Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, 
 
                                                              The Quiet Power of the Word 
 
In the spiritual battle against Satan and its malevolent works to sunder the presence of God’s kingdom in the Church and the world at large, Jesus often obtains victory through the “Quiet Power of his divine word.” I borrow the phrase “quiet power” from Vincent Brecht’s notes on a bible study reflection on Mk. 1: 21-28 held at the Star barn. Humbly, Jesus shows his power and authority through his sacred words and exorcisms in this bible passage. I see this quiet power at work in the rites of the baptism of children. For instance, just before I baptized Adam a few days ago at our parish baptismal font, I said a Prayer of Exorcism before baptism by acknowledging that God sent Jesus into the world “to drive out from us the power of Satan, the spirit of evil;” and standing on the authority of the Words of Jesus, the Holy One of God, I quietly expelled any presence of the spirit of evil in the baby. No physical or loud manifestation is sometimes seen to accompany Satan’s resistance to the word of exorcism in the baptismal rite. Yet, in faith, Satan was expelled using the word of Christ. That is how he often asserts his words' power and authority, quietly and humbly, in his humanity. 


In Jesus’ battle against Satan, St. Lawrence of Brindisi says, Christ could have accomplished victory “by using the weapons of his might and coming as he will come to judge, in glory and majesty but he willed to fight Satan in our weak flesh. It is as if an unarmed man, right hand-bound, were to fight with his left hand alone against a powerful army. So Christ conquered Satan with the right hand of his divinity bound and using against him only the left hand of his weak humanity.” Jesus Christ is still demolishing demonic holds in our lives today in the simple, quiet power of his humble humanity and authoritative words. 


There are power and authority in the word of God for those who listen to it and accept it (Deuteronomy 18: 18-19). For those whose hearts are not hardened but obedient to the word of God (Ps.  95: 7-9), and those who are not distracted by the world but adhere faithfully to the word of God (1 Cor. 7:32-35), they shall experience the quiet power and authority of Christ over the rebellious and malevolent spirit of Satan. Though God sometimes permits Satan to inflict our lives and the world, if we hang on tenaciously in faith to the efficacious word of God, we will be protected from demonic attack and given strength to resist its destructive lure. God works quietly but powerfully in his Sacred Word. Embrace his Word now! 


In Christ the Word of Life,


Fr. Bernard, OP
 

 Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

                                                                        What Do you Seek?

Jesus asked the disciples of John the Baptist, who followed him, “What do you seek?” (John 1: 38). This is a pertinent question of faith each of us needs to answer. To be precise, what do we seek in Jesus? Why do we seek Jesus? We are all seekers after Jesus, like the Wise Men from the East who followed the star to Bethlehem to behold baby Jesus, the savior of the world. We seek the Rabbi, the teacher. We want to know Him whom we worship. After spending the day with Jesus, the disciples got to know Jesus as the Lamb of God and the Messiah-the Christ. We, too, need to be taught daily by the Lord Jesus. He will reveal himself to us as a divine person. We need to spend quality time with him and listen; each of us needs to have this personal experience. Make a daily commitment to knowing more about the person of Jesus in prayers and meditation on the Sacred Scriptures.
One of the truths we shall learn about Jesus is that he is Lord and giver of life. He came that we “may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). In this light, let us celebrate life by observing the different life-giving events coming up this week.
Monday, January 18, is the celebration of the birth of Martin Luther King Jr. On Martin Luther King Day, we celebrate the life of a great American who fought for racial equality and harmony and are urged to pray for the end of racial discrimination in our country. I invite you to join me in that prayer at Mass on Monday, January 18.
The entire week, beginning Monday, January 18 through Monday, January 25, is also dedicated to prayers for Christian Unity. I invite you to pray throughout the week for Christian unity here in Elizabethtown and throughout the world. There are a lot of things we Christians of different traditions share in common that we can celebrate. One example is the weekly Scripture reflection at the Starbarn. On Wednesday at 7:30 am, Dave Abel and his team welcome all Christian denominations to reflect on Sunday Mass readings and pray as one family.
Friday, January 22, is the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe vs. Wade to make legal the violation of the human person's dignity through the act of abortion. We pray and do penance for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life, not only for the lives of innocent babies in the wombs of their mothers but all human lives. At the celebration of the Mass, we offer Jesus, the Lamb of God, to our Father in heaven as reparation for sin and source of eternal life. May we live what we profess as we become what we eat and drink, the body and blood of Jesus. Please do penance and attend the Mas “For giving thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life” that I will celebrate on Friday, January 22.
Have a week of living encounters with Jesus.

