Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,
 
I Know Who You Are
 
In our Gospel this Sunday from Mark 1:21-28, we hear the man with the unclean (possessed) spirit proclaim, “I know who you are – the Holy One of God!”
 
Who is Jesus for you?  Is he someone from “back then” that we read about in the Bible or hear about at Mass?  Is he “out there” somewhere?  Pope Francis, in quoting words of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, reminds us: “Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.”
 
Like the stillness of the water in the above picture, we have been given the opportunity to truly reflect on this question.  Being baptized in the faith, the most precious gift next to the gift of life, is one thing.  Being taught about Jesus in grade school is another.  Yet it is not until we have that encounter, that aha moment, that our relationship with Jesus becomes something real.  And Jesus becomes more than someone from “back then.”  Jesus becomes a friend, someone we can talk to, through prayer.  Someone we can encounter through the sacraments.  Someone who is alive in our world and in our hearts, through the power of the Holy Spirit.  It is this knowledge that has seen us through difficult times in the past, and will see us through difficult times that may come.  For it is indeed Jesus Christ who is navigator, today and always.  It is Christ who provides us with strength, comfort, and hope.  It is in Christ where we place our trust.
 
In the silence of your hearts this week, think about that aha moment in your own life.  Think about those encounters that you have had with Jesus on your earthly journey.  Pray in your own hearts, “I know who you are – the Holy One of God!”
 
Rest assured of my prayers for each of you and those that you love.

Fr. Greg

Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,

My dear friends,

A hymn that I am quite fond of is “The Summons.” It is about the call to discipleship and was written by John Bell and Graham Maule of the Iona Community from Scotland.  First published in 1987, it is set to the tune Kelvingrove, a traditional Scottish melody.  The lyrics contain thirteen questions asked by Jesus in the first person:
 
Will you come and follow me
If I but call your name?
Will you go where you don't know
And never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown,
Will you let my name be known,
Will you let my life be grown
In you and you in me?

Will you leave yourself behind
If I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind
And never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare
Should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer
In you and you in me?

Will you let the blinded see
If I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free
And never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean,
And do such as this unseen,
And admit to what I mean
In you and you in me?

Will you love the 'you' you hide
If I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside
And never be the same?
Will you use the faith you've found
To reshape the world around,
Through my sight and touch and sound
In you and you in me?

Lord, your summons echoes true
When you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you
And never be the same.
In your company I'll go
Where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I'll move and live and grow
In you and you in me.
 
In this weekend’s Gospel taken from Mark 1:14-20, Jesus asks this very question to Simon, Andrew, James, and John, the first apostles.  Yet, Jesus asks this very question to each and every one of us – his disciples, and even more profoundly, to future disciples.  We are all called to follow Jesus Christ, who extends this personal invitation in our hearts.

You might say there is a magnetic pull to follow Jesus.  This was the case with the first apostles, who left everything behind to follow the son of a carpenter.  Does Jesus call and invite us in 2024?  Absolutely yes!  All of us.  Some may fight and resist it.  Yet when we respond to that call Jesus has the power to transform our lives and to transform our hearts.  That leads to happiness, a happiness that cannot be found in anything else here on earth.  That happiness is found in a personal relationship with the Saviour, Jesus Christ.  The sooner one responds to that call and invitation, the sooner one can experience a foretaste of heaven here on earth.  That quite simply is what I want for each and every one of us!

Rest assured of my prayers for each of you and those that you love.  Keep safe and warm.

Fr. Greg

Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,

With the season of Christmas (it seems like a distant memory now) behind us, we return to Ordinary Time in the life of our church. Yet as Cardinal Dolan states so beautifully, every day is extraordinary, a gift from God.  And that it indeed is.
 
Once again woven into our readings this weekend is the theme of God speaking to us. How does God speak to us?  Through Sacred Scripture and through one another, for Christ dwells in each one of us, in the temple of our hearts. This becomes more richly evident to us when we pause and reflect, and count our blessings.  This sounds so very simple, yet it brings us back to the basics and reminds us what it truly important. Faith.  Our relationship with Jesus Christ.  Family, and the connection to those with us here on earth and those who have journeyed to eternal life. The power and importance of prayer.  Countless reminders that God is with us, and that we are followers of Christ and people of hope.

Everyday God desires to pour out grace and mercy upon each of us.  In the ordinary. 
 
Be sure to take the time to count your blessings today, and every day.
 
May God bless you and those that you love.  Thank you for being a blessing in my life.
 
United in prayer, your friend in Christ,
 
Fr. Greg

Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,
​
Today, a Light has shone.  We no longer are to walk in darkness.  The name of this day “Epiphany” comes from the Greek word “epiphainō” which literally means “to shine upon”.  God wants all the nations of the world to know who Jesus is, why He came, and what His coming means for us today.

Who were they? Kings, Magi, Star-gazers, Wise Men, Astrologers… They have been called all these names. Regardless, they represent the fact that Jesus came as King of All Nations, King of the Whole World, King of the Entire Universe, King of All Creation: “Christ the King.".

The Kings bring us with them to the manger.  Ponder that for a moment.  The Kings bring each and every one of us with me.

So, what does this all mean?  God wants all people to be saved and no one to be lost.  No one is excluded.  Ultimately, this is the meaning of today’s celebration.

May the Light of Christ shine ever brighter in 2024 one each of you and those that you love, on our diocese, and in our world.

Fr. Greg