A Word from Your Pastor - March 13 Fifth Sunday of Lent

Dear Parishioners:

It is more and more clear to me that God is asking for something more from us here at St. Timothy.  He is inviting us to a new and deeper way of living our Faith.  This is not at all a rejection of where we have been in the past.  On the contrary, it is a sign that God has seen in us a spark of something that says we are ready for Him to act among us in a new and more powerful way.  His Mercy is overflowing.  So many good things are going on, we can miss it.  As we come to this time in our Lenten journey, we reach the moment of decision.  Jesus invites us to walk the way of the Cross with Him and to stay with Him through to the end, all the way to the Resurrection.

How have you experienced Lent this year?  The weather outside has been milder than usual.  How are the storms within?  Are you finding it easier or harder to surrender to the Lord?  Are you willing to go deeper?

The invitation to a New Life is not without a cost.  We have to change our minds.  If we think we have it all figured out, we are missing something crucial.  The charge that has been given to us by the Lord Himself is twofold: to make disciples and to love as He loves.  These invitation are called “The Great Commission” and “The Great Commandment.”

The Great Commission comes from Saint Matthew 28:19-20,

“Go therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you; 
and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” 

The Great Commandment is taken from Matthew 22:36-40,  

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 

And Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment. 

“The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

As we approach Easter, let us begin to reflect on these two Gospel charges.  Our effort in the Easter Season will be to renew our commitment to follow the Lord wherever He leads.