A Word from Your Pastor - December 28 Feast of the Holy Family

Dear Parishioners:

The Solemnity of the Holy Family is a wonderful reminder that God is with us in our world just as it is.  There are times we can have the impression that God does not understand or that He is beyond the reach of the ordinary.  Remembering the simple fact that Jesus lived family life with Joseph and Mary in Nazareth for most of His years on earth, we can come to grasp the profound and yet simple truth that God is with us here and now, right where we are.

The Family is God’s way of expressing among us the Unity of the Trinity, the Relationships shared among the Three Divine Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  As the fundamental building block of society, the family is in need of attention, both at the level of those who live in it and in society at large.  We are living in a time that de-values family and fights against it in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.  We have to be on our guard and to watch how we respond to the challenges given to family life.

Generations are meant to be together and to share wisdom across the years.  In our time, families are often divided by a multiplicity of activities.  More insidiously, they are  often separated by attitudes of disrespect and an unwillingness to listen.  Parents need the wisdom and example offered by their own parents as they seek to raise their children and to share fundamental values with them.  When was the last time you really listened to what your children’s grandparents told you about what your children need from you?

In our time, family life is disrupted by overly busy schedules and by endless activities that take them away from home.  Meals are perfunctory at best.  Time spent just being with one another without interruptions by gadgets, games and technology is at a premium. 

Did you hear the one about the little boy who asked his Dad how much money he made in an hour?  When told $50 dollars an hour, the boy checked his pockets and found $3 in change.  He asked his Dad to borrow $47.  His Dad was surprised at the odd amount, but decided to give it to his son.  The son added his own change to what his Dad had just given him, and handed it back to his father, saying, “Can I buy an hour of your time?”

After the Masses today, we will be celebrating individual family blessings.  All are invited to receive the blessing as a family and to take it home with you.  Let’s work together this year to establish homes and families that welcome Jesus, Mary and Joseph to serve as their model.

A Word from Your Pastor - December 25 Christmas

2014 has seen many wonderful things in the life or our Parish and School.  St. Timothy School, which opened its doors to students first in the academic year 1963-64, concluded its celebration of the School’s Golden Jubilee in June.  Highlights of the Year were a Mass with Bishop Frederick F. Campbell in May (postponed from January due to weather) and a special dinner for all members of the School Community.  The students and staff celebrated all year in style.

Several members of St. Timothy Parish were part of a pilgrimage in April to visit the final resting place of our Patron Saint Timothy in Termoli, Italy, and to be present in Rome for the Canonization of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II.  These served as a reminder that we are part of a Church that extends through history and across the world, sharing in the same Faith that has been handed down to us by the Apostles and under the guidance of their successors.  As a Parish, we look forward to Pope Francis’ visit to our nation next Fall for the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.

At the present time, we hear the call of the Good Shepherd to renew and deepen our understanding of the Catholic Faith and to develop resources as a Parish and a School to respond to the New Evangelization.   Efforts are underway to develop the space set aside for future growth in our new building for a Catechetical Center that will benefit the whole community, Parish and School, youth and adults.  Our hope and our dream is to see a new plan unfold in the creation of the Saint Timothy Good Shepherd Catechetical Center.  All are invited to walk with us in response to the Gospel and to respond to the call of our Shepherd as He guides us in the ways of Faith.

A Blessed Christmas to All!

A Word from Your Pastor - December 21 Fourth Sunday of Advent

Dear Parishioners:

Are you ready for Christmas?  No doubt you have been asked this question many times, and it causes a bit of panic because you have to say that you are not ready.  Have you ever stopped to realize that the world was not ready for the first Christmas?  As every Christmas pageant you will ever see tells you: “there was no room for them in the inn.”  Preparation for Christmas really is not about the Christmas cards and decorations.  It is not about the Christmas tree or the lights.  It is not about the presents and lists of gifts for family, friends, co-workers and acquaintances.  It is really about making room for Jesus and His Family in your heart and in your home.

How do you welcome Jesus into your home?  Is your family life centered on a living relationship with the Baby born in Bethlehem Who is our Savior, Christ the Lord?  Are you giving Him time in your busy schedule?

Be sure not to rush through Christmas.  Let the Season begin for you as Advent ends on Christmas Eve.  Celebrate from December 24-25 all the way through Epiphany (January 4 this year) until the Baptism of the Lord (January 11), which is the official close of the Christmas Season.  If you are strong, hold onto it a full 40 days after Christmas until the Solemnity of the Presentation of the Lord (February 2).  Let there be room for the Truth of Christmas.

