Beginnings

Beginning a new parish.
Beginning a new liturgical year.
Beginning a new (updated) website.
Beginning a blog(!)

What is this about?
The usual – sharing the Gospel. Jesus’ final instruction to his disciples was: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16: 15) It is the fundamental mission of the church, in every time and place.

Sharing the Gospel is fundamental to the ministry of priests. Although most Catholics would name celebrating Mass and the Sacraments as the chief and most important role of the priest, the church’s documents list preaching the Gospel first — “it is the first tasks of priests as co-workers of the bishops to preach the Gospel of God to all.” (Vatican II, “Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, #4)

That’s how I see this blog and why I decided to write one: I see it as another vehicle, another opportunity to share the gospel, the good news. I use both terms – “gospel” and “good news” – intentionally because I see both terms as reflecting what I hope this can be about.

“Gospel” because the Scriptures are very rich. No one homily or reflection can capture the full message of any passage of Scripture, much less the three readings presented each Sunday. I see this blog as a way to share other reflections, thoughts, insights that didn’t make it into a homily.

“Good news” because there are many wonderful things happening at St. Malachi, in the neighborhood, in our city, the diocese, and the church that may not be mentioned in the bulletin or the newspaper or on the news. Yet they are worth learning about because they are signs of hope, of goodness and grace in our world.

I also look for this to be interactive, an opportunity to dialogue with each other. I look forward to your thoughts and reflections about what I write here, about my homilies, about what’s happening at St. Malachi or the church, the neighborhood and the world. It’s all part of our proclaiming the gospel.