Dear friends in Christ,
 
                                                                 The Lie of Temptation
 
Jesus was tempted! It is important to know or be reminded of this as we immerse ourselves in the deep penitential purple of Lent. Satan, the diabolical one, tempted Jesus our Lord in the desert after fasting for 40 days (Matthew 4: 1-11). As we strive to overcome self, world and Satan through spiritual strength drawn from prayer, fasting and sacrificial giving, we must refer back to the tempted Jesus whose victory over the lie of temptation becomes a source of encouragement for us in our struggle against the temptation to sin. We are always tempted, we shall be tempted even more as we engage in spiritual warfare during the season of Lent but we must be wary of the lure and the lie of temptation-it always looks attractive and seems appropriate as the tempter was able to confuse and deceived Eve and Adam to admit (Gen 3:1-7). We pray to our Father in heaven not to allow us to be lead into temptation, not to fall for the lure and false appearance of it because it is a lie that leads to death. But if we fall, if we disobey the Lord, we are so blessed because “through the obedience of the one (Jesus), the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19).
 
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is very helpful in conveying the message on the temptation to sin, and how to distinguish between temptation and falling into temptation:
“The Holy Spirit makes us discern between trials, which are necessary for the growth of the inner man and the temptation which leads to sin and death. We must also discern between being tempted and consenting to temptation. Finally, discernment unmasks the lie of temptation whose object appears to be good, a 'delight to the eyes' and desirable, when in reality its fruit is death” (2847).
 
Let's always make that distinction. Jesus was tempted but did not sin. We are tempted to draw out the best in us and give glory to God. We do fall into temptation because it is deceitfully appealing. The good news is that the grace is giving to us to choose not to fall for the lie of temptation just like Jesus did. This Lent is a time to develop the will to say no to temptation. The grace abounds if we follow the lead of Jesus by living a life of prayer, penance, and charity. Let us always remember that if we sin, God forgives us and renew us. He restores us to life in the sacrament of reconciliation.
 
What are the sources of your temptation? How do you intend to attack those sources this Lent?

In Christ, the Victor over sin,

Fr. Bernard Oniwe, OP
 

 
                                             Have a Holy Lent!
 
Dear friends in Christ,
 
This Sunday's readings from the book of Leviticus and Gospel according to Matthew call us to holiness, to perfection. The holy season of Lent which begins on Ash Wednesday is a good time to respond to that call. All of us are called to holiness as the Catechism of the Catholic Church points out:
 
“All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity, All are called to holiness: Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” In order to reach this perfection the faithful should use the strength dealt out to them by Christ's gift, so that...doing the will of the Father in everything, they may wholeheartedly devote themselves to the glory of God and to the service of their neighbor. Thus the holiness of the People of God will grow in fruitful abundance, as is clearly shown in the history of the Church through the lives of so many saints (CCC 2013).
 
The Lenten journey is traditionally accompanied by an intense life of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. This spiritual living, aided by the grace of God makes us holy, leads to perfection, just like the saints we read about in our parish Advent spiritual reading, Matthew Kelly's Rediscover the Saints. I hope our choice of Lenten spiritual reading this year, Bishop Robert Barron's Lenten Gospel Reflection would be equally transformative.
 
What are you going to do different this Lent to become more like Christ?
 
Have a holy Lent!
 
In Christ,
 
Fr. Bernard Oniwe, OP
                                                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~
A special congratulations to  Pat Minick, who is the recipient of the 2020 Diocesan Lorica Award for the  North Lancaster Deanery. This award is  given by Bishop Gainer to lay persons in the Diocese of Harrisburg who contribute to the life of the Church and the common good of their community. All are invited to attend the award ceremony on March 17th at 6:30 at St. Patrick Cathedral in Harrisburg.
 

The Law, Christ, and Grace
 
Establishing his divine authority, Jesus offers the deeper meaning of the Law of Moses and spells out its spirit concerning specific sins of killing, which for Christ goes beyond the actual physical mortal act itself to include harboring hatred and undue resentment from the heart towards another; adultery, understood not just in terms of sexual intimacy with another person's spouse but also entailing a sinful glance at him or her; and abuse of oaths or perjury, which means not just taking God's name in vain by lying under oath but insisting as well on sincerity and honesty in relation to truth.
 
In the New Covenant founded on Christ, we enter into the dispensation of Grace. We are enabled by a supernatural disposition to do the good and the right concerning God's divine precepts but God still leaves it to us to cooperate with that grace. In the verse from Sirach, he tells us that if we choose we can keep the commandments and be saved (Sir. 15:15). St Augustine affirms this in regard to our free will to cooperate or not cooperate with God's superabundance grace in his classic words: God who created us without us: but did not will to save us without us. The wisdom and Spirit of the commandments are there for our good (1 Cor. 2:10) and they grant us access into the kingdom of heaven.
 
