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WHAT’S ORDINARY ABOUT “ORDINARY TIME”?  ACTUALLY, NOTHING AT ALL!

               This Sunday is called the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, but in reality it is the first Sunday after the Christmas Season of the Church is complete.  “Ordinary Time” is that month and a half from now till Ash Wednesday which begins Lent and the Easter Season.

               But there is absolutely nothing “ordinary” about what Jesus does in the gospel reading today – the changing of water into some really fine wine at the wedding reception in the little town of Cana, near his home town of Nazareth.  At this moment early in John’s Gospel, we have a revelation or manifestation of Jesus’ divine power and his willingness to help people, in this case an embarrassed family of the bride whose party has shockingly run out of wine.  But all mothers take notice!  Even Jesus listens to is mother Mary and works with the headwaiter and servers to miraculously transform the ordinary into something extraordinary.  This continues the “epiphany” theme of the Christmas season as the identity and power of Jesus is step by step revealed to the world. 

               However, as they say, “You ain’t seen nothing yet!”  Just wait till Easter morning when Jesus transforms a gruesome death into glorious life for all to see!

A WEEK OF REMEMBRANCES:

1.Martin Luther King Day – Monday.  On this national holiday, we Americans remembers one of our greatest teachers and prophets of the Christian message – that all people are God’s children and loved equally by the Lord.  It took Dr. Martin Luther King’s vision of all Americans to be treated with justice and to have their God-given rights respected as real civil rights by the laws of our country.  On this day, we should pray that Dr. King’s dream can become fully realized in the divided and polarized time that we are living through now – 50 years after his tragic death.

2. Christian Unity Octave – January 18-25. During these eight days, Catholics and Protestants of all kinds will be praying for all Christians to someday not too far way be united into one single unified Christian Church for all believers in Jesus as the Christ and Savior of the world.  The ecumenical movement was given a great push by Pope St. John XXIII around 1960 and then the Second Vatican Council.  Christian Unity is an attainable goal that I am sure our Lord expects us to achieve.  We have come a long way in accepting each other’s churches as rooted in Christ and seeing ourselves as brothers and sisters in Christ, not opponents or enemies as in the past.  But we have a long way to go yet.

3. Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children – January 22. This day we are called upon to pray for Americans to uphold the right to life of unborn children.  The moral issue of abortion is now in the forefront of the American political scene.  The consistent Catholic teaching on the morality of willfully ending the life of an unborn child is clearly that it is morally wrong for everyone involved in such an awful decision.  How to legally protect and effectively enforce a ban on abortion is very complicated.  Let us pray on this day that this can be accomplished soon, and that the heart and soul of every citizen will come to believe in the sanctity of unborn human life!

AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO YOU TO TRY OUR WEEKLY BIBLE STUDY!

               From a participant in this Sunday Lectionary study group:  “ What Bible Class Means to Me”  I look forward to Bible class every week!  Fr. Bob walks us through the Sunday readings with is excellent background in the Scriptures and his visits to the Holy Land to help us understand the meaning and application of the Sunday readings and a chance to ask questions and grow in our faith.  I value this spiritual opportunity and hope others will as well.  P.S. No background or Bible knowledge needed; just come as you are (with your Bible).

FUTURE ST. BERNADETTE CELEBRATIONS

FOR OUR PARISH’S 75^th ANNIVERSARY!

1947 - 2022

               Our Parish of St. Bernadette was founded in  September of 1947 by Father John Feckter.  So next year, 2022, will be the 75^th year as a parish serving the Jefferson Barracks area of Lemay, Missouri.  Our St. Bernadette  Parish Council approved the general plan of starting the 75^th Jubilee celebration with a special Mass and dinner in February, 2022, near the feast day of St. Bernadette Soubirous (Feb. 18^th).   The grand finale will be in   September, 2022, with big a celebration of the Eucharist and a dinner near the date of Sept. 14^th because the first Mass for the Parish of  St. Bernadette was Sept. 14, 1947.

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