As we enter into a year of preparation for the World Meeting of Families in September 2015 in Philadelphia, let us work to be a true Family as a Parish.  May your own family grow together in Faith and Grace.  Next weekend, the Feast of the Holy Family, we will have blessings of all individual families after Mass.  Come as a family and come forward to receive the blessing for you and for your home.

 

All are invited to make plans to attend the Masses of
Christmas Eve - 5 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.
and Christmas Day - 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.

In case you have not realized this before – the Masses of Christmas Day are often the lightest in attendance. If you want to experience the quiet joy of Christmas, come to Mass on Christmas Day! We suggest that as many as possible consider coming to the Masses on Christmas Day­ - putting Mass back into Christ-mas on the Day as well.

Ministers are asked to come ready to serve in their ministries in case they are needed. Ushers and Greeters are especially needed for the earlier Masses on Christmas Eve.

Next weekend, the Solemnity of the Holy Family, we will offer individual family blessings after all Masses. Bring your whole clan together to received a blessing and carry it out into the world.

We wish a Blessed Christmas to all of you and your loved ones.

 

A Word from Your Pastor - December 14 Third Sunday of Advent

Advent is moving along!  This weekend we are already at the Third Week, Gaudete Sunday.  We are called to Rejoice and to know our joy in God’s action in our lives.

At the Masses of this weekend, we celebrant the Anointing of the Sick, which is always a wonderful experience of God’s Mercy and Healing among us.  The peace and joy that is shared by those anointed and by those who are praying with them and for them is palpable.

In 2015, we will be concentrating on Family Life and on growth in our capacity to pray together as a family.  What are your favorite prayers?  How does your family show its unity in Faith?  What are you called to be and do as a family?  Will you consider going to meet Pope Francis in Philadelphia when he comes to share the World Meeting of Families?

As we head toward Christmas, let us do all we can to share our joy with the world.

A Word from Your Pastor - December 7 Second Sunday of Advent

Dear Parishioners:

The call of Advent is to look beyond our present circumstances.  We are waiting for something to occur that will take us out of ourselves and into a way of living that is entirely new and different from our common experience.  The temptation we face is to keep our eyes fixed on ourselves and to be motivated by fears and limitations that serve to bind us to the status quo.  In the Scriptures this weekend, we meet John the Baptist shouting out Isaiah’s cry: “Prepare the way of the Lord!”  God wants us to open our hearts to receive Him and all that He offers.

What holds us back is sin.  The response we are called to make is to repent and to open ourselves to forgiveness.  God offers healing, Mercy, comfort and He invites us to a new resolve, a commitment to live in such a way that He can be at home with us.  In Advent, we look toward the Coming of Christ at the end of Time and we recall His Coming through the Incarnation.  We also seek Him where He promises He will always be found:  in the Sacramental Life of the Church.

What holds us back is a failure to put God first in our lives and to be witnesses of Faith by the manner of our choices.  I invite you to renew your commitment to the Lord: Make Sunday Mass a priority for your family.  Take the opportunity this week to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation at our Parish Penance Service this Wednesday evening.  Consider devoting some “extra” time to prayer, attending an extra weekday Mass, spending time with the Lord in the Eucharist through Wednesday Adoration.

What holds us back is selfishness and attention to our own wants and desires.  I encourage you to discover a way to reach out to those in need.  Many opportunities are suggested through the Parish.  St. Vincent De Paul and the Knights of Columbus call for donations to the St. James the Less Food Pantry.  The Coats for Children for Christmas is funded through St. Vincent DePaul.  Sandwiches are made for the Soup Kitchen one Sunday a month.  The Women’s Club and Youth Group sponsored a presentation on the Passion Center for Children in Malawi, Africa.  Donations may be made to this worthwhile effort to serve the poor.  You could make plans to be part of the outreach to Guatemala next summer.  We have already funded the education of two students in the Holy Land.  You can continue to assist with the special needs in this part of the world by purchasing Olive wood items in support of Bethlehem families.

The possibilities are endless!  Advent is an invitation to grow in the Life of the Spirit.  Do you hear the Lord’s call?

A Word from Your Pastor - November 30 First Sunday of Advent

Dear Parishioners:

As Advent begins, we hear the heart-felt cry of Isaiah 63: “O that You would rend the heavens and come down!”  This cry of the People of Israel that God should come close to them is answered through the Incarnation.  In the Person of Jesus Christ, God has become one with us in our humanity.

