This weekend is the beginning of our first joint bulletin for the Catholic Community of the East End of Pittsburgh (CCEEP). Having one bulletin now for all three campuses will enable us to relay information more clearly in one publication. I am pleased to have Kathy Patton as our Bulletin Editor and thankful for her volunteer service to help us each week communicate effectively. We hope you enjoy our new look!
Over the past few weeks I was able to visit with many family and friends. My parents Bill and Marge along with my sister’s Lisa and Linda and my brother in law’s Paul and Eric and nephews all came to my parent’s home in the South Hills for dinner. We had a delicious dinner and exchanged Christmas gifts. I reconnected with a few of my high school and college friends that I have not seen or been able to talk to for a while. That is what the holidays are all about, faith, family and friends, sharing the Light of Christ with those around us.
This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany also referred to as “Little Christmas.” The readings reflect joy of the birth of Christ. In the First Reading from the Prophet Isaiah we read how the prophet cheers the exiles who returned from Babylon with a vision of a restored city. Jerusalem has become a beacon of light in the world. In the Second Reading to the Ephesians, Paul expresses the theological meaning of today’s feast. God invites Jews and Gentiles to share in the salvation brought by Christ. In the Gospel of Matthew, we read how the newborn Messiah is manifested to the
Magi, Gentile Astrologers. They were overjoyed at finding the newborn King of the Jews.
Epiphany is a Greek word which means showing forth or manifestation. The primary symbol of Epiphany is light.
As we begin a new year, 2019 and celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, we pray that God’s light may sine in our hearts and on our world. With all that has gone on this past year with the continued political fighting in Washington D.C. and Harrisburg, shootings, terrorism, natural disasters, and the opioid crisis, let us not focus on the darkness of things but on the light of Christ coming into this world.
Thank you to all who sent me Christmas Cards, gifts and goodies. I am honored to be your Administrator here in the Catholic Community of the East End of Pittsburgh!