What of your Baptism? Do you give it much thought? Obviously, only a few among us remember our Baptisms, and so it is possible for many of us to give little or no thought to that moment that changed each of us forever. You don’t likely remember it but it should change you nonetheless. Just as you don’t remember your own natural birth, but it integrated you into a family. So many events of our childhood have impacted our today and tomorrow. You didn’t choose the country of your birth, yet it has provided tremendous opportunity and impact on your present. You did not determine the color of your eyes, hair, or height, but they are an intimate part of who you are when you see yourself in the mirror or think of yourself in a picture. Much of our lives are experiences and connections that we did not choose… and yet, define us, direct us, destine us in many and countless ways. Our Baptism, for the many of us who received this gift as infants, is like that, and maybe more so, given it will endure into eternity. Baptism should in fact define us, as we now call out to God as ‘Abba, Father’, as we understand ourselves forever as sons and daughters of God, and members of His Holy Church and Family. It should direct our thoughts, words, and deeds in the world – for love of God and neighbor. It should destine us for an eternal reward with all the saints and angels in Heaven around the Throne of God and of the Lamb. One’s Baptism is no small thing. In the blink of an eye, the simple pouring of a carafe of water and the proclamation of a simple phrase: “I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Everything was changed with you, in you, for you… for the better… for the good… forever. Thank God! Yes, join me in Thanking God, indeed, for the infinite, immense gift of your Baptism and mine.
For those who wonder… Father Gries has started using contacts (for the first time in 22 years). Yet another new experience brought on by the pandemic. Managing a mask, an over-the-ear mic, and glasses that frequently fogged during Mass was getting in the way of praying the Mass.
Fridays for Fathers will resume on Friday 15 January 2021 at 6:15am in the DAC. We will view and discuss the last six sessions of Into the Breach by Bishop Olmstead and the Knights of Columbus.
New men participants of all ages are most welcome. See you there. I’ll have the coffee ready!
Holy Family Parish Mission
Holy Family staff and Parish Pastoral Council are beginning to put things in place to host a spiritually enriching parish mission. A mission is a week of presentations, Eucharist Adoration, and opportunity for Confession, so that we as parishioners and as a parish may be strengthened, enlivened, and reinvigorated in our Catholic Christian Faith in Jesus Christ as Lord, Savior, and Messiah. The Mission will be led by Fr Louis Guardiola, CPM of the Fathers of Mercy. They are a religious community whose primary ministry is to provide such missions to parishes so as to evangelize and encourage a deeper, more faithful love of Christ and the Church rooted in God’s Divine Mercy. Plan to attend each night Sunday through Thursday, February 6 to 11, 2020. It will be a great intro to Lent.
Holy Family, inspired and directed by the Holy Spirit, Pray for us.
~ Fr Jeremy M. Gries