Fr Fred's weekly message

The Baptism of the Lord

January 10, 2021

 

My Sisters and Brothers,
With our celebration of the feast of the Baptism of the Lord this weekend, we officially end the Christmas season and enter into Ordinary Time. Both themes are very vital to our spiritual journey, and both have great meaning. Celebrating the Lord’s Baptism not only takes us back to Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan, but also to our own Baptism. Although we can find differences in how those baptisms were celebrated, there is a very
important common denominator that links them together very closely. When Jesus was baptized, St. Mark tells us that a voice from heaven came and said, “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased”. Although the voice of God may not have been audibly heard at our Baptism, no doubt God expressed those very words about each of us, His sons and daughters, with the hope that we would grow in an awareness and appreciation
of how powerful and life-forming those words could be.

As we each look to our own Baptism today, and recollect and renew the meaning of our own Baptism, I pray that we will take time to ponder those words and allow them to become more and more meaningful in each of our lives. To truly be aware and even overwhelmed by God saying very personally to each and every one of us that we are His beloved son or daughter, is the starting point of growing to become who we really are called to be. Many great and significant things happen to us in our faith life, but it all starts with Baptism. Take some time to ponder your dignity as a child of God, how much you are forever loved, and what it means to live as a beloved member of God’s family, the Church. We are called. We are loved. We are empowered to continue the saving work of the Lord. My prayer this day is that we will never take for granted or underestimate the dignity of who we are as the baptized Body of Christ, and that we will give our very best to help build up Christ’s Body
here on earth.

As we move forward in this period of Ordinary Time until Lent begins (February 17 th ), first I want to thank all those who enabled St. Anthony’s to celebrate the Nativity of the Lord so wonderfully. The church looked beautiful and it was a joy to celebrate the light and hope of our Savior’s birth. Second, it is time for us to continue living and celebrating all that Christmas means and to look toward our future as we continue to renew our parish life. Our Parish and Finance Councils are meeting again this week to formulate practical steps of growing as a community and furthering our mission. However, ultimately that is the work of all of us. Begin with yourself and your own commitment to grow spiritually in this new year, and then think about people you can reach out to and invite to share in all that this parish can offer. Hopefully, as we see light at the end of the tunnel through the distribution of the vaccine, we can start looking beyond the pandemic to ways this parish
can become stronger and more vibrant than ever. This is what our Baptism is calling each of us to do.

In the meantime, take care of yourself in every way—your health, your family, your spiritual life—and know that God is always with you in your every need and with the fullness of His love. You are truly God’s beloved sons and daughters.

Be at peace,
In God’s love,

Fr. Fred

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Epiphany of the Lord 

January 3, 2021

 

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Fr Fred's New Year's  message for January 3, 2021

 

My Sisters and Brothers of St. Anthony Parish,

I sincerely hope your celebration of the Lord’s birth was wonderful and filled with the light, joy and peace of Christ born among us. I know it was definitely filled with snow, but it certainly was a beautiful white Christmas. My prayer is that the true effect of the great gift of Christ’s Nativity, the gift of Emmanuel, will grow stronger and deeper in your lives. The Light has come. From now on there will even be a little more daylight each day as we move towards Spring. Athough Winter is by no means over, with our weather and with all the things we are dealing with in our personal lives, Spring will come. There is light at the end of the tunnel with the pandemic, and there is always hope in Christ who has conquered even death. You can never hold back the Spring. Be not afraid, and share the Light of Christ with everyone. It is a new year. We pray that it will be happy, holy and healthy for you and your family. God only knows what lies ahead, but God is so good. So have a very blessed 2021. I can’t say that I am sad 2020 is over. Let’s move forward with hope.

 

Today we celebrate the great feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. Led by a star, the Wise People (in the true meaning of Wisdom) travelled at great length, following the brightest star in the sky, and found the newborn Savior. They did Him homage and brought Him their very best gifts. So, here are the lessons we need to live. Christ came for all people. No one is excluded. Do not leave anyone out in the dark or forgotten and neglected. Jesus is their light and salvation too.

 

Second, continue to seek Christ as your greatest goal in life. The Magi found him. You can too. Third, give the Lord your best. It may not be gold, frankincense or myrrh, but it needs to be more than just token giving or leftovers. And fourth, be the star. By the manner of your life, lead others to find Christ. Just remember, there are lots of stars in the sky. They followed the brightest star to find the Lord. Can you, by the brightness of your Christian life, lead others to the Lord? As we enter into this new year I pray that we can all find ways to renew our lives and bring God’s love and peace to others. May this year be a year of renewal, great blessing, and a greater than ever reality of God’s peace, justice and love for all. Stay well. Continue to practice good health habits so that we can end this pandemic and celebrate life to its fullest.

 

God be with you!

Be at peace
In God’s love,
Fr. Fred

 

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Liturgy for New Year's Day

January 1, 2021

 

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New Year's Mass Schedule

New Year's Eve Mass (Vigil) 4pm

New Year's Day 9am

 

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Sunday October 25th, 2020

1st Communion 2019-2020

 

 

May the Light of Faith shine forth from our parish as a beacon to guide our community to the Lord. When life seems difficult and troublesome, may our faith offer us security and strength. When we come together to celebrate God's gifts may the Holy Spirit fill us with joy.

 

 

Check out our Parish's catechetical (PSR) program by clicking on the icon below.  For more information contact Steve Biro at steve@stafh.org

For more informaton concerning the RCIA process, please contact the parish office 440-354-4525