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From the Pastor's Desk: Jan. 9, 2022
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which marks the end of the season of Christmas and the beginning of Ordinary Time.
In the Gospel today we hear the account of the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. It was a different Baptism from the one we have received when we became members of the Catholic Church. The Son of God, who from eternity shares the fullness of life with the Father and the Holy Spirit, was “immersed” in our reality as sinners to make us share in His own life: He was incarnate, He was born like us, He grew up like us, and on reaching adulthood, manifested His mission which began precisely with the “baptism of conversion” administered by John the Baptist. The Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove, while the Father’s voice from Heaven proclaimed Him, “My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”
Therefore, Baptism is not, as is true of all the sacraments, an isolated ritual. But rather it takes place in the context of our whole life. Through baptism, we not only become formal members of the institutional Church, we also become active members of the Body of Christ and are given a mission to proclaim the Good News of Salvation to all. It is the beginning of our vocation, a call to holiness, a call to discipleship, a call to be members of a family, to be part of a communal mission, to work, to make God’s presence more visible, to build a civilization of love, where there is greater justice and greater concern for those in need. The Lord wants His love and truth to shine through us, that others may see the goodness and truth of God’s message of salvation. This is our message, the message of holy and faithful children of God, which needs to be proclaimed loud and clear in our world today. This is the gift of Baptism.
With the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord, the season of Christmas comes to an end. Tomorrow we begin Ordinary Time in the Liturgy. The term may be misleading…for there is nothing ordinary about it. In the context of the liturgical year, the term “ordinary” does not mean “usual or average”, but rather celebrates all aspects of the Mystery of Christ and instructs us on how to live out our Christian faith in our daily lives. It also gives us an opportunity to enter more fully into the mystery of “Sunday.” It offers a great opportunity to deepen the gift of our faith and find opportunities to experience the “holy moments” in our everyday life.
Last Sunday, we celebrated our Epiphany Cultural Fair on the festivity of the Feast of Epiphany. I want to express my deepest words of gratitude to all who came to share in the wonderful cultural diversity of our parish. It was so wonderful to see so many of our parishioners sharing in the spirit of joy, friendship, and fellowship. A word of thanks to the Pastor’s Advisory Team - in particular Laura Austin and Marcia Vigue- who coordinated the event, and to everyone who took part in the celebration to make it such a success. Well done!
As we come to the end of the Christmas Season, I want to express my most profound words of gratitude and thanks to everyone who helped to prepare our parish for the celebration of Christmas in many different ways – decorations, cleaning, music, liturgies – to one and all – Thank you! Once again we are able to experience the love of our community for each other as the extension of the Love that was born into us – Christ Jesus.
“It was the ordinary things that saved me. I have experienced enough extraordinary to know that I would choose the ordinary over the extraordinary all day long. Learn to cherish the ordinary. Make a list of twenty ordinary things that bring you joy when you experience them consciously” (Matthew Kelly, Life is Messy, p.65).
Have a blessed week!
With prayers, Fr. Andy
