Ultimately ours, too, is a story of return!
The return to Ordinary Time always holds for me a sentiment that I think was best dramatized at the end of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movie adaptation. On one hand, the adventures that went before have come to a close – both the challenges and the triumphs have reached their climax & conclusion. On the other hand, who doesn’t want a return to the normal comfort and routine of ordinary day-to-day life? After all, we were ultimately created simply to live together with the Lord in the world He created for us!
While our adventures do, in fact, continue, the transition from Christmas to Ordinary Time offers at least an echo of what we look forward in eternity: the conclusion of our mortal challenges & triumphs (in Christ, to be sure!), returned to our original dignity & glory of full and lasting union with God. Our days are not meaningless – far from it – but they are oriented towards something beyond what the here and now. That strange combination of longing for the future and melancholy for the past is not meant to be resolved just yet, instead urging us forward and closer to Christ.
Happily, there is still plenty to enjoy and anticipate in Ordinary Time! A week ago Sunday we blessed and gave out chalk on at our celebrations of Epiphany – if you don’t have any, rest assured that we have plenty so be sure to get some from one of the churches of our parish family. Included in the bulletin (and available below) were English & Spanish versions of the house blessing with that chalk. I have delighted in this tradition since it was first introduced to me – not only is it a fun annual tradition to pray together with family & friends, it is a great conversation-starter with visitors who wonder at the apparent (not so) secret Catholic code above our doors! And if you have leftover chalk, you can share that tradition with Catholics and non-Catholics alike! A win-win-win for everyone who so desires to take part.
The new year also brings lots of hopes & plans. I’ve got my own personally and pastorally, but perhaps the big one that I’m going to commit to here is taking a stab at articulating how we as a parish family might go about discerning God’s vision & plan for us. I’ve been rather reluctant to take this on, as there is a danger that what will come out will be my vision & plan instead of the Lord’s! But I’ve been mulling over some things for several months and I think I might be ready to put pen to paper (or rather, keystroke to text!). Please be patient with me a little longer, but my hope is to have the first go at that up later this month.
In the meantime, I hope that 2026 is treating you well! The Lord has been and will continue to do wonderful things for us. May be make this a(nother) year of entrusting ourselves more fully to His will & care.
P.S. I would like to ask the favor of your prayers for my last surviving grandparent, my father’s mother Connie. As of the writing of this post, it seems that she will be called to her eternal reward fairly shortly. She’s received the Last Rites, is surrounded by family & friends, and has had at least two priests offer Mass for her in these final hours. I would be most grateful for your prayers for her and our family, especially her children.
Saints & celebrations
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- January 11 – Baptism of the Lord – As is tradition since Pope John Paul II, Pope Leo XIV presided over the baptisms of (20) children of Vatican employees this Sunday. Read about it – with his homily – at the Vatican News website. (The full text of the homily, is currently only available in English via translation app from Spanish/French/Italian/Polish/Portuguese)
- January 12 – Saint Antonio Maria Pucci – For these weekly posts, I try to rotate among well-known and more obscure (to us) saints. Saint Antonio Maria Pucci is actually a relatively modern saint from the mid-19th century. Read about him at the Vatican City State website.
- January 13 – Saint Hilary of Poitiers – Father Billy Swan over at Word On Fire wrote up a nice (new!) reflection on why maybe we ought to have a devotion to today’s saint.
- January 14 – Saint Felix of Nola – A simple saint and a humble man (he turned down being made a bishop), read about today’s saint at uCatholic.
- January 15 – Saint John Calibita – Revered by the Church of the East and the West, was a monk of the 4th & 5th century. The story of his reconciliation with his parents, available at the website of the Orthodox Church in America, is a moving one.
- January 16 – Saint Priscilla – The saints of the Roman Canon (also called Eucharist Prayer I) have a special place in the life of the early Church and today’s saint is no exception. Read about Saint Priscilla at Notre Dame’s FaithND website.
- January 17 – Saint Antony – Today’s Saint Anthony has the dubious honor of having a disease named after him! Read about his story at the Vatican News website.
This week’s “Why Do Catholics Do That?” pastor’s insert (from the January 4th (Epiphany home blessing) & January 11th bulletins)
Priests celebrating their anniversaries this week
- Rev. Joseph Long Tran (January 6, 1996)
- Rev. Thomas McMichael (January 10, 2009)
- Rev. David Kim, S.D.D. (January 10, 2015)
Remembering our deceased priests
- Fr. William Lee (January 4, 1943)
- Fr. Joseph E. Orpen (January 4, 1965)
- Fr. Patrick B. Godley (January 4, 2024)
- Fr. William J. O’Brien (January 5, 1970)
- Fr. William Carey (January 7, 1973)
- Fr. Emile Kauten (January 7, 1912)
- Fr. John A. McCorristin (January 10, 1969)
- Fr. John E. O’Brien (January 10, 1942)
I have many fond memories of being on pilgrimage to Catholic & Carmelite shrines in France. We also stayed with dear family friends in beautiful Poitiers.