Dear Parishioners,

We have put the Christmas decorations away and are now back to Ordinary Time in the liturgy. The liturgical color is now green. The next stop liturgically will be Lent, beginning with Ash Wednesday Feb. 14. And Lent begins the penitential period before the great Feast of Easter. Then after Easter comes the Easter Season culminating with Pentecost and Corpus Christ in May/June. Each year the Church’s liturgy takes us through the great mysteries of Our Lord’s life, the mysteries of our Salvation.

Ordinary time is not “ordinary” in the sense that nothing is happening. Ordinary Time comes from a Latin word which means counted or counting. Thus, this Sunday is the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time and we will keep counting till Lent begins then count again from the end of the Easter Season to Advent. There are a total 33 Sundays in Ordinary Time. Though Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter are considered the “strong” liturgical seasons, every time the liturgy is celebrated we enter into the Incarnation and Paschal Mystery and thus is a source of saving grace.

On this Second Sunday of Ordinary time in Gospel of John, Jesus His first words in the Gospel when He asks the question: “What do you seek?” First words are important words. This is the fundamental question of discipleship and it is asked not only of the two former disciples of John the Baptist but it is also a question every disciple must answer. People can seek a lot of things by following Jesus. For some, Jesus is a teacher of wisdom, for others, a remedy for life’s problems (miracle worker). Still others can follow Jesus out of habit, curiosity, or family custom. Ultimately, the Gospel of John wants Christians to follow Jesus because He is nothing less than the presence of God who brings salvation to those who are His own. Jesus asks the two disciples to be clear about their expectations and needs, and the Lord asks us to be clear as well.

If Jesus asked you the question “What do you seek?” - how would you answer?