click here for full bulletin
From the Pastor’s Desk
I have returned from my sabbatical and it is good to be back home — not only to my home town of St. Augustine, but also back home to the community of faith of the Cathedral Parish.Thank you for your prayers and, as well, the many well-wishes several of you sent via email and Facebook during my time away.
On this first weekend that I’m back, it’s already the Third Sunday of Advent. The disciples of John the Baptist are having an interesting conversation with Jesus about whether He is “the One” while the author of the Letter of St. James is pleading with his hearers to “be patient until the coming of the Lord.” While the presence of Jesus is always assured for us in the Eucharist, the Advent call to be ready for the “coming of the Lord” at the end of time is definitely before us, too, and patience is a must as we wait.
As I traveled throughout Italy and into Greece during my sabbatical, one constant image would appear — that of Christ Pantocrator. (One of the icons I saw in Greece at the Byzantine Museum there is pictured above.) That word, Pantocrator, comes from the Greek meaning “ruler of all” and the many mosaics and icons one finds of Jesus in churches under this title serve as a reminder that as “ruler of all,” He will also appear at the end of time as judge of all. Patience and readiness become the response Christian disciples have to this wondrous mystery.
This Tuesday evening, December 13 at 7:00 p.m., the Cathedral will hold its annual Advent Penance Service. Come with the confidence that a merciful Christ wants to offer you His compassion and mercy now in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. So in patience we await His second coming; with open hearts we also receive His tender mercy now.
Love, Father Tom