Advent reminds us that we are a people who wait for the fulfillment of God’s promises and the longings of our hearts.  As we enter into a new Liturgical Year, we are invited by the Church to prepare for the Coming of Christ at Christmas by acknowledging our need for Him.  We are reminded that He will come in glory at the end of time and that He comes to us in Mystery through the Sacraments.  At this time, the Church also invites us to celebrate the gift of the Consecrated Life and the life of the Family.

How do you practice your Faith as a Family?  Do you pray together at home?  What devotions do you and your children share?  How do you respond to the invitation to be holy?  Are others around you aware that you belong to Christ and are a member of His Church?  What difference does that make in your life?

The cry of the human heart is a cry that God hears.  He responds by accepting our invitation to be a part of our world in very concrete and practical ways.  How are you invited God to enter your world?

Hayes Family Thanksgiving 2014

A Word from Your Pastor - November 23 Solemnity of Christ the King

Dear Parishioners:

Thanksgiving is a time to renew our awareness of the many gifts we have received.  The greatest and most important gift that is ours is Faith.  Through Faith we are brought into a living relationship with God and we are formed as a Community of Disciples.  As we enter into the time of celebration with our families this Thanksgiving, let’s count our blessings.

I thank God for the gift of priestly ministry and for the privilege of serving as Pastor.  This week, once again, I will be hosting my family at St. Timothy for the Thanksgiving meal.  This year, all my siblings are in town for the first time in many years.  We are grateful for the hospitality this parish has shown us now for the past seven Thanksgivings.  Being able to gather my family here is a joy because in a lovely way, it brings my two families together – all of you and the family that raised me.

We offer a warm welcome to all who come to be with us at St. Timothy through the holidays.  Please join us for the Mass on Thanksgiving Day.

Next week, we begin a new Liturgical Year.  Advent will open us to a new season of grace.  May this year be a time of growth in our unity as a family and in our realization of who we are as a Community of Faith.

Please read carefully the inserts about our State of the Parish regarding Finances and about a Vision for a Catechetical Center we hope to create in the years ahead.  Parish Council and Finance Committee have discussed these efforts and will be working closely with all our members to reach the goals we set and our dreams for an ever more vibrant response to God’s call to share our Faith with the next generations.  Pray that all of us may be open to the Spirit and respond to the voice of the Good Shepherd Who leads us to green pastures.

A Word from your Pastor - November 16

Dear Parishioners:

This week we hear about the call to Stewardship.  This is a universal call, sent out to all of us as individuals and collectively as a community of disciples.  What we have received we are to give as a gift.  As a sign of our acknowledgement that we are grateful for what we receive from God, we give first to God and to His Church.  This is the Biblical concept of Tithing – giving to God first from the fruits of our labor.  We give to God from our first and best, and then apply ourselves to other responsibilities.  Of course our current culture has this backwards, telling us always to be “looking out for number one,” namely ourselves.

We are called to share our Time, our Talents and our Treasures.  The measure of our giving is not so much an external yardstick as a check of our interior attitude.  “God loves a cheerful giver.”  (II Corinthians 9:6-7)  We make choices about our sharing of ourselves in friendship and relationships of all kinds.  The attitude of a Steward is the realization that all belongs to the Master and that we are making use of something that ultimately is on loan to us.

November reminds us first of the Communion of Saints.  Then it invites us to be thankful.  The weeks ahead will be full of activities that prepare us for family celebrations of the holidays – Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day – and that call to mind memories of past seasons.  May we be ever mindful of our duty to be stewards and disciples, ready to return in gratitude to God what we have received.

Last weekend, we had seven teams of New Evangelizers walking our neighborhoods.  They went out full of zeal and returned in jubilation.  We thank the seminarians of the Josephinum for their efforts in our parish and we are grateful too for those who have responded from among our parishioners to join them in walking or to pray for their success.  The Gospel is alive and it is being taken to our streets.  May it continue to grow in our hearts.

New Evangelization Door-to-Door Ministry

St. Timothy Church

November 9, 2014

A Word from Your Pastor - November 9 Dedication of St. John Lateran

Dear Parishioners:

Just in case you have not noticed, life at St. Timothy Parish and School is incredibly full and busy.  We have our usual meetings and gatherings of all the groups and the ordinary activities associated with parish and school.  We have also experienced many deaths of loved ones in our community and beyond, with the funerals and luncheons that offer consolation and support.  Our children are entering into fervent preparation for the Sacraments – First Reconciliation, Confirmation and First Holy Communion.  We are also doing “catch-up” for children who have not received Sacraments and whose families are renewing their efforts to train their children in the ways of Faith.

