LOVE IS EVERYTHING!

Dear parishioners,

Love is everything. That is my summary of St. Paul’s incredibly beautiful presentation in today’s second reading of the nature and of the central importance of love in our lives. We all know this passage by heart, for having heard it many times at weddings. But it bears re-reading. I urge you all to take the time to re-read it. It is at 1 Co 12.31-13.13 

This Wednesday, February 2nd, is the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. On this occasion, it is traditional to bless candles. So if you wish to have candles blessed, just bring them to mass on that day and they will be blessed.

An important heads-up. Pope Francis has called for a Synod of bishops from around the world in October 2023 on the topic of Synodality itself! “Synod” comes from two Greek words, sun-hodos, which translates literally as “together-road”, or shared road. In the Church, it refers to a conversation in which, by listening to one another, we attempt to discern what the Holy Spirit is trying to say to the Church here and now. A beautiful example of a synod is the risen Jesus walking with the two disciples on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, discussing with them along the way, the things that happened recently in Jerusalem. A second beautiful examples is the apostles gathered in Jerusalem to discuss what is to be required of the Gentiles who wish to become Christian.  Pope Francis has asked that the entire Church, or as much of it as possible, participate in this conversation. So the Synod actually begins at the parish level. We are organizing an initial “conversation circle”, as these conversations will be called, in order to “make our wings”. When we feel ready, we will gather all the parishioners who wish to participate in this conversation into small groups. You will find at all exits at the end mass this Sunday, postcards prepared by the Archdiocese to present the Synod to the faithful.  More on the modalities of this synod in the coming weeks.

That’s it for now. Providentially perhaps, Covid has produced a sub-variant of omicron which promises to keep us on our toes for the next little while. I’ve learned from experience that anxiety is lessened by doing the things we can to be a part of the solution. I pray that we are all finding the ways to remain calm as we continue to grope our way toward the elusive finish-line of this pandemic.

God bless us and keep us all safe. May the Olympic Games which begin this Friday, and the early signs of spring cropping up around us contribute to lifting our collective mood.

Fr. Guy