A Time For Gratitude

Dear Friend,

Last Sunday’s celebration of the Presentation of the Lord opened the month of February in a remarkable way, namely, with the Holy Family’s entrance into the Temple, and what a glorious entrance it was. Simeon and Anna could not contain themselves. No doubt about it, the month of February, dedicated to the Holy Family on our Roman Catholic Calendar, is a time for gratitude and commitment to the support for all those in our faith community currently charged with raising young children.  

Let’s let ourselves be wowed by our families – and for those whose children are now grown up, let’s be grateful for all these powerful signs of God’s love and beauty. As our little ones occasionally shriek their “Amens” and loud lamentations during Mass, Simeon and Anna can help turn a wince into a smile: a church with no cryin’/ is a church that’s dyin’.  

With this wonderful month as well, this Sunday is World Marriage Day. Initiated by the community of World-wide Marriage Encounter back in the early 1980’s, this marker point is more important than ever, as our understanding and appreciation of the sacrament of marriage continues to evolve.  

It’s no coincidence that this special day is calendared near Valentine’s Day. The awesome power of falling in love might well be likened to the abundant catch of fish we will hear about this weekend. For Peter and the others by Lake Gennesaret that day, their encounter with the Lord humbled them totally. As a wise Jesuit once wrote:  Nothing is more practical than finding God, than falling in Love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. The lives of those disciples would never be the same - nor, as it turned out, would ours.

Gratefully,

Father Dan, Pastor