FM's Message | Sunday, January 14th, 2024

One of the great traditions from sports when I was growing up was to rename or give a nickname to different people we knew. Usually, it was related to their name and sometimes to their physical abilities. So, stretch McCarthy was known for his height but also for his ability to maximize it playing basketball. There were others too, I remember that before the movie “Rocky” came out, there was a boy who had that nickname. We used to think he was very tough and perhaps were thinking of Rocky Marciano, the great boxer from Brockton. In today’s reading, Jesus renames Cephas to the one we all know as Peter, the rock upon which Jesus built his church. I wonder if Andrew didn’t introduce his brother Peter to Jesus by saying, “Here is my hard-headed brother.” Whatever caused Jesus to name a man who would become his closest friend, we can see that Peter lived for Jesus and eventually died for him.  His personality traits can be seen several times in the four gospels and certainly in his letters. It is amazing that this simple fisherman, who knew his faith, received the grace to recognize Jesus as the Messiah before the whole story was known. The key, of course, was that he had a close relationship with Jesus and that Peter allowed himself to be known by Jesus with his personality, strengths, and weaknesses. It is a good model for us too. God comes to us as we are and then Grace, building on our nature, as St. Thomas observed, begins to influence us and direct us more and more toward Him if we want that. And like Peter, it does not seem that Jesus worries too much about our imperfections. The important point is to be in the company of Jesus frequently and to let that influence our lives. We are called to change too, and it is an imitation of the first apostles who radically left their lives to follow Jesus. In our own time, it may not be our whole lives, but the parts that prevent us from giving witness to Jesus.
One other important point about this whole scene is that someone introduces Peter to Jesus. Eventually, Jesus knows him well enough to give him a nickname, and that is something for all of us to consider. In our parish, we ask people to introduce themselves to someone at every Sunday mass so that we might build a community that knows and prays for one another. As the Alpha sessions come near, we ask the team members and everyone to invite someone to come to Alpha. That invitation is a specific strategy and part of our plan to evangelize and heal all of Salem. We are people who have been sent to introduce Jesus to others (go and make disciples). The Alpha program helps our parish and us individually to introduce Jesus to others.
Our method is to start with the Alpha program and then afterward continue with small groups to allow people to be known and to be part of a group of people growing in their relationship with Jesus, learning to be seen by Jesus, and gaining the capacity to introduce him to others.
When people complain or comment that we are not like the parishes of old, I am very pleased. We are no longer in a Christian age; it is more like the times at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles. Our strategy now is very much an imitation of that period. We gather to study the scriptures and pray (in small groups) and then go out to invite people to come see and hear about Jesus (Alpha). Always at the heart of the community then as is now, is the Eucharist and the other sacraments, as well as our prayer, individually and in community (adoration, private prayer). We hope for the same results, consistent growth in the parish in the power of the Holy Spirit and calling forth leaders to continue to guide the work.
Peace,
Father Murray

Building news. We are the recipients of a new dishwasher in the kitchen at St. James. At Immaculate, we have received some new chairs that we hope will be sturdier and more comfortable for the events that we have down there.
We are also working towards repairing the steam traps at St. James to make the heating system more efficient.