A Word from Your Pastor - December 27 Feast of the Holy Family

Dear Parishioners:

Holy Family Sunday is a reminder to all of us that God came among us as a member of a human family.  Jesus, Mary and Joseph lived together in Nazareth, showing by the silence of those years just how valuable God holds the life of a family.  We are called to live in accord with the joy and peace of those years. 

We know that the Holy Family experienced many difficulties along the way.  The journey to Bethlehem, the Flight to Egypt, and the return to Nazareth were all moments of their lives where they had to travel in less than ideal conditions.  They knew the plight of immigrants and refugees.  The experience of the apparent loss of Jesus when they visited Jerusalem when He was 12 years old was a trauma for Mary and Joseph.  The loss of Joseph sometime before Jesus’ public ministry began was no doubt a hardship for both Jesus and Mary.  Then, Jesus’ departure from Nazareth, leaving Mary in the care of the wider clan was a time of sorrow for the Blessed Mother, anticipated what she would experience at the foot of the Cross.

When we realize that God chose to enter our world through the family, we can begin to see that how we safeguard family life is central to our witness of our Faith.  Fidelity and Commitment to those to whom we belong by the sacred bonds established by God are signs of the eternal significance of human life in light of our relationship with God.  God is the Father of a family, the People of God, who are made one in a Covenant established by Jesus Christ.  The Spirit empowers us to live in unity and to draw others into the circle of the family.

At St. Timothy Parish this weekend, we celebrate Holy Family Sunday by a special blessing offered to individual families at the end of Mass.  We are called in this Jubilee Year of Mercy to ensure that we attend to all the members of our families with a heart full of love and compassion because of the Mercy we have experienced ourselves.  May the family blessing enliven in your heart the zeal for the Kingdom that shows you are aware of the privilege of being a member of God’s Family in the Church.

A Word from Your Pastor - December 25 Christmas

Dear Parishioners and Guests for Christmas:

We welcome you to St. Timothy Church as we join together to celebrate the Coming of Immanuel, God with Us, in Jesus Christ.  The joy of this celebration is a reminder to us that God is present to us in every age.  The Church Fathers tell us that Joy is the infallible sign of God’s Presence.  We know the Story of Bethlehem is true because we discover that the Spirit of God brings the Son of God to birth in our own hearts and leads us to give glory to God in the highest.

Pope Francis has invited us all to celebrate this year as a Jubilee Year of Mercy.  We are called to acknowledge the Gift of Mercy, God’s Love offered to us after we have rejected it.  Opening our hearts to that Mercy, we are to become a sign of the availability of God’s Love and Mercy to all.  May we live this Jubilee of Mercy, showing the merciful face of God our Father to the world.

January 18-31, St. Timothy Parish will be hosting the Image of the Sacred Heart that was blessed at the re-consecration of the Diocese of Columbus made by Bishop Campbell on the Feast of the Sacred Heart this past year.  Special indulgences and graces are associated with this devotion.  May we all grow in our knowledge of God’s Love and of His call to share Jesus Christ with the world.

A Blessed Christmas to All!

 Rev. Timothy M. Hayes, Pastor

A Word from Your Pastor - December 20 Fourth Sunday of Advent

Dear Parishioners:

The Fourth Sunday of Advent opens to the final days of preparation for Christmas.  It is a special time of grace since we are now also in the Jubilee of Mercy.  Pope Francis has asked us to live in greater awareness of God’s Call to open our hearts to His Mercy and to allow our hearts to be transformed so as to show the world the Merciful Face of the Father in His Church.  As we prepare to welcome many guests to share with us the joy and beauty of Christmas in our church, with decorations and with the various Liturgies of Christmas, we must also resolve to be present to them with the Mercy that is offered in this Jubilee Year.

Throughout the Jubilee Year of Mercy, we will concentrate as a community on the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy, the practical way of reaching out to others.  I will reflect on these in the weeks and months ahead, offering insights into how our Parish family seeks to live them and on how we may live them more intentionally in this time of grace.

The Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy are actions we can perform that extend God’s compassion and mercy to those in need.

The Corporal Works of Mercy are these kind acts by which we help our neighbors with their material and physical needs:

·        feed the hungry

·        give drink to the thirsty

·        clothe the naked

·        shelter the homeless

·        visit the sick

·        visit the imprisoned

·        bury the dead

The Spiritual Works of Mercy are acts of compassion, as listed below, by which we help our neighbors with their emotional and spiritual needs:

·        counsel the doubtful

·        instruct the ignorant

·        admonish sinners

·        comfort the afflicted

·        forgive offenses

·        bear wrongs patiently

·        pray for the living and the dead

If we are living in the Light of the Gospel, these actions become “second nature” to us, because they flow from the Life of Christ that is at work in us.  Works will not get us to Heaven – only the Grace and Mercy of Jesus Christ will accomplish that.  However, if we attend to these kinds of works, we can be confident that Christ’s Spirit is at work in us.

As we prepare to welcome Jesus Christ once again through our celebration of Christmas, may we grow in our capacity to show His Face as the Face of Mercy by the lives we lead.  A Blessed Christmas to all!

A Word from Your Pastor - December 13 Third Sunday of Advent

Dear Parishioners:

We are moving right along in Advent.  With the Third Sunday, we reach a moment of joy, the leap of the heart that tells us that we will soon arrive at our destination: celebration of the Birth of Jesus Christ.

