A Word from Your Pastor January 29

Dear Parishioners:

As we reflect on the Sacramental Life, I want to share with you the St. Timothy Prayer that I have set for us to keep in our prayers throughout the year.  I have suggested a specific prayer for the Feast of St. Timothy every year since my arrival as Pastor at St. Timothy Church.  I made known the prayer for this year when we celebrated the Feast of St. Timothy at our School Mass last week.  I am away for a time of vacation, but I join you in this prayer.

St. Timothy Prayer for 2017

That faithful sharing in the Sacramental Life of the Church may form
all members of the St. Timothy Parish and School community
to be a clear witness of the truth of the Gospel and
of the power of the Spirit of Jesus to bring light and healing to our world.

This prayer invites us all to keep the Sacramental Life at the heart of our plans for everything we do.  As we come to a deeper understanding of what God’s Spirit does for us  in the Sacraments, we begin to grow in our awareness of our common call to be a witness to our Faith in Jesus Christ.

The Sacraments of Initiation bring us into a relationship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, our Triune God.  In Baptism, we become children of God and the door is opened both to Eternity and to the Life of Grace which is experienced in time in the Sacraments.  In Confirmation, the Holy Spirit enters our hearts and remains an Indwelling Presence, active through the Gifts of the Spirit and the Witness of Gospel Life.  In Eucharist, we received Jesus Himself in His glorified state of Being, Body – Blood, Soul and Divinity, that is, in the fullness of His Person – as Food for Eternal Life.

We are called to put the Sacraments into practice by responding to the grace that is given in each Sacrament, and by inviting others to a “Communion in the Sacred Things” we share through the “Communion of Saints.”

Our own Patron St. Timothy, the disciple of St. Paul, shows us how to be faithful witnesses to the Truth of Jesus Christ.  He worked with Paul to invite others to Faith, and as a martyr, he poured out his own life as a witness to the Apostolic Faith we share.

How do you see the Sacraments active in your own life?  Are you conscious of the ongoing flow of Sacramental grace?  Can you see the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as present to you through the Sacraments you have received?