Our annual diocesan Catholic Men for Jesus Rally will take place Saturday, Jan. 28th, from 8 am to 1 pm, in the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola, 9999 N. Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens. It’s open to all men from ages 14 and up, and breakfast and lunch will be served. The closing liturgy will be celebrated by Bishop Babrbarito, and our featured speaker will be author and nationally syndicated radio host, Allen Hunt, a convert from Methodism. He is now associated with Matthew Kelly’s Dynamic Catholic Institute. Last year, we sold out, so please register early. Our parish rally coordinator is Jamie Lesane, at 752-4278. It’s a great uplift for all men who want to be good Catholic men, husbands and fathers.

It has been 39 years since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in the U.S. So, on Monday, January 23rd, the annual Palm Beach Diocesan observance of the anniversary of the infamous Roe v. Wade decision of the Supreme Court will take place across the street from the County Court House (in front of the old court house), with Bishop Barbarito leading the Rosary, beginning at 11:00 a.m. I invite you to join in this peaceful, prayerful demonstration against the unjust taking of human life by abortion, and to pray for the Holy Spirit to guide those women facing the loneliness.

The results of our election last weekend of a new member to the Parish Pastoral Council shows that the majority vote went to Kit Johansen. Congratulations to Kit, and to all who exercised their right to vote in the election. These men and women are an important source of information and help in guiding me with the administration of our parish and planning its future.

The winners of the Early-Bird Special Raffle of the hundred-dollar raffle tickets for the 45th Annual Parish Festival are: Pat Fuller, Anna Powell, Larry Clarke and “The Ten of Us” (% Pat Scarpino). Each of these lucky ticket holders win $500 now, and have a chance to win again in the Grand Prize Drawing on February 26th. Congratulations! Thank you to the sellers of our tickets outside the church doors on the weekends. I appreciate your support of the festival; it is a blessing for all the parents who want to keep our school as the best one in town and beyond!

Our annual Men’s & Women’s retreats at Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Center in North Palm Beach are fast approaching. This year’s theme is “Handing on the Faith.” The retreat will be a reflection both on receiving the Faith, and our Baptismal call to hand it on and make it known through our lives and words to others in this world. The men’s retreat will be held February 3-5, and the women’s on March 16-18. For more info and registration, the website address is: http://www.ourladyofflorida.org/programs.htm. Our parish coordinators are: (Men) David Henninger (251-2866) or David Schmidt (665-1107); (Women) Deborah Dowd (276-3991). This is a great way to launch our adults into the spirit of the Lenten season.

As we draw closer to the weekend of our 45th Annual Parish Festival, I thank all the members of the Parish Festival Committee, under the leadership of Geraldo Olortegui, for exercising their stewardship of time and talent for the sake of our parish, especially our school. Also, the parents and students who sell the tickets on the weekend are a big plus in our efforts to promote the event. My prayer is that all of our parents will participate in volunteering for the festival (“volunteering” really means doing it without counting the cost or seeking a personal reward or “perks”). This helps us to save on the costs involved in educating our kids in a Catholic setting, and that’s what makes the difference! God bless our volunteers!

We’ve officially closed the Christmas season last Monday afternoon, with the Feast of Jesus’ Baptism. During the Christmas celebration this year, I was asked this question more than once: “Is missing Mass on Sundays and Holy Days still a mortal sin that has to be confessed; and if so, why?” I think they must have been visitors, because I think our parishioners already know the real answer. But in case there may be some doubt, let’s consult the law. From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we learn that, “The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor. Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin (CCC 2181)[emphasis mine]. That directive is quite emphatic in its own right. So, I just wonder how many are failing to exercise this serious obligation, and then proceed to receive the Holy Eucharist (unworthily?), as if nothing serious happened in their responsibility and obligation to keep holy the Lord’s Day. The Code of Church Law (CIC #1247) says, “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass.” Notice, it doesn’t say just “go to Mass.” Thank God, we have the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. Now, if we could just get those who regularly walk out of Mass early (and miss God’s blessing at the conclusion) and think they still are pleasing God because they “came to church,” --to rethink their heresy……