The Year of Mercy has begun.  I invite everyone to open to the grace of this year in two ways: First, deepen your understanding of Mercy.  How do you define it?  What is Mercy in your experience?  Second, find a practical devotion that for you expresses your commitment to live the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

I understand Mercy to be God’s Love offered again once it has been rejected.  It is an offer of forgiveness that opens to a new beginning, creating a space for a deeper relationship with God and His Church.  One devotion that has captured my attention is Pope Francis’ devotion to Our Lady, Undoer or Untier of Knots.

As we discover together the meaning of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, let us strive to be merciful as our Heavenly Father is merciful.  Let us show a face of Joy that reveals the Love and Mercy of our God, so that others may come to find the Church to be a shelter in the storms of life.  Let us be ever more ready to follow the way of the Lord that leads us to Peace.

Prayer to Mary, Undoer of Knots

Dearest Holy Mother, Most Holy Mary, You undo the knots that suffocate your children, extend Your merciful hands to me. I entrust to You today this knot and all the negative consequences that it provokes in my life. I give You this knot that torments me and makes me unhappy and so impedes me from uniting myself to You and Your Son Jesus, my Savior.

I run to You, Mary, Undoer of Knots because I trust You and I know that You never despise a sinning child who comes to ask you for help. I believe that You can undo this knot because Jesus grants You everything. I believe that You want to undo this knot because you are my Mother. I believe that You will do this because you love me with eternal love.

Thank you, Dear Mother.  Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me. Amen.

A Word from Your Pastor - December 6 Second Sunday of Advent

Dear Parishioners:

This week, the Jubilee of Mercy will begin with the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception December 8th.  This is a time of special grace that Pope Francis has established as a reminder to us that God is Merciful.  Pope John Paul II set the theme of Mercy as a bridge into the New Millennium.  Now Pope Francis is setting Mercy as a foundation for the unfolding of the New Evangelization.

In our day, when religion is used as an excuse for violence, it is clear that we need to step back and see the truth of Who God IS.  If we have an image of God that is anything other than Mercy, we have not truly seen the Face of God.  The Year of Mercy will invite and challenge all of us to look again at things to see them differently.

How do you understand Mercy?  There are several perspectives that come to mind when I reflect on this quality of God.  First, it is simply Love, that is, Love offered a second time once it has been rejected.  It is an invitation to a new relationship that is deeper because it has been tested.  It is a gift of “new space” in which to act, a place of rest and retreat and promise.  It invites us to reach beyond ourselves to share more of what is most true, beyond the superficial.  It is a compassion that is real and that restores whatever has been lost.

In the Year of Mercy, we are called to allow God’s Mercy to change us.  Pope Francis’ Motto, “miserando atque eligendo” is a description of how God looks at us.  He sees us as we truly our, in our sinfulness and need for Him, and at the very same time, He chooses us to receive what He offers and to become His ambassadors before the world.  Jesus looks at the tax collector Matthew and sees how he is on the fringes of the People of God; He choose Matthew and invites him to follow Him.  We see that Matthew’s response to Jesus’ invitation is still resounding through the ages.  God is doing the same with us.  He knows us and He chooses us to receive and live His Mercy.

As we move forward into Advent and as we enter into the Year of Mercy, let us open our hearts to God and become the Church that we are meant to be, wearing the face of Mercy and inviting others to move beyond the world’s limits into a living relationship with the God of Mercy.  Heavenly Father, have Mercy on us!

Our Parish Advent Penance Service will be celebrated Wednesday, December 9, at 7 p.m.  Come to receive the healing touch of God’s Mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Confession is good for the soul!

A Word from Your Pastor - November 29 First Sunday of Advent

Dear Parishioners:

Advent begins a new Church Year.  So it can serve as a time for new beginnings and resolutions.  As Pastor, I have to be honest that in many ways the past year has been a year of great challenge in many ways.  My own heart has been stretched at times to the point of tears.  I am sure that many of you can say the same.

Let us begin again.  Let us take the opportunity of the passage of time to do what we can to leave old wounds behind and look toward the future.  In particular, let us prepare to enter into the Year of Mercy, which will start December 8^th.

One of the many blessings of this past year for our parish and for the Diocese of Columbus was the opportunity to participate in the Amazing Parish Conference held in Denver in April.  Since then, our Amazing Parish Team has been meeting regularly and reflecting on the ways we can focus our energies on the mission entrusted to us to make disciples as we are called to do. 

Welcome has become a primary theme.  How can we welcome others into an awareness of the Love of God offered through Jesus Christ?  Who are we called to welcome?  Who among us do not experience us as a true community of welcome?  What are the needs of our members?  What is the world’s situation telling us about our responsibility to care for others?

Some basic questions we will need to consider as a parish are these:  What makes us unique as a parish?  What is our responsibility given the mission territory entrusted to us?  What are the activities we are involved in that we need to continue?  What activities are no longer serving our mission and need to stop?  What ought we to begin to do that we are not currently doing?

These questions can also serve individuals and families in an examination of their discipleship.  How are you responding to our common call to be a community of welcome?

Advent is the season that prepares us to welcome Jesus.  We welcome Him first by welcoming the least among us.  Maranatha!  Lord Jesus, come!

A Word from Your Pastor - November 22 Solemnity of Christ the King

As we gather to celebrate Thanksgiving this week, we count our blessings.  When we are mindful of all that God has done for us and all that we have received from the generosity of others, we become ever more aware of our responsibility to show gratitude through our own service of our brothers and sisters in need.  The Church’s reminder to us concerning how to give return for what we have received is the teaching regarding the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.

CCC #2447.  The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities.  (Cf. Isaiah 58:6-7; Hebrews 13:3.)

Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently.

The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead.  (Cf. Matthew 25:31-46.) 

Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God (Cf. Tobit 4:5-11; Sirach 17:22; Matthew 6:2-4.):

He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none and he who has food must do likewise.  (Luke 3:11.) But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you. (Luke 11:41.)  If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? (James 2:15-16; cf. 1 John 3:17.)

Let us give thanks to God for His gifts, and may we share abundantly with those in need  through the power of His Mercy at work in our hearts.  May we learn, too, to share the riches of our Faith with all who long to know God through us.

A Word from Your Pastor - November 15

A Word from Your Pastor

Dear Parishioners:

How are you preparing for the end of the world?  As we come to the close of a Calendar Year, and as the Liturgical Year ends and opens to a new Season, we are invited to contemplate the Latter Days.  The Catholic Church points out the “Four Last Things”: Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell.  Each of us will one day meet our Maker and have to account for our lives on earth.  This is a sobering thought.  Yet it is not morbid.  In the life of Faith, it is an exciting thought.  We discover through Faith that we are destined for something beyond this world.

As our Catholic Faith points out, three Theological Virtues are given to us to assist us on our way to God: Faith, Hope and Love.  Faith gives us the capacity to receive the Truth that has been revealed by God and to respond to His Gift by a return gift of ourselves.  Hope helps us call to mind that God is always there for us and to put our trust in Him as our earthly life reaches its goal.  Love serves to share God’s own Life with us and we are enabled to enter into Eternity because the Love we have experienced goes with us.

In the days and weeks ahead, as we count our blessings and give God thanks for all He has given us, we also turn to one another with hearts full of gratitude for what we share.  Let us cultivate a spirit of welcome so that all may come to share our joy.  I want to be sure to thank you all for everything you are and do for the St. Timothy Community.  May your generosity of spirit be richly rewarded by God.

Jesus tells us that no one knows the day nor the hour when God will manifest Himself.  This is clearly so.  Yet we can live each day in joyful expectation of His Coming and in that way we will always be ready.  Let us be joyful and let our Faith lead us ever more deeply into an awareness of God’s Love for us.

Congratulations to our Second Graders who made their First Reconciliation this weekend and to all their families.  May Forgiveness and Mercy be ever a part of your life in Christ!

A Word from Your Pastor - November 8

Dear Parishioners:

Jesus invited His disciples to take a step into a deeper relationship with Him by asking questions.  At a moment of intensity, He asks His disciples “Who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29) This question is at the heart of all other questions.  We are asked to identify Jesus for Who He IS and in so doing we establish the very ground on which we stand.

Our age is a skeptical age.  It tends to discount anything that came before our age until it is tested.   It doubts what it cannot see.  It denies first and then seeks to manipulate things to go a predetermined direction.  Jesus calls us out of this way of thinking.  He invites us to see the world from God’s perspective.  He invites us to welcome God into our world freely by becoming part of what God is doing.  Jesus invites us to dream of what the world can be through His grace and to take concrete steps to let it happen in us.

The New Evangelization is the Call of the Church today.  From Pope John XXIII, who prayed for a New Pentecost to Pope Francis, who calls us to go to the peripheries, we are invited to become a welcoming community that leads the world to Jesus.

This week, I will be interviewing our Confirmands, the 8^th Graders who are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.  I will sit one-on-one with each of them to invite a deeper look at what God is doing in their lives.  This is always a revelatory moment.  I learn from them what is going on in the lives of their families in regard to Faith and how they are experiencing their own moment of discernment concerning commitment.  This is a privilege moment, and as  Pastor, I delight in this opportunity to speak heart-to-heart with each one.

Next weekend, on Saturday morning, our 2^nd Graders will be receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time.  They delight in the power of this Sacrament to allow them to experience the healing Mercy of Jesus as He forgives them their sins and teaches them to forgive others.

As our youth enter more deeply into the Sacramental Life of the Church, all are invited to set an example for them.  Take the opportunity to renew your own relationship with the Holy Spirit you received at Baptism and Confirmation.  Go to Confession, especially if it has been a while, and renew your commitment to the life of Grace and Holiness.  Aim high.  Be holy.  Love.  God cannot be outdone in generosity.

A Word from Your Pastor - November 1 Solemnity of All Saints

Dear Parishioners:

Happy Solemnity of All Saints!  This is truly a Family Day.  We acknowledge that we are part of a family that has a great destiny.  Glory in the Kingdom of Heaven is our aim.  By the action of God’s grace in our hearts and in our lives, through our cooperation with that grace, we are promised a place among the Saints in Glory.  Our identity is not at all anything that the world tells us.  Rather, our identity is “Saints in Training.”

Holiness is the call of all who are baptized.  We belong to God.  We are set apart to accomplish a great work in God’s Name.  When we allow this to be central to our self-understanding, something different happens in us.  We live no longer for ourselves, but for God and for those whom He has entrusted to us.

Being a member of the Communion of Saints, we acknowledge that we are responsible for others.  The Saints in Glory, the cloud of witnesses who have gone ahead of us, pray for us and spur us on to victory.  The Holy Souls in Purgatory, our ancestors in Faith still in need of purification before their entrance into the Kingdom, also pray for us and rely on us to pray for them since they cannot pray for themselves.  Other “Saints in Training” also rely on us for our example and for our support through prayer and action that will help them along the way to the Kingdom.

When we fix our hearts on Heaven, we see the world around us differently.  When God is truly first in our lives, we find that the delights of this world pale in comparison to the joy of a living and true relationship with Him.  The call to holiness is a call to a delight that will never end.