All of this is prelude to my admission of the fact that I have been personally harried by the busy-ness.  If you have contacted me (or tried to) and you have not heard back from me, I assure you that it is nothing personal.  I try to save messages that I pick up by e-mail or phone to respond when there is a lull.  But I don’t always manage to keep track of my lists of messages.  Sorry!  If you need something, please do keep trying.  After Mass on a Sunday is not a good time for anything but general information.  My mind does not hold all the little details the way it once did!  Email is the best way.  It sits in my “In” box until I get to it.  (Current count is 215 messages, down from 500 or so a day ago.)

When we are busy, we need to recollect ourselves and remember just why we do what we do.  What is the most important to us may get lost in the details of the busy-ness of our lives.  The Feast of St. John Lateran, which we observe today, is a reminder that we are God’s Temple as a community of believers.  The Basilica of St. John in the Lateran is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, the mother church of all churches.  As we recall this structure and its history, we seek to build up our own parish and to share the Good News of the Kingdom with one another.  The primary reason for our existence as a Parish and a School is to promote the growth of God’s Kingdom.

The Opening Prayer of Mass today offers a wonderful vision:  “O God, who from living and chosen stones prepare an eternal dwelling for your majesty, increase in your Church the spirit of grace you have bestowed, so that by new growth your faithful people may build up the heavenly Jerusalem.” May we cooperate with the grace God gives in answer to this prayer.

Today, also, we welcome the New Evangelization Club of the Pontifical College Josephinum, who along with members of our own parish Evangelization Committee, will literally take the Gospel to our streets.  May we all learn to cooperate with the breath of the Spirit and to be the witnesses God calls us to be.

A Word from Your Pastor - November 2 All Souls Day

Dear Parishioners:

This weekend’s celebrations of All Saints Day and All Souls Day invite us to consider what the Church calls “the Four Last Things”: Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell.  Every human being is destined, that is, created with the intent, to have a place in Heaven.  Nonetheless, because we are given Free Will, we are able to choose to accept that place or to reject it. 

At death, there is an experience of an immediate encounter with God.  In the “moment” beyond time, we will know ourselves as God knows us and a personal judgment will take place.  Our earthly life will be sifted to discern our orientation: toward God or toward ourselves alone.  God asks that we do His Will and say by our lives, “Thy Will be done.”  Yet, because we are free and He is Just, He allows us to choose our own will.  In that case, the just judgment is God’s saying to us “thy will be done.”  Hell, Scripture tells us (Matthew 25), is the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  Human beings go there only by a free choice.  God gives us the passage on the train that we have bought the ticket for by our manner of living and by our choices in the world.

It is unpopular these days to mention Heaven and Hell, as if expression of these realities somehow takes away from attention to the world around us.  Quite the contrary is true.  Believing in Heaven and Hell, we know that life has a goal, a purpose, an aim that is beyond this world.  As Catholics, we know the Mercy of God in the face of judgment.  If we are weak and sinful, but not turned inward on ourselves completely, He has made provision for an encounter that washes us clean so as to go into Heaven with the proper Wedding Garment, the purity and transparency that is necessary to be there.  We call this Mercy “Purgatory.”  At the Last Judgment at the end of Time, Purgatory will no longer be needed.  All that will remain are Heaven and Hell.

Note that Purgatory is a reality that is always on the way to Heaven.  If you choose to “go to Hell,” you do not pass “Go,” you do not collect $200, and you do not make a stop to say goodbye to your friends in Purgatory.  The choice of “my will” over “God’s Will” is the one-way ticket to Hell with no local stops.  The choice of “God’s Will” over “my will,” even if imperfect, is also a one-way ticket to Heaven, but there is a possibility for most of us who will need it of a purifying encounter that cleans out the pores and gets us ready for the Fire of Love with which Heaven is always burning.  Purgatory is prepared for human beings on the way to the Kingdom.

The celebrations of All Saints and All Souls also remind us of the Communion we share with all the Saints – those in glory, those in Purgatory, and those on the face of the earth.  We are able to pray for one another no matter what side of the Mystery of Death we happen to be on.  We on earth and the Saints in Glory pray for those on earth and those in the process of purification.  The “Holy Souls” in Purgatory can pray for us and ask us to pray for them, especially using the means available to us and not to them – the Mass and the Indulgences the Church offers through prayer and pious activities that keep us close to the Church.  All Souls Day helps us to keep them in mind.

As we consider the Communion of Saints and the Four Last Things, let us put our Hope in God through the action of Jesus Christ, Who is our Savior.  When death comes to us, we shall all discover that for those who believe, life is changed, not ended.  We are destined to live forever in the Love of God.  That is Heaven.

