Fourth Sunday of Advent

Dear Parish Family,

On the fourth Sunday of Advent, we hear in the opening prayer of the Mass (the Collect), a famous prayer that is also prayed up to three times a day at the end of what is called the Angelus. Traditionally prayed at 6:00 AM, Noon, and 6:00 PM, the Angelus is a way of reminding ourselves of the reality of God's Incarnation in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son. I encourage you to look it up if you’re not already familiar with it.

Of course, we are very close now to Christmas Day and the liturgical season following it, in which we celebrate the amazing fact that God became a human being. We see in the prophecy of Micah in the First Reading a great promise that one is to be born who will shepherd the flock that is Israel. We know this is fulfilled in Jesus. Small and humble, God comes to us. And he arrives in a small and humble village. Somebody once said that great things come in small packages.

The same is true for us. So often we think of ourselves as insignificant, but we are not. You are not! In fact, God has us in this very place at this very time for a reason. Following him each day will reveal to us the great mystery that is our life’s journey to some particular goal. For now, I am here at St. John the Evangelist, called by the Lord through the bishop to be a shepherd here. While I am here with you, I pledge to do my best to shepherd well. These last couple of months have afforded me the opportunity to be reinvigorated and to reflect on what is essential. I do believe there will be new growth coming for all of us. 

Pray for me as I pray for you, and together let’s trust in the consecration we have all received through Jesus Christ, to bear  good fruit and to do his will.

Peace.

-Fr. Kennell