Fr. Bernard, OP
 

Dear brothers and sisters,
 
What Happened at Our Baptism?
 
The feast of the baptism of Jesus brings to the conclusion the Christmas season. Here is yet another epiphany of God’s prescient irruption into our human existence. In the words of Prophet Isaiah, the Israelites were expecting the coming of the saving, suffering servant of God whom He addressed as “my chosen one with whom I am well pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit.” (42:1-2). At Jesus’ baptism in the River Jordan by John the Baptist, God bursts forth into our life like the roar of rushing water (cf. Ez. 43:2, Rev. 14:2), and by so doing, he adopts all of us as His children through Jesus. In and from Jesus’ baptism we have all received our baptism and like Jesus, we are anointed “with the Holy Spirit and power” (Acts 10:38). Like Jesus, our baptism is a manifestation of God’s love and His choice of us as his children. Our baptism is God’s claim over us and because he is pleased with our new identity, he empowers us to do good and bring healing to those in our world. Are we doing so? Do we have the capacity to do so?
 
Yes, we have been empowered in the Holy Spirit through the water of baptism and the anointing with sacred oil, we just don’t always remember this or realize this state of our soul. We are God’s people, we are brothers and sisters of Jesus, we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Let us respond to the grace that has been given to us through the Sacrament of baptism. What is left for us to do is to put into action the grace given to us to live as God’s children in name and truth.
 
In various ways, we have manifested the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives through many acts of love and service to God and his church. We are thankful to God for that. As we conclude the Christmas season today, I once again offer my thanks to all of you who over Christmas have been generous to our parish family and me personally. This is a mark of the indwelling Spirit of love in your lives, and I pray that you keep the flame of that love alive throughout this year and always. God is pleased with you, remain in God’s love. Keep your Christian identity alive through constant acts of selfless love, healing, and justice. Pray without ceasing through the Holy Spirit given to you by God.
 
Your brother in Christ,
 
Fr. Bernard, OP
 

 Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

$50 in Small Bills Stuffed in Christmas Card Envelope!

This Sunday, the church celebrates the Epiphany of our Lord Jesus to the nations.  This celebration calls to mind the revelation of the Word made flesh to all peoples other than the Jews. God loves all peoples, and all have access to his Divine Light and Love. We all are part of the new Jerusalem whom the glory of the Lord shines upon.” The light shines, and “Nations shall walk by this Light,  Prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 60:1-2). The Gentiles along with the Jewish people are now sharers in the mystery of the revelation; we are “coheirs, members of the same body and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel,” St Paul reiterates (Eph. 3 5-6). We are embodied in the Magi who, “overjoyed at seeing the star,” followed in Faith, bearing gifts to offer Him and proceeded to pay Him homage (Matthew 2:1-12).

 Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, is the Light that shines on all. In appreciation, like the Magi, we have responded generously by giving our life and all we have to Jesus as we adore Him, especially during this Christmas season. And talk of appreciation, I want to mention briefly my sincere thanks to all of you for all the gifts and cards you sent to me. You are so precious and kind. I have been reading the messages in my many Christmas cards and they are inspiring. Many of you have opened your treasures like the Magi and offered the parish gifts in your Christmas offerings. An anonymous card in our collection box particularly touched me with the following words written in it, “What can I give Him, poor as I am?” Stuffed in this card is $50 in small bills; the giver, like all of you, must have saved towards this giving at Christmas. Thank you for your painful but cheerful giving.

 I take this time to wish you a New Year filled with Light and Hope. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, help us by her prayers, the gift of a mother’s love.

Keep Merry throughout the Christmas Season and enter the New Year with Joy in your heart.
 
Love you all,                 Fr. Bernard, OP