Father’s Column – January 10, 2021

Posted on January 10, 2021 View all news

Included with the bulletin today is our catchup financial reports from Christmas. Due to shipping times, the bulletin has to be in earlier than normal throughout the Christmas Season, and so the financial report is not ready by the time we submit the bulletin as the collections hadn’t even occurred yet. Today, we catchup on those reports. Thank you to everyone for your generosity.

Please also note that, barring some change between the time I type this and Sunday, the weekly schedule will return to normal this week. Thank you for your patience as we took some extra precautions this past week! Thank you in particular to Fr. Berscheid and Fr. DeLange who picked up some extra Masses for me.

Today on the revised calendar and on Wednesday on the Traditional calendar we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Find this reflection from St. Gregory of Nazianzus on the Baptism of the Lord. Have a blessed week ahead!

“I am not able to restrain the outbursts of my happiness. I feel changed and elated. I forget my own meanness while I undertake and try to discharge the office of the great John. It is true that I am not the Forerunner, but at least I come from the desert. Christ is enlightened, or rather, He enlighteneth us with His own light. Christ is baptized; let us go down with Him into the water, that we may come up with Him. John is baptizing. Jesus cometh. He cometh that He may make holy him who baptizeth Him; He cometh to bury the old Adam in the waters; He cometh to hallow the blessed flood of Jordan. He Who is Flesh and Spirit cometh to open for all that should ever be baptized that power of generation whereby new peoples are constantly begotten of water and the Holy Ghost. The Baptist will not receive Him. Jesus striveth with him. I, saith John, have need to be baptized of thee. Thus speaketh the candle to the Sun, the voice to the Word. Jesus came up out of the water, having, in a manner, washed the whole world, and brought it up with Him. And He saw the heavens opened not divided, even those heavens which Adam had once shut upon himself and us his descendants, when the cherub’s fiery sword barred the gates of Paradise. And the Holy Spirit bare witness, witness unto Him Who is of One Substance with Himself. And witness was given from Heaven, unto Him that came down from heaven.” – St. Gregory of Nazianzus