Pastor’s Message – Church of Saint Benedict

January 9, 2025

Friday after the Epiphany

Almighty ever-living God, who, when Christ had been baptized in the River Jordan and as the Holy Spirit descended upon him, solemnly declared him your beloved Son, grant that your children by adoption, reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, may always be well pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.

Brothers and Sisters,

This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. It is the third and final Sunday of the Christmas Season. It is a fitting conclusion to the on-going Feast of the Incarnation that began on Christmas Day.

The Incarnation, meaning “to enflesh”, is a core Christian belief that is perhaps the most difficult for us to accept and seek to live out the implications. God the Son, takes on our human nature to save us. There is but one True God. God is not distant or disinterested in us. God loves us to the extent that this Divine Love is embodied in the Person of Jesus.

This embodiment of Divine Love enters the world as a helpless infant, which we celebrate in the Nativity of the Lord. On Holy Family Sunday we celebrate that He is a member of the human family of Mary and Joseph. All people of the world are invited to receive and be transformed by this Divine Love, which we celebrate on the Epiphany of the Lord.

On the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we see that Divine Love stands in solidarity with us in our brokenness. Although sinless, Jesus presents Himself as a penitent seeking a baptism of repentance administered by John the Baptist.

As the Divine Love, all that Jesus touches are changed and made holy. The waters of baptism are made sacred. In the Sacrament of Baptism, we are consecrated by water and Holy Spirit.

We become beloved sons and daughters of God through Jesus. We are set aside for a sacred purpose, to share the good news of the Incarnation with others. This is our identity that we are invited to accept and live as disciples.

The Feast of the Incarnation, that is the Christmas Season, calls us back to this identity as the Church. We are invited to be touched and transformed again by the Divine Love who is Jesus.

Our Parish 

Congratulations to Gibert De Leon and Rosie Lopez, who were married at our parish on January 3.

Congratulations to the Webb family, who will present a child for baptism this weekend.

The Knights of Columbus will host a Pancake Breakfast in McGuire Hall this Sunday after the 9am Mass.

Members of the parish’s Peace, Justice and Charity committee will give brief pulpit talks at all Masses this weekend.

The Parish Council will be meeting on Wednesday, January 14. Newly elected members, Carter Baker and Brent Potts, and newly appointed members, Jo Ann Bly, Mike Greenly and Bill Walsh, will begin their term of service.

Vianney Nights

On the remaining Thursdays in January, starting at 7:00pm, our parish will be hosting Vianney Night, a Holy Hour to pray for vocations. Fr. Duy Nguyen, the Vocation Director of the Diocese, will lead the Holy Hour in the church. All are welcome to take part.

Newcomers Welcome

Following all the Masses, the weekend of January 17-18, all new parishioners are invited to the parish rectory for a welcoming reception. Light refreshments will be served.

Catholic Schools Week

All parishioners who are students at any Catholic school in the Diocese are invited to wear their uniforms to Mass the weekend of January 24-25. Students will be given the opportunity to assist in the liturgies that weekend.

Sacrament of Confirmation

Bishop Konderla will be the celebrant at the Saturday Vigil Mass on January 31 to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation on over 90 children and youth of our parish. Please keep them in your prayers. For those who usually attend the Vigil Mass, a reminder that we expect many guests at that liturgy. Please plan accordingly.

God bless and keep you safe.

Fr. Bryan