This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord Jesus in the temple. This feast occurs 40 days after Christmas and traditionally concludes the Christmas season. On this feast, Mary and Joseph bring the baby Jesus to the temple to fulfill the commandment of the Law which states that “every first-born male should be consecrated to the Lord”. By doing this Mary and Joseph are fulfilling the obligation of the Law and are teaching us a valuable lesson.

In the midst of a world that seeks to glory in the individual and values the accumulation of wealth and material things, Mary and Joseph teach us that we are called to offer ourselves to God.

We are called to realize that we are not the center of the universe, but that we all owe Almighty God a debt that can never be repaid. We all are called to offer our lives as a gift to Almighty God.

Today we also celebrate the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life. We celebrate the fact that there are members of the Church who offer themselves to God totally and completely. They make the gift of themselves to Almighty God and live out their lives as Consecrated Brothers and Sisters. The Church is blessed by the witness of those who freely choose to serve God and the Church in this manner. Let us take some time this week to pray for those who have answered the Call to serve the Church as Religious Brothers and Sisters. Let us ask the Lord to open the hearts of young people to be open to the call of
serving God and His Church in this way.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!
Fr. Jim