February 2014

Sexagesima Sunday – “A” – February 23, 2014

From the Pastor /

Jesus was aware of the way the Jews demonized their enemies, such as the Samaritans. He knew that in the Jewish scriptures there were passages that talked of hatred of enemies but He also knew there was another tradition which forbade such hatred. Our first reading, from Leviticus, insists that we are not to seek vengeance and bear grudges in our heart. When Jesus teaches the values of the kingdom of God in the Sermon on the Mount, He builds on that tradition. He tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. But why should we do something that seems so contrary to the way of the world? Because that is what God does. The God of creation shows grace to all His creatures, whether they are sinners or saints; God causes the rain to fall on honest and dishonest people alike. Jesus wants us to be holy as God is holy. And so we are to love our enemy. This is how Jesus put His words into action, by reaching out to sinners and those who were despised, to both rich and poor, and in the end forgiving those who were killing Him. Loving enemies is not easy and it ended with Him nailed to the cross.

At the heart of our faith is the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount; and yet we may be tempted to ignore it because it seems so radical and difficult. But our vocation is to imitate Jesus and His teaching, just as Stephen did when he forgave his enemies as he died as the first martyr. In a world that is so full of hatred and vengeance, both at the individual and national level, can we follow the teaching of the Gospel? Jesus tells us to be perfect just as our heavenly Father is perfect. What does this mean for us today? We cannot be morally perfect in this world, but we can respond to Jesus with an undivided heart and faithful devotion. When we try to turn the other cheek and love our enemies we bear witness to the graciousness of a heavenly Father who wants us to embody the amazing love of His Son in our lives.

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Septuagesima Sunday – “A” – February 16, 2014

From the Pastor /

In today’s Gospel, Jesus critices those whose “virtue goes no deeper that that of the scribes and Pharisees,” that is, whose whose faith is only skin-deep. The word “virtue” here has overtones of “justice” and “righteousness” – it refers to something you do, not simply something you believe. So Jesus gives examples of what it means to have virtue, that is, how to put faith into action. When it comes to adultery, Jesus criticizes the inner ugliness that allows us to treat others as objects which we can discard when we have finished with them. Divorce was solely a male prerogative. A man could divorce his wife for trivial reasons and so remarry – leaving the divorced woman ashamed and destitute. Jesus goes to the inner meaning of the commandment against adultery: it is never right to objectify another person, to treat people as a means to an end. And in His teaching about others, Jesus goes beyond the debate about what binds or compels us to tell the truth to say that it is our whole lives, not just our words, that need to be truthful.

In our daily lives, our faith – our virtue, justice and righteousness – is to be more than skin-deep, it is to go to the very core of our being. Faith that is authentic is faith that is lived out. And just as it is possible to increase our attractiveness by improving our social skills, so we can learn to be more virtous, just and righteous, as the first reading tells us: “If you wish, you can keep the commandments.” To think that we have only to tick the boxes of God’s commandments – avoid killing, adultery, lying, and come to Mass on Sundays – is to treat our faith in a superficial way. Christ challenges us to live life at a deeper and more authentic level. To “get into the kingdom of heaven” means allowing an inner beauty to shine through – by our willingness to forgive and to reconcile; by our commitment to justice in our dealings with others, respecting the dignity of every person we meet; and by living lives of integrity, in which we try to express outwardly – in acts of forgiveness, compassion and honesty -the faith we hold. If our faith is truly rooted in God – the God of mercy, love and truth it is God’s beauty that will shine through our lives.

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Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – “A” – February 9, 2014

From the Pastor /

Jesus says He wants us to be salt and light in our world – spiritual versions of those powerful tracks on which whole nations depends for the basics. But our basics are not food and consumer goods. What we carry with us is the knowledge of God and the wonder of God’s love. Salt that loses its taste, says the Lord, is good for nothing. In other words a Christian, a Catholic, who does not let his or her faith show through in what is said and done, is of little use. A light is concealed is senseless; it only makes sense when it is visible.

We are called simply to tell our friends what it means for us that Jesus was crucified for us and rose again, that He has made Mary our mother, that since Pentecost the Holy Spirit is there to help us believe and pray. We are also called to share our hope of heaven, not only for ourselves but for those we love.

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Annual Meeting Held

About us, PNCC /

The Pariah’s 2014 Annual Meeting was held on Sunday, February 2, 2014. Fr. Robert delivered his annual report. A new parish committee was elected at the meeting:

  • Chairman: Mr. Charles Chiao Jr.
  • Vice-Chairman: Mr. John Plaxa
  • Recording Secretary: Mrs. Sandra Elsavage
  • Financial Secretary: Mrs. Betty Brazausky
  • Treasurer: Mr. James Abicunas
  • Directors: Mrs. Carolyn Boychak, Mrs. Sharon Chiao, Mrs. Florence Bulcavage, Mrs. Elaine Antalosky, Mr. John Golba
  • Tribunal: Mrs. Jean Keim, Mrs. Joanne Plaxa, Father Robert Plichta.
  • Honorary Chairman: James Chistakoff

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Presentation of the Lord – “A” – February 2, 2014

From the Pastor /

The meeting. What picture of those two words conjure up in our minds? Perhaps one of those meetings that drag on and seem to have no intention of ever coming to an end. On the other hand, they may suggest and altogether different kind of get-together, like the gathering of family and friends. Or again they may suggest a reunion: a son, for example, who has spent many years working abroad, at last comes with his wife and with the children whom the rest of the family have never seen before; it’s a meeting that is also the fulfilment of a long-cherished hope. It is the long-awaited, long desired meeting of the Messiah with His people in the persons of two pious elderly Jews, Simeon and Anna.

We can imagine the old man tirelessly rehearsing the words of the ancient prophecy of Malachi: “The Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter His Temple.” But the months and years go by, death is drawing ever nearer – yet still no sign of the Messiah. One day among the crowds pouring onto the esplanade of the Temple, he catches sight of a young couple. The girl has a baby in her arms, her husband walking beside her carries the Temple offering made by poor people, doves, towards them. The couple explain that they have come to “redeem” their little son. The Law’s original demand that a first male child was to be consecrated to the Lord had been mitigated to the payment of a small “ransom”. For poor people the ransom would be a pair of turtledoves or a couple of young pigeons. “And the name of the child?” Simeon requires. “Jesus,” they say. “Jesus? That means ‘God saves’; what a wonderful name. With tears of joy the old man takes the child into his arms. “Now , Master,” he cries, “you can let Your servant go in peace…because my eyes have seen the salvation, which You have prepared for all the nations to see.” But there is drama as well as overflowing joy in this meeting. Simeon announces that, while some will receive Jesus, others will reject Him, and that Mary’s own soul will be pierced as with a sword. Anna too recognizes in Jesus the fulfilment of the ancient promises. For her, the meeting means not that she is ready to die, as it did for Simeon, but rather that she is ready to spread abroad the good news of the Messiah for as long as she lives.

It’s been said that today’s Gospel is in its way a reflection of our Christian experience. A Christian is one who has had the privilege of meeting Christ in the sacrament of baptism; who over the course of the years has come to recognize Him as the key to life; who has surrendered to His call, has made His values their own. Very shortly we shall meet Jesus in the Eucharist; and our prayer can be that by that meeting we will be inflamed anew with the desire to become bearers of light to our brothers and sisters, to make our lives, like those of Simeon and Anna, a proclamation of Christ, the light of the world.

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