November 2^nd is the Memorial of All Souls.  On this day, we keep in mind those who have gone before us who are in need of the final purification to enter into Heavenly glory.  It is fitting for us to pray in a special way for those who have died in the past year and for all our benefactors.  A number of those who have been generous to the St. Timothy community and who literally built the Parish and the School have received their call to the Kingdom.  May they rest in peace.  May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the Mercy of God, rest in peace.  We remember them at the Masses of All Souls’ Day, especially the evening Mass sponsored by the St. Timothy Bereavement Committee.

A Word from Your Pastor - October 25

Dear Parishioners:

This past week, I felt compelled to share with my family and others the memory of my “little sister” Becky, who died at the age of 3.  October 19^th would have been her 55^th Birthday.  She was born into Heaven December 12, 1963.  I was 4 years old at the time.  I shared the picture with family by e-mail and then was moved to put it up on Facebook as well.  The responses of so many to that effort of sharing has been very touching to me and my family.

Becky, who was baptized as a baby, never reached the age when she could fall into sin, so she is a saint in Heaven, which is the promise of Baptism.  I have known her prayer all these years and for some reason just wanted to let others in on the secret.

Have a look at the picture many have seen on Facebook.

Yes, that is Fr. Tim to the left, Becky, and my brother Chuck, just a few months before Becky’s death.  I shared it with my mother in person on Becky’s Birthday and she told me it was her favorite of the pictures we have of Becky.

I am so aware of the Communion of Saints because of the life of Becky, that I want to be sure that you can see it too.  Your loved ones who have entered into the Mystery of Death are not far from you.  If they were ready at life’s end to say their “Yes” fully, they are in Heaven praying for you.  If they were in need of some purification, they pray for you still and they are in need of your prayers for them. 

The celebrations coming up next week – All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2) – are the Church’s invitation to keep our unity with the Saints in Glory and the “Holy Souls” in Purgatory in mind as we continue our march through life.  I invite you to take time with your family to talk about those who have gone ahead of you.  Discuss what you think Heaven will be like.  If you have family members are nearing the time of their call, ask who they most look forward to seeing again.

It is not morbid to keep the reality of the fact that this life will end in mind.  We can “befriend” death as the doorway to the Kingdom of God for us.  Keeping in mind the Four Last Things – Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell – helps to make sense of our life.  We find meaning in all we do in this world because we have Hope in Life Eternal.  We are called to be saints.  As we remember the Communion of Saints, let us strive for the holiness of life and welcome that leads others to God.  When the Saints go marching in, don’t you want to be in that number?

A Word from Your Pastor - October 18

Dear Parishioners:

As the Church continues her efforts to discover the best way to promote the life of the family, the fundamental building block of our society, it is useful for us to reflect on how ages past have seen family life.  For most cultures, it was recognized without any question that the best way to succeed was to have good family connections.  “Arranged marriages” were really an effort to take advantage of the unity that family brings to the advantage of both families of origin.  We look askance at this from our vantage point of the choice of the parties involved in the marriage, but the truth is that when families are compatible, there is a greater likelihood of success in a marriage.

St. Augustine in his Confessions looks back on his own meandering path and suggests that even in his day there was a motivation toward marriage and family that was ignored to one’s peril.  To marry could be to reach for a sense of “honor” that could be earned “by fulfilling the duties of a well-ordered marriage and raising a family.”  When one married instead due to lust or out of habit, the higher purposes of marriage were obscured.

In our time, we are being invited by the Church to renew commitment to being members of God’s Family and to living our own family life in the image of God through mutuality of respect and love open to God’s grace.  Young people, Pope Francis says, should not be afraid to embark on the adventure of marriage and raising a family.  The family is meant to be a school of love and to teach each member how to be sacrificial in giving of oneself to others.

Pope Francis in his homespun way tells tales of family life and invites us to love one another in practical ways.  Saint Pope John Paul II wrote much on family life through his long papacy.  We can learn much from these patriarchs in our church family.  Bishop Campbell has begun a series of talks about marriage and family that might be helpful to you and your family.

In the month of October, we celebrate respect for life.  The protection of life at every stage of development happens best in families united in mind and heart.  The call to prayer, especially the Rosary, is addressed to every family.  Attendance at Sunday Mass as a family, daily prayer and a personal commitment by every parent to raise their children by word and example in the ways of faith are all necessary components of family life.

Jesus lived as a member of the Holy Family of Nazareth.  May we learn to live as Jesus, Mary and Joseph, in the image of the Trinity.

A Word from Your Pastor - October 11

Dear Parishioners:

Reading the Message of Pope Francis to our country, I have come to a realization that I thought I would pass on to you.  What the Pope has to say to us can only be fully understood if you read all that he said and did while he was with us.  The pundits on all sides have started to pick apart what he said on the basis of sound bytes and as to what was said or not said in a particular speech or homily.  I have taken the time to download and read all the talks, and as I went through them all as part of my personal prayer time, I discovered that he really did say everything – even what he is purported as not having said!  He did use the words that he supposedly didn’t say, and his actions spoke louder than words in many situations.

In other words, the true Message of Pope Francis to the U.S.A. is to be grasped as a whole.  From the first moment he arrived until his last moments with us, he was a Message to us.  It is the Truth we all need to hear: that God is with us, that He loves us, that He wants to offer us His Mercy.  We are a family of nations. 