A Word from Your Pastor - October 26 Priesthood Sunday

Dear Parishioners:

This weekend has been designated a Priests’ Sunday and some of the organizations of the parish are highlighting the priesthood at the 10 a.m. Mass.  I thank you for the recognition of this wonderful ministry.  The priesthood is a gift to all of us.  All of us share in the Priesthood of Jesus Christ, and when we are aware of the different aspects of that One Priesthood, we can work together for the good of all.

The ministerial priesthood, that is, the priesthood of those who are ordained in the Sacrament of Holy Orders, has unique and indispensable gifts for all who seek to follow Christ.  This Ministry functions in many ways.  It is a ministry of prayer, healing and leadership.  In a Diocese, the Bishop is the chief priest, the one who stands in the place of Jesus Christ as the sign and symbol of our unity with the Church Universal.  Pastors represent the priesthood in collaboration with the Bishop, shepherding the People of God in the field of the parish.  Other priests, parochial vicars, teachers, hospital chaplains, etc., bring various aspects of the priesthood into relief.

Using the Mass as the model for Priesthood, we can see that the priest gathers the people, proclaims the Word among them, touches them with Sacraments, and sends them forth in Mission to evangelize.  This is also true in its own manner and degree for all who share in the One Priesthood of Christ.  Together, we, priests and people united in Christ as Church, are meant to be a means of grace for all the world.

On this Sunday, I invite you and your family to reflect on the priests you have known.  Who baptized you?  Who celebrated the other Sacraments for you?  How have priests brought you to a deeper knowledge of Jesus and His Church?

As you know, we have had quite a variety of priests and pastors at St. Timothy Church.  You can see the pictures of the pastors since our foundation in the hallway behind the church.  We are hoping that some of our own young men may one day have their pictures in other parishes of the Diocese of Columbus as pastors.  We owe the Church a debt of gratitude for all who have served among us as priests.  We thank God for their ministry and pray that they may receive the reward of their labors.

A Word from Your Pastor - October 19

Dear Parishioners:

Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.  This is the central advice Jesus offers us in regard to discernment of how we spend our resources and how we respond to the world around us.  As the Gospel account of today’s Mass shows, this world places demands on us as it supplies the coin by which we pay the taxes that are due.  So, too, God reveals to us that He wants back from us what He has given.  He wants us to return to Him the gift we have received.

At the present moment, once again, the teachings of our Catholic Faith are held up for scrutiny and often ridicule.  How do you respond to this?  We are entrusted with the Truth.  Our Church has endured and held fast to the Truth across two millennia.  The martyrs of every age have given their lives in witness to the Truth.  Even in our day, there are men and women and children who sacrifice their lives because they refuse to deny Jesus, Who IS the Way, the Truth and the Life.

In this time of testing, I invite you and your family to hold fast to a witness of the Faith.  Although you may have to endure ridicule for your fidelity, know that the prize is greater than this suffering.  God is worth your life.  The Church is teaching the Truth, often a Truth that is unpopular, but that remains true nonetheless.  Don’t be fooled by the media.  The Church has one purpose in the world: to witness to the Truth.  Those who hear the voice of Jesus seek the Truth.

The Synod in Rome is a gathering of representatives from the whole world.  This Synod is not re-defining our Faith.  Its purpose is to work together with the Holy Father, Pope Francis, to find a way to speak the Message of the Gospel to families in order to lift them up.  The results of this year’s gathering will set the agenda for another Synod that will meet next year.  It will also likely help to shape the content of the Gathering of Families that will take place next year in Philadelphia.  In the meantime, it invites all of us to hear the Gospel and to put it into practice with the family in mind.  How is your family creating a culture of Faith?  Have you begun to listen to the voice of the Shepherd?  How do you spend your resources?  Do you give to God what is God’s?

A Word from Your Pastor - October 12

Dear Parishioners:

Your prayers are requested for the Church universal as the Synod on the Family is underway in Rome at this time.  This is the first part of a two-year process that will continue with a similar gathering next year.  If all goes according to plan, Pope Francis will participate in the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia in 2015.  In the year ahead, we will be hearing more about this.

All of us belong to families in one form or another.  We are the products of the family that gave us life and raised us to adulthood – our family of origin.  Many are also a part of a family by choice – through marriage or by way of a commitment to a particular group of people.  Religious commitments and promises are the means by which such families come into being.  God Himself, Who IS a Family as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, draws us into His Family through the life we share in the Sacraments.  The Holy Family of Nazareth reveals the importance God gives to family life in the very manner by which the Son of God lived it, sharing the joys and sorrows of Mary and Joseph and being part of the clan of David the King.

