Week 1

Dear Parish Family,

We wish you a happy and blessed New Year!! May God fill you with his blessings in 2026!

This weekend we celebrate the Epiphany - a festival of radiant light and the special visit of the Magi, who had been guided by the presence of a star. The arrival of the Lord is still largely a secret. The shepherds know, but when the Wise Men from the East arrive in Jerusalem with gifts for the newborn king, Herod “and the whole of Jerusalem” is thrown into a tizzy. They were not expecting this news. With the scholars and learned ones from Jerusalem, Herod learns a detail from Micah (5:1). The long-expected messiah will come from Bethlehem.

 How is it that the local king, with his retinue of scholars and experts, is not aware that the one they have all been waiting for has arrived, while foreign stargazers are so clued in? What is it about these Magi that makes them ready to attend to the signs and follow with courage the astral breadcrumbs to arrive with precious gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh?

 It strikes me that silence and waiting are part of the key. They have developed a habit of attention, looking up at the stars in the quiet of the night, and with watchful attentiveness. They benefit from external silence and the stillness of night, but they must also have cultivated an inner silence that attunes them to the meaning of what they observe. By contrast, I imagine Herod and his court to have full days of ruling, attending to urgent matters, lots of meetings and activities, along with the hustle and bustle of city life in Jerusalem. His evenings are more often full of parties and politicking than the silence of stargazing. And so, despite the many foreshadows in the Prophets, they have been blinded by what the outsiders can see.

This new year in God’s grace, we are kicking off with a special book, your Christmas present: Slowing Down to the Speed of Joy by Matthew Kelly. This is a book all about learning how to be still, how to do less better, and how to focus on the most important things in life. Last fall, I was gathered together with some key folk, discussing what messages people most need to hear. What shall we focus on? Two immediately talked about decluttering, simplifying, and homing in on what is most important. Collectively we had the sense that folks are trying to squeeze more and more into their already crammed schedules. That notion has only grown since then. When this latest offering became possible, I jumped at the chance to share it with you. But unlike some of Kelly’s other offerings, this book does not provide a practical roadmap. It is more about a needed perspective shift, a new way to look at our lives. For that reason, we think it will be all the more important to take the big ideas from the book and break them down into practical action steps. We will be challenged to apply these lessons to our lives.

There is no better space for that than a small group. Folks on the same journey, trying to glean from the same wisdom and adopt concrete changes in their daily lives. So, I invite you to give small groups a try for the first 6 weeks of 2026. Enter into this shared discussion and make the most of your Christmas present! All change is hard, but it will be more fruitful and enduring when you begin prayerfully, walking with others who also share a common goal.

I have begun praying that this book has the impact God wants it to have in our lives. Join me in prayer for our whole parish over these weeks, so that we can learn what it means to live at the speed of joy.

Godspeed!

Fr. Joel