Very Rev. Canon Tom

Is your celebration of Christmas over yet? --Not ours, nor the Church’s -- for today we celebrate a feast often referred to as “Little Christmas,” or the Feast of the Epiphany, or the Feast of the Three Kings. Traditionally, it was celebrated in the Western part of the Catholic Church on January 6th, right after the 12th day of Christmas (hence “little” Christmas). It was the real day when gifts were exchanged. In the earlier centuries, it was considered an even more important day than the feast of Christmas itself. Sadly, it has lost a lot of its significance, so much so that the Catholic Church decided to put it on a moveable date: the first Sunday after the first of the New Year, when it could be celebrated with greater attendance at Mass.

The symbolism of this Gospel story today gives us deeper insight into God’s love for us, and how we can better live the Christian life. Most of us have sweet memories of that time that our parents first brought us, as little children, to kneel at the Christmas crib and marvel at the peaceful scene before us. I recall that the baby Jesus had His arms reaching out, as if to embrace everyone in the world. That image sums up perfectly the meaning of His Epiphany (manifestation), to the Magi or Wise Men from the East. Jesus, sharing in our humanity, invites men and women of all nations and races to share in His kingdom.

The Magi were Gentiles, sincere men seeking the truth, and they made a long journey to find the Wisdom of the ages: Jesus. They offered Him gifts, which were perfectly appropriate: gold, which acknowledged His kingship; incense, which represented His divinity, and myrrh, which indicated the sacrifice He was to make for us.

The Magi worshipped Jesus and gave Him their most valuable gifts. What would be our most valuable gift that we could give to the newborn Christ? I’m not sure that there’s a right answer, but I think that there is no greater gift we could give than the gift of ourselves. By giving ourselves, we become disciples of Jesus. Pope John Paul II, in a homily on one Epiphany feast, invited all of us “to do everything that the Magi did: offer gifts – the gold of love, the incense of prayer and the myrrh of sacrifice.

God reveals Himself to us so that we will be epiphanies (manifestations) for others! Just as He revealed Jesus to the Magi from foreign countries, we must reveal Jesus to people who still do not know Him, or to those who need to know Him better, even among our friends, families, and neighbors. Christ, the light of our life, is “out there,” in the world. But He is also within us, to be revealed by our words and actions as people who have been redeemed out of love and who are to continue to spread that love to a world that has been darkened by sin.

Today, we also honor the Wise Men in their finding of Christ with the tradition of the 3 Kings brought from Central Europe: by invoking their intercession as we inscribe in blessed chalk on the main doorways of our home the initials of the traditional names of the Magi: namely, Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar. The inscription can be done this way: 20+C+M+B+12. The incense can be burned as desired at home, perhaps during a family prayer get-together (but please do it in a safe manner).

This Tuesday, after the 8:30 a.m. Mass, we will dismantle the Christmas decorations in church, as we have returned to Ordinary time in the Church calendar. I need some volunteers for about two hours to help our maintenance staff put away the manger and decorations and clean the sanctuary. A lunch will be served (as always) for those volunteers who help. Do you have the time and volunteer spirit to help?

This Sunday, after all of the weekend Masses, we vote in the Parish Family life Center for one of the proposed candidates for our Parish Pastoral Council. Their pictures and a brief biography have been posted near the entrances of our church and Parish Center. If you are a registered parishioner who is 18 or older, you may cast your ballot. The winner will serve a specified term on the Pastoral Council, which serves to give me advice in administering our parish. I thank the candidates for their willingness to serve.

Also, this Sunday in Kellaghan Hall, we will be drawing the winning prizes for our “early-bird special” raffle (those who already bought their $100 tickets for the Annual Parish Festival that occurs toward the end of next month). The winners are also eligible to win again in the drawing at the end of the festival!

We welcome back Father Jay Haskin, recently retired from the Diocese of Burlington, Vermont, who graciously assists us on weekdays and weekends in the midst of his retirement. We also welcome back from the Alaskan outback, our poster boy for Blue Bell ice cream, Monsignor Anderson. Both priests are a blessing to our parish and a great assistance to me in ministering to our parish.

Very Rev. Canon Tom