From the Pastor&#039;s Desk: Nov. 21, 2021

Today we celebrate the culmination of the Church’s whole liturgical year – The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Throughout the entire year, we were pilgrims on the journey of faith, led by the Gospel of Mark, to deepen our relationship and participation in the entire life of Jesus. The final Sunday of the liturgical year proclaims that in Jesus the reigning presence of God comes among us in the flesh. The famous question asked by Pilate, “Are you the King of the Jews?” no longer is an issue of innocence or guilt of Jesus but whether Pilate will respond to the Truth of Jesus’s kingship. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus testify to this Truth and all who listen to Jesus and commit themselves to His wisdom will belong to the Truth and to His Kingdom. Pilate can make no sense of it. His world is more concerned with illusions of splendor than with Truth.

The dramatic conclusion of the liturgical year presents the same question to each one of us – is Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe, our King also? No matter how much we will try to navigate through life with excuses and manipulation, the central reality to answer that question is the way we live our lives that will the pathway into eternity. Then, we and everyone around us — every Catholic and Protestant, Muslim and Jew, Buddhist and Hindu, atheist and agnostic — will recognize that we all have been given the privilege in life to profess that Jesus Christ is the King of the Universe, that to Him, as the Book of Daniel tells us, has been “given dominion and glory and kingship. … His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away and His kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.”

In order for us to grasp the meaning of this Feast and to truly make Jesus the King of our lives and submit our lives to His sovereignty, we need to have faith. We have to admit that it would be much easier for us to adore our King if He appeared to us in all His glory surrounded by the angels and the saints. But the King hides His majesty under great humility, so obvious in the Eucharist, where His Divine Majesty cloaks Himself under the appearances of bread and wine and bids us to consume Him. I believe that the reason for this is to show us first how much He loved us, and second, how we are called to love Him and others.

How we respond to the love of the King reflects the love we have for God and one another. The truth of Christ’s love for us and each other at St. Luke Parish was once again expressed in the most powerful ways last weekend as we celebrated the St. Luke Annual Festival.

It is with utmost appreciation that I express my thankfulness for the success of the St. Luke’s Annual Festival we celebrated last weekend! My words fail to offer my deepest and most sincere gratitude to the entire Festival Core Team under the leadership of John Jordan - Director of the Festival, Directors of Operations and Food - Ted Neal and Kelly Powell, Parish Manager - Kristen Barreto and the Parish Staff, supportive committees, and host of parishioners who so generously came together to offer their time and talent to contribute to the success of the festival. Together with loving commitment, dedication and great deal of loving sacrifice we delivered an incredibly successful event – best ever!!!!! The remarkable efforts of the leadership and parishioners alike as so many took the responsibilities to step forward and to pull together to serve the parish and the entire community is an amazing sign of the spirit of our St. Luke Parish family. It was an incredible witness of our faith in actions to reflect the love we have for one another and to proclaim that Jesus is truly our Lord and King! To our sponsors, supporters, benefactors, friends, visitors, and everyone who came to join us, who supported, and participated in this community building event- I am forever thankful. May the love of God that you all came to share and witness with one another so generously, continue to be a blessing in your lives and an inspiration for all of us to follow. Until next year!!!!!!

May the ending of the liturgical year continue to inspire us to do something beautiful for God with our lives. “One day we will each meet the Lord of the Universe. What will we tell Him about the life we lived…about how we treated His other children?” –St. Mother Teresa

Have a blessed week! With prayers, Fr. Andy