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As I pray over this Gospel, I can’t help but see the comparison between leprosy and Covid-19.  Similar to leprosy, this pandemic is keeping us isolated and preventing us from being connected to each other as much as we would like.  Those who have the virus need to be isolated, quaranteed from the community. But please God, covid-19 doesn’t keep up separated from our merciful, loving God.  God’s mercy and love is the final word in our spiritual journey.

The Joint Parish Council of Holy Spirit and St. Joseph invite you for a State-of-the-Parish update as we begin the new year. January 19, 7pm on Zoom. Comments and questions may be sent in advance or via chat and Q&A during the meeting. Register to receive a link. Email questions in advance to schwartz@dor.org.

In our Baptism, we claim our baptismal identity.  We become God’s beloved son and God’s beloved daughter in whom the Father is well pleased.  We claim who we are and whose we are.    We are sons and daughters of a loving Father; we are brothers and sisters to each other; we are welcomed into the Church, the Body of Christ.  Such an incredible grace we receive in Baptism, and the grace of Baptism is lifelong.  In the spiritual journey of each of us, we need to ask ourselves the question:  Do we claim our own baptismal identity as a beloved child of God?   When I am stressed out, when I am fearful and a bit anxious, am I claiming my baptismal identity as God’s beloved?   The words spoken to Jesus are words that are spoken to us as part of our baptismal identity. May you hear this day and every day these words spoken to you by our loving God: “This is my beloved son; this is my beloved daughter in whom I am well pleased.”

There is no better model for us than Mary in opening ourselves to God’s plan for our lives.  We know at the Annunciation when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to be the mother of our Savior and Lord, Mary worked through her fear and confusion and said YES to God’s plan for her.  With such an inspiring faith, Mary spoke these powerful words:  “I am the handmaid of the Lord.  Be it done to me according to thy Word.” Can we with Mary speak these words at the beginning of 2021:  “I am the servant of the Lord.  Be it done to me according to your word.”

Where is God as we celebrate Christmas in 2020 as we wrestle with the coronavirus?  You can point to the heavens; you can point to the infant Jesus in the Bethlehem crib; but I would like you now to point to your heart as I ask the question:  Where is God? As we listen to the Gospel, in  one simple unassuming sentence, the Christmas mystery is revealed.  From the evangelist Luke:  “While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son.” 

Filomena always had a contagious smile on her face and was full of laughter and joy which she spread to everyone she met. Being with family brought her much happiness, and just about everyone she knew was considered part of her family. She was truly the life of the party. Any gathering with her, even if it was just Sunday dinner, was a party. She loved people and always found the good in everyone. She was everything great.

Eileen became a parishioner at St. Joseph's Church over 20 years ago. As the years went on, it was difficult for her to attend mass. She was so grateful for all the people who would bring her Communion, reflect on the week's Gospel reading, and just chat with her. The practice of being a Catholic was so important to her. Eileen became an Associate of the Sisters of Mercy for over 30 years. Our Lady of Mercy High School, her Alma mater, was an important part of her life! Eileen was very independent! A few adjectives describing Eileen from her grandchildren were faithful, gracious, kind-hearted, good sport, joyous, welcoming, tough, curious, and proud of her family. Eileen always signed her cards "Peace, Love, and Prayers"

The prayer of Mary is so very different from what has been called the world’s most common prayer, the prayer in which we try to get God to do our will.  The world’s most common prayer says:  “My will be done,” whereas the world’s greatest prayer says, “Thy will be done.”

In ten words, St Paul expresses the theme of today’s liturgy:  Rejoice always.  Pray without ceasing.  In all circumstances give thanks. My hope for myself and for you is that the joy of Gaudete Sunday is the joy that you experience everyday as a disciple of Jesus:  rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in all circumstances give thanks.

Frank was an accountant for over 35 years. He was quick to laugh and had a good sense of humor. Frank loved going to all of his grandchildren and great grandchildren’s baseball, softball, basketball and volleyball games. After his wife and his family, golf was his true love. In 1953, Frank scored a hole-in-one at Midvale Country Club on the 240-yard, 13th hole. At the time, this was one of the longest aces ever made in the area.

