A Word from Your Pastor June 19

Dear Parishioners:

Trinity Sunday calls us to acknowledge the most precious awareness we have in our Catholic Faith: that God is Triune, A Family of Divine Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Who are One in a Communion of Love. As we celebrate this Feast, we seek to grow in our own capacity to be a Community united in mind and heart, open to others in the image of the Trinity.

During the next couple of weeks, I will be experiencing some interesting adventures. This week, I will be part of a gathering of those who have attended my seminary, the North American College. This Reunion travels from place to place since graduates come from throughout the United States. The Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, is hosting this year. A number of my seminary classmates from the Class of 1985 will get together. This is really our first effort to come together after our departure from the seminary. It will be 30 years since we first met as a group of men presenting ourselves for formation for the priesthood. For those of us who were ordained, it is around the 26th anniversary for most of us.

Next week, I will be giving a Retreat to the candidates for the Permanent Diaconate for the Diocese of Steubenville. This is a real privilege, since they are the first such candidates for their Diocese. These men have studied along with the current class for the Diocese of Columbus, and I taught their course in the Pentateuch last Fall. I invite you to keep them and me in your prayers as we seek to open our hearts to the action of the Spirit.

Many will hardly miss me for these times away since I will be present at the weekend Masses. But I thought it would be a good idea to let you know what I am up to in case you call and don’t find me in. I am not hanging out at the swimming pool or lying at a beach. That will have to come later!

Countdown to our Golden Jubilee: Getting to know Saint Timothy.

To the king of ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only God, honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (I Timothy 1:17)

Paul, caught up in the awareness of his gratitude for his Call turns to God with a cry to praise. This expression is inscribed on the plaque below our Parish Statue of Saint Timothy. It has become a prayer special to our community, both in the Parish and in our School:

To the King of Ages, the Immortal, the Invisible, the Only God
--Be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

We can keep this as a sign of our bond as members of the Community of St. Timothy.

I entrust this charge to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophetic words once spoken about you. Through them may you fight a good fight by having faith and a good conscience. Some, by rejecting conscience, have made a shipwreck of their faith, among them Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme. (I Timothy1:18-20)

The first chapter of the First Letter to Timothy concludes with Paul’s charge to Timothy to live up to his own Call. He points out that the Call was communicated to Timothy very directly by way of the Church, the prophetic words spoken about him in an assembly of believers. Paul reminds Timothy that the words spoken about him from on high can strengthen him for the trials that come in the life of Faith. Fighting the good fight with a good conscience means exercising strength of will and keeping the mind and heart in correspondence with the Truth of the Gospel.

Some counterexamples Paul mentions among his companions no doubt known to Timothy and his community are a reminder that believers must be vigilant. The battle is not merely fought at the human level. Powers at work in the world beyond us are subject to us only if we rely on Faith.

Reflections on the Liturgy: SANCTUS

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

The only change in the Sanctus, the “Holy, Holy, Holy,” is the translation for Sabaoth.

Instead of a paraphrase “Lord God of Power and Might,” the simpler expression “Lord God of Hosts” is used. It is interesting to note that the Latin form kept the Hebrew term rather than offering a translation: “Dominus Deus Sabaoth.” It might have been a good idea to return to this expression instead, but the choice made does have the happy effect of reminding us of many texts of Scripture that use this name for God.

The first line of the Sanctus is almost directly from the Isaiah’s Vision in the Temple as the Seraphim sing: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!" they cried one to the other. "All the earth is filled with his glory!" [Isaiah 6:3]

The same theme is picked up by the Book of Revelation: “The four living creatures, each of them with six wings, were covered with eyes inside and out. Day and night they do not stop exclaiming: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come.’ ”[Rev 4:8]

“LORD of Hosts” appears in the Old Testament at least 95 times, in Torah, the Prophets and especially in the Psalms.

The LORD of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. [Psalm 46:4, 6, 12]

As the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest to settle her young, My home is by your altars, LORD of hosts, my king and my God! Happy are those who dwell in your house! They never cease to praise you. [Psalm 84:4-5]

Elijah speaks to the God he encounters on Sinai: "I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts." [I Kings 19:10]

Jeremiah addresses God with this name: “When I found your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart, because I bore your name, O LORD, God of hosts.” [Jer 15:16] Hosea does as well: “The LORD, the God of hosts, the LORD is his name!” [Hosea 12:6]

Putting the expression “God of hosts” on our lips as worshipers in the Mass once again draws us into the line of the Prophets and the Prayers of the People of God through the ages.