Readings

Sunday, December 18, 2011
Fourth Sunday of Advent

First Reading
2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 89:2-5, 27, 29
Second Reading
Romans 16:25-27
Gospel
Luke 1:26-38

 

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Father Bill's Homily

Father Bill’s Sermon
Third Sunday of Advent
December 11, 2011

John the Baptist, again! Why two weekends in a row? Well, I’m not sure--I’d never try to out-guess a Vatican Official who is no doubt responsible for this choice of readings, but I’ll bet that it has to do with the point being made. Last week we concentrated on what the Voice in the desert was crying out about--on making “straight the path,” in other words “putting into practice each day” the message of peace at the heart of the Torah--at the heart of the Covenant. This week the emphasis shifts a bit. This week the emphasis is on the “Voice that cries in anguish”, almost unheeded, begging the world to ... Click here to continue reading Father Bill's Homily

 

 

 

Parish Statement

To build and foster a Christian Community that accepts and lives the opportunity to experience God's unconditional love and acceptance to all who come into contact with it.

Our Goals:

• Spread Our Lord's Word
• Strengthen family life
• Serve the poor
• Become a Christ-like love
• Encourage our Parish Family Spirit
• Adopt God's Will to our present lives
• Be Christians with dignity and pride
• Be a welcoming Parish Family

January 29, 2012, Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

We often hear the message in today’s readings as a call to “listen” for the Voice of God. Samuel “hears” God calling him in the first reading, and in the Gospel, and Andrew “hears” what John the Baptist has to say about Jesus, and thus begins the “calling of disciples,” and the origin of the Jesus Movement. And, that’s a beneficial approach, but, I’d like us to think, today, about Samuel’s response to what he’s heard: “Here I am.” (Hineini, in Hebrew) This phrase which is the quintessential “self-offering phrase” in the Bible, usually results in awful trials. Abraham says it only to feel that God is calling him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. The Greek text says that Mary said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me…”, but probably what she said in her native tongue was “Hineini,” “here I am.” That’s what Jesus said to God, in essence, by undergoing John’s baptism. Abraham was horribly tried, Mary’s heart was pierced with seven spiritual swords and Jesus was crucified. Saying “Here I am” to God is always dangerous, but it is the first step toward being who we’ve been created to be. The difficulty is that it must be repeated over and over in a life. What’s God calling forth from YOU, now? Are you ready to say, “Here I am”?

- Fr. Bill

Today’s readings invite us to be attune to God’s voice in our lives and be open to however He may come to us. Sometimes God speaks in the silence of the night, sometimes in the bustle of everyday life. We can so easily walk by and not even see God in the person or moment. Even a first recognition of Jesus did not totally reveal all that he was. The disciples called him Rabbi and Messiah, but only John the Baptists knew him for the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. Just hearing God’s voice is not enough, we need to sit with it and reflect on what it is saying to us.

I’m doing a lot of that right now as I am in therapy and re-hab for this hip surgery. I see this as a gift in a way, a time to stop and reflect and hopefully I’ll be in better spirits when I return and able to hear God’s word in each of you.

Have a blessed week,
Sr. Karen