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Father's Reflection 12.24.23
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Looking to go deeper this new year?
Greetings and a special welcome to all who are visiting our parish at the beginning of this Christmas season!
Celebrating Christmas is a reminder that Jesus has made (and makes) Himself so small to be nearer to us than we can imagine. Just over 2000 years ago, God became a baby and to this day He hides His Presence under the appearance of bread and wine in the Eucharist.
Jesus is drawing near to us; the question is: are we allowing Him to be with us?
We as a parish are seeking to be transformed by Jesus’ love so as to be vessels of His love for others, and one of the expressions I like to repeat is, “We become what we give our attention to.” If we give our attention more regularly to Him, we will be transformed more and more into Him!
As we transition into this new year, here are my suggestions/challenges for us to go deeper in this transformation He desires for all of us...
1. Sacrament
As Catholics, we give Jesus permission to love us when we receive His Presence in the sacraments, which we can regularly do in Mass and in confession.
If Sunday Mass is still not a non-negotiable for you, that is a great place to start. If you have that under your belt, consider adding one daily Mass a week or making confession a monthly commitment.
2. Prayer
In our busy schedules and in the midst of many distractions, prayer is usually the first thing to go in our daily routine. If you aren’t already doing 15-30 min of prayer as a minimum, I would encourage you to commit to giving that time, especially at the beginning of each day. Initially, it doesn’t matter so much what that prayer looks like as putting in the time, regardless of whether it feels like a waste of time (it never is!). Reading a chapter from the Gospels, praying the rosary, gratitude journaling, or simply being quiet to be with Him are great places to start!
3. Community
As much as we like to think we can grow by ourselves, our relationship with Jesus is heavily dependent on having people in our life that encourage us along this journey that can be full of trials and discouragement! My suggestion is either initiate/join a small group (a Bible study, book study, pre-packaged study as from Ascension Press, etc) or find one other person you can do that with and hold each other accountable to.
If you are up for an early morning and a little drive to join us, we would love to have you join us essentially any or all Saturdays this spring starting January 13th from 7am to 8:30 in Sacred Heart’s hall for our guided study through the book of Hebrews. Materials for this study are $40. Reach out to Annie Deters at [email protected] to get signed up. Even if you can’t make it every week, join us when you are able!
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I’m not expecting anyone to do all of these things at once, but perhaps choose one of these areas and commitments as a New Year’s resolution that can carry into Lent (starting on Feb 14th) and beyond!
May you and your families be abundantly blessed in this Christmas season and new year of opportunity and new beginnings!
Rejoice in hope,
Fr. Joel