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From the Pastor's Desk: January 8, 2023
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From the Pastor’s Desk: January 8, 2023The Epiphany of the Lord
Today we celebrate the great Feast of Epiphany. The celebration of Epiphany, meaning "manifestation," commemorates the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. The feast proclaims that Jesus came to save and bring life to all. No one is excluded, no one is a stranger to Him. The angels revealed Jesus to the shepherds, and the star revealed Him to the Magi.
The Magi diligently followed the star from the East in search for the Someone who is beyond measure or compare in order to pay Him homage and offer Him special gifts. Therefore, the Epiphany can be looked on as a symbol for our pilgrimage through life to Christ. The feast invites us to see ourselves as images of the Magi, a people on a journey to Christ, who bring to Him the gift of ourselves: our faith, our fidelity, our love, as we meet Him in prayer and in people, especially in the poorest.
Last Saturday, December 31, 2022, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI went to his Father’s house. As we continue to pray for the repose of his soul, we also reflect upon his incredible legacy which he left the church over the many years of his faithful and humble service. Please read and reflect upon some of the words of his Spiritual Testament:
“What I said before to my countrymen, I now say to all those in the Church who have been entrusted to my service: Stand firm in the faith! Do not let yourselves be confused! It often seems that science — the natural sciences on the one hand and historical research (especially exegesis of Sacred Scripture) on the other — are able to offer irrefutable results at odds with the Catholic faith. I have experienced the transformations of the natural sciences since long ago and have been able to see how, on the contrary, apparent certainties against the faith have vanished, proving to be not science, but philosophical interpretations only apparently pertaining to science; just as, on the other hand, it is in dialogue with the natural sciences that faith, too, has learned to understand better the limit of the scope of its claims, and thus its specificity. It is now sixty years that I have been accompanying the journey of Theology, particularly of the Biblical Sciences, and with the succession of different generations I have seen theses that seemed unshakable collapse, proving to be mere hypotheses: the liberal generation (Harnack, Jülicher etc.), the existentialist generation (Bultmann etc.), the Marxist generation. I saw and see how out of the tangle of assumptions the reasonableness of faith emerged and emerges again. Jesus Christ is truly the way, the truth and the life — and the Church, with all its insufficiencies, is truly His body” (Excerpts from Spiritual Testament of Pope Benedict XVI written on Aug. 29, 2006).
Our beautifully decorated church for Christmas was an effort of generosity of so many people and a dedicated team who came together to transform our worship space into our modern-day Bethlehem. I want to express my profound gratitude of thanks to everyone who in any way helped with supporting, cleaning, organizing and decorating our church. Job well done once again!
The Feast of Epiphany in our parish invites us to celebrate the Annual Cultural Fair. After the 11:00 am Sunday Mass in the parish hall, members of different ethnic groups from our parish will share some of the finest examples of their cultures and tradition. Please, come and join us at our celebrations!
May the gift of Epiphany remind us of seeking and finding purpose and fulfillment in the example of the Magi. We, too, are invited to seek Holy Moments in our everyday life that would offer us answers to the same questions many of us ponder upon, “What should I do with my life? Am I wasting my one short life? Where do I find meaning? How do I get the most out of my life?” (Holy Moments)
May the bright star of Jesus illumine our lives to advance on our journey of faith this year!
With prayers,
Fr. Andy
