A Word from Your Pastor May 26

Dear Parishioners:

As the Easter Season comes toward its conclusion, we hear more and more about the promise of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus sends us an Advocate, One Who will help us to put into practice all that He has taught us.  The Spirit is often neglected in our thoughts and prayers.  As we approach Ascension and Pentecost, we are reminded of the need to open our hearts to the Coming of the Spirit.

As those who receive the Sacrament of Confirmation learn, the Spirit gives us strength to live the Faith that we have received and the capacity to serve as a witness before the world of the Truth of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Our world wants what the Gospel offers, but a response to the offer is only made possible in the presence of convincing witnesses that it is real.

As we experience the “commencement” celebrations for our graduates of every level, let us remember that earthly accomplishments are nothing unless they are open to the Eternal.  God expects us to use the gifts and talents we have received not just for making our way through this world, but especially in preparation for what we will encounter in the next.

We are proud of our graduates – from elementary school, high school, college and beyond.  We expect great things from them.  May all that you have learned serve you in the years ahead and may you continue to grow in Faith and Wisdom as we journey together to the Kingdom.  The Holy Spirit will be your Helper and Guide when you open your heart to His Coming.

A Word from Your Pastor May 19

Dear Parishioners:

As you may have heard from your St. Timothy School student, we had a surprise visitor for the Wednesday All-School Mass this week.  Bishop Robert Brennan came to be the celebrant for the 9 a.m. Mass, prepared by the 7^th grade and their buddies in grades 3 and 4.  It was truly a joyful event.  The children were in good form, the choir, directed by Kristen Babjak, was energetic and sang with full gusto.  The bishop especially enjoyed their rendition of Resucito.

After Mass, Bishop Brennan took a tour of the School and visited the individual classrooms.  Along with Principal George Mosholder and the Pastor, and he found every class already hard at work.  It was clear that the bishop enjoyed himself with them, engaging is questions and answers in multiple subjects, from the 8th grade's To Kill a Mockingbird to the 4th grade's history of Ohio and upcoming visit to Marietta, to a discussion with the 5th grade about vocations and discernment.  The other classes also engaged him with notes about polygons and circles, pilgrimages, the Roman Empire, papers about spying on teachers for a week and more.  It was truly a wondrous encounter between St. Timothy School and our new Shepherd.

The invitation to all of us to be missionaries, sent out by Jesus Christ to share the Gospel, is a charge we must all take up joyfully to continue the fruits of Bishop Brennan's first visit to St. Timothy. 

Blessings to all as the final days of the School year wind down.  We congratulate all those reaching milestones and graduating in the next few weeks.  We expect great things from you!

A Word from Your Pastor May 12

Dear Parishioners:

This weekend, we offer heartfelt congratulations to the members of our First Holy Communion class.  May they always stay close to Jesus, Whom they have received for the first time in the Holy Eucharist.  May they and their families continue to learn more and more about the gift they have received.  May our life as a Parish family always be a sign of the power of the Sacraments to bring joy and strength to people of Faith.

Today we ask God’s blessings on all mothers, grandmothers, godmothers and all who share in the power of God to give and nurture life.  It is awesome to contemplate the depth of love that is manifested when a mother conceives and brings to birth a new child.  All who have experienced the love of a mother are full of gratitude when it dawns on them just what has been sacrificed for them.  This is true of both physical and spiritual life.  The prayers of all mothers are responsible for so many graces in our lives.

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is also Good Shepherd Sunday.  On this day, we give thanks to God for all who have mirrored the Love of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, to us.  Those who invite us into a deeper awareness of the immense Love God has for us and His desire to lead us to green pastures help us to know better who we are and what our destiny will be.

When we respond to the awareness of the simple fact that we are loved, we become better able to pass on the love that God has placed in our hearts.  The world is now in need of hearing, seeing and experiencing the Good News of the Resurrection of Jesus.  It falls to us to make this fundamental truth known because we are responding to the news ourselves, committing ourselves to live by the grace of the Holy Spirit.  May we truly become “a light to the nations and an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.”

A Word from Your Pastor May 5

Dear Parishioners:

“We must obey God rather than human beings.”  This is the attitude Christians are meant to take in the face of the world’s rejection of Jesus Christ and His Church.  We are called to be witnesses to the Truth of the Resurrection of Jesus.  The Life of Jesus is continued through us by the power of His Holy Spirit.  This is the Life of the Church.  As human beings, we fail and we do not live up to our call.  But the call remains.  The holiness of the Church is Christ’s.  When we start with that premise, we always have Hope.

