Hello to all from the beautiful island of the Southern Caribbean. The
weather is very fine at 90 degrees and sunny. I have spent most days swimming
in the ocean with legs that will finally hold me up in the waves, thanks to my
surgeries! I have been acting like a fish for the past week.
Today in the Gospel, Jesus takes up John’s message of repentance that he
came to deliver. It is the good news of peace, which is the restoration of
relationship with God, of hope which is the hope of the resurrection and
heaven, the message of truth which is the reliability of God’s word and God’s
promise, the message of immortality, God giving us life in heaven and the good
news of salvation which is the freedom and the liberty to live as sons and
daughters of God our Father. The gospel is the power and wisdom of God, power
to change and transform our lives and wisdom to show us how to live as his
children. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit the Lord makes it possible for us
to receive and understand his word with faith and to act upon it with trust.
God speaks the same message to us through Jesus Christ, all through the
Scriptures. We will catch people for the kingdom of God by the way we live, the
way we speak and the way we act. As St. Paul says, “Thanks be to God who in
Christ Jesus, always leads us in triumph and through us, spreads the knowledge
of Him, everywhere. Know that I am thinking of you and wish you and wish you
all a great week!
Fr. Phil
