From the Pastor – January 31, 2021

Joe Biden is the second Catholic after John Kennedy to be elected president. But he is the third Catholic to run for president. Do you know who the first Catholic presidential nominee was and in which election he ran? The answers are at the end of this column. Jesus was a person unlike any other. His teachings and his actions were different from anyone who appeared before him or since. He offered people an opportunity to experience the love of God through him and everything he said and did. He transformed the world and the people he met by his life, death, and resurrection. Jesus offers us the same experience because he also has transformed all of us. But this transformation is more than just a fact of history; it is an ongoing encounter with God as expressed in his Son, Jesus. This means that we have to live as a people transformed and renewed by the presence of Jesus within and among us. As such, we are the visible sign of Jesus in the world. We are the ones sent to bring the Good News to others and to be the Good News for them.  Proclaiming the Good News is not about prestige or position. It is about helping others discover the wonder that Jesus is for them, as he is for us. We are the instruments God uses for this mission, and it is never about us but about the people we serve. We have a serious responsibility to help others experience the gift that Jesus is for us.  This doesn’t happen when we focus on ourselves because then we distort the message and the one who sends us forth.  Jesus always invites us to come and see, come and experience, and come and discover the wonder in the Breaking of the Bread, the proclamation of the Word, and the lives of each of us. Al Smith, Governor of New York, was the first Catholic nominee of a major party to run for president. He was a candidate in the 1928 election.  HAPPY ORDINARY TIME!!     FR. JOE