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A MESSAGE FROM THE PASTOR
Father Thomas N. Chacko
St Mary Queen of Heaven
St Joseph the Worker
Catholic Churches
April showers have brought May flowers and more showers. It's the middle of May and the flowers are certainly springing forth in a wonderful array of colors [unfortunately so is the grass springing forth]. May is certainly a month of "rites of passage:" College students celebrate the completion of another semester and even the completion of their overall college studies; Mothers have been honored for their many sacrifices of nurturing life; and three of our young people, Ira, Thomas and Jaclyn have reached a new stage in their Catholic spiritual journey with the reception of their First Communion.
Meanwhile the whole Church is in the midst of the Easter Season as we recall the words of Jesus which foretell the coming of The Holy Spirit. This year the whole month of May finds itself in the middle of the Easter Season and as the disciples spent those fifty days and nights adjusting to the new revelation of Resurrection, so too are we to renew our own embrace and integration of that same revelation into our daily lives. It's a time of allowing the Risen Lord to reveal himself to us in a "new" and "fresh" way. In doing so we too hopefully will find ourselves renewed by the same Holy Spirit given to those first disciples.
I remain...
Brother With and Priest For You,
Father Jim
The April showers have come bringing a rebirth of God's creation all around us. The days are longer with more time to enjoy an evening sunset with a gentle breeze. Lent is nearly spent giving way first to a week of holiness when we ponder not only the mystery of Jesus' obedient surrender to a real "life-and-death drama but also when the dogwood's blossoms give way to their seasonal "new life."
Easter follows with celebrations of consecrated hospitality (Holy Thursday), a sacrificial offering (Good Friday) to a fired-up light illuminating the darkness of Easter Saturday with an invitation to all in any kind of darkness to step into the light of a new dawn. Jesus Christ is Risen today, alleluia!
But Easter is only the beginning of never ending "new day" which continues not just for a month of Sundays but for an eternity. We catch glimpses of apostles and disciples stumbling from the dark into a blinding light which at first confounds and then illuminates their way on the road less traveled.
My prayer this month is that you may truly experience the new life of Jesus who once was dead but now lives and that with St. Paul you may be able to say, "I live now, not I, but Christ lives in me."
I remain...
Brother With and Priest For You,
Father Jim
Come snow, sleet or rain... never fret; the message must be delivered! Given the winter we have already had it seems life is sometimes like working for the "Pony Express." No matter what the weather outside or even inside we are charged with delivering the "Good News" of God's Love and His abiding presence wherever and however it comes to us.
February, with it's "cabin fever" aspect to it seemed more like a time of storing up the energy to move into that special season we call "Lent" which has arrived this year in the month of March.
We must work at being open to that "New Life" which comes as a free grace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who enters the "winter" of our souls and brings a new "spring." The "sacrifice" involved in this process are those external practices which do nothing to change whether God, through Jesus, will give us that wonderful grace or not, but changes us to to better receive those graces necessary for discipleship and witnessing.
May your Lent be a time of preparation for that celebration of New Life. May all your sacrifices and penances work to make you a better disciple and witness of Jesus Christ! I remain...
I remain...
Brother With and Priest For You,
Father Jim
January brings some obvious and
some not-so-obvious observations. Obviously, January marks the start of a
new calendar year but to say that we "start over" when January 1st
comes would, for most of us, not be necessarily true.
For one thing the Christmas season is "carried over" to the
celebration of Epiphany when we mark the revelation of the "Good
News" of the Christ to all nations and not just to the Jewish
people. But even before this we begin the "new year" by
acknowledging the Godhead of the Christ-child with the feast of "Mary, the
Mother of God" on January 1st. This feast illuminates the doctrine
of Jesus' oneness with God even before his birth. Jesus was always God
even at his conception in Mary's womb. Therefore Mary conceived and gave
birth not just to a remarkable human being who became the Christ [which means
"the anointed one"] but to the second person of God, who was, who is
and who will always be God. For this reason we Catholics honor Mary as
the "
While still in January we celebrate Jesus' Baptism in the
We close out January by once again returning to "Ordinary
Time." Ordinary Time brings us back to our everyday ordinary lives
where the real work of Christ takes place. In those small, seemingly
insignificant acts we embrace the holy, the sacred as we offer ourselves in
communion with our savior, Jesus Christ. May you discover the sacred each
day, each moment of each day of your life.
I remain...
Brother With and Priest For You,
Father Jim
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Dear Friends,
Early snows have already visited us in the coal fields of
December can certainly be called a full month what with the various activities
associated with it. Students and faculty alike can identify with the pressure
of finishing their studies and work in preparation for the holiday break.
Retail merchants, albeit a bit impatiently, have
already displayed their commercial goods in hopes of a financially profitable
Christmas season. Ski resorts like Snowshoe, Winterplace,
and Timberline have already enjoyed the cold weather allowing the making of
snow for the early birds of Winter.
Meanwhile, having officially closed the liturgical year, the church invites us
to Watch, Prepare, Rejoice and Surrender as we enter the season of Advent. We
are reminded that to properly enter into any significant celebration such as
Christmas we must first prepare our hearts, our minds, our bodies and our
lives. It is so true what Jesus said, "where your heart is, so there
is your treasure!" The church calls us to make sure that "Jesus
is the reason for the season!"
And as we celebrate the birth of Christ so we also celebrate the triumph of the
sun over the bitter cold as the days turn longer. My prayer for you is
that December may be a time of watchful anticipation, a time of conscientious
spiritual preparation, a time of celebration of both life and family, and
finally a time of surrender to this great gift of God's awesome incarnate love
and mercy, Jesus Christ!
I remain...
Brother with you & Priest for you,
Father Jim
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Dear Friends,
It is November; when nature has shown us dramatic signs of life's ever-changing
cycle. The green leaves of spring and summer have given us a Kaleidoscope
of colors as they let go of their life to make way for winter. The sun's
heat and brightness have waned a bit in order that once again nature may enter
into a kind of hibernation, resting for its new birth in the spring.
November is also when we Catholics remember the awe-inspiring gift of God to
His many Saints as well as His ever-giving love to those who have passed from
this earthly life on their way toward their heavenly life. We enter into
the mystery of helping our beloved deceased as they are purified of their
imperfections in order to be totally cleansed of any and all that keeps them
from their eternal happiness.
And as November draws to a close we become even more "Eucharistic
People" as we "Give Thanks" for the bounty with which we have
been so richly blessed. May we be ever grateful and show our gratitude in
the many ways we reach out to those less fortunate than ourselves.
May this November be a time of positive change, of support for both the
living and the dead, and a time when we thank God for family, friends, and life
itself. I remain...
Brother With You & Priest For You,
Father Jim