Weekly Message from Fr. Bob
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24) This weekend we celebrate the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary time of the year. The Lord began his preaching by inviting everyone to repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repentance comes from the Greek word ‘ Metanoia’ which refers to a profound change of heart and mind, one’s behavior and one’s way of life. It is a conversion towards loving God above all and to love others as God would want us to love them. In today’s gospel Jesus calls the first disciples to follow Him: Peter, his brother Andrew, James and his brother John. All four of them were fishermen. As the days passed, he chose the rest of the twelve disciples. Their role was to assist the Lord in the establishment of the Kingdom of heaven. Indeed they had done their part. Today we are entrusted with the task of proclaiming the Kingdom of God and the Good News of Jesus Christ throughout the world. In order to continue the good works of the Kingdom of heaven in our diocese, we are invited by our Bishop the Most. Rev. Gregory Parkes to take part in the Catholic Ministry Appeal. Through this Program, our diocese helps the poor find shelter and affordable housing through Catholic Charities, offers the needed care to pregnant mothers to protect and nourish their babies in their wombs, helps the poor students in our catholic schools towards their education, assists the teens and young Adults attend the Good Samaritan Projects to build up their character, supports seminarians in their training to becoming future priests and many other charitable activities. Our goal this year is $ 56,314.00. With the participation of all the families, we will reach our goal and help continue the good works of the kingdom of God in our five county wide diocese and beyond. I ask all the families of our parish to prayerfully consider pledging to this appeal of our Bishop. God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24) This is the second Sunday in Ordinary Time of the year. John the Baptist refers to Jesus as ‘the Lamb of God’ in the Gospel of John. In the Old Testament, lambs were sacrificed in the temple as an atonement for the sins of the people. The blood of a lamb was sprinkled upon people as a way of easing away their sins and offenses. But the truth is that the blood of a lamb has no power to forgive the sins of people. It is only the blood of the Son of God that has the power to wash away the sins and offenses of the people. That is the truth which John the Baptist proclaimed when he addressed Jesus as ‘ the lamb of God’. John was given the privilege of seeing the Holy Spirit coming upon Jesus in the form of a dove. That was the confirmation to him that Jesus was the Son of God. This week, January 18-25, is known as the week of prayer for Christian Unity which was initiated by the Graymoor Franciscans in 1905. This is an Ecumenical observance that lasts eight days where the Catholic Church is joined by other, Protestant denominations to pray for Christian unity. We refer to the Church as the Body of Christ which has been broken into various pieces. We hope and pray that soon there will be ‘one flock and one shepherd’ (John 10:16). January 22nd is the day of prayer for the legal protection of unborn children. We continue to pray with the hope that the hearts and minds of parents will be strengthened to ensure that every unborn child is protected in the womb of his or her mother. The birth of a child brings so much joy to the entire family. As all human life is the gift of God, we are called to preserve, promote and protect it from the moment of conception to natural death. May God bless and protect all the families and their children. God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24) This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Even though Jesus did not need to be baptized because He is God, He allowed John the Baptist to baptize Him out of respect for the tradition. Soon after Jesus was baptized, the heavens were opened and the Spirit of God came upon Him in the form of a dove. A voice came from the heavens, proclaiming: “ This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”. This is the affirmation from God yahweh that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah. Jesus was baptized as an Adult at the age 30 as the beginning of his public ministry. In the early years of the Church only the Adults were baptized in the Church. Due to the black plague which killed 20 million people most of whom were children in Europe in 1300 AD, the Church started baptizing babies so that they would have the grace of Baptism. According to the teaching of the Church, Baptism is the sacrament by which the original sin we were born with is forgiven. What is original sin? It is the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve, as a result of their disobedience to God as mentioned in the book of Genesis, chapter 3. Once our original sin is forgiven, God adopts us as His children and we become members of the Church. The grace of Baptism is that it leaves an indelible mark on our souls, reminding us that God claimed us for Himself and that we belong to God for ever. Since most of us were baptized as infants, the date of our Baptism remains in the Parish records. Somehow there has been no tradition to celebrate the Anniversary of our Baptism while we celebrate our birthdays every year. The day of our Baptism is important as the life of grace starts that day. That’s why it is worth finding out the date of our baptism from our Parish records and celebrate it with gratitude to God by attending the holy Mass. I know the date of my Baptism. Do you know the day you were baptized ? With the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Christmas season comes to an end. On January 12th, the Ordinary Time of the year begins in the liturgical calendar. The Ordinary Time is the longest period during which we reflect upon the public ministry of Jesus, His teachings, miracles and His call to conversion. It is already ten days into the new year 2026. Let us live each day of the year for God’s glory, remembering our baptismal vows of renouncing sin and the glamour of evil, professing our faith in the triune God and following the teachings of the Church. Let our faith be seen in good works on a daily basis. Here the inspiring words of St. Mother Theresa of Calcutta are worth noting: “Let us do ordinary things in an extraordinary way”. God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine
