Dear Friends,
With this First Sunday of Advent, we once again begin a new liturgical year in the life of the Church, a new “year of grace” as it is called. This new Church year will find at its center the more or less complete reading through the Gospel of Matthew, the longest of the four Gospels (at least in terms of chapter length). The Gospel of Matthew is written from a strongly Jewish background and it presents Jesus as the “New Moses” who presents the Law of God in a new and definitive way. The Gospel is centered on five lengthy addresses, or discourses, of Jesus, which are meant to be the basis of a new and definitive presentation of what God expects, paralleling the five books of the Law, the Torah, the Pentateuch. In the Gospel of Matthew, we find some unique stories and traditions. For example, Matthew focuses on Joseph (and not Mary) in the stories of Jesus’ conception, birth and early life. He alone presents the story of the visit of the Magi. He offers us the beloved well-known version of the Beatitudes (cf. Matthew 5:3-13). He also presents the parable-allegory of the sheep and the goats (cf. Matthew 25:31-46). A good suggestion for your personal prayer for this coming year is to take time each day to read, study, and pray with a passage from the Gospel of Matthew.
Deacon Nick Genovese has been granted senior status by Archbishop Blair in conformity with Church law, which mandates that each priest or deacon, on reaching his 75th birthday, submit a letter requesting senior status. This happened for Deacon Nick on November 8, his 75th birthday. What this means practically is that Deacon Nick will continue to remain active in his ministry as he is able to do so. There are no changes planned or contemplated at this time. His presence and his ministry in the parish are both invaluable and very much appreciated by me, as they were by Father Callahan before me. Happily, Deacon Nick remains healthy and will, I hope, be around, active among us for many years to come. We congratulate him on reaching this milestone in his life. We also offer him our deepest gratitude and esteem for all that he has done for St. Agnes Parish for so many years, and for the past two and a half years, for Precious Blood Parish. It should also be said that no priest or deacon ever “retires” from the ministry, for the gift of the ministry bestowed by the Spirit at ordination does not depart at the attainment of any age. Thus, we no longer speak of “retired” priests or deacons. Rather, we refer to them as “senior” priests or deacons.
Finally, even though I have spoken about this before in this column, it warrants repetition. There are some parishioners who insist on parking in fire lanes both at St. Mary and at St. Agnes. Besides this being a violation of the law, it also endangers all of us as it may happen that, in the case of a medical emergency or a fire, an ambulance or fire apparatus might not be able to gain access to the parish plant. I must ask those who do this to cease doing so immediately. We will be speaking to the Milford Police about taking steps to enforce the law if compliance is not forthcoming. I am sorry to be so sharp about this, but I must insist on this for the safety of all who come to Mass and other services at our churches.