At St. Timothy Parish, we are seeking to be formed as a family, united in mind and heart, with Jesus, our Good Shepherd.  A call is going out for us to deepen our welcome of one another and of those who come to worship with us.  We are also hearing the invitation to participate intentionally in the New Evangelization by sharing our Faith in Jesus Christ with those around us.  There is a hunger for belonging and for depth that only God can satisfy.

How do you experience Faith in your own family?  Does it have a priority for every member?  Parents are particularly responsible for setting an example that teaches their children in the ways of Faith.  Have you taken seriously this responsibility?

Fr. Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., used to say “The family that prays together stays together.”  In this month of the Rosary, I invite you to consider praying a family rosary or to find some other form of prayer that involves your whole family.  Ask your children to pray for you the prayers they are learning in School or in PSR.  Teach them the prayers you learned to pray as a child.  Pick a prayer that you call your “family prayer” or compose one of your own creation.  Welcome Jesus into your family home in a very practical way.  Find some way to unite your family with the Heart of Jesus.  Whatever you may do, entrust your family to God and stay close to His Church as a family.  You won’t regret it!

A Word from Your Pastor - October 5

Dear Parishioners:

Respect for Life is a major theme in the month of October.  The responsibility that falls to us is to help the wider culture that often cheapens life to come to understand the infinite value and worth of each unique human person.  We are called to create a new culture of Life.  We are invited to acknowledge the clear teaching of our Catholic Faith that each human being is a unique and unrepeatable gift of God from the first moment of conception until the last breath, when God chooses to take that person back to Himself.

Many in our world see this as a merely a matter of religious opinion and preference.  The centrality of the dignity of the human person is considered something optional.  The irony is that every “cause” that is supported even by the secular culture finds its strongest argument in the question of dignity.  Think of the ideas that are considered common understanding and agreement in popular culture.  Which of them does not flow from an awareness of the dignity and worth of at least some persons?

“My rights” flow from the act of considering myself as having value and worth.  “Injustice” of every kind is acknowledged when certain persons or classes of persons are discriminated against by others or by structures in society that demean them. Calls for change and for reform flow from a recognition that it is in our power to renew a system of values.  When we look toward creating a “culture of life,” we are confronting this reality at its most fundamental level.

In the face of the world, we are an enigma because we see things differently.  Our starting point is not ourselves, nor our own practical needs, but the Wisdom of God Who sees us as He created us to be – free persons with dignity and worth that He Himself has given us.  May our eyes and the eyes of all around us come to see the glory of God in the human person and may we work to live in awareness of God’s intent for our world.

October is also the Month of the Rosary.  Remember that the Rosary is prayed every weekday before Mass by the St. Monica Prayer Group.  The Knights of Columbus lead a Rosary once a month before the 10 a.m. Mass.  Our School children pray a decade of the Rosary after the Wednesday morning School Mass.  First Saturday Mass takes place at 8:30 a.m. and a Rosary follows.  Perhaps your family can begin to pray a Family Rosary once a week or each day of the month of October, having the children take turns in leading.  At the very least, reflect this month on the Mysteries of the Rosary and how they connect with the life of your family – the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries, and the Mysteries of Light (the Luminous Mysteries) suggested by Saint Pope John Paul II.

A Word from Your Pastor - September 28

Dear Parishioners:

Our children are the hope of the future.  They are entrusted to us for a time, but they grow up and then their children become their hope.  In times past, the whole community was aware of this and cooperated in direct and sometimes more subtle ways to ensure that truth and values were communicated in a clear way to our children.  That system is gone.

Now, our children are exposed to many different visions of the world.  As a Parish, through our School and through our Parish School of Religion (PSR), we strive to teach our children the values of our Faith and to initiate them into a practice of the Faith that helps to keep them in touch with the deeper values we have received as our inheritance.

The problem we have now is that Faith is often treated as something optional.  Practice of religion is seen as something merely private and personal.  Quite the opposite is true.  We need to put our Faith into practice so that we can continue to be in touch with the resources that a living relationship with God offers us and so that we can witness to the prior right of God in our lives.  Practice of our religion and the effort to meet the obligations we have ought to be a priority.

Many of our children are receiving an ambiguous witness concerning Faith.  If they are sent to a Catholic School or enrolled in PSR or involved in Youth Group, then they have some resources at their disposal that their peers may not have.  That is good.  However, if there is not a consistent family practice of the Faith, those advantages may disappear. Parents are the first teachers of their children in the ways of Faith.  In the Rite of Baptism, we pray that they may be the best of teachers, living and acting in such a way as to share Faith with their children.

