observed, every time you hear “Do not fear” in Scripture, there’s something to worry about and work to be done! St. Paul’s words become all the more comforting: the one who has begun the good work in…

Be vigilant at all times. Today’s Gospel reading from the Gospel of Luke foretells the days when humankind will be witness to many inexplicable signs, both from the sky and here on earth. But even though the events of these days will be unlike any we have ever witnessed, we are to stand tall, ever prayerful, ever vigilant, in anticipation of the coming of the Son of Man. We know that prayer is both a gift of grace and a…

Our Liturgical Year began on the 1st Sunday in Advent and concludes today with the Feast of Christ the King. During this year have we re-lived the life of Christ and tried to immerse ourselves in His kingdom? So we can ask: “Is Christ more king of my life now than a year ago?” The influence of a leader is most prevalent. Teachers and students will follow their principal. Employees will emulate their managers. If government leaders have integrity, it…

So many of us like to plan our future, whether that be next week or a year from now. We like to know what is going to happen. Listening to the Gospel today, we see we cannot plan our eternal future. That time and moment is reserved to God alone. So maybe we can live our lives already preparing and being prepared for that eternal moment. We cannot buy our way into heaven by doing good deeds. But doing good…

As I read the Gospel this weekend about the poor widow who put into the collection simply two coins. These coins were nearly all she had to live on. She truly sacrificed. Today we pray for vocations, specifically, vocations to priesthood and religious life. What is a vocation to priesthood? To me, it’s giving your whole life over to Christ. It’s sacrificing personal wants and desires for the sake of bringing Christ to others. It means administering the sacraments; bringing…

The scribe in today’s Gospel asked Jesus what is the greatest commandment. Why did he ask this? Was is for knowledge or justification in his life? If you were with Jesus, what would you ask for? Would you ask for something for yourself? Or like Solomon asked for wisdom to lead God’s people. Would you ask for the pain to be taken away? Or would you hear Jesus say help me to carry the cross of your sinfulness? Would you…