Dear Friends in Christ, Christmas was 40 days ago tomorrow, and that is why tomorrow is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. According to Jewish custom, described in Chapter 12 of Leviticus, every woman who gave birth required a ritual purification from her flow of blood, and a sacrifice was to be offered…

Dear Friends in Christ, Although it is not observed liturgically because this year it falls on a Sunday, 25 January is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, the Church’s annual celebration of the day when Saul of Tarsus met the Lord Jesus on the Damascus Road — an event that changed Saul’s life…

Dear Friends in Christ, Several items for your consideration: 1. Our stewardship guidelines ask every household at St. Mary’s to divide your biblical tithe in this way: 5% directly to the parish in the primary offertory, 1% directly to our Bishop in the Annual Appeal, and 4% to other charities of your choice. And I…

Dear Friends in Christ, The vast majority of Christians, including almost all Catholics, are baptized when they are infants, and this is most fitting. The sacraments are instruments of God’s grace, and even newborn babies need the grace of God. Moreover, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it, “The sheer gratuitousness of the…

Dear Friends in Christ, The Solemnity of the Epiphany is one of the richest feasts in the Christian liturgy, and for this reason, it is also among the most misunderstood. The Greek word which we translate epiphany simply means “appearance” or “manifestation”, and in the Western liturgical tradition the Epiphany is linked most strongly to…