In today’s readings, Christ is reminding us to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, to bless those who curse us, and to pray for those who mistreat us. This is a really challenging thing to do. Christ tells us to “forgive and you will be forgiven,” and “love one another as I have loved you.” Wow, what a powerful statement yet so very hard to do.

Christ showed us His love and forgiveness when He died for us on the cross. He died for the forgiveness of sin, not only for the people before His generation and of His generation but for all generations to come, until the end of time. Again, I say WOW. That is true forgiveness and love.

Dear Parish Family,

Show me Love, Show me Compassion, Show me Kindness, Show me Faith, Show me Hope, Show me Peace.

Jesus’ final commandment deals only with LOVE—to love another, to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to love our enemies! You got it, Jesus demands that we love our enemies. What if those same enemies are related to us in some way by way of family, community, or on the job, or even within a community of faith?

This week’s readings encourage us to rely on God, to find hope in the resurrection, and remember that true happiness lies in Him. Each reading is inviting us to put our trust in God’s care and seek His lasting joy. The readings are guiding us to find true happiness by trusting in God and believing in Jesus’ resurrection. We are warned not to rely only on human strength but to trust in God because only God can give us the support and strength we need.

Dear Parish Family,

May God’s continued blessings be upon you and yours. It is hard to believe that Lent is fast approaching. We have great plans for this coming Lent to help us move more inward, to allow the season to be a time of preparation and repentance.

Dear Parish Family,

Can you imagine going through life day in and day out, waiting for our ship to come in, anticipating the abundance of what is to come? God’s surplus of a bountiful harvest, His provision, our thirst quenched, our hunger satisfied. We all long for the spirit of prosperity, the spirit of abundance, abundance of blessings, that is.

This is the state we find the disciples of Jesus in as their nets are sunk deep in the lake, hoping and waiting for a good catch. Well before they left their nets on the shore to follow Him, they trusted Jesus. After almost giving up, they did as He asked and cast their nets again. They were disappointed and worried because they caught nothing. Jesus changed the outcome in an instant, so much that the nets were filled to the brim and they nearly sank their boat pulling them in. We find these ordinary fishermen tired, frustrated, angry, disgusted with the toil of their labor, and failing to turn up anything—until the Lord intervenes.

Do you believe that miracles still happen, or are miracles something that only occurred during the time when Jesus preached to the people years ago? Today’s gospel tells us about a miracle with the huge catch of fish. This miracle did happen, and miracles do still continue to happen in our world today because God never stops loving us and He never abandons us. When our failures turn into success, when sadness turns into gladness, when we feel like quitting but then have renewed confidence, these are all miracles. God is always looking out for us; we just need to see His plans for us.

Jesus comes at His birth as a Savior who brings life and hope for the whole world and yet there are people who will reject Him and His message of truth and life. His own people (the Jews) will be deeply divided over Him. This, as Simeon says in the Gospel for this Sunday, will be a source of deep pain for his Mother, something she will not realize fully until she sees Him die in agony on the cross before her own eyes.

Imagine if when you were a child someone said to your mother that you would be part of both good and bad things in this world but as a mother you will be hurt just as much as your child. I am sure that my own mother would have thought that person was a little strange just as Simeon’s words must have been very puzzling and even alarming to Mary and Joseph.

Dear Parish Family,

I pray the New Year has been off to a good start. It has been for us as staff, as we manage to continue to achieve some of our goals and tasks in creating our new confessional, hand-crafted by our own Felipe Ruiz. The confessional is a lovely addition, creating the perfect ambiance. We were blessed to receive some much-needed moisture this week, and the beautiful light blanket of snow made for a poetic setting around the parish grounds of St. Catherine Laboure.