Dear Friends,
The midway of January has brought us a bit of snow and hopes that the Buffalo Bills continue to move forward to the Superbowl!
This weekend Staff members and parishioners from both of our parishes will be gathering to talk about Lent. I know, already! The gathering of these individuals will come after their reading the sacred texts for Lent and praying about what theme might lead us to another Easter Sunday. As I mentioned in my homily last weekend, we will be hearing about “light” many times in the coming weeks. It affirms and builds upon our Advent/Christmas/ Epiphany theme of “ILLUMINATE HIS LIGHT.”
This weekend, in our Gospel from Matthew we hear about people who sat in great darkness seeing a great light. Jesus preaches calling the people to “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” I suspect for many folks believe this call to repentance is too premature for isn’t that what Lent is about? It isn’t.
The call to repentance, like being present to the “great light” is a message for every day. Ordinary time it may be, until Ash Wednesday (February 22nd) , but we are invited to examine our faith in every season and discern what we are willing to do to draw ourselves closer to the “Kingdom of Heaven that is at hand.”
You know, as well as I do, the story of how so many disciples dropped everything, literally everything to follow Jesus. They left so much of their previous lives behind to “follow” the Lord. What about us? “Repent”, now when Christmas and the New Year is still fresh in our minds? Drop everything to follow Jesus? Everything?
I suggest the thoughts of “dropping everything” raises us to individually ask ourselves what are our personal attachments in our lives that we allow to control us and not “follow” the Lord with fullness of heart and soul?
Yes, it is “Ordinary Time”. But it is also, if we are fully devoted in following the Lord, a daily invite from Himself to reflect on what we need to repent from and seriously contemplate what attachments in our worldly lives keep us from “dropping everything” and following Him.
Thank you for your presence at mass and to our two wonderful faith communities!
I’ll look forward to seeing you!
Blessings,
Father Rob