From the Pastor:
Last week I shared with you some exciting news about our parishes, one of which is the 34 people who will be entering the Catholic Church at the Easter vigil. What is further exciting is this number may grow by one or two more people before Easter, and that most of these are young people who are not just trying to appease their conscience but looking for truth and wisdom. Ultimately each of them is looking to draw nearer to God and encounter Jesus in the sacraments of the Church. As I said last week, I’m very excited and happy for them! Please continue to pray for them and their sponsors.
This week I provide you with the additional exciting news that there is a possibility of bringing religious sisters to our tri-parish community. Several months ago, I began having conversations with the few other parishes I know that have religious sisters, and from there spoke with various people at the diocesan level, including Bishop Thomas. Further conversations this past week give me “founded hope” that we might be able to accomplish what seems like a dream. Young religious sisters are in very high demand! It’s a long process, so your prayers for this are much appreciated! A few months from now I will visit each of the various religious communities that would possibly come here, seeking 4-6 religious sisters to teach in our schools and live at Resurrection parish. Let’s hope and pray together for this!
Looking ahead to Tuesday of this week, we celebrate the “Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord”. It being a “solemnity” tells us it ranks very high among the various feast days of the liturgical year. On this day, which is nine months before Christmas, we celebrate the first step of God’s plan for our redemption. We will hear from the gospel of Luke that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary with the invitation for her to be the mother of Jesus. Her reaction to the angel’s presence was fear and anxiety, yet her response was one of unshakable faith in God: “May it be done unto me according to YOUR will.”
Mary is the perfect model for us because, like her, we sometimes experience fear and anxiety at doing the will of God. Maybe it’s the fear of being disliked by family and friends, or maybe the anxiety of future discomfort and suffering at doing the will of God. What is very helpful to see in Mary is that her initial reaction is different from her response. She overcomes her fear and anxiety by leaning into her faith and love of God. Her years of prayer and study of God’s word gave her unwavering trust in God’s plan for her, which we know was much, much bigger than she could ever have imagined. Her selflessness allowed her love for God to be at a level more beautiful than most of us have ever experienced. So, despite her initial reaction, her response was to put her own life totally in the hands of God, which is the smartest thing any of us can do!
Praying that I too do the will of God,
Fr. Miller