A Word from Your Pastor - December 25 Christmas Day

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.

This year at St. Timothy, we are embarking on a new adventure with the launching of the Alpha Program, beginning January 22.  Happily, all the spaces for this first course are filled.  We invite you to consider joining us in the future. 

Blessings to you and to all who are dear to you.  May Christ find a home in your hearts and may your life help others to know His Mercy.

A Blessed Christmas to All!

A Word from Your Pastor - December 18 Fourth Sunday of Advent

Dear Parishioners:

One of the most wonderful aspects of our Catholic Faith is the promise of Healing that touches the full human person, body, mind and spirit.  Our hearts and souls are open to receive the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, when we experience the touch of Mercy that heals us where we hurt.  The Sacraments of Healing are Reconciliation – known also as Penance or Confession – and Anointing of the Sick.  Each of these Sacraments plunges us into the Paschal Mystery, the power of the Living God to bring us from death to Resurrection through Jesus Christ.

In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we are freed from sin.  By the Anointing of the Sick, our human limitations – illness and death – are put into contact with the healing Mystery of the Cross.  Acknowledging our need for God and opening our hearts to His grace, we give God room to act in our lives and we discover that our limitations themselves become a means of grace in us.  This transformation enlivens in us the Hope that reaches all the way to Eternal Life.

The Sacramental Life is the life that points beyond this world.  We are made for Love, that is, a sharing in the very Life of God, Who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a Trinity of Persons United in Love.  The nature of the Sacrament is to be, as the old Baltimore Catechism put it, “a sensible sign, instituted by Christ, to give grace.”  Jesus is the Sacrament of the Father: He reveals God to us.  The Church is the Sacrament of Christ.  The Sacramental Life of the Church, in the Seven Sacraments, forms us to be living witnesses of the power of God’s Grace, given to us through our Faith in Jesus Christ.

This weekend, as we offer the Blessing of all involved in the ministries of health care, and as we experience the communal celebration of the Anointing of the Sick, may we all find the healing we need to be an effective witness to God’s Love and Mercy.

A Word From Your Pastor - December 11 Third Sunday of Advent

Dear Parishioners:

Advent is moving right along!  We are celebrating Gaudete Sunday, the Sunday with the rose vestments and pink candle that reminds us that we are almost there.  This year, since Christmas falls on Sunday, we have a full four weeks of Advent.  Have any of you found yet that it gave you more time to get things done?  That certainly hasn’t happened for me!

I have wanted to share for awhile that we are experiencing a rather interesting phenomenon lately.  Various families are working with us to see to it that their children and other members of the family are getting “caught up” on the Sacraments.  We have had several children experiencing Baptism, First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion at varied times with their families and others in attendance.  Just before Thanksgiving, we we delighted to welcome the Mays family into Full Communion in the Catholic Church.

We are also finding that various families who have come to join our parish from different cultural backgrounds are seeking to find ways to integrate themselves among us.  They come often due to educational opportunities at O.S.U. or one of the nearby hospitals.  They walk with us for a time, then seek to establish formal ties and to work with us to pass on the Faith to their children.

These situations often require special efforts outside the norm to catechize and to ensure that there is a clear understanding of the Faith and the Sacraments they are receiving.  We are in need of helpers who would be willing to work with us and these families as they appear.  Can you see yourself helping some children or even whole families find their place in the Church?  Would you – and even your own children if they are peers to the newcomers – be willing to assist?  In the near future, I hope to arrange a time to meet with you and to let you know how you can begin to prepare for such opportunities.

We are a growing community and the fact that we are meeting friends from the world over who want to join us tells us that we are on the right track.  The Faith we share has something for everybody.

Let us rejoice to know that the Lord is Coming!

A Word from Your Pastor - December 4 Second Sunday of Advent

Dear Parishioners:

This past week, the reality of our world as a dangerous place became very evident to us with the events on the O.S.U. campus.  We hear about acts of terrorism around the world and it can seem very distant.  When it is right down the street and when many of our own loved ones are nearby, it becomes something very personal.  It is a reminder of the fact that life is fragile and can change in an instant.  We pray for all concerned.  We pray for the recovery of all who experienced the violence.  We pray for a change of heart in all who would be motivated to such actions of hatred and despair.  We pray that we may find a way to live together in harmony.

The call of Advent is to realize that we are always part of a world that is destined for change.  We are invited to long for a better world, a world in which Justice and Mercy meet, a world in which all can find Peace.  As we continue our journey through this holy season, let us set our hearts on what is above and commit ourselves to live in such a way as to share with all our hope in the Lord Whose Coming we await.

This week, we will celebrate our country’s Patronal Feast, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Let us pray for our nation, that we may be open to the grace God offers us so as to establish true peace within our borders and among the nations.  May God bless America, stand beside her and guide her, through the night with a light from above….