A Letter from Fr. Paul - January 22, 2017

This Tuesday evening our eight week bible study of Ephesians, led by Br. Silas Henderson SDS, begins at 7 pm in the rectory living room. I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity to grow in faith. No need to register: just come!


Last week I pointed out that our readings move us right from the Christmas stories to John the Baptist, preparing the way for the Light of Christ to shine in the world. It is generally thought that Jesus was a disciple of John the Baptist, his cousin. When John is killed, Jesus begins his public ministry (our Gospel this Sunday). Notice what Jesus is saying: repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. He picks up exactly where John the Baptist left off!


Jesus did not preach a Kingdom that would come way off in the future: He preached a Kingdom AT HAND, a Kingdom that was breaking into the world as He spoke. The Kingdom of God is here with us, today, in 2017. Our baptismal commitment is to help it break more and more into our world by the way we live our lives. Jesus taught and modeled Gospel values that bring life, peace, and happiness: the Kingdom! Jesus calls us, as He did his apostles, to be “fishers of people,” and we do this by living according to His words and example, bringing His light into the world. I invite each of us to select one area of life that needs improvement and develop a specific strategy to help us grow in that area. And let us support each other in prayer as we struggle to bring Christ’s light into the world.

-- Paul James Portland, SDS