As we move into the month of February, we prepare to once again enter into the season of Lent.  This penitential season in the liturgical calendar is a great blessing for us because the Church knows that we need to be reminded of the importance of conversion, which is always at the center of the Christian life.  In the scriptures of the New Testament, the Greek word “metanoia” that is translated as “conversion” literally means “to turn around,” and for the Christian, this is a turning away from sin and turning back to God.  Our journey of conversion begins at baptism, when our old sinful self is crucified and buried with Christ and we rise with him to a new life of grace.  As St. Paul teaches:
        “Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.” (Rom 6:3-4) 

As we begin the holiday season, it is important to remember that we are entering into a holy time in the life of the Church. Thanksgiving is a day in which we thank God for all the goodness and blessings in our lives that only come from him. We also call to mind that the Eucharist means “thanksgiving” and at every Mass we give thanks to the Father for sending his Son to save us. We then begin the holy season of Advent when we prepare our hearts to celebrate the Incarnation of Jesus at Christmas. Through his Incarnation, Jesus “has truly been made one of us, like us in all things except sin.” (Vatican II, Gaudium et spes, 22) By shattering the darkness of sin and death, Jesus restores in us our great dignity as sons and daughters of God created in his image and likeness. My prayer is that this holiday season is an opportunity for all of us to grow closer to Jesus and become more like him so that he can use us to accomplish his holy will in our families, our parishes, and in our diocese.

Happy Fall! As we move out of summer and into the Fall season, it is time for back to school and back into our routines and daily rhythm of life. It is also important that we maintain a rhythm and routine when it comes to prayer and our spiritual life. Often, when life gets busy and hectic, the habit of prayer is easy to let go. We are always going to be busy, but we need to remember that we need to be inspired by Mary in the Gospel who sat at the feet of Jesus and had “chosen the better part” (Luke 10:42) and set time aside every day to encounter Jesus so that he is always the center of our lives. 

As we begin the month of July, we are at the halfway point of the Jubilee Year of Hope.  I have been very encouraged by seeing many signs of renewal and hope throughout the diocese, and the Jubilee Year has already been a great moment of grace for our local Church.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) 

These final words of Jesus before he ascended into heaven are not only fulfilled when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Church on Pentecost but are also fulfilled in every baptized and confirmed Christian who is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.