A Word from Your Pastor July 24

Dear Parishioners:

Who is God for you? What does He ask of you? Answering these questions and living out the response are the heart of our journey of Faith. Who we are is established by God and we are revealed to ourselves not by discovering our own tastes and preferences, but rather by discovering and responding to the Will of God as He makes Himself known to us.

God reveals Himself to us in the midst of our lives and through the life and worship we share as the Church. Jesus asked His disciples to “take a stand” and to tell Him how they understood Him. As we recall, Peter was the first to speak the deepest truth: “You are the Messiah.” The disciples of Jesus are those who have discovered “the pearl of great price,” the most valuable reality available, that is, a living relationship with the Living God, the God Who reveals Himself in Jesus Christ.

When we are busy about all the tasks of our daily life and when we take time for recreation and relaxation, it is good to keep our minds and hearts fixed on our ultimate goal. Whether we are at home or on vacation, let us continue to remember the “pearl of great price” and stay close to God and His Church.

This weekend we will have a visit from members of the Focolare Movement, a world-wide community whose charism is Unity. They offer a spirituality centered on God’s Word and aware of the intimacy of relationship between God and His People. They remind us that God wills for the unity of all humanity, and that it is truly possible to live in response to God’s Word in very practical and concrete ways.

The Focolare Movement and the many new movements in the Church that draw God’s People together in a witness to hope are one of the “signs of the times” that lets us know that God is still concerned with us and active among us. How is the Spirit calling you to go deeper in your own commitment to life in Christ?

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

I am writing you about these matters, although I hope to visit you soon. But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth. Undeniably great is the mystery of devotion, Who was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed to the Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory. (I Timothy 3:14-16)

I Timothy 3:15 is a text that every Catholic Christian should know by heart. It speaks to the depth of understanding we have of the role of the Church in our lives. The Church of the Living God – that is the Church established by Christ Himself, which continues to exist in the world and is visible in the Roman Catholic Church – is “the pillar and foundation of truth.” This means that what underlies the proclamation of the Truth is the Church. Sacred Scripture comes from the Church. The authority acknowledge in Scripture is God’s authority, the very authority which is to be found in the Magisterium, along with Scripture and Tradition.

Paul writes to Timothy a text that itself becomes Sacred Scripture, acknowledged and identified as such by the Church. His personal visit which may or may not have happened due to circumstances in the life of Paul, was intended to be an exercise of Pastoral authority. The letter to Timothy conveys that authority in a different way, and St. Paul is moved to a song of praise for the Mystery that lies behind the exercise of authority. It is Christ Himself Who operates through His Spirit in the Church. The Glorious and Risen Lord is the Living Revelation of God.

Reflections on the Liturgy:


We have completed our first run through the changes that will directly affect the congregation when the new Roman Missal is put into effect in Advent 2011. Throughout the description of the new texts, it has become obvious that two particular principles were applied.

First, the effort to have a more faithful rendition of the Latin text, including all the details to be found in the Latin Missal, is meant to ensure that we are praying as the Church proposes in accord with Lex orandi, Lex credendi, that is, “how we pray is what we believe.” English tends to be rather simple in expression; Latin has a flourish. We needed a version of English that can communicate the flourish and the depth of what the Latin has to say.

Second, when we have a more direct and literal expression of the Latin text in English, we can see more clearly that virtually every part of the Liturgy is taken from the Scriptures. Over the past forty years or so, we have had two different ways of translating the same texts – the texts of Sacred Scripture and their use in the Liturgy. Now we can allow these two streams to flow together once more, so that Catholics can realize our Prayers come from Scripture and thus we are always Scriptural in our prayer. Our Church is the Church of the Bible, “the pillar and foundation of truth” (I Timothy 3:15). The Bible is a Church-based document and our Liturgy is Biblical in expression.

If we keep these principles in mind, I believe we will be able to adapt to the changes to come and come to a deeper understanding of our own life of prayer.