GregCast Diakonia

We were well represented at the March for Life in Birmingham by our Knights of Columbus and other parishioners, and we will be well represented at this week’s March for Life in Washington DC, as our High School Youth will walk for each of us, as we all seek to protect the precious lives of the unborn. Tomorrow we begin the International Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and Monday is Martin Luther King Day. I invite you to keep all that these represent close to your heart as we reflect on today’s Word… There’s a quote on the Montgomery Civil Rights Memorial that quotes the Prophet Amos saying, “Until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” As Christian communities we gather to become aware of our unity, joining our common concerns, making a common response, all as evidence of our faith. This, our U.S. Bishops say, "is the spirit of unity, faith and patience of a people who long for God’s promise." Our gathering as Church, our listening to...

Jesuit Priest and Author, Fr. John Kavanaugh offers this wonderful statement as to what this season is all about: “The heart of Christianity is a transformation of the ordinary, not a flight from it.” Understanding the Feast of the Holy Family begins with a knowledge that our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Moses and the prophets, chose to enter space and time, because deeply concerned about and profoundly moved by our condition. He promised us generations as countless as the stars, a land to call our own, and a blessing on all the nations of the earth. He freed us from our bondage, and guided us to a place to call home, no longer slaves, so that we would be free to live together as a people, a nation, a community and a family! This continues in the Christmas narratives, as ordinary people like shepherds and travelers are the messengers of God, not just angels, and certainly not the power-brokers of nations... Elizabeth found God in her cousin, Mary, and in her old age gave birth to ...