Dear Parishioners of St. James:
Praised be Jesus Christ!
The Sacrament of Baptism made us beloved sons and daughters of God the Father. Baptism imparts an indelible mark (or seal) that can never be removed. Once we are a son or daughter of God our identity cannot be changed. God does not repent of His choice of us. We never stop being God’s beloved child.
God identifies us as His own and calls us beloved. Do we realize our dignity as being children loved by God the Father? No matter how old we become in this life, we will always be a son or daughter of God. God’s love created us and sustains us in existence. Love keeps us alive! When we are tempted to think that our lives are meaningless or that we do not amount to much, it is good to meditate on the Father’s words to Jesus in today’s Gospel: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him” (Mk. 9:8). Since we were baptized into Christ Jesus, we too are beloved sons and daughters.
Pope St. Leo the Great, in a sermon addressing new Christian converts, said:
Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God’s
own nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning.
Remember who is your head and whose body you are a member.
Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness
and brought into the light of the Kingdom of God (Catechism of the
Catholic Church, 1691).
Beloved of God, have a blessed Lent remembering your dignity and eternal relation as a son or daughter of the Most High.
God bless you,
Fr. Geary
Saint James Catholic Church 