What Jesus did in the story depicted in today’s Gospel passage from Mark would have been a great relief to them and also would have astounded them. And while we, today, might not fully understand what was going on inside the man, one thing seems perfectly clear, he certainly was being tormented by something or someone or some kind of illness that was outside their everyday experience. And that “something” they believed couldn’t possibly be from God. No, it had to be the opposite.  And they felt powerless over it.
And so when the man is healed at Jesus’ command, simply by the incredible power of his words . . .  “Quiet!  Come out of him!”, they were completely amazed and couldn’t wait to tell others what they saw. This Jesus, this man from Nazareth, had a power over nature and over evil that they had never seen before. Whoever he was, he certainly was no ordinary man. This man could handle even the really big stuff, the scary stuff, the greatest sort of evil. Evil seemed to be a pretty powerful force in their world, but this man was more powerful.
Wouldn’t that be great if we could do the same, if we could somehow have so much power that we could drive all the really bad stuff and bad people from our world? Imagine a world with no murder and no war and no shootings and no dictators and no abusers and no drug pushers and no armed robbers. Wouldn’t that world look so much different from the world we are currently living in?  I’m not so sure.
Now don’t get me wrong. A world without those things would be a better world, no doubt about it. And if any of those things have impacted any of your lives, causing you pain and sorrow, my heart goes out to you. Honestly. None of us should have to suffer at the hands of others, especially in such cruel ways. It’s why we as a society enact laws and punishments, and why we as a nation struggle, imperfectly at times, to protect ourselves and our friends around the world from similar horrors.
Yes, dealing with this “big stuff” matters. And we should continue striving to create a world free from these things. But would that world truly look a lot different from the current one we are living in? Would it? What I’m getting at is this. I think it’s kind of a mistake to presume that most of the pain and suffering in this world is caused by all these big, terrible, dramatic, obvious things. And if we just stop the really “big stuff”, life will be great. Eden will return.
What we tend to forget is what would remain, all the “little stuff” we don’t necessarily think causes that much harm.  Think about it. Some relationships would still suffer, damaged by thoughtlessness, and lies, and indifference, and infidelity.
Some people in the workplace would still be finding ways to defraud customers or fix the books or beat the system. Some students would still cheat on tests and bully others and test their parents’ patience. 
In other words, if we think of the sum of all the seemingly “small” things we do day-in and day-out, multiplied across billions of people around the world, we might start to understand that it’s not just the “big stuff” that makes the world less than it can be, it’s also the immense pile of relatively small hurts, small failings, small sins that are doing most of the damage, causing most of the pain. These are the things that touch absolutely everyone. And if they didn’t exist, or even if they were greatly reduced, the world would be completely transformed. We might not even recognize it. What difference will we make this week?
 Have a blessed week everyone!
  Fr. Barry

From the Pastor’s Desk:
Well here we are, back in the third week of Ordinary Time. In the liturgy of the Roman Rite, Ordinary Time, in Latin Tempus per annum, is that time of the liturgical year which is not connected directly with any one of the two great seasons, Christmastide and Eastertide, as well as the times of their preparation, Lent and Advent. The colors return to green, representing hope, life, and inspiration. Like spring, when green starts sprouting up, it gives us hope and inspiration after a long winter. It is anything but ordinary.
Ordinary time in our Liturgical Calendar consumes much of the year, you see the green altar cloth most of the year along with green vestments worn by myself and deacon. Again stay with me on the hope, life and inspiration theme.
It is during this time that we are witness to the many miracles and teachings of Jesus. We are taught the meaning behind our Christianity. We are given examples of how to lead a better life of giving, a Holy life through the Gospel messages; the building blocks to our faith.
Ordinary time allows us to build up to Advent and Lent! Why those two events in history are so important to each of us.
That road or journey is not an easy one. It’s filled with potholes, misdirection, and detours. It’s filled with regret, options, and mistakes. But those same journeys have been done by many of our ancestors. That’s what Ordinary Time does, allows us to see ourselves within the text of the New Testament that we will journey down together.
“This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Words spoken by Jesus in our Gospel reading from Mark. This is the first chapter, just after the Baptism of our Lord in the temple. It lays out what it is going to take in those infamous words, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men,” The journey has begun, the lessons are to be revealed, the change is about to be shown!
Now the question is, will this just be another year where we hear or heed the call of Christ in our lives? Do we want to make the changes needed or is it life as usual? Are the examples Jesus will give us this year be life changing, or are they just words without meaning?
How we answer these questions will make all the difference to a life lived in Christ or life lived in our mundane existence.
It is a choice my friends, but a choice that has consequences. Do we see the benefit and are we willing to take that life giving step to live the Gospel. Is it Ordinary or just ordinary?
Have a blessed week and journey,
Fr. Barry
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Being in quarantine has its advantages, sleeping in, catching up on reading and no distraction from prayer, to name just a few.  But it also lends way to a lot of time that you just don’t know what to do.  This past week I found myself going over the readings for this weekend.  And normally I like to reflect on the Gospel, which today is amazing.  Jesus is recognized for who he truly is, THE LAMB OF GOD.  But then something in our first reading from the Book of Samuel kept grabbing my attention.  Remember, I have nothing to do all day so both these readings are consuming my  days! 
Samuel is sleeping and is awakened by the calling of his name.  He assumes it’s Eli, but it was not.  This happens two more times and finally it is Eli who realizes just who is calling Samuel and tells him to say “Lord, for your servant is listening”.
I think back to how many times I have heard that call, and not always at the most convenient times. I’ve ignored, I’ve put my own desires before it, I’ve flat out said leave me alone. 
Today, I thank God for not heeding my words. He never did “leave me alone”, but instead kept trying to get my attention, continued to show me what he wanted of me. 
My experience is absolutely no different from anyone else’s. If you are thinking to yourself, “well, God hasn’t asked anything of me” then you are simply fooling yourself. Maybe there’s that twinge inside you that prompted you to do something but instead you followed your own will.  But later, you had wished you had done it.  That was a missed opportunity my friends. One in which hopefully we learn from and do better next time.
God didn’t send “The Lamb of God” to us because he didn’t know what to do with him, he sent him to show us, to teach us, to experience him in the flesh. To prove to each of us just how much he loves us.
May each of us be more attentive to God’s call, he is  calling...are we listening?
Have a blessed week everyone!
Peace and Love,
 
