Dear Parishioners:
How quickly the years fly by! As you read this message, I am at my 30-year College Reunion at the University of Notre Dame. Here’s me with my parents on campus on the occasion of my graduation and the famous Golden Lady.
The opportunity to visit the Golden Dome, Sacred Heart Basilica, and the Grotto, and to see some of my friends from across the years is a wonderful experience of renewal and encouragement. When we look back across the years, we are able to see the hand of Providence. God is with us each step of our journey. He is often hidden in the events and circumstances we are able to see at the moment, but when we have the benefit of hindsight, His hand is more evident. While I am away, we welcome Fr. Jim Wehner, the rector of the Pontifi cal College Josephinum, for some of the Parish Masses. Any of our young men who have questions about the road to priesthood should take the opportunity to meet Fr. Wehner. Remember the invitation to show our Parish’s gratitude to the Diocese of Columbus for all the priests who have been sent here by returning a Vocation to serve the Diocese? Fr. Wehner is here to collect!
Once again, we offer our congratulations to our Graduates of the Year 2011. May God bless you as you take the next step in life’s journey.
As you have heard, we have had to say farewell to Sr. Carolyn Thomas, S.C.N., as our Pastoral Minister. Her new address will be Nazareth Motherhouse (O’Connell Hall 211), Box 3000, Nazareth, Kentucky 40048. We wish her well and ask God to bless her on her own new journey.
Countdown to our Golden Jubilee: Getting to know Saint Timothy.
Having completed our review of the mentions of St. Timothy in the Acts of the Apostles and in various letters of St. Paul, we can turn our attention to the Letters that bear the name of Timothy
as recipient. Over the next several months, we will reflect on the two Letters of St. Paul to Timothy. This week we begin with The First Letter to Timothy.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, to Timothy, my true child in faith: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. (I Timothy 1:1-2)
The form of greeting identifies the authority of the Letter as that of St. Paul, the Apostle, chosen by God in Christ. It addresses Timothy and expresses the relationship Paul shares with him, also indicating the unity they share in relationship to God the Father and Christ Jesus the Lord. The greeting serves to acknowledge the affection Paul has for Timothy, which is an outcome of their sharing of Faith. It establishes the foundation that is needed in order to address the concerns about which the Letter was written. For Paul and the early Christian Community, it was evident that all they were about had to be founded on their common understanding of Christ.
I repeat the request I made of you when I was on my way to Macedonia, that you stay in Ephesus to instruct certain people not to teach false doctrines or to concern themselves with myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the plan of God that is to be received by faith. The aim of this instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. Some people have deviated from these and turned to meaningless talk, wanting to be teachers of the law, but without understanding either what they are saying or what they assert with such assurance. (I Timothy 1:3-7)
After the greeting, we hear something of the occasion for the Letter to be written: that the Church of Ephesus may maintain a clear understanding of the Gospel and of Jesus Christ. The purpose is to allow for a living experience of the power of right Faith to enliven Love in the hearts of the members of the Community. The Apostle gives direction to his Co-worker who has been assigned to keep the Faith alive and pure in the hearts of the People entrusted to him. When scholars study the Letters of Timothy, they often raise questions about the direct authorship and the recipient. Comparing the concerns dealt with in the Letter to the earlier Letters of St. Paul, they tend to find such a different approach as to suggest that we are reading something that came from the next generation after Paul. If not, then the situation of the Church is already very different from how it was when Paul and his helpers first established communities of Faith. In any case, through these Letters (along with the Letter to Titus), we are given a genuine glimpse into the concerns of a Community that is adapting to a broader world of Christian involvement. No longer is it a small Jewish community, but now it is a Community whose identity is centered on Christ. The instruction given is meant to keep them on track, focusing on the Truth as it is proclaimed in the Gospel. This message is still valuable for us today.
Reflections on the Liturgy: SUSCIPIAT DOMINUS
May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of His name, for our good and the good of all His holy Church. Many old-time Altar Boys will recall the days of having to memorize the Suscipiat in Latin. In the name of the People, they would recite this prayer: Suscìpiat Dòminus sacrificium de mànibus tuis ad laudem et glòriam nòminis sui, ad utilitàtem quoque nostrum totiùsque Ecclèsiae suae sanctae. If you ask a veteran server to say the Suscipiat, he will likely bow low and recite boldly this prayer. It was the prayer that separated the men from the boys. Failure to be able to say it was to lose any right to being a server. With the celebration of Mass since Vatican II, the prayer was returned to the People. The translation currently used left out the word “sanctae,” that is, “holy.” The new translation restores the “holy.” This can be a metaphor for the whole reason for the changes we will experience in Advent 2011. We are to be reminded of the Holy in the manner of celebration of the Mass. A change in posture that has already been implemented in our Diocese also accompanies this prayer: the Congregation are standing as they say it together. In Masses that include incensing the People after the Gifts and the Clergy, they are already standing. In other Masses, the People are to stand as the Celebrant says the “Orate Fratres,” “Pray, my brothers and sisters….”
Opportunity for Pilgrimage to the Lands of the Bible
Pilgrimage “In the Footsteps of St. Timothy”:
Fr. Tim Hayes and Fr. Paul Hrezo, Spiritual Director at the Pontifical College Josephinum, are offering a pilgrimage departing on October 19th for 12 days to Greece and Turkey, following the path of St. Timothy and St. Paul. Ephesus, where St. Timothy served as Bishop, a cruise to the island of Patmos, where St. John composed the Book of Revelation, Rhodes and others are included among many other sites. Deposit to reserve a place: $300.00.
This is an opportunity to learn about our Patron Saint Timothy and to come to understand both the writings of Saint Paul and the Book of Revelation by seeing the lands where they were composed. For details, contact Judy Lorms at 614-670-8626 or judylorms@gmail.com.
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