While the reality of winter has set in for us northeastern Ohio folk, we cannot help but yearn for warmer temperatures and brighter days.  There is something about the human condition which is perpetually longing for something more or something “better.”  That is, until we get it.  Money, success, power, or honor will never satisfy the human heart.  We know from our experience that we are seekers, yet hardly, if ever, satisfied.  The opposite is also true of our human nature.  We do not give up.  We are resilient and keep coming back to the search, even when the possibility of claiming it as our own seems out of reach. 

What are you looking for?  What a great question to sit with in prayer, especially for young people.  Ask.  Seek.  Knock.  The Lord invites us to follow Him.  The best way to do this is to spend time with Him.  Get to know Him, study Him, and pray with Him.  We truly stay with Him when we go to Mass.  This is how we fully experience the Word made flesh.

Once we decide to do those very things, we cannot help but want to share Christ with others.  This is the basic recipe for living the Catholic Christian life.  Not too complicated.  Yes, to be a disciple it takes discipline.  Sometimes we just need a friendly reminder that our world should not always be about this world.  To follow the Lord, means giving up things that appear to satisfy us. 

St. Augustine said it best in the Confessions.  “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”

In Christ’s Peace,

Steven Dyer

Dear Friends,
Merry Christmas and Happy Feast of the Baptism of the Lord!
Are you confused? Are you wondering why the statue of Baby Jesus is still in the manger in front of our altar, but in the Gospel today we hear of Jesus as an adult being baptized in the River Jordan?
Why be confused any longer? How fitting that we conclude the Christmas season with the Baptism of the Lord. Jesus was not content to be born only in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago; He came also to be born again in you and me by our Baptism. Jesus came to share in our humanity so that we could share in His divinity.
Our Baptism gives us our identity. We are God’s sons and daughters. We are God’s children…let that thought sink in.
The advertising media is constantly telling us we do not measure up – we’re not as beautiful, as shapely, as energetic, as popular, as successful, as wonderful, as happy as we should be. But do not despair, the ad tells us the product they have will make everything better. It will solve our problem and make us over into someone worthwhile.
God has already made us someone worthwhile. Yes, God loves you. We are His people, made in His image and likeness, called not to deface or destroy that dignity, and called to live up to that image. It defines why we do what we do…being the best we can be, living up to our Baptism, every day saying “no” to sin, selfishness and Satan, and saying “yes” to God’s way of love.
As we conclude the Christmas season, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for making this Christmas so beautiful: all who helped decorate the church, our wonderful music ministry, all who trudged through a foot of snow to attend one of the Christmas Masses or watched Mass on livestream (with no need for boots), all who went out of their way during these trying days, and for your generous financial support
Keep up the Joy and the Hope. The Lord will always be there for us.
Continued blessings,

Father David Durkee

Today we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord, the great Christian festival commemorating Jesus Christ’s manifestation to the gentiles. And in today’s Gospel from Matthew, we are told how that manifestation began to unfold: we hear the familiar story of the magi travelling from the east following a great celestial object to the place of Jesus’ birth. Outside of this Gospel, little is known about this event and the mysterious visitors in it. Were there really three men traveling by camel as legend has it? Scripture does not give us this detail. For all we know there could have been two or ten or more men (or even women) traveling on foot!
One thing we do know is that when these peculiar persons from the other side of the world came into Christ’s presence as “they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” And if we take a closer look at this Gospel, the magi offered Christ two additional gifts of far greater value: “They prostrated themselves and did him homage.” In other words, these men gave from their hearts all that they had. Bowed in adoration they laid out to Jesus the gift of their lives. They gave the gift of who and what they were – placed at the feet of the Christ – all for the greater glory of God. 
We are being taught an important lesson from an event that played out two-thousand years ago. Every one of us has at least one gift to offer. God does not create “giftless” people – it is just not possible. Every person that God has made in his image and likeness is a gifted person. We all have something to offer to God and the world. But it is easy for us to fall into seeing ourselves as the Devil would hope. If we say, “I can do this and that, but I really have nothing of worth to offer to God,” then we are wrong. The story of the Magi invites us to think again and look hard. If we do not know what our gift is, we need to find it. It is there. If you exist, you are gifted. That is simply the way that God makes his sons and daughters. Find your gift and claim it.
But there is more – the magi offer us a second lesson: No one person possesses all the gifts. Just as legend has each of the wisemen offering a gift, so too does God spread all his blessings throughout our community. And, knowing this we are called to stop lamenting over other people’s gifts and talents. But do we do this? Rather, how often do we say, “I wish that I could be as intelligent as that woman, or have that man’s sense of humor, or that individual’s success, or reflect that person’s piety?” By their actions, the magi remind us, “Don’t be envious of other people’s gifts. Claim your own gifts and be satisfied. Then, with thanksgiving, humbly offer those gifts to God for his greater glory.”
In my mind, one of the greatest roles of the deacon at Mass is the Dismissal. With the deacon being clergy living as a lay person in the world he has a unique charism that allows him to form a bridge between the Mass and everyday life as he proclaims, “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life!” Yes, living your gifts gives glory to God. Seems impossible but we can make our Lord shine even more brilliantly when we prostrate ourselves, give him homage, open our treasures, and offer him our gifts!
Glory be to Him forever and ever!

