St James Catholic Church

Nobody likes to waste time.  We are a people ruled by the clock.  Time is money because time is to be filled with controlled activity which is productive.  The last thing you want to do is waste time playing around with realities that do not produce a saleable commodity.  But the Creator of heaven and earth is described by the scriptures as the original and the best of players.  Creative activity is playful, and creative people do not feel that what they do is a job.  Creative people have a sense that their creativity and all that they fashion in the creative spirit are gifts that they have received.  The Christian can speak of this and the contemplative vision which sees all reality as gift and grace.  Our thankful response we call worship or Eucharist.

Ordinary Time which we are now entering into is not very ordinary at all.  It is the identifying mark of the Christian community which comes together, remembering that on the first day of the week the Lord of Life was raised up and creation came at last to completion.  Sunday as a day of play and worship is a sacrament of redeemed time.  This is not ordinary at all.  This is the fabric of “Christian living.”  The liturgy is the source and summit of all the church activity.”

Besides the times of the year that have their own distinctive character, Advent-Christmas, Lent-Easter, and Pentecost, there remains in the yearly cycle thirty-three or thirty-four weeks in which no particular aspect of the mystery of Christ is celebrated, but rather the mystery of Christ himself is honored in its fullness, especially on Sundays.  This period is known as Ordinary Time.

Last Sunday, on the Feast of the Epiphany, we heard the familiar story of the Magi, who followed the star to Bethlehem and found the baby Jesus.  Today we hear of the first disciple who, directed by John the Baptist, encounters the adult Jesus.  That initial encounter changes the entire course of their lives, for as Andrew insists to his brother Simon, “We have found the Messiah.”  May our encounter with the Lord weekly in word and sacrament, influence the way we live our lives as well.

Love, Peace, Joy,

Fr. Bob

January 18 through January 25 is the week of Prayer for Christian Unity.  The theme for the Week of Prayer is based on a text from the Gospel of Luke, “You shall love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself.”  The world, our country, and our church are so divided.  Unity in Christ is the answer.