The fundamental building block of society is the family, according to God’s plan from the beginning and God Himself became one with us in the Family of Nazareth.  Each one of us can make a difference in the world by being willing to do the hard work necessary and by listening to those around us, making ourselves one with them and sharing our joy in the Gospel.

As I have shared on several occasions, the experience of welcome at Philadelphia was truly phenomenal.  I was in awe of the warmth and the efforts at outreach by local folks all through the weekend that the Holy Father spent there.  My first thought was that we can do this at St. Timothy Church.  We can be a truly welcoming community, but we have to make some decisions that put the Gospel at the center of our lives as individuals and as a parish family.  It cannot be “business as usual.”  How are you challenged to move outside your comfort zone and to commit?

A Word from Your Pastor - October 4

Dear Parishioners:

Pope Francis is truly all they say he is and more.  The privilege of concelebrating Mass with him in Philadelphia was truly a high point in my life as a priest.  Words cannot capture everything that I would like to share with you, but I will try to offer a couple of points.

First, the opening of the city of Philadelphia to all of us who descended upon them was a clear indication of what God can do with open hearts. As the local mayor and the Pope spoke of it, the city is “the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection.”  Everywhere we went, we found a warm welcome.  There were no strangers, though we were literally from all over the world.

The time with the Pope was magical.  Everyone was excited together at the prospect of seeing him.  At one point, not far from Independence Hall, a group I was standing among was treated to a close-up view of the Popemobile – and we all laughed to discover that it was empty since he had been dropped off by the Lincoln podium where he would be speaking.  A few different times, I got to see the Pope pass by and I have pictures of his arm out the window to prove it.

The Papal Mass gathered hundreds of priests and bishops and cardinals and nearly a million others.  I was in the third row of priests sitting behind three rows of bishops.  That was a great view, except when the bishops put on their miters (their white hats).  Sitting several rows behind me was our parishioner Jonathan Smith, who is a seminarian for the Diocese of Arlington, and who studies at the Seminary in Philadelphia where the Pope and his retinue stayed.

When I was able to distribute Holy Communion, I was in tears.  On the way back, the song “Gift of Finest Wheat” began to be sung and it took me back to 1976, when as a Junior in High School, I attended the Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia.  The whole experience was very moving personally.

I hear the Pope’s challenge to help everyone know that they are loved by God.  The kind of welcome the “secular city” of Philadelphia was able to give told me that we can do the same.  May we hear the invitation to be a place of welcome for all God’s Children.

See pix of the Pilgrimage here:  https://2015phillypopepilgrimage.shutterfly.com/

A Word from Your Pastor - September 27

Dear Parishioners:

This weekend, I am in Philadelphia for the encounter with Pope Francis.  Be sure that you and all your concerns and that of your families are with me as we participate in this historic spiritual event.  As you read this, pilgrims will be gathering for time with our Holy Father as he concludes his visit in the New World by celebrating Mass with the World Meeting of Families.

The pilgrimage sponsored by the St. Timothy Women’s Club has taken us to several shrines associated with Saints: St. John Neumann, St. Katherine Drexel, St. Gianna Beretta Molla, and St. Rita of Cascia.  Some of these are “home-grown” in our own lands.  All are a reminder to us that the Call to Holiness is addressed to all of whatever walk of life.  The invitation of Pope Francis is for us to respond to live in communion with the Church as a Family and to embody in our own families the values and the virtues that invite others to know the saving truth of Jesus Christ.

As we complete this journey, we are also preparing to continue to respond to Pope Francis’ invitation to celebrate the coming year as a “Year of Mercy.”  Now is the time to make concrete plans about how we will do this as a Parish Family.  What does Mercy mean to you?  How will you and your family keep the theme of Mercy alive in your home?  What will you do among your fellow parishioners and on behalf of your friends, your enemies and your co-workers in the world?  Mercy is for all.

A Word from Your Pastor - Sepember 20

Dear Parishioners:

The themes unfolding for this season in the life of our Parish and School are Faith, Family and Mercy.  This week, in anticipation of the Year of Mercy that begins December 8, I highlight the theme of Mercy.  This is especially timely since this week our nation welcomes the “Pope of Mercy,” Pope Francis, to our own cities of Washington, New York (including the United Nations), and Philadelphia.

Mercy is a word for our time.  Through the past century, the Church has begun ever more clearly to highlight this quality of God.  God offers us His Love.  When we reject it through sin and selfishness, He offers it again as Mercy.   This includes forgiveness of sin and an opening to a new and deeper experience of grace.  Mercy is an active, engaged attitude.  It is an opening to a new beginning, a concrete expression of trust on God’s part that we are willing to follow Him once we have been humbled to realize that we cannot do anything without Him.  God is merciful.  We are sinner, who do not deserve His Love, and yet He continues to offer us an invitation to a living relationship with Him.

Practically speaking, it is Mercy that shows us how to share God’s offer with the world.  The Works of Mercy, both corporal (bodily) and spiritual, are the “business” of the Church.  When we allow Mercy to flow through us, our own capacity to experience God’s Mercy grows.

This week, I invite you to open the eyes of Mercy as you look at all that is happening in our world and in the life of those around you.  If you have a heart ready to show mercy to others, God’s own Mercy will find a place in your heart and your life.  Listen to the Message of Mercy that Pope Francis speaks to us.

I offer three challenges to all in the experience of the Holy Father’s visit to our country:

1. Listen to his words and his message.  Don’t rely on the media’s spin of what he has to say.  Ask God to open your ears to hear.  I am sure that you will be able to find what Pope Francis says either at the Vatican website – www.vatican.va – or at the United States Bishops’ Conference site – www.ussccb.org.
   
