Pastor's New Year's Message
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Happy New Year is a greeting used by all of us whatever our faith or lack of religious expression may be. For us, as a people of faith, we are called to reflect again on what we mean by happy.
Happiness for us deals with many things but first of all with what is spiritual. The stuff of life is much more than what we can purchase on the internet or in the frenzy of sales in the malls. It is what resides in our hearts and souls. It is what makes us more loving in our families and community. It is what leads us into a deeper understanding of what true justice means. It means that we are called to reflect on what makes us take responsibility for our decisions about family, marriage and living in the way of Jesus Christ.
I hope that in this New Year our resolutions will go a little deeper into our lives and what makes us and others “really” happy, not just “imperfectly” happy. I pray that together we may be better examples for all and in particular for our children. I pray that we may make a statement about what commitment means; that it is not just about what makes “me feel good” but to be good.
I wish you a truly Happy New Year. I pray that we will be strengthened in our faith and be able to profess it in a more loving way every day. I pray that our homes may be places of respect and care where Christ is at the center of our lives. If this happens, I know we will have a Blessed New Year.
God bless you,
Fr. John Barry
Stewardship for a New Year
Written by Parish Communications |
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The beginning of the year is a popular time for personal reassessment. The earth has finished one more revolution around the sun, and swings low over the cold January horizon, just like last year. The days are shorter, and an evening of introspection seems more inviting. Somehow, when we take down the old calendar and tack up the new, we sense an opportunity to make a fresh start. To make the best of this opportunity, it's useful to make firm commitments. It's even more useful to write them down. These resolutions -- kept in a desk drawer or on the refrigerator door -- are a "hard copy" of our best intentions for self-improvement. They're signposts that redirect our lives towards good, towards God. Often New Year's resolutions are about personal health, such as losing weight, relaxing more, or smoking less. And it is important, of course, to take good care of our bodies. But Christianity offers us a fuller concept of self-improvement. St. Paul reminds us that both the body and the soul need an exercise program. In fact, every aspect of our persons -- physical mental, spiritual, emotional -- can benefit from an annual self-audit.
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"Catholicism " Documentary Series
Written by Parish Communications |
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The next episode of the new documentary series, "Catholicism," will be shown this Wednesday evening, January 18 in the Blessed Kateri Room. We begin at 7:15 and will be finished by 9 p.m. This week's episode is entitled: The Fire of His Love - Prayer and the Life of the Spirit. Everyone is welcome. |
