Dear Parishioners:
I want to remind all that we are continuing our “Year of Prayer” in St. Timothy Church (in preparation for our Jubilee) until the Feast of Divine Mercy, which falls on May 1 this year. Every member of the parish and every family is encouraged to pray for our Parish and to grow in the life of prayer in these days.
Do you have a favorite prayer you would like others to share? As you have noticed, our parish bulletin has often included prayers for you to use, especially since we have been observing this Year of Prayer. The Church has particular prayers that it encourages all members to learn. The Saints have prayers that become part of the “treasury of gifts” given to those who seek to imitate them. Each of us has our own personal prayers and our own favorites.
Parents: Be sure to help your children memorize prayers. Renew your own memorized collection of prayers by helping them and by saying them every day. Every Catholic should have a great familiarity with the Apostles Creed, the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be, and an Act of Contrition. For good measure, throw in the Memorare and the Hail Holy Queen. Grace before Meals, the Guardian Angel Prayer and the Bedtime Prayer also ought to be daily friends. If your parents and grandparents had prayers they knew by heart – even prayers in languages other than English – why not pass that on as part of your family’s spiritual heritage? It is never too late to start. Pray a Family Rosary and you’ll find that your family forms a deep bond that will last.
As a priest, I have found again and again that the ability to say the prayers that are memorized and prayed through a lifetime is a great consolation when life comes to its close. Sometimes elders who do not speak to say anything else will be able to say these prayers. We need to pray them now in order to have them available to us “at the hour of our death.” Amen!
January 22 is a special day of prayer set aside by the U.S. Bishops to beg God for a change of heart in our culture on behalf of the most vulnerable – our unborn children, those facing the end of life, and all whose value is ignored by our society. We are invited to pray and fast in order to bring about the respect for life that our Faith call us to show to every human being, each unique and unrepeatable gift of God.
The Year of Prayer: The prayer of St. Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Reflections on the Liturgy:
The Mass is the source and summit of our life together as Catholics. The expectation for Catholics to participate in Mass every Sunday and on all Holy Days of Obligation is not a “man-made law.” God thought enough of it to put it into His “Top Ten.” The Third Commandment is “Keep Holy the Sabbath.” From the beginning of the life of the Church, this has been recognized as the responsibility to pray as the Church prays with the Community of Believers—that is to be present at the assembly for Eucharist. Even the New Testament comments on the situation of some believers who “skip Mass” for spurious reasons: “We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25) Participation in the life of the shared prayer of the Community of Believers is a necessary and indispensable part of the Christian Life. Private prayer is also necessary, but it does not substitute for Communal Prayer.
Countdown to our Golden Jubilee:
When we celebrate our heritage, there are several motivations at work. First, it is an expression of our gratitude to those who came before us, who have made it possible for us to have what we have and to be who we are today. Telling the story of our beginnings helps to put in perspective the shape our community has. Every family knows that those who came before made some decisions and charted directions that still affect us in the present. A second reason is to gain wisdom. When we discover anew how our predecessors made their choices and the principles that guided them, we learn something about how to live.
The primary reason to acknowledge and highlight our past is our hope for the future. Knowing the struggles and hardships overcome by our parents and grandparents, we are better equipped to face our own difficulties. We can be confident that we will reach our goals, because others who are like us did so in the past.
So what are the stories that you know that ought to be told? What are the questions you have that might be answered by a look to the pathways of old? What are your dreams for our Parish Family and who inspires you to make them come true?
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