I am grateful to Fr. David Arnoldt for covering for me this weekend as I take a week of winter vacation. Fr. Dave will be here through Wednesday morning. He is the best of friends, and we had a grand time celebrating his 80th Birthday last week.
Thursday Fr. John Lyons will celebrate morning Mass. It is the memorial of St. Blaise, the traditional day for the blessing of throats. In the Pastoral Care of the Sick, it states:
"In the United States the annual blessing of throats is a traditional sign of the struggle against illness in the life of the Christian. This blessing is ordinarily given during Mass or a celebration of the word of God on February 3, the memorial of Saint Blaise." (1624)
"… According to various accounts he was a physician before becoming a bishop… he was reputed to have miraculously cured a little boy who nearly died because of a fishbone in his throat. From the eighth century he has been invoked on behalf of the sick, especially those afflicted with illnesses of the throat." (1625).
This is a special week where Catholic schools nationwide celebrate being communities of faith, excellence, and service. I want to thank all of you who have supported Catholic education throughout the years and especially, the parents of these children who are currently attending Catholic schools: Teddy Ashdown, Barbie Coyne, Mary Coyne, Nancy Coyne, Willie Coyne, Connor Desautels, Hugo Ferry, Scarlett Gillen, Leland Hayes, Alyanna Lauber, Eilise Muller, Anna O’Rourke, Lauren O’Rourke, Molly O’Rourke, Maxim Scott, Madison Wagner, and Andrew Young.
January 30, 2022 | Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time | by The Faithful Disciple Jer 1:4-5, 17-19 | 1 Cor 12:31—13:13 or 1 Cor 13:4-13 | Lk 4:21-30 GROW: Wait, what? One moment the people of Nazareth embrace Jesus, but as soon as he challenges them the crowd turns on a dime and moves toward throwing him off a cliff. The Son of God, also the son of a carpenter, goes from hometown hero to persona non grata just like that, prefiguring his death on the cross and giving credence to his admonition that “no prophet is accepted in his own native place.” From the earliest moments of his public ministry as recorded in Luke, Jesus’ love for us is prominent. He never faltered. He never wavered. He moved forward to continue his mission of fulfilling God’s will for him and be a sacrifice once and for all for our sins. Perhaps we have had a similar experience of being the “hero” for someone, only to somehow end up the goat. It is not easy to remain steadfast in our daily mission to love as Jesus loved. Today’s readings assure us that God will give us the grace to do so. GO: It can be challenging to square Paul’s eulogy of love with the reality of day-to-day living with a spouse, family members, and friends. Love is patient … except when I’m late getting out to the car for church again. Love is kind … except between crabby siblings who want to watch different shows on Netflix. It is not quick-tempered … unless you thoughtlessly back into my car in the driveway. It occurs to me that perhaps Paul’s words aren’t entirely about us, but about the perfect love of God. It’s pretty amazing to think that God loves us in all the ways Paul describes. As we open our hearts to God’s love and deepen our relationship with Jesus through prayer, we may find that love spilling over into our daily interactions. For when we are kind, we love; when we are patient, we love; when we are not quick-tempered, we love. PRAY: Although our love for one another is imperfect, we must strive to love as Jesus loved each day, and there is no better place to start than prayer. Ask a friend or family member this week if they have any concerns you can include in your prayers. Or request a Mass for someone who is going through a tough time or who has recently died.