Christ holds us to a higher standard because of Grace. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us ( Philippians 4:13). How are you responding daily to graces you receive in the Sacraments? Will you respond to the nudge of the Holy Spirit this week as He leads you to fulfill God's commandment you have often struggled to keep? Christ's grace is available, let's make use of it.
 
In Christ,
 
Fr. Bernard Oniwe, OP
 

 
Today's readings focus on the importance of letting our light shine in the world through our bold witness, especially to the poor. Prophet Isaiah asks us to share our “bread with the hungry”, the Psalmist tells us that the just gives lavishly “to the poor“, St Paul in his first letter to Corinthians testifies to the power of God “in weakness” and in the Gospel according to Mark, Jesus instructs us to let our light “shine before others.”
 
All these teachings are made concrete in the ministry of St. Vincent De Paul here at St. Peter. Thanks to the credible witness of Andy Gladfelter and his team, our parish SVDP ministry is serving the poor by working to make sure they retain their human dignity. I am using this opportunity to remind us that the Society of St Vincent De Paul Poor Box by the door opening into the church is for us to drop in whatever we deem fit to support this important ministry. Please, the box is NOT a trash collector but money collector for the needs of the poor. Thanks for your generosity.
 
Also inline with this week's message on justice to the poor, we shall welcome next weekend a guest priest from Cross Catholic Outreach to address us on the importance of the option for the poor to our Catholic faith. Outreach Priest, Reverend Richard T. Kunzman, ordained for the Diocese of Camden in 1963 will celebrate all the masses next weekend, sharing the mission of “delivering food, shelter and hope to the poorest of the poor” with us. Please let us be welcoming and supportive of his mission.
 
In what particular ways am I called by Jesus to shine the light of Christ to all, especially the poor?
 
Fr. Bernard Oniwe, OP
 
P.S. I want to recognize and express our thanks to St. Peter's Knights of Columbus' Blood Drive this past weekend. They had 25 parishioner donors, collected 19 units of blood that will help 57 people in need! Thanks to Dr. Gregory Martin and his council members. What a beautiful way to make sacrifices for others. May Jesus renew all our donors.
 

Dear Friends in Christ,
 
Forty days after the birth of Jesus, in fulfillment of the law of Moses, "Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord" ( LK 2:22). Simon took Jesus in his arms, dedicated him to God, and identified Him as "a light of revelation to the gentiles, and glory for your people Israel" (LK 2:23). Jesus is the light that conquers the darkness of sin and death. We recall and celebrate that day on this Sunday, the feast of the presentation of the Lord or Candlemas day. From the seventh century or thereabout, the church established a tradition of blessing candles at the feast of the Presentation mass; we may use these candles for religious devotions throughout the year. 
 
At baptism, we were presented in the church as infants by our parents and dedicated to God as children of light. The priest gave candles lit from the paschal candle to us and said, "You have been enlightened by Christ. Walk always as a child of the light and keep the flame of faith alive in your heart" ( Rite of Baptism for Children, 44). Consequently, we must be bearers of the light of faith to the world, a bold witness that would sometimes make of us a "sign that will be opposed," for instance, on issues like the sanctity of all human life from the moment of conception until the moment of natural death. But we must not shy away from being a light to the world. We must boldly display the light of faith for all to see and be enlightened.
 
We had moments of witness-bearing in our parish this past week that are worth celebrating:
 
1. Pat Minnick, Andy Gladfelter, Gary Barb, Patti Becker, Kathy Bevel, Jason Stoltzfus, and his daughter Anna represented the parish at the March for Life in Washington DC! And they return with amazing reports of young people witnessing to the sanctity of life.
2. The church also had coffee and donut fellowship time after 8:30 and 10:30 Masses. They were successful. Please consider spending some time after these designated masses to meet and chat with other members of our parish family.
3. At the last Sunday of the Word of God masses, our devout teens, Travis Cleveland, Mary Bolesky, and Marcus Mancini, served as thurifer. It is on record that Mary Bolesky is the first female thurifer of the parish! Congratulations Mary!
 
In Christ,
 
Fr. Bernard Oniwe, OP
 

Dear Friends in Christ,
                                                          The Bible as a Light for our Path

On September 30, 2019, feast of St. Jerome, Pope Francis released an Apostolic Letter, Motu proprio Aperuit Illis instituting the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time as Sunday of the Word of God. We celebrate the Word of God as our Light and salvation. Christ is the Light that shines through darkness. A knowledge of Christ is a light for our path through this land of exile. A consistent study of the Scriptures helps us to know and encounter Christ, our “great light” (Is.9:1; Mt. 4:16), As St. Jerome says, “Ignorance of the Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” Let us embrace a devotional study and prayerful reading of the bible, lectio divina (AI 3). It will throw a Light on our path so we can see clearly God’s plan for us. We are blessed in St. Peter to have in place opportunities to heed Pope Francis’ call to open and study the Word of God.

