“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” (Col. 3:16 ) The Feast of the Holy Family falls on this Sunday, and I think that this season is a good time to reflect upon our family lives, and to examine whether we’re being good family members. When we contemplate the Holy Family, we note the fact that when Jesus became man – when the Word became flesh – He became flesh as a little child within a family. That was a divine choice; because Jesus could have chosen any way he wanted to manifest Himself. He could have arrived on earth as a 33 year old adult or an 80 year old man. But Jesus was conceived and began his existence in Mary’s womb, and was born … [Read more...]
Archives for December 2021
From the Pastor – December 19, 2021
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel. (Is. 7:14) Behold [Mary], you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.” (Luke 1:31-32a) In William Shakespeare’s play, “Romeo and Juliet,” the two lovers have a dialogue about their own names. It begins with Romeo hearing Juliet call his name: “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?” Later in the dialogue, Romeo responds: “It is my soul that calls upon my name: How silver-sweet sound lovers’ tongues by night, Like softest music to attending ears!” This quote has been paraphrased to something like: “there’s nothing so sweet as the sound of one’s own name.” And … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – December 12, 2021
“Brothers and sisters: Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.” (Phil. 4:4-5 ) This third Sunday of Advent is called “Gaudete Sunday” from the Latin St. Paul uses when he tells us to “rejoice in the Lord always”: gaudete in Domino semper! The spirit of the Liturgy in Advent is one of expectation and preparation for Christmas and the Second Coming of Christ, but our penitential attitude is suspended on Gaudete Sunday so that we might focus on the joy of our Redemption, which should never be far from our hearts. To highlight the importance of Gaudete Sunday, the priest wears rose vestments and lights a rose candle on the Advent wreath. Why do we mark this day by focusing particularly on joy? It’s because the … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – December 5, 2021
John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, a voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” (Luke 3:3-4) In the ancient world, there were no interstates. Roads were little more than worn down paths that were constantly being affected by traffic or weather. One of the hallmarks of the Roman army is that they built roads wherever they went. But when there was a battle, roads and bridges would be destroyed in order to stop the advance of the enemy. But one thing was certain: when word came that someone important was coming, the people would do their best to fix the roads or build new ones so that the … [Read more...]
