From the Pastor's Desk | January 5, 2025

Thank Yous

Many thank yous are in order…so many!  These are not in any order of importance.    

First, I would like to thank Brigit Martell, Jean Morgan, Ingrid Schwab, and everyone who had a hand in decorating the church for Christmas.  It takes a lot of work to make it look as amazing as it did. 

Second, I would like to thank Tony Andorfer, Joey DiMenno, Mikayla and Natasha Stiles, Ryan Ferrigan, our adult choir, and our children’s choir for all the work and rehearsals that are required to plan and execute such beautiful music for our Christmas liturgies.  They are exceptional throughout the year but are particularly exceptional during Christmas, Holy Week, and Easter.  Bravo!

Third, I would like to thank Jackie Rosalez for her work organizing and leading our children’s Christmas Pageant.  This sweet tradition brings home the innocence and magic of the season, and Jackie and the kids did a great job. 

Fourth, I would like to thank all of our sacristans and ushers for the extra help in preparing for our Christmas liturgies.  There’s a lot of preparation and work that goes on behind the scenes, and, without their help, it would be impossible to pull everything off.  

Fifth, I would like to thank all of our altar servers, lectors, and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion for their assistance at each Mass.  

Sixth, I would like to thank our deacons - Jim, Dave, and Jack - for their assistance both at the altar and for everything they do that people don’t necessarily see.  We have very fine deacons assigned to our parish, and I am very grateful for them and their ministry.  

Seventh, I would like to thank our staff for all the preparation in the months and weeks leading up to Christmas.  Again, there is so much that happens behind the scenes to make our liturgies work.  Our worship would not be as reverent and prayerful as it is without the help of our dedicated staff.  
I am sure I am missing people on this list and for that I am most sincerely sorry.

Gospel Reflection

Last week, we celebrated the Feast of the Holy Family and today we continue our journey through the Christmas season celebrating the Epiphany of the Lord.  The Epiphany of the Lord recalls the manifestation of Christ as the Messiah to the Gentiles as represented by the three Magi.  

In the colloquial sense, the word epiphany means a sudden, intuitive insight into the reality or essential meaning of something.  Just before Christmas, Netflix began airing a movie titled Mary.  If you watch it, there are some theological inaccuracies contained in the movie. However, the character of King Herod, played by Sir Anthony Hopkins (who was an excellent Herod), intrigued me the most.  Anthony Hopkins was excellent at showing the brutality, cruelty, narcissism, and paranoia of King Herod.  Herod was certainly all of those things.  Herod was so self absorbed and so worried about losing his kingship that he could not see anything else.  Herod was so caught up in his own sinfulness that nothing else mattered other than himself and his kingship.

I think Herod is analogous to our cultural climate.  We live in a culture that demands self-determination, autonomy, self-sufficiency, and license.  Anything that gets in the way of self-determination is seen as an obstacle to be overcome.  It is so easy to buy into this message and get caught up in ourselves and what we have determined to be the best for us.  We can get so caught up in this way of thinking that we can lose sight of what, or rather who, is most important - salvation brought about by Jesus Christ.  

Herod couldn’t see the need for a savior.  In fact, there is a line in the movie where he questions the very need of a savior.  Do we see?  Do we see that we, ourselves, are in need of a savior?  Do we see our own sinfulness?  Or, has our own sinfulness so blinded us that we see no need for redemption?  Do we see with the eyes of the Magi or do we see with the clouded eyes of a culture that moves further away from God? 
 
As we pray today, let us pray for an epiphany within our own hearts and minds.  Let us pray that we see like the Magi saw.  Let us pray to see our own poverty and need for greater dependence on a God who alone has the power to save us from our own sins.  

Know of my prayers for you all!            
Fr. Ryan