This Advent season is a waiting season for us in capital letters.  We are waiting to get beyond the restrictions of these pandemic days.  We are waiting for a vaccine.  But may this forced time of waiting be an invitation for us to enter into the blessings of the Advent season of waiting.  For me a slower pace of life is getting me in touch with the grace of the Advent season. I am trying to step back from the busyness of day to day activity and to simplify my day.

Paul was a parishioner at St. Joseph’s for around 5 years. He attended weekly mass and holy days his entire life. Paul graduated from RIT where he studied mechanical engineering technology. He held several positions at Xerox in his more than 25 years before his retirement, including technical writer and project manager. He was known to be a dedicated dad who loved to build things and watch sci-fi, fantasy and action adventure shows and movies.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta tells the story her encounter with a very sick woman on the street in desperate straits.  As is typical for Mother Teresa, she stopped and helped this woman in every way that she could.  She did everything that love could do.  Mother Teresa cleaned the person and put her in bed, and there was such a beautiful smile on her face.  She took hold of Mother Teresa’s hands and said two words in her native language, Bengali:  “Thank You.” Then she died.

On this the last Sunday of the Church year, the Scriptures draw our prayerful attention to the end times – the end of our own lives when we go home to God.  At the conclusion of the story of every person on earth, when each is alone with himself and with God, only love will be significant.   And we can never love others unless we feel a certain reverence towards them.  From the Gospel, the life of each one will be considered a success or failure according to the commitment of the person in the elimination of six situations of suffering and poverty:  hunger, thirst, exile, nakedness, sickness, imprisonment...:  Did you feed the hungry?  Did you shelter the homeless?  Did you care for the sick? And our answer will be….

Our prayerful question is one of accountability.  What are we doing with the talents God has given to us?  Have we buried our talents, or have we used them to make a difference in the lives of others?  What effect have these Covid days had on our accountability to use our God-given talents in the service of one another? 

I would invite for your reflection two of the beatitudes: Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the poor in spirit…The poor in spirit are those who know they stand in need of God’s redeeming love.  Our wealth doesn’t come from are material assets; our real wealth comes from God’s healing love for us.  To tap into God’s unending love for us, we need first to recognize our need for God’s grace.  This is to say we need to recognize our poverty of spirit which moves us to find an inner blessedness that is God’s gift to us.  Blessed are those who have to rely on God for every breath they take. The greatest spiritual deception of all is thinking we are self-righteous; that our spiritual will power is the source of our holiness.  That is the biggest illusion of all.  The spiritual life begins with our need for God.  Left to ourselves, we are poor; we stand in need.  The grace of this situation is that it can lead us to trust not in ourselves, but to trust in God. And so, the beatitude, blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

During the first week of each month, Phillip the Van collects non-perishable foods to share with our Foodlink partners in downtown Rochester as well as Penfield Hope. For many years, we have delivered to Bethany House, Dimitri House, Sr. Regis Food Cupboard, and St. Andrews. This month we focus on holiday favorites and especially brownie mixes for Penfield Ecumenical Food Shelf. Please drop off your donations at the west entrance to Church any day before 5:00pm, on the back pew. Thank you for your generosity!

The love command is the guts of Catholic morality.  Church practices and rules are there to help us avoid everything that is opposed to the “love command.”  Sin in our lives is when we do not live up to our baptismal commitment, to our discipleship witness of loving God and our neighbor.  In the Gospel account, the Pharisees understanding of what truth is could be found only in a multitude of laws.  The Gospel affirms the witness of a God of love and a God of hope.  The joy of the Gospel is discovered when we share the merciful love of Jesus with one another.

Wolfgang was a longtime parishioner of St. Joseph’s. He will surely be missed by his loving family.

Family was Barbara’s life. She was her happiest when she was with family and the home was full. This is all she really ever needed or wanted. She and her husband Thomas met at age 16 and had 66 beautiful years of marriage. They became parishioners of St. Joseph’s Church in 1975 when they moved here from Baldwin, NY. Barbara and Thomas cared deeply for the elderly in their community. She would call on the elderly and make them dinners.