 Fr. Barry

Christmas has come and gone, decorations and lights are coming down and it’s life as we knew it before the holidays.  I’m hoping that sounds a bit odd to you as you read this.  Part of that statement was indeed correct, Christmas has come and gone, but the transformation and belief of that Sacred day is far from being behind us.  If anything, it should have invigorated us, being reminded that Christ’s birth has brought us all something we hadn’t had before; newness of life.
As we journey with Christ and celebrate his baptism, we remind ourselves of something very special.  The opening up of the Holy Spirit and the guidance/mission that is being given to each of us.  We hear once again how   Jesus came to John, presumably, in the presence of many others … and allowed himself to be baptized by him, descending into the waters and rising from them with a new kind of focus, a deeper commitment, a singular kind of purpose through the power of the Spirit.  This man from Nazareth would no longer be just that, but rather would more visibly embrace the mission with which he was entrusted.  We know from Scripture that Jesus grew in wisdom and age.  His baptism seems to be that moment when his identity was no longer “hidden” from those around him, and maybe even from himself.  After all, we really don’t know how this all unfolded for Jesus . . . how exactly he came to know who he was and what he was destined for.
But from this moment everything would be different.  He was stepping onto a sacred path, embarking on a journey that would end with nothing short of the salvation of the world.  And it took a kind of commitment the world had rarely seen or likely never had seen or has seen since.  And what was that commitment?  In a word . . . love.  Jesus was committed to love and only love, in a perfect way, the kind of commitment that would cost him everything.  And he stayed the course. Through all the ridicule, the attempted stoning, the temptations of the devil, the false statements.  And the world was never the same.
We are each called to do the same.  We do this through the love of our Church; being involved.  Through the love of our community; being involved. Through the love of neighbor; being involved. 
None of these are easy, they require time and effort.  But when done, we become the face of Christ to all those we encounter.  The face of Christ that changes hearts, and ultimately changes the community we live in...one person at a time.
May we each think back to what our own baptism has brought us, are we using those gifts of the Holy Spirit or is there room for improvement?

Fr. Barry

I hope this finds all well with everyone as we celebrated the birth of our Lord and welcomed in a new year! We’ve definitely had our obstacles in 2020 and I have to say I’m glad to see it’s behind us. Now the question is, what did we learn from it? Are things we took for granted seen as blessings? Is what’s to come a thought of dread and misery, or can we see the light at the end of the tunnel?
When I started seminary in 2012, I had so much doubt as to if I could actually go through all that schooling (seven years seemed like a lifetime). If I could be happy without the things I sold and got rid of. If I would be able to do what would be expected of me. There was no light at the end of that tunnel, only concern, doubt and unworthiness. Much like 2020, I was unsure if I would even make it through.
And now 7 years later I come to enjoy my first year as pastor celebrating the Epiphany . . . the day on which we recall the incredible story of the Magi embarking on an adventure, a search to find the newborn King of the Jews. And in this story, light plays a dominant role. These three men were looking for a light, for a sign in the sky that would signal something special, something out of the ordinary. And they followed that light wherever it led them. We can presume that this was not an easy quest. Traveling in ancient times was never easy or safe. And of course, ultimately they get to gaze upon and do homage to the Light of the World
          “Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you.”
So says the prophet Isaiah in today’s First Reading. It’s easy to see a sort of foreshadowing in his words, a kind of prophecy that would be realized centuries later. Isaiah seemed to understand that a kind of darkness had crept into the world . . . into their hearts and into them as a people. And what would make things right, what would make things better, what would heal what needed to be healed, was not a conqueror, but rather a light . . . a light that would dispel the darkness, a light which was God himself shining down upon them and with them and through them.
Life takes us in so many different directions. And because of our free will, we can make choices freely, right or wrong, it’s our choice. Just think, why did the Magi feel it was so important to follow this star? Why would they venture out not knowing exactly where they were going or even how long it would take? Who would they encounter along the way, friend or foe?
Like all of us, something in their hearts lead them to the Savior. Something in their whole being drew them to venture out and experience something that would change their lives forever.
The same is happening for each of us as we celebrate this Epiphany. A light has shown and will guide us to what truly matters. We will set out on a certain, particular path. Will we follow it? Will we open our hearts to where God is leading us? Come journey with me and the Church as we embark on another year to discover something special, about our Almighty God, about Jesus his Son, about each other, and most importantly, about ourselves.
May God continue to bless you and this New Year, 2021, we embark upon.

​Fr. Barry