How are you doing as a family?  Is every member of your family worshiping God on Sunday?  Catholics do this through the weekly celebration of Sunday Mass.  This is not an optional part of practice of the Faith.  It is essential.  If families send their children to learn about the Faith but fail to attend Mass each weekend, they cause confusion.

In October, we do a count of all who are present at Mass.  You are invited to be counted among those present each week.

Our efforts to promote the New Evangelization also continue this year.  Seminarians from the Pontifical College Josephinum and some of our own parishioners are planning a neighborhood visit Sunday, October 5th.  Are you ready to share your Faith?

A Word from Your Pastor - September 21

Dear Parishioners:

St. Timothy Parish is, as parishes go in the Diocese of Columbus, a medium-sized parish.  Having a School, we are also a parish that has so far managed to carry forward the vision for Catholic Education that was present in the first generation of Catholics in our nation, in the person of our first Bishop John Carroll and our first native-born American Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.  We are once again at a time of creating a vision that will help to sustain us into the future.

We worship together in a church built by our first members and renewed when necessary along the way.  We teach our children and offer them an opportunity for recreation and social activities through a Parish Center and Gym that began as a dream and was accomplished by cooperation among many.  Can you see that the Good Shepherd Who brought us to this point continues to have plans for us as a Parish and a School? 

The Church in our time is being called to take seriously the task of Evangelization through witness of life and a conscious effort to catechize those who have never heard the Gospel and to be renewed by a deepening of catechetical instruction for those who have lived it but have lost the zeal of their first response.  Through welcome, invitation and witness, we prove we are disciples of the Lord by spreading the Gospel in the world today.

Catechetical Sunday reminds us to show our gratitude to those who dedicate their time and energy to catechize in the name of our Parish: teachers in our School and PSR program, the RCIA Team, and the coordinators of the various programs of Adult Education in the ways of Faith.  Parents are the first teachers of their children in the ways of Faith.  All of us need to continue to study and learn what Faith teaches and to follow the wisdom we receive.

All families are invited to renew a commitment to catechesis of their children and a faithful witness of practice of the Faith.  How are you responding to the Spirit’s call to go deeper?

A Word from Your Pastor - September 14 Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Dear Parishioners:

A principle for effecting change in our world these days that you may have heard is “Think globally, act locally.”  This idea suggests that the way to change the world is to start within ourselves and close at hand.  We have to learn to see things from a broader perspective even as we work within our own sphere of influence.  This idea puts into our hands the simple truth that each one of us always has the power to make a difference.

The Baltimore Catechism that taught many how to express the Catholic Faith in succinct ways gives some answers that remind us to keep the broadest possible vision in view:

Q. Who made you?

A. God made me.

Q. Why did God make you?

A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world,
and to be happy with Him forever in the next.

With these questions and answers at the beginning of the Catechism, the Church places before us the realization that we belong to God and that God has a plan for us.  That offers us a perspective as broad as you can get – from the point of view of God Himself.  When we start there, everything else is put into proper perspective.

Why does the Church encourage some sorts of behavior, such a fidelity, honesty and integrity?  Because it expresses who God creates us to be.

Why does the Church say “no” to some behaviors and activities that the world applauds or invites us to do?  Because they are not in accord with God’s plan for us or with His reason for the realities involved.

One way to change the world, and to cooperate with God’s efforts to prepare us for life with Him in the next, is to accept the disciplines of the Church so as to learn and develop the virtues that free us to live for God.  We all have “family rules.”  The Church is a family that has its rules.  We may complain about the rules and wish they were different than they are.  But if we follow them, we will discover that we reach our true goal more quickly.

As the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross reveals to us, Christ Himself became obedient, even to death on the Cross.  For this very reason, He was highly exalted and became the Redeemer of the world.  By loving in the face of rejection and suffering, He lifted us up to a capacity for Life with God.

When we work to shape our thoughts with the mind of Christ and His Church, we open ourselves to a new way of living.  By living now in accord with the Love revealed through the Cross of Christ, we become sharers in divine life and bring Hope to the world.

A Word from Your Pastor - September 7

Dear Parishioners:

We have experienced a number of deaths in our parish family lately.  Some long-time and active parishioners have been called Home and many families in our parish have lost close family members elsewhere.  Our Bereavement Ministry and Resurrection Choir have been working overtime.  We are very blessed to have such a compassionate community to be present to those who experience the loss of loved ones.

It seems an appropriate time to offer a few notes that may be helpful to all of us as we look toward planning for the day we will come to the end of this life’s journey.  I have personally been edified by the preparations offered by those who have died that have made the experience - not quite easier - but simpler for those left behind.

