Pastor's Corner

Even Priests Go On Vacation!
I am heading down to Florida for two weeks to see my mom and give my older sister and her husband an opportunity to travel and visit friends in another part of the country.
When my parents needed a little extra care, my older sister opened her home to them. The rest of us siblings committed to offering whatever support we could – even if it means spending two weeks in sunny Florida during the dark, cold month of January.
While I am there, I am planning on cooking with my mom and learning some of the family recipes, including her wonderful liver and onions. For some reason, I am the only one of the kids who seems to like it. There are also some great desserts I hope to master.
I will be gone from January 20 through February 2. Fr. Jim Coyne, our retired pastor, will be presiding at the Sunday liturgies.

Did you notice anything different about the calendar this year?
When Christmas falls on a Sunday, things get rearranged. The feast of the Holy Family is usually on the Sunday between Christmas and New Year’s. No Sunday in between these solemnities this year, so the Feast of the Holy Family got moved to Friday, December 30. The Feast of the Lord’s Baptism also gets moved. This year it is on Monday, January 9, which brings the Christmas season to its conclusion.
The Feast of the Lord’s Baptism is the day we also celebrate our parish anniversary. We rearrange that as well and celebrate on the Solemnity of the Epiphany. With the visit of the Magi, Christ is revealed to the world. We, too, are called to reveal Christ to the world. One way we do that is by being people of Joy.
This year, we would like to offer every parish household a little book about joy and ways to foster it. There are many things that would rob us of joy. We need to be intentional in nurturing it. In this book, Chris Stefanick gives nine rules to rediscover and live joy. After reading this book, let me know if you can come up with a tenth rule that helps you be joyful.

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
One of the central mysteries of our Christian faith is that God has a mother. God, who is without beginning and without end, became a human individual. From Mary, Jesus assumed the human image and likeness, sharing in our human nature. It may sound more reasonable to just say Jesus had a mom. But we go beyond that statement. In Jesus, the union of the human and divine is so complete that what is said of Jesus human nature can also be said of his divine nature. For his humanity, Jesus had to have a mother. God had a mother.
And not only are the human and divine united completely in Jesus, Jesus unites each one of us with himself, so that what is said of Jesus should be also be able to be said of us. Mary is Jesus’ mother. Mary is also our mother. Jesus rose from the dead. We too, in baptism, have risen with Jesus to eternal life. Eternal life is not something that we just hope for at the end of our mortal life. It is a gift that has already been given us! We carry in ourselves the life of Jesus.
As we begin a new year, it might be good to renew your resolution to live the life Jesus offers you. How can you bring something of God’s love to your family, your neighborhood, school or workplace, and to your parish?

Christmas reveals to us a God who wants to be close to us. The awesome Christmas message is that, out of love for us, God has become one of us so we can become one with God.
This is the faith that animates St. John the Baptist Catholic Community. We gather to worship in gratitude for all God has done for us and trusting in the promise of eternity. We grow in our discipleship. Each one of us is on a particular journey of faith. Each one of us has another step to take. We accompany each other wherever we may be on this journey. And we go in service. We have Good News to share, doing so with acts of love and compassion, caring for all God’s people, caring for God’s creation.
Christmas is a day we welcome many people. There are those who are here every Sunday, for whom Mass is the highlight of the week and a source of strength for the coming week. We welcome family members and relatives who are visiting for the holiday. We welcome those of other faith traditions, who join their family members and friends today. COVID has kept many people away from in-person gatherings. We welcome those who are now are transitioning back to in-person worship. There may be other things that have kept folks away. If you are one of those joining us today, we are so glad you are here with us today. We hope that whatever has kept you away can be resolved, healed, or forgiven. If you are one of our neighbors without a faith community to call your own, welcome!
Wherever you are at on this journey of faith, the St. John the Baptist Catholic Community is here to walk with you. Together, may we discover the presence of the Risen Lord, who has promised to remain with us forever. You can find more information about our faith community on our web page at sjtbcc.org. You can also call the parish office and chat with myself or any of our staff at 253 630-0701.

“David Cromer, who replaced Kathy last May,
has discerned that this is the right time for
retirement. At the same time, Kathy’s new job at
St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral was not
turning out as she had thought.”
– Fr. Bill

Good-bye And Thank You David,
Welcome Kathy

Did you hear that the former CEO of Disney, Bob Iger, returned to lead the company? Well, not to be outdone, Kathy Wickward has returned as Pastoral Assistant of Administration for our parish!
David Cromer, who replaced Kathy last May, has discerned that this is the right time for retirement. At the same time, Kathy’s new job at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral was not turning out as she had thought.
This will be a great benefit for the parish. We will have Kathy’s experience, as the parish continues to move forward with our new operating software. Kathy was on the archdiocesan committee that helped choose this software and is already somewhat familiar with it.
David’s last day will be December 31. Kathy will begin full time on January 3. You will see her around a bit during December, as she gets caught up with training for the new software and with where the parish has been these past eight months under the very capable leadership of David. Thank you David!
Disney’s stock went up with Bob Iger’s return. Will our parish stewardship go up with Kathy’s? It’s a small world after all.

“Amid the challenges and struggles of
life, Christmas always happens. Let
Christmas happen for you. God
desires to be close to you, especially
in your hardships and suffering.”
– Fr. Bill

Christmas Always Happens

In times of war and in times of peace; in times of prosperity and during economic hardship and crisis; when families can gather and when families are separated – Christmas always happens. The experience of Christmas or the feeling of Christmas may vary due to the circumstances of life. Maybe, the greater the hardship, the greater the hope of Christmas shining through.

Remember that first Christmas came amidst political upheaval, in a country occupied by a foreign army. Society was deeply divided between those who collaborated with the Romans and those who wanted to fight them. Roman taxation reduced most to poverty. Because of a government edict, a young couple, the mother pregnant with her first child, had to close-up the carpenter shop and leave home and relatives at a time they needed them most and travel to register for a census. There, alone in a stable, Christmas happened. Hope arrived with the sound of a newborn baby crying.

God had become one of us. God had entered into human suffering. And God continues to enter into our suffering. It is there that God often invites us to a deeper relationship. The hope of Christmas is realizing how near God is to us, how close God wants to be with us.

Amid the challenges and struggles of life, Christmas always happens. Let Christmas happen for you. God desires to be close to you, especially in your hardships and suffering. God proved that when he entered human suffering in the manger that first Christmas and again when he accepted that cross to suffer for us till he could suffer nor more. But the story does not end with suffering; it ends with resurrection, with hope. Above all, may your Christmas be filled with hope.