   
2. Allow yourself to be “stung.”  If the message seems too easy, then you probably have not heard it.  The call for disciples is a call to conversion.  We have to change our minds and hearts, how we see, in light of the Gospel made practical for us.
   
   
3. Resolve to put into practice something you hear the Pope inviting you to do.  Be concrete.  Do it as a family.  Make a new commitment to be a witness to the Truth of the Gospel.
   
   

If we open our hearts, we will know Mercy all the more and we will grow as disciples of the Lord.

A Word from Your Pastor - September 13

Dear Parishioners:

The themes unfolding for this season in the life of our Parish and School are Faith, Family and Mercy.  This week, I want to highlight in particular the theme of Family Life.  Faith and Family are closely related.  “The family that prays together stays together” Is a saying from Fr. Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., who was famous for his Rosary Crusades a number of years ago.

When the Church speaks of Family, she begins first with the model of the Holy Trinity, the Family par excellence, in the relationship of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  God is One God, Three Divine Persons, in a perfect Communion of Love.  Full Gift of Self and Full openness to the Gift Received from Each Person is expressed in Perfect Union.  God is God as One and Three.  The first earthly model that expresses this unity of Love is the Holy Family of Nazareth, Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  No discussion of Family Life in the context of the Church can be complete without highlighted these two models.

Genesis tells us that God has a plan for human beings that begins with the union of Man and Woman and is expressed in their fruitful love in the image of God.  The human family is first a family that God has united and that cooperates with His grace in bearing fruit.

As the Church seeks to grow in her understanding of Family Life, she begins with God and “in the beginning.”  She has the duty to proclaim the truth of what a family is and to invite all to be open to God’s plan.  The Christian Family, the Body of Christ, His Church, is also called to gather everyone into the Family of God by Word and Sacrament.  What we say and what we do, our witness to Faith, are the way God has chosen to increase His Family.

A family has to set priorities: God must have first place in the hearts of every member of the family.  Husband and wife are to love one another and to be open to the children God brings into their family to raise and nurture and teach in the ways of Faith.  In this way, the Kingdom is established among us and everything else is supplied by God’s Providence.

Although not every family has the configuration that is the model, the ideal, we are called to open our hearts to be a welcoming community.  Welcoming all, with all the reality of the human condition, brokenness and weakness, as well as strength and holiness, the Church is a family that opens her whole being to God.  We are destined to share the Life of the Holy Trinity.  That is the call and promise offered to every family.

This weekend, we are happy to welcome our PSR Students and all the Catechists who work with them.  As members of one family, we hope to grow in Faith and in our understanding of God’s ways.

Next weekend, we will experience a Ministry Fair highlighting efforts of our community to become an ever more welcoming family.  Make plans to take part.

A Word from Your Pastor - September 6

Dear Parishioners:

The themes unfolding for this season in the life of our Parish and School are Faith, Family and Mercy.  Faith is our very reason for existing as a Parish and a School.  We believe in Jesus Christ.  He is our Lord and our Savior.  He is the source of our strength and His Love is the power behind all that we are and do.

How do you and your Family reveal to one another and to the world around us that Faith is your center?  The Catholic Church offers us clear teachings that help us to ensure that our Friendship with Jesus is visible.

Mass on Sunday is the first priority that every Catholic Family ought to have.  It is not an optional part of the practice of the Faith.  If you think it is optional or if anyone ever gave you the impression that it is not important, now is the time to rethink your understanding.  To consider it not necessary or option would be like deciding whether you want to put gasoline in your car engine or not.  The Catholic community gathers and receives its power from Jesus in the Mass.  Other means are available to supplement this as needed, but there is no substitute.

Do you want your children to obey the 4^th Commandment (Honor your father and mother)?  They you must honor the Lord by obedience as a family to the 3^rd Commandment (Keep Holy the Sabbath—that is, for Catholics, attend Mass on Sunday and on all Holy Days of Obligation).  Faith is “caught, not taught.”  Your children need to see you practicing your Faith in very ordinary and practical ways.

Faith also requires that parents fulfill the promises they and the godparents made at the Baptism of their children: to raise the children in the ways of Faith.  What forms of prayer and devotion does your family have?  This needs to be an ordinary part of everyday life.  It ought to be part of your daily routine, just as care for the body and the emotional life of your family is something you attend to each day.  Do you feed and clothe your children?  Do you give them a place to live?  Do you smile and hug and affirm them?  Do you scold them and correct them for misbehavior when necessary?  So you are also responsible to nourish them spiritually, to clothe them in Christ.

Beyond the family, the domestic Church, you are part of the Universal Church as it is manifested locally, as part of St. Timothy Parish and the Diocese of Columbus.  Faith takes us out of ourselves into the neighborhood and into our shared efforts to care for our brothers and sisters.  We are also called to care for the environment, planet Earth, which is our common home. Faith has something to say about this.

We are called to be a Community of Welcome and a Community that enters into the tasks of the New Evangelization.  How are you responding to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches?

A Word from Your Pastor - August 30

Dear Parishioners:

Several themes are emerging as the new season begins in our life as a Parish and a School Community: Faith, Family and Mercy.  We are being invited so respond to a call to be a Welcoming Community who draw others into an experience of God’s Love and Mercy.  We are disciples of Jesus and our lives are intended to proclaim the Good News of Christ’s Presence in the world.  While we need to attend to material realities, our true purpose is to serve as a bridge into the life of the Spirit for others.

