“He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”
In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter is proclaiming that Jesus Christ was able to do many good things and help those in need because God was with him. This weekend, we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. We celebrate our baptism! We celebrate the fact that at our baptism we die to ourselves and become other Christs in the world in order to go out to the world and do good. It is at our baptism that God dwells in us, that he actually makes a home in us. Because of our baptism we can confidently proclaim that God is with us. God loves us so much that he concretely wants us to know that we are loved forever. So if you have been baptized, either as a child or adult, take a moment and think to yourself: thank you God for being with me in all of this. You help me to do so many good things. Continue to do good things in my life and in the life of this community. Amen.
Our identity is found in our baptism. That is why I am excited about the book study beginning on January 14 that focuses on who we are and how we’ve been so beautifully made. The book is called Made this way: How to Prepare Kids to Face Today’s Tough Moral Issues, by Leila Miller and Trent Horn. It enters into issues like Marriage and Divorce, Contraception, Reproductive Technologies, Transgenderism, etc. It shares what the Church teaches and offers ways to teach it to our youth. It is good to receive what the Church offers on these issues before receiving what the world offers.
On the topic of learning, if you or someone you know feels called to learn more about the Catholic faith and become Catholic, it is not too late to join the RCIA journey on Tuesday nights.
In addition, if you know someone who has been away from the faith for a while now, we just started the Catholics Returning Home program last Tuesday at 7:00pm. It’s not too late to come back home!
In other news, Stephens Ministry classes are about to begin. We are still looking for more men to join in and become ministers to help journey with other men in our community that find themselves in need of help. Thanks for considering.
Lastly, school just came back in session this past week. It is great to hear the joyful screams in the playground again and encounter the happiness of the teachers. Continue to pray for our principal, Mrs. Dougherty, as she recovers from surgery due to cervical cancer. Doctors say she is cancer free—praise God! Keep praying for her health and the health, happiness and holiness of all our people! Thank you!
May God’s peace and joy be with you,
Fr. Jeremy
