Pastor’s Letter: December 10, 2023

Pastor’s Letter: December 10, 2023

8 Dec 2023 | Posted by: chadmin

Dear friend,

With the 2^nd Sunday of Advent, the Church always honors and remembers St. John the Baptist. John is seen as the bridge from the Old to the New Testaments. The Old Testament records the promises of God to visit His people, to save all from sin and death. The prophets of the Old Testament paved the way for the Messiah, the savior to enter the world. The Gospels not only record the life of Jesus but the life of John the Baptist that pointed to the Christ. John was called by the Father to start a ministry in the desert to challenge people to repentance and forgiveness. People came to John to listen, to be baptized, and to experience forgiveness. John understood himself to be “the voice” that Isaiah the Prophet predicted would point out the Christ. This is exactly what came to pass. The day that Jesus approached John for baptism, John resisted out of humility but ultimately baptized Jesus and saw the Spirit descend. John later pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” These same words said at Mass when the Eucharist is presented to the people, remind us that God is present.

One of my favorite passages about John the Baptist comes later when John sits in prison. John spoke against King Herod’s marriage and was imprisoned. While jailed John reflects on his life. He sends two of his disciples to Jesus to ask Him, “are you the one to come, or should we look for another?” I think we often sit with John in the prison and reflect on whether we are doing what the Lord has asked of us. I personally don’t believe that John doubted Jesus or his own mission to point out Jesus as the Messiah, but the fear of failure can creep into all of us. Jesus told the friends of John to go back and tell him in prison that the “blind walk, the lame see, and blessed is the one that takes no offense at me.” These words would have been a comfort to John prior to his own death. As we pray with John the Baptist this week, may we all seek to do our best in the name of the Lord, while always trusting that the Lord can bring good out of all of our best efforts. May the Lord console our hearts, that we might join John in always pointing to the truth in the Lamb of God, Jesus the Christ.

FOCUS, (Fellowship of Catholic University Students), is a Catholic Organization that operates on college campuses to support the spiritual growth of Catholic college students. Each year, FOCUS organizes an annual conference to gather students from around the country. The conference has grown to include talks, seminars, and workshops for priests, lay ministers, seminarians and the Catholic faithful. A few weeks ago, a former St. Philomena Tiger and current Bradley Brave student talked at each weekend Mass about this FOCUS Seek 24 Conference in St. Louis, MO. Faustina addressed the community for a fundraiser to help the Bradley Newman Center Students attend the Conference. Thank you to all who donated. Not only am I hopeful that many from Bradley Newman will attend but I plan to attend as well.  For years I’ve wanted to attend, but circumstances made it difficult. The conference runs from January 1 – 5, 2024. I will attend a few days in St. Louis and Fr. Daniel will attend a few days. Fr. Daniel’s brother is currently a FOCUS Missionary in Milwaukee and will be in attendance. Bishop Lou also intends to be present for the week. If you would like to attend or learn more about the conference you can contact the parish office or visit seek.focus.org.  It promises to be a spiritually rewarding experience for Catholics of all ages. Have a great week!

God bless,

Father David