Blessed Is She women’s bible study was recently inaugurated in our parish. Thanks to Beth Rosborough, Rachel Clark, Jess Capelli, and Michelle Schmitt for organizing this bible based women fellowship in our parish.

Thanks to Mike and Bernie Rydock for leading our parish bible study of First Corinthians in the Fall of 2019. During Lent 2020, they will generously guide through Edward Sri’s No Greater Love, a biblical walk with Jesus from the Garden of Gethsemani to the Mount of Calvary. I encourage you all to register for this bible study program, it will enlighten your journey through the season of lent.
What’s your plan for “learning how to read, appreciate and pray daily with Sacred Scripture”? (AI 3).
 Pope Francis’ Aperuit Illis: Vatican.va/content/Francesco/en/motu_proprio/
 
Yours in Christ our Light,
 
Fr. Bernard Oniwe, OP
 

Dear Friends in Christ,

Called To Bear Witness

Witness is a word gone viral in our current social imagination-a cursory view of social media will confirm this claim. The New Testament in its original Greek text refers to maturia-witness, and all its various iteration, about 200 times. It is a word that describes personal response to God's revelation of Himself to us. In this Sunday's liturgy of the word, Isaiah's second servant song bears witness to God's universal call, "I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth" (Is.49:6). Paul is called to bear witness to Christ Jesus among the gentiles so that everywhere people may "call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours" (1 Cor. 1: 3). John testifies to the presence of "the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world...the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit,...the son of God" (John 1: 29, 34). These witnesses testify to the person of Jesus Christ as the savior of all people.
Christian witness testifies to the person of Jesus Christ and his Gospel as the definitive truth. A witness in the court of law testifies to a claim in support or condemnation of a person on trial but a Christian witness, by words and deeds and in the power of the Holy Spirit and God's grace, reveals the person of Jesus to the world as a divine person who came to save it from slavery to sin and Satan. Jesus is the sacrificial lamb of God, the son of God sent to bring us everlasting peace and joy. Christians are called to follow Jesus Christ by the virtue of their baptism, and to share their encounter with this mystery of faith with others.
As the Psalmist declares, "Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will" (Ps. 72), we too are called to declare to the world that Jesus is the Son of God, the lamb of God who by his sacrifice saved all people, including those who deny or ignore him. That is the will of God for all Christians. As Christians sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, our personal testimony to transformation through our encounter with Jesus is vital to the work of evangelization- the reason for which the church exist. As the church teaches us, "The duty of Christians to take part in the life of the Church impels them to act as witnesses of the Gospel and of the obligations that flow from it" (CCC 2472). A Christian witnesses to Jesus in words and deeds. In what practical ways do you witness to the Lordship of Jesus Christ you encounter often in the Eucharist and the Divine Word?

In Christ, the Lamb of God,

Fr. Bernard Oniwe, OP

                                          The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

When Jesus, was baptized by John in the River Jordan the heavens opened up, the Spirit of  God came down upon him and the voice of the Father declared, “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17). At his Baptism the Trinity is fully present and Jesus is manifested as a divine person, the son of God .  Such is the mystery of Jesus’ Baptism - “a regeneration through water and in the word” which he offers us. He underwent this rebirth for ‘the sake of righteousness” for the purpose of creating a path for his followers to regain their lost identity as God’s children and servants.
 
On a day like this we recall our own Baptism, the door to Christian life, ‘the door which gives access to the other sacraments” (CCC  1213). After being plunged into the water of Baptism, we emerge as a new creature and our identity is changed. We, like Jesus are declared by the father as his sons and daughters. We are new creatures and our identities are changed forever! Not only are we redeemed from the crushing weight of sin, we are liberated for mission, as “a light for the nations” (is 42:6) and sent to go “about doing good” (Acts 10:38). Such is the power of Baptism.
 
As we conclude the season of Christmas and begin the
ordinary time of the liturgical year, let us do so with this awareness of our regeneration and renewal, of our identity as God’s children through anointing with the Holy Spirit. We have been empowered spiritually by our Baptism, let’s use the grace of our Baptism to accomplish good works for our parish and the world. As you renew your baptismal vows today, as you renounce Satan and accept the Lordship of Christ, remember you are automatically called to mission, to bring the light of Christ to the world. How do you plan to live out your baptismal mission to and for our parish this year? You have the power, will you use it in the service of your brothers and sisters? 
 
In Christ our Hope,
 
Fr. Bernard Oniwe, O.P.
 

                                           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