Pastor’s Letter: January 14, 2024

Pastor’s Letter: January 14, 2024

12 Jan 2024 | Posted by: chadmin

After the Feast of the Epiphany, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and enters Ordinary Time. The Season of Ordinary Time is split in two sections throughout the year: between Epiphany and Lent, and from Pentecost to Advent. The Ordinary Time of the Church calendar year is when the Church focuses on the calling of the Apostles, the public ministry of Jesus and the invitation to understand and live the moral teaching of Jesus. The Seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter are focused on our understanding of God’s salvific act in Christ Jesus.

This weekend, as we celebrate the 2^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, we hear the story of Samuel and his mentor Eli. Samuel hears an audible call from the Lord, at a time when it was not common for the Jewish people to have these extraordinary miraculous communications from God. The comparison is of course that of the deliverance from slavery in Egypt, the pillar of fire that guided the Jews in the desert and the manna appearing in the morning to feed the hungry, wandering Jewish people. At the time of Samuel, like today, the Lord called the people to understand and live the faith without overt proof of His presence. However, Samuel is gifted with a call. Whether we receive a locution, (an audible representation of God’s voice), we are invited by God and through this Scripture to have a listening heart. Eli helps Samuel to understand that it is in fact the Lord calling Samuel. Samuel’s response of “speak Lord, your servant is listening,” should be the guiding word for all of our prayer and our participation at Mass.

The Mass includes two essential parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Both parts of the Mass exist for God to communicate Himself to us. The word of the scripture reveals the way God thinks, loves, and calls us to respond. The Eucharist presents the Real Presence of God to feed and nourish our daily lives with grace. At every Mass, after our genuflection to the presence of Jesus in the Tabernacle, our prayer is invited to be “speak Lord, your servant is listening.” As we journey our way through the Liturgical Year, year after year, there are many things to intellectually understand; but, at the core of the Christian life is to realize that God has a word of guidance for each of us, each day. May our prayer this day be open to God’s Word and that our listening hearts will have the strength and courage to respond to God’s Will for our Christian spiritual journey. Have a great week.

God bless,

Father David