It is now the fourth Sunday in Ordinary time. Recently, I was reminded of the idea that ordinary also means “ordered” or “rightly structured.”  Ordinary time is thus a special season in the Church in which, in an orderly way, we are led to a deeper encounter with Jesus Christ.

An encounter with the Lord is the only and true orientation of the Christian life. We live an orderly life when we are oriented towards Christ, when he defines one’s thoughts, actions and emotions. We also live an orderly life when Jesus becomes the measure of what is good, truthful, and beautiful in my existence. This is the joy of Ordinary time: every Sunday we are led a step closer to the mystery of the one who is God, Savior and Friend.

For six years at the seminary in Milwaukee, I lived a life with set hours for prayer, meals and classes. As a priest, on the other hand, your day looks different every day and it has been a learning experience for me to give my day a basic structure while remaining flexible to respond to the needs of ministry. It is important to long for order in our calendars, offices, school desks and our households. It is more important, however, to long for a life that is ordered towards Jesus Christ as the ultimate and most definitive orientation of one’s existence.

There are certain things that may tell us if our lives are ordered towards a closer and more personal encounter with the Son of God. Do I think often of him? Do I read what he says in the Gospels? Do I live out what he commands? Do I talk to him often? Do I talk about him with others? Do I visit him in the tabernacle in Church? Do I long to receive him in the Eucharist? Do I seek his forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation? Do I see him in my brother or sister, especially in the poor, the suffering and alienated one? Do I live as the member of His Body that I am?
Ordinary time is thus a privileged season - as are all the other liturgical seasons in the Church. It is by no means a “time in between” big feasts and solemnities that we just have to get through. Ordinary Time is rather a season in which, again, in an orderly way, we are told about Christ, we are taught about Christ, we are led closer to the one who gives our lives meaning and direction.

My invitation this Sunday, as we continue living this Ordinary season in the Church, is that we find in Christ our origin and destiny, our Lord, savior and friend; our teacher and also our brother. As John Paul II said in his address for the 15th World Youth Day (8/19/2000):
“It is Jesus in fact that you seek when you dream of happiness; he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; he is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is he who provokes you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is he who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is he who reads in your hearts your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle. It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be grounded down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.”

Readings for the week of January 31, 2021
Sunday:    Dt 18:15-20/Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9 [8]/1 Cor 7:32-35/Mk 1:21-28 

Monday:    Heb 11:32-40/Ps 31:20, 21, 22, 23, 24 [25]/Mk 5:1-20

Tuesday:    Mal 3:1-4/Ps 24:7, 8, 9, 10 [8]/Heb 2:14-18/Lk 2:22-40 or 2:22-32

Wednesday:    Heb 12:4-7, 11-15/Ps 103:1-2, 13-14, 17-18a [cf. 17]/Mk 6:1-6

Thursday:    Heb 12:18-19, 21-24/Ps 48:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 9, 10-11 [cf. 10]/Mk 6:7-13

Friday:        Heb 13:1-8/Ps 27:1, 3, 5, 8b-9abc [1a]/Mk 6:14-29

Saturday:    Heb 13:15-17, 20-21/Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 [1]/Mk 6:30-34

Next Sunday:    Jb 7:1-4, 6-7/Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 [cf. 3a]/1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23/Mk 1:29-39

Normal Mass Schedule
Sundays: 7:30am, 9:30am
12:00pm (Español)
Monday through Friday: 6:15am

Normal Confessions and Adoration
Thursdays from 5:30pm-6:30pm

Normal Parish Office Hours
Monday through Friday
8:30am-12noon

Families and single persons 18 years and older are encouraged to be registered at the parish in order to receive the services the Church offers to all members of our Parish Family.  To register, please download a registration form from our website or contact the parish office.

MARY, QUEEN OF ANGELS ADORATION CHAPEL
Adoration takes place in the main church of Holy Angels on Tuesdays for 12 hours, from 8:00am – 8:00pm.  A minimum of two people per hour are needed. If you would like to sign up for a time to adore, please contact Jody at 262-343-3486
 or go to www.hawb.org/adoration and send an email.  
 
Worldwide Marriage Encounter-

REMOTE RETREATS ARE NOW AVAILABLE!
Promotes experiences for couples who want to
make their good marriage even better. Visit http://www.wwme.org/ for details.

Wisconsin Catholic Youth Rally 2021:  Fiat
In-Person or virtual experience offered!
visit www.arisemke.org/wcyr

SEEK21, happening February 4-7. This conference is specifically centered on the Gospel with talks from Fr. Mike Schmitz, Sr. Miriam James Heidland, Dr. Edward Sri, and more! CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS