A Word from Your Pastor - June 9

Dear Parishioners:

This week we celebrated the Graduation of our Fiftieth Graduating Class, the Class of 2013.  They were very proud of the fact that they have this distinction and asked for it to be mentioned at their Graduation Mass.  As they make their departure for the wonderful world of High School, we wish them, and all our graduates, well.  May the good work that has begun in each of you be brought to fulfillment by the grace of God.  Remember, St. Timothy is always your home.

Even as we end one School Year, we look forward to the next.  School starts again at St. Timothy on August 21^st.  This is early, to be sure.  (Most of us remember when Labor Day was the start of the new academic year.)  This means that we will have to work harder to prepare for the events of next year – the year in which we observe the Centennial of St. Timothy School.  We need to have all who have been part of the life of our School participate in the planning. 2013-2014, our 51^st Year, will be a wonderful year of Jubilee.

Our first class began in the Fall of 1963, in a brand-new building.  We had a class of 17 students who had the honor of being the first 8^th grade class to be graduated from St. Timothy School.  We are seeking information on this class in particular.  Do you have contact information for the members of the St. Timothy Class of 1964 (1968 High School)? 

Here are the names of the Class of 1964:  Vicki Adams, Michael Andrews, Mark Anthony, Carol Brennan, Francisca Cabrera, Daniel D'Amico, Nick DeSantis, Lynda Essman, Joyce Fasone, William Flory, Michael Hilty, Michelle Hooks, Jane Jacquemin, Philip Shirtzinger, Judith Ruppel, Helena Suarez, John Winkel. You can find their pictures in the School hallway (near the gym) and online: http://www.sttimothyparish.net/alumni.html.   Tell them we want to hear from them and that we want to honor them in a special way.

All Alumni of our School and anyone who attended is welcome to be part of the festivities.  It is truly a mark of distinction to have survived 50 years.  We are blessed to have our own School and to have multiple generations who have attended.  Many parishes have a school in their history, but we at St. Timothy have it in our present and in our future, if we can continue to build on the Faith and Commitment of those who came before.  Be true to your School!

As Summer begins, remember to keep your Faith at the center of your life.  God does not take a vacation from us, and we should not take a vacation from His Church.  When you visit other areas, seek out the Catholic Church and be sure to bring back a bulletin so your Pastor knows you have been to church.  Have a wonderful Summer!

 

 

Year of Faith October 11, 2012 – November 24, 2013

 
We continue our journey through the Year of Faith.  As one way of observing this year, each week a small section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is read before the start of Mass.  This is a small way of offering some food for growth in Faith throughout this year.

ARTICLE 3     SACRED SCRIPTURE

I. Christ—The Unique Word of Sacred Scripture

101 In order to reveal himself to men, in the condescension of his goodness God speaks to them in human words: “Indeed the words of God, expressed in the words of men, are in every way like human language, just as the Word of the eternal Father, when he took on himself the flesh of human weakness, became like men.”  (Dei Verbum 13.)

102 Through all the words of Sacred Scripture, God speaks only one single Word, his one Utterance in whom he expresses himself completely: (Cf. Hebrews 1:1-3.)

You recall that one and the same Word of God extends throughout Scripture, that it is one and the same Utterance that resounds in the mouths of all the sacred writers, since he who was in the beginning God with God has no need of separate syllables; for he is not subject to time.  (St. Augustine, En. in Ps. 103, 4, 1: PL 37, 1378; cf. Ps 104; John 1:1.)

103 For this reason, the Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord’s Body. She never ceases to present to the faithful the bread of life, taken from the one table of God’s Word and Christ’s Body. (Cf. Dei Verbum 21.)

104 In Sacred Scripture, the Church constantly finds her nourishment and her strength, for she welcomes it not as a human word, “but as what it really is, the word of God.”  (1 Thess 2:13; cf. Dei Verbum 24.) “In the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to meet his children, and talks with them.”  (Dei Verbum 21.)

Comment: When I was in High School, I recall a special moment of Grace.  It was as if God was speaking to me as I was walking in a hallway just outside the classroom where I had religion class.  I was thinking about the Bible, and it seemed to me that God told me, “I’m going to plunge your life into Scripture.”  At the time, I thought, “I’m not ready!”  But since then, it is clear that my life has in fact been plunged into God’s Word.  The memory of this little “encounter” reminds me that all of us are invited to hear God as He speaks to us through the Scriptures.  In our church and in our homes, we have Bibles available.  The texts are also in every language imaginable on the Internet.  Do you take time to meet God, Who seeks to meet you through the Scriptures?  How do you respond to the invitation to be plunged into God’s Word?