To Live the Great Commandment: Love of God and Love of Neighbor

From the Desk of Father John

Today, we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany! In an aspect the Feast of Epiphany can be seen as a response of the Magi to Christmas—the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a response to the gift of love that God gave us in the giving of His Son. The Magi left everything. They took a long journey to come and do adoration of Christ. So, their response to the gift of God was adoration; to do Him homage. And so, for us, as we focus on Epiphany for what it must be--what is our response to the gift of Jesus as Emmanuel—God is with us!  The magi came from a distance. They had set out on a spiritual quest that required them to become actual pilgrims, traveling across the miles to the place of encounter with God.

The Churches of Holy Family Community: St. Pius, Sacred Heart, St. Joseph and St. Mary are the places for our Epiphany—we travel miles and miles in our inward journey to these sacred places that are filled with the presence of God that we may encounter the life, love and hope. We make journeys of joy, journeys of celebration, journey of sorrow, journey of family togetherness, journeys of new beginnings, journeys of broken heart, journeys with hurt and woundedness, journeys of awe and wonder, journeys of forgiveness and reconciliation—all in view that we will find that Holy Presence with the hope of falling in Adoration and be transformed into a way of life that is meaningful. Like the magi we, too, are travelers! We know from everyday experience what it is like to make a journey of expectation to the house of a friend, the bedside of a sick loved one, or the journey of engagement leading to marriage, journey of waiting for a new baby in the family, journey of becoming catholic, journey of physical healing and recuperation and ultimately the journey of dying! There is something in the distance that calls to us. What is true in these little journeys is also true of the whole of life. We are called by a great promise to move out from where we are to the future God has planned for us. We hope that the journey itself is pleasant and safe, full of happiness and new discoveries along the way. And, of course, we seek good and trustworthy companions, people who are wise about traveling, who know the dangers to be avoided and the delights to be enjoyed. We need fellow pilgrims who will encourage us when we want to give up or come to find us if we get lost. In God's plan we find these companions in our families and good neighbors - and especially in that great and grace-filled band of pilgrims that we belong in our churches!

So, what does this all mean? It means simply that we offer ourselves to God by the lives we lead. We are challenged to hold fast to the dignity of human life from the merest beginnings of life at conception, until the Lord comes to take us home in the ultimate Epiphany. We are also asked to care for creation so that future generations will encounter God through the abundance of creation. It simply means that we recognize the Lord Jesus in the poorest of the poor and weakest of the weak. If we open our minds and wills completely to what is sacred in the secular, then our whole lives may be blessed by the eternal epiphanies presented to us in the sacrament of the present moment. Our life is God’s gift to us – our lives can be our gift to God. Each one of us has consciously or unconsciously set out on the great pilgrimage of life. Life has its moments which are both great and disappointment. In the midst of all these experiences, God manages to communicate something of Himself if we are receptive to his presence. Sometimes it takes a lot of effort to open ourselves to the gift of Epiphany. For the Magi, it meant they had to set out on a journey and follow the sign of the great star. For us it means that we too embark on the Christian journey and follow the way of the gospel! But always remember that life is a journey with and to God, who always makes it easy for us to find him. I really do not know if there is a way I could ever express my gratitude for our Parish Family in a way that would come close to what I feel.  Please remember that this love, God’s Love, is for all of us and for us to give out freely and completely to everyone.  That was the greatest Christmas gift you gave me!         Fr. John

Mission Statement

To live the Great Commandment
Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  And
'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
Matthew 22: 37-38