To whom shall we go?

March 22, 2020

by Father Wilke

Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”
– The Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John (6:68-69)

As I began to process how the present restrictions to public gatherings would impact the life of our Parish it became clear to me that each one of us would need to more firmly anchor our hearts in the Word of God, if we wished to grow in our relationship with the Lord during these strange times. Immediately, this passage came to mind, John 6:68-69, with these words from Saint Peter, “to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” It is a beautiful exchange between Christ and his Apostles, with Simon Peter giving a much needed affirmation of the absolute primacy of the Lord Jesus, the Word of God. (All of Chapter 6 of the Gospel according to Saint John is worth much prayer, study, and reflection – it is a particularly important for us a Catholic Christians as it forms a basis for much of our understanding of the Most Holy Eucharist.)

To this end, as we continue in our current separation and the absence of public Holy Mass and Liturgies perhaps this is an opportunity for us to anchor our hearts anew in the Sacred Scripture. For we have the precious gift of the ‘words of eternal life’ – the Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord’s body. Let us pray for one another that in these days we will remain steadfast in our belief and conviction that Jesus is ‘the Holy One of God’ and He is the source of the ‘words of eternal life.’

Sunday is the Lord’s day

Sunday is the Lord’s Day – a holy day as prescribed by the 3^rd Commandment – it is a day set apart as sacred for worship of God, prayer, as well as a day of rest (seriously, all the more right now... we don’t need to do chores and work on Sunday).

[An Editorial note: I have made the stylistic decision to use underlined text as a sign that there is a link to further explanations and/or references – there seems to be plenty of debate about the whole issue of underlining, but hopefully this makes sense… I am just getting this blogging thing figured out, so it might change, anyway its only day 3 after all – okay, thanks.]

Sunday is a serious day, I am not making this up, it’s a really big deal… Pope Saint John Paul II wrote a letter about Sunday: Dies Domini (The Lord's Day)… In the midst of so much upheaval to our routines and schedules keeping track of the day of the week and seeing each day as distinct can be challenging. All the more reason for us to honor the command of the Word of God and keep Sunday as the Lord’s Day.

The Fourth Sunday of Lent – Laetare Sunday

Today is the Fourth Sunday of Lent – Laetare Sunday – a unique day within our observance of the Lenten Season. This Sunday is usually noticed by the change in the color of vestments by the clergy from Violet to Rose, since you will not see my vestments today perhaps a Rose (or pink) tablecloth would be a good reminder during your time of prayer. Laetare Sunday is a bit of a relaxation of the penance of Lent taking its name from the Entrance Antiphon for Holy Mass, “Rejoice, Jerusalem … Be joyful, all who were in mourning…” (Rejoice is the English Translation of the Latin word Laetare, the antiphon is taken from Isaiah 66:10-11). This Sunday of Lent points us toward the joy of Easter; Laetare Sunday is set apart to give us hope and encouragement in the midst our mortifications and sacrifices. So… it’s a good for us to stay connected to the Liturgy, even if we can’t be together, and remain faithful to our worship of God as members of the Church… and, remember, Laetare Sunday means we are just three weeks from our celebrations of the Resurrection of the Lord on Easter Sunday.

Liturgy from Home

We will be praying with the Church, as members of the Mystical Body of Christ, from home today. There are many on-line resources available to help with creating a time for prayer on Sunday – the Diocese has a listing of links for Holy Mass and, of course, our friends at EWTN continue to provide the Holy Mass and their many other programs. For those who are overloaded from videos, you can always read the Sacred Scriptures for the day (perhaps even print them out) and create your own time of prayer, Magnificat has a nice “at home” liturgy with the readings and prayers; I would be sure to include a Spiritual Communion Prayer after the Intercessions – as a way uniting your praying with the Word of God and the Most Holy Eucharist.

And, given the opportunity to build an great habit, I would strongly encourage praying the Rosary as a way of concluding watching the Holy Mass or praying with the Sunday Readings.

Now… there’s more practical stuff about the parish on the website – including a letter and some guides that have been put in the mail to all registered parishioners to help. My intention was that it would arrive in mailboxes yesterday, but that doesn’t seemed to have happened… anyway, a letter with some useful resources seemed like a good way to reach everyone with the same information and it’s in the mail!

Additionally, there are lots of ways and opportunities for prayer from home, here are a few links to get your started:

United in the Word of God

As your Parish Priest it is my responsibility and my privilege to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the “People of the Parish” each Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation – today it will be in private, according to the directives of the Diocese of Harrisburg – know of my closeness to you in the proclamation of the Word of God and the consecration of the Most Holy Eucharist. May we be a people of prayer, in public and private, united in the Word of God.

Know of my prayers for you, please pray for me!

Father Wilke

Saint Joseph, Guardian of the Redeemer, pray for us!