Pastor's Message
Baptism of the Lord, 10 Jan 2021
Dear Saints-in-the-Making,
Today’s liturgical celebration of the Baptism of the Lord concludes the Christmas Season, and tomorrow the Church begins a new liturgical season: Ordinary Time.
This does not mean, however, that we stop rejoicing at the Birth of the Lord nor that we are called to be “ordinary.” Quite the opposite, in fact.
God calls us all to holiness, in whatever station of life we find ourselves. Whether we are married or single, ordained or layperson, female or male, young or young at heart, it is within our power, in full cooperation with God’s Grace, that is, to become holy. Being holy literally means “being set apart,” and therefore, being extraordinary. Again, we become extraordinary, that is holy, solely by God’s Grace.
We can, though, participate in God’s Grace by following the example of the Saints, including St. Joseph, who through a willingness to follow God’s Will the very moment it became known to him, loved, served and protected the Child Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this year dedicated to him, let us beseech the Lord for the Grace to become holy as St. Joseph is holy by praying daily the following, taken from Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter With A Father’s Heart:
St. Joseph,
Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
To you God entrusted His only Son;
In you Mary place her trust;
With you Christ became man.
Blessed Joseph, to us, too,
Show yourself a father
And guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage,
And defend us from every evil. Amen.
A sincere and full-hearted note of gratitude to you all for your great generosity in the Sussex Pregnancy Care Center’s annual Change For Life Campaign. You contributed $7850.14 to help defend the life of little ones in the womb and to give expectant mothers the hope and possibility of bringing their child to term and raising them. Thank you for being like St. Joseph: defending life at its most vulnerable stage especially in contemporary society’s preference for the culture of death and abortion.
God loves you! I do.
Fr. Lewis