At the moment someone you love dies, it is hard to think, so often families are not sure just what to do.  Having a list of who should be contacted is helpful.  Please be sure to list the St. Timothy Parish Office (451-2671) among those who are notified.  In fact, if you or someone you love is ill, let us know early in the process. 

The Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick and Holy Communion, at home or elsewhere, are very consoling to those who are ill and to their families.  “Last Rites” include Confession and Absolution (with the Apostolic Pardon), Anointing, and Holy Communion as Viaticum.”  Since we know not the day nor the hour, we ought not to miss the opportunity for the touch of Sacramental Grace.  The sooner we know, the sooner we can assist the family as well.

Planning for the Funeral Services include a few details:  What Funeral Home will you use?  It is best to choose one that is very familiar with the Catholic funeral rites.  The Catholic Funeral includes three sites:  A Prayer Vigil at the Funeral Home, Mass at a Catholic Church, and the Rite of Committal at the Cemetery.  The preference is to have the body (which served as a temple for the Holy Spirit) present for the time of visitation and for the Funeral Mass.  If cremation takes place, then the cremains are kept intact and a Rite of Committal can take place later.  If cremation takes place before the Funeral Mass, then the cremains may be present at the Mass and Committal follows.  It is considered disrespectful to “sprinkle the ashes” of a human being in various locations or to divide them.  Our own human nature needs to have a place to “visit” where the loved one’s earthly remains are to be found.  Interment in a cemetery or columbarium is the Catholic practice.

On the day of the Funeral, our parish offers the option of a Bereavement Meal following the Funeral and the Service at the Cemetery.  The team need to know an approximate number of attendees expected.

In recent times, families have been grateful that their loved ones picked out Readings and songs for the funeral beforehand.  A booklet for this and a guide to the songs that may be chosen are available in the Parish Office.

Sometimes there are things you wish you could say to loved ones that they are not able to hear due to life’s complexities.  A letter left with your funeral preferences and plans can be very consoling.  Write a letter to those left behind and let them know that you have thought about them experiencing this moment of grief.  It will help more than you can imagine.

The Bereavement Committee tries to keep track of loved ones who have died through the course of a year in order to remember them on All Souls’ Day each year.  If you lose a family member, even if the funeral is held elsewhere, please let us know so that person’s name can be in the list for the All Souls’ Mass of Remembrance.  This year we will have that celebration at the Noon Mass Sunday, November 2^nd.

To all families who have lost loved one, we offer our sincerest condolences.  We recall that for those who have Faith, death is not the final word.  Life is changed, not ended.  We will meet again in the Kingdom. 

Eternal Rest grant unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.  May they rest in peace.  Amen.  May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.

A Word from Your Pastor - August 31

Dear Parishioners:

Certain themes are emerging for us at St. Timothy Church.  “Welcome” continues to present itself as something for us to attend to.  How do we welcome newcomers among us?  How do we help all who have been here all along to realize that they continue to be welcome even as new members join us?  How do we respond when for whatever reason we have not felt welcome ourselves?

Our Christian life is based on the understanding that God is welcoming us into a share in His Life.  Our responsibility as disciples of Jesus is to accept this welcome and to share the news of the invitation.  So often, we are so caught up by the many concerns and worries of our lives that we forget to enjoy the magnitude of this invitation.  We are chosen by the Living God to experience His Life, now and forever.  Time and Eternity are intermingled for us.

As the new academic year begins, we renew our efforts to share our Faith with the next generation.  Our Parish School (St. Timothy School) and the Parish School of Religion (P.S.R.) are open for business.  Our Revolution Youth Group has been very active through the Summer and has begun a new venture called YDisciple to deepen understanding and commitment in such a way as to help them negotiate the transitions that can lead away from practice of the Faith.

The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (R.C.I.A.) is also ready to begin.  Do you know anyone who is interested in exploring our Faith?  Are you ready to go deeper into your own discipleship with the Lord Jesus?  How is your own commitment to Faith and understanding of the richness of our Catholic heritage growing?

 

 

As you no doubt have heard, Fr. Bill, Mr. Mosholder and Fr. Tim participated at School in the “Ice Bucket Challenge” that went out on Facebook from the St. Timothy Youth Group.  Please be sure that any donations go to the John Paul II Medical Resarch Institute and not to any other organization that supports fetal stem cell research.

Here is the link to the JPII Medical Resarch Institute in case you need it:

http://www.jp2mri.org/about.htm

Note: we have to be very careful about some of the on-line challenges and to research carefully ourselves the designation of funds for such challenges. Sometimes groups are not very selective about causes that are supported.