Parents are responsible for the Faith of their children.  This means that their lives must show how to follow the Lord by example as well as through what is said.  “Actions speak louder than words.”  The wider community also has a duty to the next generation, reaching out to assist with the needs of the families who join us.  When our manner of welcome is inviting, we help them to realize that they belong.  This can lead to a deeper commitment to practice of the Faith.

All of us have been entrusted with the Gospel.  We are to hold it in trust for all who have not yet heard it in a way that draws them in.  “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you!” (I Timothy 6:20)

How do you witness your Faith?  Has your Family made a commitment to be welcoming and to be concerned with others’ needs?  How does God’s Mercy show through you?

Are there any “themes” emerging from your own prayer?  What is the Lord asking of you and your family this year?  What do you need to do for the Lord and for His Church? What are your neighbors and friends seeking that the Lord wants to offer to them through you?  How are you responding to the invitation to go deeper in your relationship with Jesus?

A Word from Your Pastor - August 23

Dear Parishioners:

Today is my 56^th Birthday.  In some circles, that is still considered a young person.  In more and more circles, I am now a “Senior Citizen.”  To the children, it I am certainly “old.”  Many of my own elders have given me advice: “Don’t get old.”  Well, it is hard to put such advice into practice.  We do age.  The question is not whether time will have its way with us, but whether we will let time get the best of us.  Age is a question of “mind” over “matter”: If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.  Wisdom comes with age.

The Scriptures continue to challenge us, inviting us to put Faith into practice, accepting Jesus at His Word, though others may reject what He has to say.  We have been taught the Truth by Jesus through the Scriptures, and by the Church, which teaches us in the Name of Jesus, especially through the Sacraments.  Can you open yourself more to the “hard teachings” of the Church and come to understand their import?  Time will give way to Eternity at some point for all of us. Faith is the only bridge that can help us reach across to Eternity from the vantage of Time.  We are called to believe in an age that prides itself on its autonomy and that tries to secularize everything, that is, to redirect everything to the “stuff” of this world.  This is a challenge that we can meet, but we must do so together.

Each year, on my Birthday, I renew my pledge to “live a good life.”  Two weeks later, on the anniversary of my Baptism, I make a personal renewal to respond to the grace given to me by Christ through my Baptism.  I invite each of you to renew your own pledge to life and to grace.  Let the year ahead be truly a year of Family – spurred on by Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to our country on the occasion of the World Meeting of Families.  And let it open up to a Year of Mercy, called by Pope Francis to begin December 8^th.  May your Family grow in Faith, Hope and Love, and may you be a sign of Mercy to all you meet!

This week, we welcome our students back to School.  We hope to have a great year full of fun and learning the ways of God.

As we listen to the Bread of Life Discourse from the 6^th Chapter of the Gospel of John, all are invited to renew and deepen their reverence for Jesus, the Bread of Life, as He offers Himself to us in the Holy Eucharist.

The Lord’s invitation to us is to follow Him and to stay faithful to Him even when others leave.  May we all stay close to Jesus by coming to Mass every Sunday and Holy Day and by welcoming others to know Him by the witness of our lives.

A Word from Your Pastor - August 16

Dear Parishioners:

How is your everyday life influenced by the fact that you believe in Eternal Life?  Do you live each day as if it will be your last on earth?  How do you see yourself in Eternity?

These questions may seem to be out of place depending upon your age.  If you consider yourself “young,” you may not want to consider these questions and put them off to a later time.  However, Jesus Himself invites us to open our eyes to the question of Eternity now.  It is not simply a matter of what happens at the end of our lives.  It is, rather, a question of how we respond to His invitation in the present moment.  Eternity and Time are intertwined.  How we live now has a direct bearing on how we will enter into Life Eternal.  Every choice we make has an impact on what we will be able to “do” in the face of the moment when we meet our Maker.

A choice to believe in Jesus and to take Him at His Word is to open to the Truth.  The Truth is always “bigger” than our own understanding.  If we are convinced that we are “right” and that we know better than the Church, then it is likely that we are being fooled.  If we submit humbly to Jesus and to His Church, we will discover that there is always more to learn.  We share in the Truth and we become a witness to the Truth because, through the grace of Christ and through the Sacraments we experience in the Church, the Truth lives in us. 

When we receive Eucharist, for example, with the proper disposition, and we become Jesus for the world.  We live forever because Jesus, Who is the Living Bread that comes down from Heaven, already lives in us and we in Him.  Jesus tells us that He is the Bread of Life and that He gives us His Flesh to eat for the life of the world.  Opening our minds and hearts to His teaching, we are already in touch with Eternity.  Taste and see the Goodness of the Lord!

A Word from Your Pastor - August 9

Dear Parishioners:

As we continue to reflect on the Eucharist and on our practice of the Catholic Faith in these times of rejection of Faith and pervasive public secularism, it is important for us to realize something central:  the Holy Eucharist is not a “thing.”  It IS the very Person of Jesus as He gives Himself to us.  Jesus IS the Bread of Life.  To receive Him means to welcome Him into our hearts and into our lives.  He is not a quiet guest.  Nor is He passive.  Once we let Him in, He will hound us until He gets all of us.  If you are not ready to allow Him free rein as Lord in your life, it is best to head for the hills….

Jesus speaks His Word and he invites and expects us to hear Him.  When we hear Him, we become capable of more than we have been before.  He feeds our minds and hearts as well as our bodies.  What we take into ourselves takes on a life of its own in us.  When an idea is God’s idea, it is creative.  It is strengthening.  It is nourishing in every way.  And it leads us to relate to the world differently that we have before.

