January 27, 2019

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On this the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time the beginning of the Gospel of Saint Luke is proclaimed. The evangelist Saint Luke, the dear and glorious physician, who became a disciple of the Lord Jesus through the ministry of the Apostle Paul writes an account of the life of Jesus the Christ for his patron, Theophilus. The Gospel of Luke is often called the Gospel of the poor because its central focus is that Jesus proclaims Good News to the poor and the brokenhearted. The Gospel was written for Gentile Christians around the year 85 AD. Luke’s Gospel is also called the Gospel of Women because women are central to the proclamation of the ministry of Jesus Christ. In fact, the role of Mary, the Mother of the Lord, figures prominently in his Gospel. Please take this opportunity to read this beautiful Gospel for yourself.

Catholic Schools Week begins today. Here at Saint Bartholomew’s we are celebrating 55 years of our wonderful parish school. May the Lord bless our school community and all who labor to educate and inspire our children to live the teachings of Jesus Christ.

This Friday, February 1st, we will celebrate the Presentation of the Lord, the 40th day after Christmas. On this day, the child Jesus was presented in the Temple at Jerusalem and was proclaimed the light of the Nations. All of our children who are receiving their First Communion this year are invited to celebrate a special Mass on Friday evening at 7pm.

Next Sunday, February 3rd, feast of Saint Blaise, the blessing of throats will take place after all Masses.

In Christ,
Fr. Thomas