Deacon Steve

Dear Friends,

The Lord is near, rejoice! Have you ever viewed the Nativity of our Lord through the eyes of the Magi? Why did these wise men leave everything behind to journey toward the bright star in Bethlehem? Any trip or vacation, even life itself forces us to follow certain paths and pick a destination at times – somewhere we have never been or somewhere we would like to return. Through these choices we experience the newness that awaits us. We discover things along the way about ourselves and our fellow travelers.

What did the Magi expect to find when they found the baby Jesus? Matthew 2:10-11 says, “They were overjoyed at seeing the star,” and “they prostrated themselves and did him homage.” They proceeded to give him their treasures. Are we like the Magi, willing to leave our old lives behind to seek God and love Him above all else?

God calls us to set out on a faith adventure. He knows the challenge of the darkness in this world. After all, His Son lived it unto death. But, on this fourth Sunday of Advent we are hopeful and joyful like the Magi of the East. The newborn King is coming! St. Paul tells the Thessalonians, “May the God of peace make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Yes, we need to heed Paul’s message of repentance. And furthermore, let us be expressions of light and love this Advent and Christmas season.

Wherever life takes us, may we reveal our God-given treasures to others without expecting anything in return. Prepare the way of the Lord!

In His grace,

Steve Dyer

I’ll bet a hundred dollars that if I lined up fifty people and asked them what their favorite Liturgical season is, not one of them would admit that Advent is their pick. That’s sad because, especially in this crazy year of 2020, we could all certainly use a boost physically, emotionally and spiritually, and Advent 2020 just might be the elixir we need.
The word advent comes from the Latin for “coming” or “arrival.” Advent is a season of joyful and spiritual expectation – a season of joyful hope. This season is not just about preparing for the birth of Christ at Christmas, but eagerly longing for the Christ who is continually being born in our midst and transforming us ever more into His body – a body of hope.
In an address seven years ago, Pope Francis gave us his perspective on Advent:
“Just as in each of our lives we always need to begin again, to get up again, to rediscover the meaning of the goal of our lives, so also, for the great human family, it is always necessary to rediscover the common horizon toward which we are journeying. The horizon of hope! This is the horizon that makes for a good journey. The season of Advent…restores this horizon of hope, a hope which does not disappoint, for it is founded on God’s Word. A hope which does not disappoint, simply because the Lord never disappoints! He is faithful! He does not disappoint! Let us think about and feel this beauty.
The model of this spiritual disposition, of this way of being and journeying in life, is the Virgin Mary. A simple girl from the country who carries within her heart the fullness of hope in God! In her womb, God’s hope took flesh, it became man, it became history: Jesus Christ. Her Magnificat is the canticle of the People of God on a journey, and of all men and women who hope in God and in the power of His mercy. Let us allow ourselves to be guided by her, she who is mother, a mama, and knows how to guide us. Let us allow ourselves to be guided by her during this season of active waiting and watchfulness.”
Seven years later, more than ever, the World needs to take these words to heart. Where are we journeying? On the road to despair or toward a horizon of hope? The world, the flesh and the Devil want to grind us down and lead us on a dark path to despair. But Jesus Christ wants the opposite – to buoy us up and reveal a horizon of light and hope.
Let’s use this season of Advent wisely and allow our Lord, even in the midst of suffering, to transform our lives. So, each day, why not take the time for some spiritual reading e.g. the Scriptures from daily Mass or a daily devotional? Perhaps set aside some quiet time during the day for prayer or just being still. During this time, reflect on the three comings of our Lord: the birth of Jesus, Christ’s final coming in glory on the last day, or perhaps most importantly, reflect on the coming of Jesus into our lives in the present time.
May the God of peace make you perfect in holiness! May He preserve you whole and entire, spirit, soul and body, irreproachable at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Deacon Steve