March 24, 2023
Dear Friends,
Bear with me. I am jumping all over the place today. Not because I don’t have a plan, but we will be doing a wild mouse roller coaster ride whipping back and forth to get to a point. There is a Christmas song (see what I mean) Mary did you know? We all know the song or most likely have heard the song sung somewhere. The opening of the song starts with the verse: Mary, did you know that your baby boy, Will one day walk on water? Mary, did you know that your baby boy, Will save our sons and daughters? The song ends by asking did you know this sleeping child is the great I AM?
The song gained in popularity over the years from a Christian song to one sung by Pentatonix and is everywhere. Why am I asking about a Christmas song during lent? The answer is tomorrow. Tomorrow as a church we celebrate the Annunciation (or as I like to sometimes think), the day that everyone thinks we celebrate on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (December 8). The angel Gabriel comes to Mary to ask her to be the mother of the Christ, of the great I AM. We celebrate the yes or the fiat of Mary every year on the Solemnity of the Annunciation.
Mary’s yes is the beginning of our redemption story. I feel like I use the phrase often (but it is such a great phrase). OUR REDEMPTION STORY. It just has the right feeling, especially considering it involves all of us. It is not the redemption of somebody else but ourselves. It is what our Lenten journey reminds us, the sacrifice that Christ made for us so that we can be redeemed. It is the time all of us can run around and talk about ourselves, not because we got a new toy, but because of the yes all of those years ago. We are redeemed.
Lent is almost over. Winter is 272 days away. We can still do what we need to do to make Lent something for us. Come to mass. Come to confession. Come to the Rosary and Stations of the Cross. Send your kids to Youth Group (those in 8th grade and above, the next meeting is April 2). Get ready for Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. Consider going to Matthew’s Men, Marthas and Marys or even Women’s Cornerstone. There is so much available to you both during and after Lent!
At mass this morning, I said our faith is something that we need to work on daily. We cannot just be passive observers of faith. We need to make our faith our own just as we have made St. Matthew’s our own. Get involved! Sing with the choir during Holy Week. Ask about becoming a lector, extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, or usher. Volunteer your kids to become altar servers (students in 4th grade and above can do it. The next altar server training is Monday, March 27 at 5:00 pm. Join our social committee bring some new ideas to them or even me.
We cannot be passive in our faith. We need to give our own fiat or yes to our church and God. Be active in what you do to celebrate the redemption we are given.
God Bless,
Fr. Brian
P.S. During Lent we should not judge Fr. Brian's jokes....
Why is a koala not considered a bear?
It doesn't have the necessary koalifications....