CARITAS CHRISTI URGET NOS
At the beginning of the new calendar year, I have the habit of choosing a verse from scripture that serves as my spiritual anchor for the year.
This year I was inspired to return to my favorite book of the bible, the 2nd Letter of Paul to the Corinthians. So I've chosen 2 Cor 5:14: "For the love of Christ urges us on..." This verse spoke to me in a particular way because I realize just how tired I am as we begin the new year. And in talking to many of you, I know that you are weary and tired too. We are tired of the small but significant trials of the times we live in. We are tired of people who assume the worst of others, criticizing and complaining instead of supporting and encouraging. And we are tired of bearing the weight of our sinfulness and weaknesses amid a world that is just as broken as we are.
In those times where I am tempted to naval-gazing self-pity, I must remember the only reason I am here: The love of Christ. It is the love of Jesus that ransoms me from the legion of shameful sins that checker my life; it is the love of Jesus that empowers me with the Holy Spirit to share in His mission of bringing glad tidings to the poor and proclaiming liberty to captives (cf. Is 61:1-2). And yet it is also the love of Christ that urges me to be with you, to proclaim Jesus Christ and Him crucified, to give what little I have of wisdom and strength and love so that you too many know His transformative love. I know that when I'm feeling worn down by those enemies of human nature - the world, the flesh, and the devil - I can return to the love of Christ and find new energy urging me forward. I know that Jesus - and He alone - can make up for all my shortcomings and weaknesses and bring forth amazing fruits that I couldn't even dream of. To try and find rest in anything other than the love of Christ is to fail to find rest.
As we begin this new year, full of uncertainty and weariness, I pray that, together, we will be urged forward by the love of Christ. There is nothing else in this world that we can depend on. He is the one who strengthens us, and He is the one who provides the hope that overpowers even the heaviest of burdens.
The end of the Christmas season is this Sunday at our celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. It is an opportunity for all of us to recall the amazing graces of our baptism where we became children of our Heavenly Father, temples of the Holy Spirit, and responsible for evangelizing the world. My special prayer this weekend is that all of us may more fully embrace the call to missionary discipleship which is the dignity and responsibility resulting from our baptism. This Feast of the Baptism, may we continue to become fruitful disciples proclaiming freedom in Christ.
Please save the date for our Parish Trivia Night on Saturday, February 26th at 7:00pm. More details to come over the next month.
Watch TV with us! Please join us as we view and discuss five episodes of The Chosen, a Spirit-filled television show on the life of Jesus and his early followers. This charismatic, engaging, and life-giving exploration of Christ is unlike any TV show that you've seen. We will gather Wednesday evenings from 6:30-8:15 pm January 26th-February 23rd in Paluch Hall. Don't hesitate to get in touch with Kevin O'Connell with questions at kevin@olransom.org and see the flyer attached to the end of this eNewsletter.
A special word of gratitude on behalf of one of our parishioners. Brett Briske is one of our young adults and has been taking a music conducting class.
Part of his final project was to conduct and record a piece of music. Several of our staff jumped in to help him develop a project that was sure to wow. A big thanks to Paul Matijevic for assisting Brett in bringing this project to fruition. Also important were those who offered their voices, Suzanne Santos and her family, and Doug Beardsley. And finally, Colleen O'Dowd was very involved in the recording and editing process. We are so pleased to support one of our parishioners in this way, and Brett is grateful to all those at Our Lady of Ransom who made this possible.
As we continue our relationship with The Embers Academy, we are pleased that they are growing and need more space. As of January 1, The Embers Academy took the third of the South Wing closest to the center of the school. As they continue to grow, we expect them to need the entire South Wing in the not too distant future. One of the challenges for our parish is our lack of quality meeting space. This spring, we will begin a conversation on best use our facilities and potential solutions to our space issue. This conversation will involve our staff and the new facilities commission. Once we get closer, I'll ask anyone who has ideas or expertise in this area to join the conversation.
As always, please keep an eye out below for our "Praise Report" and "Help Wanted" sections.
Heavenly Father, we are thankful for the gifts that you give, those we recognize and those we fail to recognize. We are especially grateful for ...
- Brett Briske, Paul Matijevic, and all who were involved in the conducting project that gave praise to the Lord through sung prayer;
- several parishioners who are successfully recovering from COVID infections;
Jesus, for those graces spoken and unspoken, we give you thanks; and we ask that you multiply their fruits in our lives and the lives of those around us.
- Amen
DO YOU DO LAUNDRY? DO YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE WE CAN CONTINUE TO CELEBRATE MASS?
We are in need of several additional parishioners to give their time to clean and iron some of our liturgical items. Each week, we use a significant number of purificators (the small cloth used with the chalice) and corporals (the medium size cloth that is placed on the altar). The work can be done in your home and simple training will be provided on how to handle these sacred objects.
If you’re interested in learning more, please reach out to our associate pastor, Fr. John Szmyd, by emailing him at frjohn@olransom.org.
