A Word from Your Pastor January 22

Dear Parishioners:

A day that lives in infamy! January 22, 1973, represents a date when our nation forgot itself and chose to relinquish its duty to protect innocent life in the womb. We have not yet awakened from this madness. There are no winners in this battle until our eyes are opened once again.

We are a Church of compassion, and all who have been affected by this unilateral decision by the Supreme Court to change the law of the land are in our prayers.

We remember the mothers whose lives have been forever changed by the loss of their children by this act of violence against them and their sons and daughters in the womb.
“In Ramah is heard the sound of sobbing, bitter weeping! Rachel mourns for her children, she refuses to be consoled for her children—they are no more!” (Jeremiah 31:15 – quoted in Matthew 2:18, at the death of the Holy Innocents in Bethlehem.) Healing is possible. God is a God of forgiveness and love and the Church reaches out in many ways to comfort them.

We remember the fathers of the children who are no more, especially those who had no voice in the fate of their little ones and those who were the coerced the act. We remember grandmothers and grandfathers, brothers and sisters, classmates and friends who never came to know their companions due to the world’s refusal to allow them to enter.

We remember all those who are confused by the world’s values and by their own blindness in the face of fear, greed or disrespect for the value of life itself. We hold all these, and our nation, in prayer, as we ask God for a way to overcome this evil in our world.

Entering into our Golden Jubilee: Getting to know Saint Timothy.

But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. (II Timothy 4:17-18)

St. Paul acknowledges that his life and the life of every Christian involve a battle, a struggle with the world that rejects Christ. He notes also that the Lord is the source of his strength as he works to fulfill his own ministry of proclaiming the Gospel to the Gentiles. Many times he faced the threat of death. At the moment he writes, he is aware of the fact that he will continue to face such a threat. He is confident that whatever the outcome, the Kingdom awaits him. The mention of the Heavenly Kingdom leads Paul to acclaim a doxology, a word of praise for God’s glory.

This is a model worth imitating. When we experience the trials and tribulations that are part of life, especially part of the life led in proclamation of the Gospel, we ought to keep our hearts fixed on the glory that lies ahead in the Kingdom.

The new English translation of the Mass has a reference to this text that may not be known because it is not heard by the people. When the priest receives the Host, he prays, “May the Body of Christ keep me safe for eternal life.” Similarly, when he receives from the Chalice, he says “May the Blood of Christ keep me safe for eternal life.”