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January 28, 2024
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Thank you to everyone for their touching condolences on the passing of AILIS. Your thoughtful prayers, and words of consolation and encouragement have warmed my heart and brought me great comfort. Thank you!
Can you believe we are at the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time and it’s already the end of January? Before you know it, Ash Wednesday will be upon us—which this year is February 14th. I think it’s serendipitous that Ash Wednesday should be on Valentine’s Day this year.
Valentine’s Day, of course, is always associated with romantic love. But Ash Wednesday is also a day of witnessing to love! It is the love of God willing to become you and me and suffer and die for us that we might have the forgiveness of sins and the hope of everlasting life. If that is not love, what is?
We are reminded this weekend that our Savior came for a battle. He came to conquer sin and death. Death entered world through sin and the symbol and culprit of sin is the devil. So we see our Savior beginning His public ministry by destroying, defeating, expelling the evil one! This will be His purpose and His ultimate
victory through what will appear to be defeat, His death on the cross.
We are all immersed in this struggle of battling evil within our own selves and evil outside of ourselves. A victory is assured as long as we cling to Him who has conquered all. There is a beautiful prayer over the gifts during Mass when we celebrate the votive Mass of the Holy Name of Mary. The prayer is “Look favorably on these offerings made here, O Lord that through the intercession of Blessed Mary, Ever Virgin, our heart, filled with the light of the Holy Spirit, may constantly strive to cling to Christ, your Son who lives and reigns forever and ever.”
I love this image of clinging to our Savior. I try at least once a week, when able, to say a votive Mass to our Lady. She is the spouse of the Holy Spirit and I believe the above prayer is so beautiful in combining the power of the Holy Spirit with the person of the Blessed Mother with their gift to strengthen us to always remain united to her Son. In doing so, our salvation, our joy, our hope is assured.
I am delighted and honored to welcome the Kennedy Catholic Family of Schools student body, Pre-K through Grade 12, when they make a field trip to our St. Vitus Campus on Thursday, February 1st as part of Catholic Schools Week 2024. As you may know, the president of the Kennedy Catholic Family of Schools is our very own Karen Ionta! We are very proud of her and our relationship with the Catholic school in the Erie Diocese, our neighbor. Karen will be speaking at all Masses this weekend.
Details of the field trip are still being determined, but will include Mass, lunch and other activities. Please say hello and welcome our friends if you see them! Please see Page 12 of this bulletin for Kennedy Catholic’s enrollment information.
God love you,
