January 25th, 2026 – Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear Saint Matthew’s account of Jesus calling his first apostles, as Peter and Andrew, James and John leave behind their fishing boats and their families. The stories of these men and the call they received reminds us that following Jesus can require profound changes in our lives and in our relationships with our families and friends.
Jesus chose men who, in the eyes of the world, were little more than a rag-tag band of misfits and uneducated tradesmen. These men were certainly not the collaborators and advisors the people would have expected to find traveling with and serving the long awaited Messiah. And yet, this is how Jesus chose to reveal the beauty and power of the Reign of God.
As Pope Francis once reminded us: “The Lord passes through the paths of our daily life. Even today at this moment… He is calling us to go with him, to work with him for the Kingdom of God, in the “Galilee” of our times. May each one of you think: the Lord is passing by today, the Lord is watching me, he is looking at me! What is the Lord saying to me? And if one of you feels that the Lord says to you ‘follow me’, be brave, go with the Lord. The Lord never disappoints.”
The invitation for us this Sunday is to reflect on how Jesus was at work in unexpected ways in his public ministry of healing and forgiving. And, as Christians, we believe that work continues today in the way that we care for one another and work for justice and peace, especially in how we lift up and speak out on behalf of those who are unable to speak for themselves.
In the Divine Savior,
Fr. Silas, SDS
January 18th, 2026 – Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
“‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without
the words –
And never stops – at all – ”
>~ Emily Dickinson
Dear Friends,
As we move from the blessed feast of the Baptism of the Lord to Ordinary Time in the church year, and a heartbeat away from Lent and Easter, I believe the common thread holding the story of Jesus together for me this new year is HOPE.
When the waters of the earth touch the Word made flesh, Jesus, and the Spirit descends like a dove, heaven is made not only possible, but very probable for those seemingly earth-bound and limited by the tough times we all go through. As the days of earth lengthen and winter will surrender to spring, HOPE seems the appropriate state of being for those who have been restored by Christ in their own baptism.
The Dawn from on High will break upon us, as problems, however big or small, become possibilities for renewed faith and new life. Sometimes hope as the poet says is a tune we sing without really knowing all the words. In the end, we hear the song of hope though it might appear in ways we do not always understand.
Let’s pray for each other and for all who in the world struggle having hope. Let’s listen for the tune in the eternal rhythm of life. Let us live ordinary time in the extraordinary reality of people reborn in Christ!
Sincerely, with love,
Fr. Tim
January 11th, 2026 – The Baptism of the Lord
Dear Sisters & Brothers,
This bulletin article was difficult for me to write. Over the past few months, we’ve experienced several changes in parish staff and in the makeup of our cluster of parishes. Rapid changes can be unsettling for all of us. I’ve heard parishioners say that they hope there are no more surprises for a while. Unfortunately, I need to inform you of yet another change.
Just before Christmas, I met with Archbishop Grob and asked him for a new parish assignment in June. He agreed, so along with Father Silas, I will also be leaving the Family of Four Parishes in mid-June.
I can honestly say that this was the most difficult decision I’ve ever had to make about leaving an assignment. I love our parishioners, I love the people I work with, and I certainly do not want to pack up and move again. My decision rests solely on my life of recovery and choosing what is best for my own well being. My recovery is about more than not drinking alcohol; it is about working to live my life as the best possible version of myself. Over the past six to nine months, I have been seeing that part of my recovery diminishing. My sarcasm has gotten extremely negative. I feel overwhelmed and unable to keep up with my day-to-day work, and I’m much less happy than I was a year ago. These are not signs of a healthy recovery. I had two options: I could decide to stay and let these things continue to fester, or I could make the difficult decision to seek an assignment that would allow me to continue growing in my recovery. I had to choose the second option. I hope you will understand. I also wish I could have announced this in person at each parish on the same weekend. Using the bulletin was the only way for me to reach all of you at the same time.
All of you have afforded me much love and support over the past year and a half. I want you to know that I am deeply grateful for that. I ask your prayers over the next several months. I have no idea what parishes will be receiving new priests this spring and, thus, have no idea where I might be going. For me, that is more than a little scary. However, I believe that God is at work in all these changes, both in my life and in the life of our parishes.
There are still five months until June, and we have a lot of ministry and work to do. Let’s continue to work together to make good things happen in service to God and one another.
With my love,
Fr. Brian
January 4th, 2026 – The Epiphany of the Lord
In the ancient world,
an “Epiphany” (epiphaneia) was a visible manifestation of a god or the solemn visit of a secular ruler to the cities of his realm. And as we celebrate the great feast of the Epiphany of the Lord this weekend, we should remember that we aren’t passively remembering the journey of the Magi. Rather, this is a celebration of the gift of salvation that is offered to all people through the Incarnation of Christ.
Following the inspiration of God, we move from the darkness of doubt and sin into the light and freedom of God’s children. This inspired Pope Benedict XVI to write: “How important it is that we Christians are faithful to our vocation! Every authentic believer is always travelling his own personal itinerary of faith, and at the same time, with the little light that he carries within himself, can and must be a help to those alongside him, and even help the one for whom finding the way that leads to Christ is difficult.”
The heavenly light that guided the Magi still shines in the Gospel, which guides us along our pilgrim way, reminding us that each of us has been entrusted with that same light and we are called to carry that light into the dark places of the world in our prayer, words, and acts of charity.
In the Divine Savior,
Fr. Silas, SDS