What is the “solution” to the challenges we face in the world?  Ultimately, it is our connection with God through Prayer.  The Church helps us in our weakness through the Sacraments.  We also have a “cloud of witnesses,” the Saints who have walked the journey before us, to encourage us on our way.

In the month of May, we honor Mary, the Mother of Jesus, through special prayers and rituals.  Both the School and PSR celebrate a “May Crowning.”  Families are encouraged to set up a “May Altar” at home and to take time to pray with our Blessed Mother.  The Hail Mary, the Rosary, the Memorare, the Regina Caeli, and the Salve Regina are all special prayers that many of us learned from parents or grandparents when we were young.  It is high time to resurrect this practice.  What prayers do you remember from your childhood?  Do your children know these prayers?

Our Second Graders will make their First Holy Communion on Saturday.  Reception of Jesus into our hearts and lives through the Eucharist is the center of our Catholic practice.  Mass every Sunday and Holy Day is a minimum, not a “goal” to be achieved.  Our children learn more from our practice that from what we say.  Attendance at the School Mass and the Masses attended by our P.S.R. community, as well as the weekends when our Children’s Choir sing is always large.  This ought to happen every weekend.  Mass is meant to be the start of our week.

During Lent, we experienced prayer, fasting and almsgiving as practices intended to improve our spiritual lives.  The Season of Easter can be a time where we continue to deepen our relationship with God and His Church, feasting on the riches of the Sacraments.

May we continue to grow as a community of prayer who witness to our children and to all who know us the Life of Jesus.  May Mary and all the Saints be our constant friends and companions on the way as we continue our journey to the Kingdom.

A Word from Your Pastor April 28 - Divine Mercy Sunday

Dear Parishioners:

Divine Mercy Sunday, the Sunday that completes the Octave of Easter, is a special day in the life of the Church.  It serves to remind us of the great gift of Mercy that flows from the Easter Glory of the Risen Lord.  The Church always celebrates the Mysteries of our Faith in a myriad of ways.  First we celebrate the great acts of God that accomplished the Gift of Salvation and Redemption among us.  Then we attend to various aspects that flow from such acts, always seeking to grow in our understanding of the mighty works of God.

We are taught by St. Faustina, the mystic who received the call to establish the Feast of Mercy, to Ask for Mercy, to Be Merciful ourselves, and to Confidently trust in Jesus, Who is the embodiment of Mercy.

At St. Timothy Church, we observe the Feast of Mercy with Adoration of the Eucharist following the Noon Mass and with Benediction and Blessing of the Image of Divine Mercy.  Confessions are available during Adoration and the Divine Mercy Chaplet is sung as part of the devotion.  All are welcome to continue the celebration of Easter by participating in the special graces of this great day in the Season of Easter.

The Divine Mercy Chaplet is prayed after daily Mass on Tuesdays throughout the year.  Many of our groups and organizations find ways to respond to the call of Mercy, performing in practical ways the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.

May we all open our hearts to Mercy and invite the Lord of Mercy to make our hearts like His own.

St. Faustina, pray for us!  Pope St. John Paul II, pray for us!  Jesus, I trust in You! 

A Word from Your Pastor April 21 - Easter Sunday

Dear Parishioners:

Happy Easter!  Alleluias can now burst forth after having been held back through the season of Lent.  May the joy of the Resurrection fill your heart and soul.

We have observed 40 Days of Fasting in preparation for this time.  Now we are to celebrate 50 Days of Feasting.  Easter calls for an observance as full of exuberance as Lent was full of its disciplines.

Prayer opens out to shouts of praise and joy and gladness.  Fasting and abstinence give way to communion and engagement in the delights of human interaction.  Almsgiving leads now to the renewed commitment to share the very Life of God with the world.

How will your celebration of Easter make known to others that you are serious about your Faith in the Resurrection?  Spring will remind us that even the earthly realm can experience new life.  Can we learn better how to engage in the Dance of Life made possible by what Jesus Christ has accomplished, by His victory over sin and death?

This week, as I participate in my annual Easter Week Retreat with priests associated with the Focolare Movement, we welcome Msgr. Bill Dunn to St. Timothy Church for the daily Masses of the Octave of Easter.  Msgr. Dunn was my first pastor after ordination to the priesthood and I am grateful for his assistance in St. Timothy Parish from time to time when I am away.  Msgr. Dunn and many other “retired” priests of the Diocese of Columbus keep our people fed and nourished in the life of the Spirit even though they have set aside the duties of “administrivia.” They work as hard or even harder than they ever did, but they don’t have to do the paperwork!  We owe them a debt of gratitude.