The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Mother Church presents for our celebration in the Octave of Christmas “the shining example of the Holy Family” of Jesus, Mary and Joseph to inspire our own St. Peter parish family of families. The parish, in the words of St. John Paul II is “the Church living in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughters (see Christifideles Laici, 26). All of you families in our parish constitutes members of the domestic church and like the Holy Family you are exposed to death threat of modern Herod who is working aggressively to snuff out divine light and life of family.
Today our families are not spared from the post-modern fragmentation that consistently mars family life in our culture. One of those agents of fragmentation is our mobile phones. I have observed many families hindered from having quality conversations over meals because each person is busy conversing with their phones. Christ must always be the center of family gathering, it is the only hope of family unity and cohesiveness. Even as family go through their difficulties and struggles (discords, disagreement, fights, anger, unforgiveness, etc.), Christ becomes the means by which they bear with one another and forgive one another (Col. 3:13).
My dear parish family, I am so blessed to have you. You are truly beautiful and I love you all. One of my favorite things about our parish family is the cheer gifts of lovely and cute children who are in our pews on Sundays and come forward to the altar to drop their gifts in the collection bag-it’s the most adorable and awesome moment to see the sign of continuity of the family parish participating actively in the sacred liturgy. Thanks to parents who are raising these children well, thanks to our Religious Education team who labor in union with their parents to pass on our Catholic faith to this children. May God continue to bless our parish family in the coming year.
It is exactly a year that I was assigned here by Bishop Gainer-December 28, 2018. It is my first Christmas with you. What a joy! I am blessed to be your pastor. I am loving you and learning a lot from you. May we continue to work together to grow our parish family around the Holy Eucharist in the coming year 2020 and beyond. Thanks to all of you who have made my year a beautiful one.

Have a Blessed New Year 2020!
With love, 
Fr. Bernard Oniwe, OP
 

                                                                      God is One of Us
As I was reflecting on St. Matthew’s account of the incarnation of God, Joan Osborne’s 1995 hit song, “One of Us” came to mind. In the chorus verse of the somewhat theologically controversial song, she sang repeatedly, “What if God was one of us?” What if he was a “slob” or a “stranger on the bus,” what if he was just a regular Joe? Today’s Gospel account answers the questions in the affirmative, God is indeed one of us, a person with an identity, son of Joseph of, son of David and Mary, the ever virgin. He took on our humanity through the “yes” of simple people and was born in an obscure place in Bethlehem. His name according to the prophecy of Isaiah 7:24 is Emmanuel which means “God is with us” (Mt 1:23).
God stoops so low to conquer (apology to Oliver Goldsmith). In becoming one with us, taking up our humanity, born into squalor and obscurity of the stable in Bethlehem, he demonstrates his love and humility, and so saves us. His love, because all he did was for our benefit, not his; it was a selfless giving. Humility, because the creator chooses to inhere our flawed human nature and poverty to show us the way to truth and life. God’s oneness with us came about because ones like us, Joseph and Mary, chose to listen and comply with the divine will despite the difficulty that came with their YES! A woman who is yet to live with her husband suddenly becomes pregnant. A man who had no intimate union with his betrothed is asked to be the father of the child she is pregnant with. God had to depend on free will fiats from Mary and Joseph to become one of us and with us, and to save us. This is a testimony to the power of willing to trust in God in all events of our lives, no matter the trials that accompany them.
We are going to celebrate the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ in a couple of days. I want to anticipate the solemnity by wishing you all a Merry Christmas! This is going to be my first Christmas in our loving and growing parish and I look forward to Christmas with you with the excitement of children gathered around Christmas tree to open their presents. I had a glimpse of your deep Christmas spirit this past weekend with Christmas celebrations by the Men’s Club on Saturday and Parish Family volunteers (with support from Men’s Club, K of C and CCW) organized Children Christmas party on Sunday. It is a pleasant signs of greater things to come as we enter properly into the Christmas season. Let’s keep the Christmas spirit in sight in the few days left of Advent. Seek to be one with God who became one with you on Christmas day.
Merry Christmas, friends!
In His Hope and Will,
Fr. Bernard Oniwe, OP
 

                                              Are You the One who is to Come?
Dear friends in Christ,

There is a feeling of joy in the air. As I drove around the streets of Elizabethtown this past week I saw decors, Christmas trees and lights and other exciting signs of the holidays. Essentially for us Catholics, these are signs that anticipate the joy of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet, at the same time we experience darkness daily- the days are getting shorter. Reports of evil acts in our world have not diminished. In a world of darkness and sin, in the anxiety and frustration of waiting, in the tragedy and setbacks of day to day living, lights of joy and hope shine through. John the Baptist finds himself in this situation of darkness, even when the Light of the world was around. He is imprisoned for preparing the people of Israel for the coming of the Messiah. In the darkness of his imprisonment and looming death, he expresses a sense of anxiety and uncertainty about the fulfillment of the promise of the coming of the light and joy of the world; consequently, he sends his disciples to ask Jesus if he is the expected savior of the world: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”
Haven't we been in the shoes of John the Baptist at some point in our lives? We all have at one time or another failed to see glints of light in our hours of darkness. We have lived through moments of pains and sorrows, and phases of doubts and uncertainties in our faith journey. For some of us, our financial, family and faith expectations have gone south lately, and have wondered if God is with us, or if he is what he says he is or not. Today, the liturgy points us in the direction of hope and anticipation of joy in the midst of the penitential Advent season. On Gaudete (rejoice) Sunday, we are taking a breather from the restraints of the Advent season to allow us have a joyful foretaste of what we have been awaiting painfully, the birth of joy.
As we go through our dark moments in life, let us take a look at the beautiful lights around us and draw some hope and joy. True Joy's birth is just around the corner. The ultimate Light we await is near. The works of Christ are indication that He is the one we painfully but joyfully await.
Can you find time in the few days left before Christmas to listen in prayers, meditate on the Scriptures? Can you see the lights that illumine our homes and streets against the darkness in the background as means of preparing for the coming nativity of Jesus Christ?
In Joyful Waiting,
Fr. Bernard Oniwe, OP