This is a message that the world around us needs to hear.  It is the Truth that the world needs to see and experience in real persons who believe.  Faith is not something for the weak, but rather is the sign of strength and of an openness to a Wisdom that comes from above.  Who are the weak ones – those who set aside their Faith, the Faith that has been shared with them by the Church, in order to conform to the culture of our time, or those who are willing to reach for something greater than the world can offer?  Faith in the Eucharist calls for a full commitment.

We are called to be a community of Welcome.  First, we welcome God among us in the Person of Jesus Christ.  Then, we extend that welcome to others by our whole life, by what we say, what we do, and how we live.  Hospitality is the hallmark of a community that understands the Eucharist.  How are  you responding to the call to be a faithful disciple of  the Lord Jesus, the Bread of Life?

A Word from Your Pastor - August 2

Dear Parishioners:

The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian Life.  Jesus is the Savior Who feeds us with His own Body and Blood.  We receive in Holy Communion the very Substance of the Risen Lord, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.  Our life itself flows from this Gift.  Our Catholic Faith has always held this and to be true to our Faith we must not only believe it theoretically, but we must put it into practice.  We are not only meant to have a Faith that is orthodox (“right believing”), but also have a Faith that involves “orthopraxy” (“right practice”).

Eucharist is Jesus Himself.  What was bread, fruit of the earth and work of human hands, is no longer bread, but the Bread of Life, the very Body of Christ, our Spiritual Food.  What was wine, fruit of the vine and work of human hands, is no longer wine, but the very Blood of Christ, the Chalice of Eternal Salvation, our Spiritual Drink.  It is not a mere symbol.  It is the Symbol and the Reality at the same time.  The Substance of the Incarnate Word is given to us as Food and Drink for our Salvation.

How do we show our Faith in the Eucharist?

We worship Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.  We kneel before Him.  When we come into the church, we genuflect – bend the knee – to acknowledge Who He IS.

We prepare for reception of Holy Communion.  We confess serious sins in the Sacrament of Penance.  We fast for one full hour before we receive the Sacrament.  We adore the Lord as He becomes Present in the moment of Consecration and as He remains among us in the Tabernacle.

We seek to grow in Faith and in the grace of the Eucharist by putting into practice all that we are taught by Sacred Scripture and by the Church, practicing virtues and resisting vices.

As Catholics, we share our Faith with others and we try to help them understand how Holy the Eucharist is, by allowing them to see our reverence and by asking them to show proper respect for our Faith when they are with us at Mass.  In general, this means that we ask them not to go forward to receive Communion, but to ask the Lord for a Spiritual Communion as the Catholics go forward.  We invite them to share what we have in common, but to respect the differences between our Faith than theirs.

This also means that we ourselves do not receive if we are aware of grave sin or if we have failed to prepare by fasting.  It certainly means that we do not chew gum in church or go forward to receive with anything else in our mouths (no candy, cough drops or the like). 

It means that we make an Act of Thanksgiving after we have received the Eucharist and that we are silent in church when silence is called for.  It means that we return to the church from time to time to “make a visit” to the Lord in the Tabernacle or to spend time in adoration during times of Exposition.  It means we keep ourselves mindful of the Presence of the Lord in every Catholic Church that we happen to pass by.

How do you live your Faith in the Eucharist?

A Word from Your Pastor - July 26

Dear Parishioners:

Jesus calls all of us to live in communion with Him and one another.  The place we learn how to do this is the Liturgy.  Literally, “liturgy” means “the work of the people.”  It refers to the work that is done by a people in common for the sake of the common good.  In our time, we are clearly called to take what we receive from the Lord at the Liturgy and to share it with the world.

There is a major problem with this “setup” in our current experience.  I am sure that you can easily recognize what it is….  Many of the people among those “called to serve” are only rarely present at the Liturgy.  Families used to structure their lives around the weekly effort to live in relationship to the Church.  They would come to confession together on Saturday afternoons and have one particular Mass that they attended together as a family on Sunday mornings.  I offer praise and encouragement to the families that still follow this custom.  I realize that it is not always easy to arrange.

There are families who can be found at Mass each weekend, even if not all together at the same Mass, nonetheless at one or the other.  A number have taken up my invitation to bring me a bulletin from another church if they go to Mass somewhere else.  This too is worthy of praise.  Getting to Mass is the most important thing you can do as a family to keep yourselves Christ-centered.

For those who are not at Mass regularly: we welcome you when you are here and are happy the Mass is still on your radar of things to do.  We also invite and encourage you to put it more at the center of your routine.  Let the Mass determine your schedule rather than your schedule determine whether you go to Mass at all. 

Culturally, it seems to be in vogue that once or twice a month is good enough.  It is not.  The call of Scripture, Old and New Testament, is to put God first by weekly attendance at the Liturgy.  “Keep holy the Sabbath” means every week – for us as Catholics, Sunday Mass.  The Letter to the Hebrews (10:25) reminds us that we ought not to absent ourselves from the assembly (that is, gathering for Mass) as some do.  We are told that it was Jesus’ own custom to go to the synagogue every Sabbath and that whenever He was in Jerusalem, He would go to the Temple.  The Apostles and disciples of the Lord did the same and that is where our own Tradition began.

At Mass, we learn to welcome.  We hear God’s Word through Scripture.  We are fed and nourished by the Sacrament of the Eucharist.  And we hear the call to go out to all the world.  The tools we need to share Jesus with the world are available to us in the most complete form always and only at that the Mass.