I am not sure if you have ever visited the famed John Muir National Forest. It is about 1.5 hours away depending on traffic and has some beautiful old sequoia trees some of which are 1,000 years old. It is a beautiful national treasure along with many other places to hike and enjoy nature.
If I told you that I drove to John Muir National Forest, parked my truck, got out and then got back into my truck and drove home, you would rightly think I was foolish. It is crazy to drive all that way and not experience the beauty of the woods and just be in awe of the beauty of God’s creation.
In the same way, many of us set out to pray and visit God in prayer. We set aside time, go to our room, say our prayers and never let God speak to us. We never experience the beauty of God’s voice speaking of his love for us. We never experience the awe of God’s presence because we never get out of ourselves to just be in awe of God. Prayer is a way to turn mind and heart to God and experience God’s loving presence. It is open to everyone. But we need to get out of our comfort zone and experience it for ourselves and learn how to really pray well. It will change your life!
During Christmas, we gave away the book “Rediscovering Jesus” as a Christmas gift to all families. In this book, Matthew Kelly opens with some basic questions about our prayer life and who is Jesus to us. He gently suggests ways to come to know Jesus a little more each day and simple ways to develop a stronger relationship with him in prayer. He gives us ways to enjoy the “beauty of the forest” so to speak. I encourage you to read just a chapter a day and chat to others about what you read.
Since this pandemic seems to be lingering longer than any of us had expected or wanted especially with the new variant Omicron, I encourage you to join us for livestream Mass at 9 a.m. if you cannot come to Mass in person. Watching live allows us to feel your presence and I encourage you to check in online and mention where you are watching from. For those watching in the local parish, I ask you consider having someone deliver communion from the Mass directly to you. If you are interested in having a family come with communion to you door immediately follow the livestream Mass please fill in the form here and someone will reach out to you and get you connected.
Speaking of connecting with community, we invite all parishioners to join the St. Simon School Open House next Sunday morning from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. livestream. Please come and see for yourself the great treasure we have in the school, especially now that we are recognized for our work with the National Blue Ribbon Award in 2021. It is a wonderful place to teach our children the gift of our faith in a safe environment that is academically excellent. We have tuition assistance for parish families who need it. Please join us and spread the word of our great community.
God Bless,
Fr. Brendan