Weekly message
from Fr. Chris

Dear SPA Family,
The last person announcing the coming of God’s Son - the Messiah was John the Baptist. His mission had two purposes. First, the preparation of the Israelites for the coming of the Messiah, and then the revealing and presenting of the announced Son of God. Both tasks were fulfilled by John the Baptist. He preached the imminent arrival of the Messiah and called everybody for a change of heart and conversion. The outward sign of this was the reception of the baptism of purification in the Jordan. Jesus was among the many who came to the Jordan. When John the Baptist saw Him, he announced the arrival of the Messiah: “This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”

And let’s ask a question here. Is Jesus the Messiah accepted by people today? It is sad to say that Jesus does not arouse universal interest among people. Why is this happening? Jesus as the Messiah has become unnecessary to many people. This is because humans have lost the sense of sin, from which the Messiah - the Lamb of God can deliver. Very clearly and with great sadness, St. John Paul II in the Apostolic Exhortation on the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. There is a tendency to make fun of sins, to minimize their harmfulness or to deny them. People don’t lie, but only hide the facts, stretch the truth. People don’t steal, they only borrow. They don’t commit adultery, they just enjoy life. They don’t cheat, they just know how to combine. After all, people don't kill unborn babies, they just terminate pregnancies, abort the fetus.

People, not recognizing sin, trivializing it, not considering themselves sinners, do not need Jesus, because He can no longer offer anything. John the Baptist had this awareness of the sinfulness of our human nature, which needs constant purification in God’s Mercy.

After His resurrection, Jesus gave the apostles and their successors the power to forgive sins - he established the sacrament of reconciliation. If people did not commit sins and did not need God’s forgiveness, Jesus would not have instituted this sacrament. Through this sacrament, Jesus not only forgives sins, but also gives graces for a better Christian life.

People who do not have this sacrament or avoid it may be unhappy. They are tormented by guilt and remorse. A substitute for experiencing the sacrament of penance and reconciliation is sought in the offices of psychotherapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists. Does it bear fruit? There you can talk, confide in your problems, throw out what torments the heart, but you can never hear those words that we hear in the sacrament of penance and reconciliation: “Go in peace! God has forgiven you your sins!”

Let us thank Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, for His forgiving love. Let us ask for the grace of humility so that we can recognize and confess our sins in the sacrament of penance and reconciliation.
Have a blessed week. Fr. Chris

Dear SPA Family,
Whenever I meet my friends I like to say, "What's new?" It has only been a couple of weeks since Christmas, so if I were to ask you, "What's New?" you would probably have a lot to tell me about.
All of us like new things, don't we? Don't we just love the look and feel of new clothes? Well maybe children don't get as excited about new clothes as we adults do, but I am sure they get excited about new toys! They have probably spent hours playing with the new toys they received for Christmas.
We are at the beginning of a new year. Some people like to make New Year's resolutions or promises to themselves about what they plan to accomplish in the new year. The number one resolution that people make is, "I am going to lose weight." I don't think too many people succeed, since it seems to be the number one resolution year after year.

New Year is a time that we can forget our past mistakes and look forward to new opportunities that lie ahead of us. It is a time of new beginnings. It is a chance to start over. It is a time to try to do things better than we did last year.
Jesus experienced times of new beginnings in his life too. One of those times was when he was baptized. I wonder how many of us celebrate the anniversary of our baptisms? How many of us even know when we were baptized?
There were a couple of very important things that happened when Jesus was baptized. First of all, the Bible tells us that the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove and landed upon him. The second thing was that God spoke and said, "You are my Son. I love you and I am well-pleased with you."
This event marked the beginning of Jesus' ministry here on earth. Up until that time, he had not performed any miracles, but with God's stamp of approval and with the spirit of God upon him, Jesus began to perform great miracles.

Our own baptism represents a new beginning for us as well. God may not always be well-pleased with us, but I think that He looks down with an approving smile when he sees us trying to walk with Jesus.
Our baptism was like an official adoption ceremony. God’s been proud of us from the very beginning when we became his children because that is what he wants us to be.
And like a good Father - or a good Mother - God is there to help us do all the other things he asks us to do - things like loving our family members and our neighbor - and forgiving and helping one another - and sharing the good things that he gives us with those who are in need.
Wouldn't you like to be the kind of person that would cause God to look down from heaven, as he did with Jesus, and say, "My child, I am proud of you?"
I would like to be like that - and every day I try to be, knowing that God loves me and is there to help me be the kind of his child he wants me to be.
Have a blessed weekend. Fr. Chris