A Word from Your Pastor December 25

Dear Parishioners and Guests for Christmas and to those in the Blogosphere:

The Lord be with you! And with your spirit!

This is the new language of the Liturgy for Catholics which you now hear at all the Masses. The most recent change was instituted the First Sunday of Advent 2011.

At St. Timothy Church, we were privileged to have Bishop Frederick Campbell with us for the first use of the new English form of the Mass on the occasion of the Opening of our Parish Golden Jubilee, at the Saturday evening Mass, November 26th. Now we are living in this special time of reminiscing and celebrating. The parish observance will continue throughout 2012. Our School will celebrate its Jubilee 2013-2014.

We are happy to have all of you with us as we experience our Jubilee Christmas. Your presence is a reminder to us that God is with us and that Salvation is for all. We hope you will feel at home at St. Timothy Church and know that we keep you in our prayers throughout the year. We invite you to a greater involvement in the life of our Parish and School. We have come a long way in our 50 years as a Parish and we can go further if we work together.

Blessings to you and your family for the Christmas Season and for the New Year!

Rev. Timothy M. Hayes, Pastor
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Entering into our Golden Jubilee: Getting to know Saint Timothy.

But you, remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have known the sacred scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (II Timothy 3:14-17)

St. Paul’s Letters to St. Timothy are an invitation to all to discover what God can accomplish in a Christian Community when there is cooperation with His grace. In these verses, Paul reminds Timothy of the centrality of the Word of God in the life of the Christian. The Sacred Scriptures (in this case, the Jewish Scriptures) are available to assist in the proclamation of Christ and for exhortation to a holy way of life in accord with God’s call.

We who have both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Gospels, Paul’s Letters and all the other texts of the New Testament must be ever aware of the riches shared with us through the Bible. God has breathed His Word into the sacred texts in order to train us in the Way of the Gospel. “The Word became man and made His dwelling among us.” (John 1:14)

The new version of the English Mass serves to help us see the connection of the whole Mass with Sacred Scripture. Every prayer is an outgrowth of Scripture. Many of the prayers in the new form can easily be recognized as a living use of the texts on our lips in the act of worship. We have been equipped by the Scriptures we read and prayer every good work that has been entrusted to us by God.