A Word from Your Pastor February 26

Dear Parishioners:

We welcome Bishop Frederick F. Campbell to St. Timothy Church once again for the Sacrament of Confirmation.  The successor to the Apostles who has been given to us in the Diocese of Columbus to safeguard the sacred deposit of Faith is coming to us to impart the Gift of the Holy Spirit to members of the next generation of Catholic Christians. 

This simple celebration puts us in contact with the living Tradition of the Church, the handing on of Faith and the outpouring of the Gifts of the Spirit to strengthen and sustain our witness to Jesus Christ.

As we pray for our Confirmation class, we also ought to seek a renewal of the Gift of the Spirit in our hearts.  The occasion of the offering of the Sacrament to a new generation is always a moment of invitation for us to commit ourselves again to the common life of the Spirit.  Each spark of the Spirit is capable of bringing God into the world.  Every heart that opens to Him and accepts the responsibility to witness His Love draws us closer to the Kingdom.

Come, Holy Spirit!

A Word from Your Pastor February 19

Dear Parishioners:

This week I am returning from an extended time of vacation – the longest I have taken all at once.  Since the bulletin is going to press before my return, I am writing in anticipation of the return.  No doubt I will have lots of stories to tell, and maybe even a few pictures to share.  Every experience of travel is an adventure.  This trip has been my sharing in one of my ordination classmate, Fr. Jeff Rimelspach’s dreams for his “bucket list,” – that is, what he wanted to do before he “kicks the bucket.”   It is really a privilege to do something with someone who approaches it with zeal, as a dream.

Our entering into the life of Grace with Jesus through the Sacraments is just this kind of experience.  It is an adventure that takes us into places we never dreamed of going.  I opens to us new horizons and new ways of seeing the world around us.

Have you entered with enthusiasm and zeal into what God has offered you through your Baptism?  What are the signs in your approach to Faith that this is so?  How do you share it?  What “souvenirs” of the journey are reminders to you of the fun of it?  Who is with you on the journey?  What do you plan to do as the Lord Jesus shares His “bucket list” with you?

Next weekend, we will experience the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation with our 8^th Grade class.  Please keep them in your prayers.  “Come, Holy Spirit” is the simplest prayer for the grace of this Sacrament.

A Word from Your Pastor February 12

Dear Parishioners:

The Baptismal Font of St. Timothy Parish is always flowing.  When I arrived here and discovered that it was so, I was especially delighted because I believe that this is a subtle way of teaching us how to think of our own Baptisms.

The simple truth is that once Baptism begins, it does not end.  We are baptized into Jesus Christ.  His Life begins to be lived in us as soon as we are touched by the Sacrament of Baptism.  Although we can “block” the flow of grace by sin, we cannot be “un-baptized.”  The Sacraments that follow after Baptism deepen the flow of grace and renew it when we go off track.  The Life that we enter into through Baptism never ends.  We share in God’s glory through the touch of the Sacraments in different ways, but it is always the flow of the grace that started in us at Baptism.  The Christ-Life in us becomes a source of grace for us and for the world through us.

How powerful God’s grace is in us!  If we only recognized the holiness to which we are called through the gift of Baptism!

Parents bear a great responsibility in helping their children to know the Faith both by teaching them, and by giving them a living example.  When children are taught in our Parochial School or in Religious education classes, they can learn the facts.  Their teachers and other students serve as examples to them.  But no one more than parents can help them come to understand what it means to live in the light of the Sacramental grace that is theirs through Baptism.

A Word from Your Pastor February 5

Dear Parishioners:

A few days ago, the Church celebrated the Feast of the Presentation, that moment when Mary and Joseph presented the Infant Jesus at the Temple, in fulfillment of the Law of Moses.  On that occasion, Scripture tells us, Simeon and Anna were present and observed the grace.  Simeon’s prayer, the Nunc Dimittis, continues to be prayed by the whole Church as part of Night Prayer each night before sleep, and we continues to do what Anna did, telling everyone about the Child, especially those awaiting the consolation of the fulfillment of God’s promises.

Lord, now you let Your servant go in peace; Your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation which You have prepared in the sight of every people: a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of Your people Israel.

This encounter at the Temple mirrors the celebration of Baptism that most experience: an infant brought to the Font of Baptism by parents and godparents.  Baptism is a joyful experience that brings families of Faith together as they rejoice in the gift of their children and as they express their hopes and dreams for what will become of their children.

Unlike the role of Simeon and Anna, however, the role of the participants, especially parents and godparents, in the life of the children brought for Baptism is just beginning.  Parents are required to attend a pre-Baptismal class in order to reflect upon the promises they will make.  Godparents are chosen not for social reasons, but for reasons of Faith, as examples to the children as supporters for the parents in bringing up the children in the Faith.

At a Baptism, parents are given a particular instruction about the duty they have toward their children and godparents are asked about their willingness to assist the parents in fulfillment of this duty:

You have asked to have your child baptized. In doing so you are accepting the responsibility of training him/her in the practice of the faith. It will be your duty to bring him/her up to keep God’s commandments as Christ taught us, by loving God and our neighbor. Do you clearly understand what you are undertaking?

Baptism begins the Life of Grace and the Life of Faith.  It is not a mere ceremony celebrated and then forgotten.  The Church takes very seriously the responsibility to invite parents to live up to their promises.

What does it mean to practice the Faith?  How do parents teach their children to obey God’s Commandments?  Do you who are parents understand clearly what you have promised?

Focolare Word of Life for February 2017

“A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you.”  (Ezekiel 36:26)

http://www.focolare.org/en/news/category/parola-di-vita/

A Word from Your Pastor January 29

Dear Parishioners:

As we reflect on the Sacramental Life, I want to share with you the St. Timothy Prayer that I have set for us to keep in our prayers throughout the year.  I have suggested a specific prayer for the Feast of St. Timothy every year since my arrival as Pastor at St. Timothy Church.  I made known the prayer for this year when we celebrated the Feast of St. Timothy at our School Mass last week.  I am away for a time of vacation, but I join you in this prayer.

St. Timothy Prayer for 2017

That faithful sharing in the Sacramental Life of the Church may form
all members of the St. Timothy Parish and School community
to be a clear witness of the truth of the Gospel and
of the power of the Spirit of Jesus to bring light and healing to our world.

This prayer invites us all to keep the Sacramental Life at the heart of our plans for everything we do.  As we come to a deeper understanding of what God’s Spirit does for us  in the Sacraments, we begin to grow in our awareness of our common call to be a witness to our Faith in Jesus Christ.

The Sacraments of Initiation bring us into a relationship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, our Triune God.  In Baptism, we become children of God and the door is opened both to Eternity and to the Life of Grace which is experienced in time in the Sacraments.  In Confirmation, the Holy Spirit enters our hearts and remains an Indwelling Presence, active through the Gifts of the Spirit and the Witness of Gospel Life.  In Eucharist, we received Jesus Himself in His glorified state of Being, Body – Blood, Soul and Divinity, that is, in the fullness of His Person – as Food for Eternal Life.

We are called to put the Sacraments into practice by responding to the grace that is given in each Sacrament, and by inviting others to a “Communion in the Sacred Things” we share through the “Communion of Saints.”

Our own Patron St. Timothy, the disciple of St. Paul, shows us how to be faithful witnesses to the Truth of Jesus Christ.  He worked with Paul to invite others to Faith, and as a martyr, he poured out his own life as a witness to the Apostolic Faith we share.

How do you see the Sacraments active in your own life?  Are you conscious of the ongoing flow of Sacramental grace?  Can you see the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as present to you through the Sacraments you have received?