The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time – February 12, 2023
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February 11, 2023The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time – February 12, 2023
Mathew 5:17-19 Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish them but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
As I approach my sixty-ninth birthday on March 7th this year, I suppose I can indulge a little in looking back on the various changes that have taken place in our society and even among some Christians over more than half a century.
My first memories are of a different world, a different country, a different attitude among believers than is common now. It was far from a perfect world, yet the doctrines of Christ were taught and set before us as the Way, Truth, and the Life. In my earliest years, I remember being trained in the certainties of God’s Law that have guided me all the time since. Before I made my First Holy Communion, I had already been introduced to God’s Ten Commandments. There was no doubt in my mind that what God had revealed through Moses and then ultimately through His Divine Son, Jesus Christ, were absolutes for all times, all places, all people. I knew that Jesus fulfilled the Law in His Law of Love.
In addition, I will remember all my days, assisting at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with my two brothers and two sisters and my dear parents every Sunday and Holyday of Obligation. Kneeling at the side of my Father and Mother at Mass as a child, still sustains me in their love and in the love of God. It wasn’t just laws, but a religion of love.
Nevertheless, many are aware of the revolution that has taken place: what was good is now considered bad, and what was bad is lifted up as good. Though we cannot live in the past, and though we cannot reject changes for the better, we do reject the replacement of God’s Laws in matters of faith and morals with that of mere humans. Some things just cannot and should not change. What was good for the early Christians should still be good for us. Isn’t that what Our Lord is telling us in the Gospel?: Don’t kneel before the world, but only before Him. And even if many choose the opposite path, even people of prestige and importance, don’t follow them! Stay on the path that is the Faith of Our Fathers. We should still proclaim: “Faith of Our Fathers, Holy Faith, we will be true to thee till death.”
Yours in the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Fr. Mark G. Mazza. Pastor
