From 1960-63, my family lived in South Carolina. As the civil rights movement started to peak, local whites often associated it with JFK and Catholics. Being Catholic and from Massachusetts didn't help my parent’s popularity. And yet, we were not prophets. Black Catholics in our town were allowed to attend the "white" parish but only if they sat in the back. Thankfully, society has come a long way. But as we remember MLK, we still have far to go.

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In 1985, our two parishes baptized 95 children. In 2021 we baptized only 9. That says a lot about the size of families but it also signals less people participating in the faith. And yet, when conducted during Mass, baptisms bring such joy and life to the parish. What will bring new energy to our community if there is no one to carry on in the future? Sometimes we get overly focused on the scarcity of priests and their age (Fr. Bob 72, me approaching 70). But look closer to home. Who are our servers, musicians and volunteers? The future is here.

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The Arabs have a way of saying "Happy New Year" that stresses: "May you be well and at peace."  Based on recent history, maybe their lower expectations are more realistic. Not knowing what we face in 2022, let's hope we do so with the inner peace that comes from our connection with Christ. Happy-ness can be fleeting but peace remains. May our prayer together elevate and restore you. May it carry you through the week. May it give you a reason to return to the altar. Despite everything around us, may Jesus be the Alpha & Omega that sustains.

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And yet again, you have been incredibly generous to me & Fr. Bob but also to the families who are struggling this winter. That's exactly what we are striving to become...the sheep rather than the goats. The "givers" rather than the "takers". The ones who understood Jesus in MT 25:31 are those who create the peace-able kingdom. In the process, we feel much better about ourselves. And we show society... there is another way of living.

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